Turkey Shoot pulls in a full house
By Angela Greiner Contributing Writer

PHOTO/ANGELA GREINER Above - Marlborough High school student Megan Doolin sells raffle tickets with Eddie Cos, the Rotary-sponsored international exchange student from Romania.

Marlborough - With seating for 800, the cafeteria of the Assabet Valley High School was nearly at capacity Nov. 17 for the 25th Annual Turkey Shoot. The Turkey Shoot, sponsored by the Marlborough Rotary Club, is a fund-raising event held annually the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Bonnie Doolin, a long-time member, explained that the motto of the Rotary Club, which was established more than 100 years ago by a group of businessmen in Chicago, is "service above self." The Marlborough Ro- tary has been in service for 86 years and is dedicated to providing support for local needs.

Each year the local organization is responsible for donating more than $25,000 towards various community projects including scholarships, youth and senior citizens programs, families in need and more.

"This is an out-and-out fund raiser," Doolin said of the turkey shoot. This year's event gave away 73 turkeys and featured five tables of raffle items, which included certificates for a chocolate fountain, fruit baskets, a vacuum, crystal and tax preparation.

Jim Porter said that 20 years ago he gave up the tradition of spending the weekend in Vermont to accompany his wife to his first Turkey Shoot. Despite the recent loss of his loved one, Porter attended the annual event.

"It's a good time. I've been coming for twenty years," Porter said "You get to see a lot of the same faces each year."

Porter, who attended the event with his children, said that people either bring or purchase dinner, and some families bring board games. It's a good way to support local fund-raising eff orts.

"It is a bit of everything," Doolin said. "It's like a circus."

More than 60 members of the Rotary bring in baked goods, serve food, set up, and then spend the evening displaying the wide array of raffle items. As Bill Short, the moderator of the event, teased the crowd, Doolin stood selling $1 raffle tickets for a basket that would've retailed for more than $100.

"This weekend has become a bit of a tradition," Doolin said between sales. "We work this event until midnight and then we get up at 7:30 a.m., and we load up and deliver food baskets to families in Marlborough."

As Doolin said, The following morning several Rotary Club members gathered to deliver 30 food baskets, one of the many projects money earned from the Turkey Shoot supports. The baskets were filled with fresh fruit, juice, eggs, milk, turkey, vegetables and all the other fixings needed to produce a full Thanksgiving feast.

The Rotary Club will distribute another round of baskets to families in need over the Christmas holidays.

The club meets weekly on Thursdays at the Holiday Inn in Marlborough. The organization has historically sponsored both large and small projects, including building a crying room at Marlborough Hospital, planting daffodils down Main Street and cleanup projects around Marlborough.

Doolin said that one reason she became involved with the Rotary was to demonstrate to her children the importance of being involved and giving back.

"This allows them to develop a civic awareness that they would never have done otherwise," she said.