Farmington Rotary Club: Caring About Community
By Lisa Laflin, Farmington Rotary Publicity Chair
One in a series of articles spotlighting members of the Farmington Rotary Club in this centennial year.
Farmington Rotary is 100 years old this year. Remarkably, Billings Hannaford, 88, better known as Bill, has been a member for more than half of the club’s existence. He is the longest serving Rotarian in the Farmington Rotary Club, having joined in 1971 - almost 54 years ago. (Walter Gooley is the oldest living member having edged out Bill by just a couple of years.)
Bill was influenced heavily by his father who was a Rotarian in the mid 1950’s. This influence and love of Rotary continues today, as Bill’s wife, Jan, recently joined the Farmington Rotary Club, as did his daughter, Kym Recco (whose husband Michael also recently joined.) The legacy of community service is continuing throughout the generations as Bill’s grandchildren are involved in the youth clubs Rotary supports at both Cascade Brook School and Mt. Bue High School.
A soft spoken and generous man, Bill graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in civil engineering. Not long after graduating and finding a job, his father asked him to work for him. He was a successful businessman who started the well-known plumbing and heating business that was an institution in the area. Bill began working for his father at Hannaford Plumbing and Heating in 1953. He then continued to grow the business for another 50 years before selling it. After the sale, Bill went to work for UMF for 18 years where he shared his skills in maintenance and plumbing and heating.
“I finally retired from UMF on my 80th birthday,” Bill chuckled.
Bill joined Rotary because Dick Morrison invited him. “It was a chance to get out and meet and greet. Back in the day Rotary had classifications for various businesses, and I was the only plumbing guy in town so I filled that role.”
The impact of Rotary is evident in the way Bill talks about his many experiences, including maintaining the Hippach Field skating rink with Dick Williams. “We used to go down after the closing time of the rink, scrape the ice, resurface it, and then go home to try to get warm. We were the Zambonis of the time.” Other community projects resonate with Bill too, such as the wading pool at Hippach, the Fourth of July festivities, and the current musical instrument installation at Walton’s Mills Park which is a project that kicks off
Farmington Rotary’s centennial year. Global projects like polio eradication are also a reason he supports Rotary.
One thing he would like to see Farmington Rotary do again is host an exchange program. His daughter had the opportunity to travel to Finland on exchange and it was a wonderful experience he would like to give to other young people. The club has not hosted a student or sent one abroad since just before Covid.
Bill served as president of the Farmington Club in 1976-1977 and this shaped his view of Rotary. On many trips to other clubs throughout the district from way up in Canada to the breadth of Maine, he saw that Rotary was bigger than just a local organization and a good way to meet people and make a difference.
Bill’s hobbies include jigsaw puzzles and being a bus service for his grandchildren who are active in many activities, particularly skiing this time of year. Oh, he said, “and don’t forget the honey-do list.”
In closing, Bill used one word to describe Rotary. Universal.
For more information about Farmington Rotary, visit farmingtonrotary.us or reach out to lisaparklaflin@gmail.com. Meetings are open to all on Thursdays at 7 am at the North Dining Hall on the UMF campus.