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PHOTO: Steve Weems, Susan Weems, Joan Phillips and Lisa Harrison, president Rotary Club of Brunswick. (Submitted photo)
BRUNSWICK – The Rotary Club of Brunswick presented Susan and Steve Weems with the 2022 Walter H. “Doc” Phillips Memorial Award on Oct. 27 at the Harpswell Town Hall.
The award was created in the memory of 40-year Rotary Club of Brunswick member Phillips, who died in 2019. His wife, Joan, joined members of the Rotary Club at the recent ceremony to honor Susan and Steve Weems, who live in Brunswick and were nominated by community members and endorsed by members of Rotary’s Pride and Heritage Committee.
The award is presented to those who demonstrate dedicated involvement in a field of Phillips’ interest – land conservation, volunteerism and service to others, education, water quality, science programs, and more. The awardee does not have to be a Rotarian.
Susan Weems has led Brunswick Public Art for many years. It was established in 2010 with the goal of “enlivening public spaces by placing quality art in locations where our citizens and visitors live and play.” She has been regional arts program administrator for Brunswick, Bath, Freeport and Topsham middle and high schools, and is a board member of the Bowdoin International Arts Festival.
Not only does she provide a free room for art festival participants, but the couple is also a long-time host family for Bowdoin College students. She is also a reader for College Guild, a free program for incarcerated people in Maine.
Steve, a former town councilor, is co-founder and longtime member of Brunswick Development Corp., past president of Brunswick Economic Development Corporation and a board member of Midcoast Regional Development Authority. He is founder and executive director of the Solar Energy Association of Maine, which advocates statewide for clean energy and is president of the Crystal Springs Farm community solar farm. He worked with the land trust for use of the site and other activities to bring the project to fruition. He has also been on the Brunswick Solid Waste and Recycling Committee.
Phillips, of Harpswell, aside from Rotary, was a member of the Conservation Committee the Harpswell Land Trust. On Rotary, he was a multiple Paul Harris award recipient and raised many thousands of dollars for the Rotary Foundation.
A plaque is mounted at the Harpswell Town Office with places for each Phillips awardee’s name. Awardees receive a small memento in recognition of their achievements.
