PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – Members of the Presque Isle Rotary Club and the Presque Isle Snowmobile Club are crediting the generosity of the Aroostook County community, as well as supporters from as far away as Alaska and Florida, for helping the two organizations in their collaborative effort to help rebuild the Presque Isle Snowmobile Clubhouse.
The former structure, which had stood for nearly a quarter century in the shadow of Aroostook State Park just south of Presque Isle, burned to the ground after an early morning fire Jan. 25, 2009. Earlier this fall, Presque Isle Rotarians announced they would work with the snowmobile club, selecting the organization as their “Special Project” for 2009. The goal was set to raise $25,000 to offset the $100,000 shortfall in the cost to replace the building, which had become a center of community activity in the region.
“We are so grateful to the Presque Isle Rotary Club for taking us on as their special project this year. We have been working hard to rebuild the clubhouse since this summer and this fund-raising push will help us greatly in our efforts to complete the project in time for the coming snowmobile season,” said Norm Driscoll, president of the PISC. “We couldn’t have done it without the nearly 200 donors who gave to the project … from members of both the Rotary and snowmobile clubs to community organizations and businesses throughout the area and even people from away who appreciate what we do to make snowmobiling such an important industry up here.”
The culmination of the special fund-raising initiative came during the recent Presque Isle Rotary Club’s 62nd annual Radio/TV Auction. Rotarians and snowmobile club members rallied and the community responded during the three nights of the auction, which aired live in the local region on Big Country 97 Radio and statewide on Time Warner Cable Television.
“It was just a phenomenal effort on everyone’s part,” said Nancy Fletcher, Presque Isle Rotary Club president. “As we had noted all along, the Presque Isle Snowmobile Clubhouse had become a community icon and people wanted to see it rebuilt. We were so pleased with the response that we received. As we have done for many years, we are hoping to hold our auction wrap-up dinner at the snowmobile clubhouse and it looks like we’ll be on track to do so in January. Something tells me it will be an extra special celebration this year.”
The 2009 Rotary Special project was led by Rotarian co-chairs Jason Parent and Dan Bagley. A committee comprised of fellow Rotarians and members of the snowmobile club worked to get the project to reach the $25,000 goal.
“We were so pleased at the response we received. Taking on a project of this nature at such a tenuous economic time was a concern of ours but, in true Aroostook County fashion, we felt strongly that people would respond favorably and they did,” said Parent. “We were also very impressed with the number of individuals from outside our immediate area who sent in contributions. The combination of our mailing effort, which included downstate and out-of-state snowmobilers who have registered their sleds in Presque Isle – coupled with the fact that the auction aired statewide – really helped us bring dollars from outside the area to the cause.”
According to both Parent and Bagley, donations for the cause continue to come in daily. In addition to contributions received from most Rotary Clubs in northern Maine, the Presque Isle Club recently received a call from a Rotarian belonging to the Rockland club who saw the auction downstate and is working on his club to give to the project.
“It was a pleasure to be a part of coordinating a successful fund-raiser in this economy. Folks from around the country – along with local Aroostook people – showed with their checkbooks just how important the community feels the snowmobiling industry and the PISC is to our area,” said Bagley. “I truly enjoyed expanding my Rotary community service by joining forces with the PISC volunteers to accomplish this important goal of helping to rebuild a facility that so many members of the community have fond memories of.”
The new $325,000 snowmobile clubhouse facility will resemble the one destroyed by fire earlier this year. It is being constructed on the same footprint as the previous facility. New amenities include a separate entryway connected to the building, handicapped accessible restroom facilities, a larger kitchen and slightly larger capacity by using the former area set aside for a barbecue pit on the backside of the old facility which has now become part of the new building’s square footage.
The construction project is homegrown in Aroostook County. The building itself is a kit from Houlton-based Ward Log Homes. Central Aroostook contractor PNM Construction was hired to do most of the building work and snowmobile clubhouse volunteers are donating their time to complete the interior finish work, which is currently well under way.
Donations to support the rebuilding effort can be sent to the Presque Isle Rotary Club – Attention “Special Project,” P.O. Box 641, Presque Isle, Maine 04769.
