| Former track star is exemplar of
community service, leadership Kim Wettlaufer is currently the
executive director of the Trinity Jubilee Center (TJC) in Lewiston,
Maine, run from the Trinity Episcopal Church on Bates Street. The
center serves one of the neediest neighborhoods in Maine, in which
64 percent of the population lives on a yearly income of less than
$15,000. Some of the programs offered by the TJC include meals, a
food pantry, a diaper distribution service, and a drop-in center
open seven days a week. Also, the TJC has become a resource for the
Somali and Somali Bantu families, helping them adjust to life in
the United States. In 2007, Bates recognized TJC with the William
Stringfellow ’49 Award, an award honoring the legacy of
William Stringfellow, a lawyer and lay theologian prominent in the
American Peace movement. In 2011, the Harward Center gave TJC the
Community Partner Award for Sustained Commitment to Partnership.
Wettlaufer began as a volunteer at TJC and, thanks to his creative
commitment to the programs, he was asked to join the board of
directors. After the executive director left the position, the
board asked Wettlaufer to take over on an interim basis. According
to a fellow director, Wettlaufer “plunged into this interim
position with all of his characteristic energy and
commitment.” The board enthusiastically hired him for the
position on a permanent basis. Prior to his involvements in the
Trinity Jubilee Center, Wettlaufer was a journalist for the
Lewiston Sun Journal and track coach at Lewiston High School.
Wettlaufer also owned a Subway Sandwich franchise in Maine and was
the chair of the steering committee for the capital campaign at
Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice that raised the funds to build
an in-patient hospice house, which was the first of its kind in
Maine. During his time at Bates, Wettlaufer, a history major, was
captain of both the cross-country and indoor track teams, earning
All-America honors in both cross country and outdoor track, in the
5,000 meters. He also received the Senior Athletic Citation Award
in 1980. Kim continued with the teams as an alumnus, coaching with
Walt Slovenski until 1993 when Slovenski retired. As an alumnus, he
was elected to the College Key in 1998, was a member of his 25th
Reunion Committee, and was recognized with the Alumni Community
Service Award in 2008. For his devotion to Bates College, and his
tireless decades of service and leadership within the community, we
are honored to welcome Kim Wettlaufer, class of 1980, into the
Bates Scholar-Athlete Society. |
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