Old Town Rotarians, guests, and friends traveled to Bangor Thursday night for a "Dough Raiser" at Uno Pizzeria & Grill opposite the Bangor Mall in Bangor.  The club will receive up to 20% of the proceeds from club members and others presenting Dough Raiser coupons at Pizzeria Uno that day, depending on the total dollar amount from the coupons.

 

Club members, guests, and friends ordered from the Uno menu. About 45 members, guests, and friends attended that evening.

 

       

 

Payden Stanton and Laurel Cookson, who traveled abroad through programs sponsored  Office of International Programs at UMaine, talked about their experiences at our Thursday night meeting November 9.

     A team of volunteers from the Rotary Club of Old Town have installed a wheelchair ramp at the home of Jim Martin of Orono, who has ALS.

 

     Rotarians who worked on the ramp construction were Stan Peterson, Buggsy Bryant, Steve Russell, Don Sturgeon, Doug Marchio, and Pat Cummings. They were joined by Dr. John Gaetani, and Joe Cyr stopped by to lend a hand (immediately after his surgery).

 

     Rotary got involved last month after Jane Veeder saw an item about Jim's GoFundMe page that had been posted by a friend of hers on Facebook.  She asked Robin Merchant if this was something the club could help with, and Robin, in turn, contacted Stan. Stan called Jim, took some measurements at his house, and got the crew together to install the ramp on November 11.

 

     Rotarians (and others) who are interested in Jim's battle with ALS can follow this link to his GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/jim-scott.  Jim said he wanted to thank Stan and his crew for installing the wheelchair ramp, but before he could get outside, they had left.

 

 

 

On Thursday, Nov. 16, club members went on a road trip to the Wicked Good Gourmet shop at 1168 Main Street, Old Town (between St. Joseph's Cemetary and the Orono town line), where we heard Mark Kent, the proprietor of Wicked Good Gourmet, talk about his business and his background.

Wicked Good Gourmet provides an easy way for shoppers to order high-quality food items from Maine and elsewhere in New England and have them shipped to friends or relatives, particularly in states outside of New England. Mark says a number of his customers who want to purchase food items that they used to buy in Maine--either when they lived here or were on vacation--but can't find the items at their local Whole Foods store.

He describes his business as follows on his website (www.wickedgoodgourmet.com):
     "Wicked Good Gourmet was founded by Mark Kent to bring the finest artisanal specialty foods made by farmers and chefs around New England to your door.  These products are usually sold in Farmers Markets and local stores across New England. When you subscribe to the Taste of New England Box you are not only receiving the best specialty food products that New England has to offer, you are also supporting the farmers and chefs that are striving to grow their small businesses.  We champion the small businesses and artisanal producers across New England.  We connect with small businesses that are growing and supporting local jobs and small towns.  We find the best products from the best people and deliver them to your door so that you can enjoy celebrating the best of what New England has to offer." 

Mark currently offers two subscription plans--one for $19.95 a month plus shipping and one for $39.95 a month plus shipping (only the $19.95 plan was offered when I checked the website on the morning of Nov. 17), where he selects a variety of Maine and New England gourmet items with a different theme each month and ships them to the address you selects.  However, he's in the process of offering shoppers the option of filling their own basket on line and then shipping it.

Shoppers can also visit his store and either purchase items to take with them or fill a box for shipment.  The store is currently open on Fridays and Saturdays, but will be open additional days during holiday periods.