Biddeford – Donald Pilon, President of the Biddeford and Saco Rotary Club, (BSRC) officially signed a twinning agreement with the Cosmopolitan Rotary Club in Amman Jordan. The two Rotary groups met via Zoom to officially join as sister clubs. This is the second twinning outreach of this sort for the Biddeford and Saco Rotary Club. The other sister club is the Rotary Club of Bideford, England. “It’s an honor for us to connect with such a talented group in Amman,” noted Pilon. “We have a great deal we can learn from one another.”
 
Rotary clubs around the world have a unique opportunity to learn about other cultures and foster goodwill through the global family. Establishing a twinning partnership can involve forming relationships, arranging international exchange visits and programs, and cooperatively undertake international and community service projects.
 
Roland Gagne represented the BSRC on a previous Rotary International Outreach mission and travelled to Amman Jordan.  “I am thrilled to witness the formation of a Sister Club relationship with the Amman Cosmopolitan Club in the middle eastern country of Jordan.  This will allow us to form a long-term relationship in the promotion of international understanding, goodwill, fellowship and likely result in continued service projects between our two countries.”
 
Donald Pilon was honored to introduce the president of the Amman Rotary Club, Ibrahim Kattan, and the District 2452 Governor Shawkat Tadros. Maine Rotary’s 7780 District Governor Peggy Belanger was also on the Zoom call to welcome the group and commend both clubs for joining together. “District 7780 is comprised of 41 clubs and 1,500 members throughout southern Maine and New Hampshire,” Belanger remarked. “Our Rotary District remained very active throughout the pandemic and I couldn’t be more proud of the way Rotarians stepped up to serve their communities through this crisis.”
 
Lawrence Furbish, District 7780 Foundation Chair, was also present on the call celebrating this new relationship. “I am looking forward to seeing what future projects your clubs will work on and thank everyone for the support of the foundation.”
 
As the one-hundred-year-old club continues to expand their reach globally, additionally, they continue to be major contributors in their communities. Club president Donald Pilon, along with the chair of the COVID sub-committee Conrad Welzel, recently delivered one-thousand masks to Hailee Flaherty, Communications director for SMHC. These masks were donated from the Rossi Foundation of East Hampton, Connecticut, as part of round II of the Million Mask Challenge. More than 100,000 face masks were delivered to local Rotary clubs and, for the first time, children’s face coverings were also provided.  “It’s a commendable contribution and important for our communities,” said Pilon. “Local Rotary clubs contribute so much in goods, and services. This pandemic hasn’t slowed our club down at all,” added Pilon. “It added to our motivation inspiring us to expand on the services we already provide to our communities.”
 
And deliver, these Rotarians do. “Volunteer service hours have risen by 452 hours in January alone,” noted Julie Villemaire, secretary of the club. “The total service hours recorded since July 1, 2020 through January 31st, 2021 is at 2,415 hours. That truly is commendable and demonstrates Rotarians are available to help whenever and wherever possible.”
 
For more information on the Biddeford and Saco Rotary Club, please visit their website: http://www.biddeford-sacorotary.org/ or visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BiddefordSacoRotaryClub