Senator Angus King was the Belfast Rotary Club’s guest speaker during its regular weekly meeting March 10.

The Senator, appearing on Zoom and speaking from the office where he was kept safe during the January 6 attack on the Capitol, brought the nearly 50 attending club members up to date on U.S. Senate activities He also took nearly a half hour of questions from the members before he was called away to attend a Senate vote.

“We were delighted to have the Senator as our guest,” said club president Richard Koralek, in a news release. “He spent much more time with us than we expected, answered every question we asked, and thanked us for the opportunity to speak at Rotary. It was really our pleasure and privilege to have him at the meeting.”

Sen. King covered federal funding initiatives to bring broadband internet to underserved Maine communities, Maine’s energy prospects for the future, and partisanship and the future of the filibuster in the Senate.

The Senator made it clear that he was familiar with Belfast and the towns of Waldo County, and with the social, health and economic issues of importance to people in this area.

Belfast Rotary Club, founded in 1925, has nearly 70 members who meet in person or by Zoom each Wednesday at noon and is one of the largest and most active Rotary clubs in Maine.

It raises funds year-round through activities such as the Belfast Harbor Fest, annual charitable golf tournament, E- waste collection, 5k road races and pancake breakfasts. Its community support includes donations to food pantries, holiday gifts to 150 children each December, more than $80,000 in scholarships to local college-bound high school students, and special donations as the need arises. Belfast Rotary Club’s popular weekly speakers program provides members at each weekly meeting with valuable information from elected officials and from people representing local organizations and businesses. For more information go to belfastrotary.org