FARMINGTON — A first in a series spotlighting members of the Farmington Rotary Club. Farmington Rotary will celebrate 100 years of serving the community in 2025. In each of the last 98 years Rotary has had community-minded club members step into a leadership role to preside as president of the club for one year. Rotary recently thanked outgoing president Kirsten Swan for her leadership this past year and welcomed Dennis O’Neil as president.

I sat down with Dennis to learn more about his vision for the club and to get to know him a bit better. As is often the case with Dennis, the conversation took turns and twists with a good deal of humor.

Dennis has been a Rotarian since the early 1990’s. He is passionate about giving back and has made service a priority – from coaching Little League and church involvement to preparing taxes through United Way’s free tax program. One of 12 children, Dennis also is a dedicated family man. He and his wife Janet raised 5 children and have 18 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. His roots are in Westboro, MA but his wife’s connections to Rangeley drew them to retire in Maine after many years in municipal government where he served in various financial positions including assessor and treasurer.

Handy with a hammer and an eye for detail, Dennis also ran O’Neil Construction for 15 years.

As current president of the Farmington club, his goals are to energize the club and have Rotary become increasingly visible in the community. He also plans to support other organizations and foster collaboration. While known for its charitable contributions annually (more than $40,000 this past year), Rotary also engages in community projects. This year the club plans to pick apples at Morrison Hill Orchard and donate the apples to local food pantries; complete yard projects for older adults; and create a musical park for children at the Walton’s Mill Pond Park on the Temple Road in Farmington.

In addition to making charitable contributions to numerous local and international projects, Farmington Rotary recognizes the accomplishments of area students by awarding scholarships. Recipients of the Farmington Rotary Club’s scholarships this year are Mt. Blue students Abigail Hatch, Sophie Vigue Haley, and Carson Zundel. Mt. Blue’s Zac Koran received the Alan Nemlich scholarship. Mt. Abram students receiving scholarships were Veda Clement and Isabella Norster. My conversation with Dennis concluded with Dennis saying, “Service is the rent you pay for life on earth. God’s been good to me. Rotary and service is not a heavy lift. Stop focusing on what you don’t have and think about what you do have.”

For more information about Farmington Rotary visit https://www.farmingtonrotary.us/ or connect through facebook. All are welcome to join meetings at 7 am Thursday mornings at UMF’s Olsen Student Center. Participation in projects is welcome, too!

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