Bill Potter, a longtime member of the Woolwich Fish Commission that oversees the Nequasset Fishway and annual alewives harvest, is the recipient of the 2017 Distinguished Service Award.

Each year around this time, the Woolwich Historical Society recognizes someone or a couple for their service to the community. Bill and his wife Barbara will be the guests of honor at the 15th annual recognition dinner and silent auction at the Taste of Maine Restaurant Saturday, Sept. 16.

The Potters have called Woolwich home for more than 40 years and have lived on Barley Neck Road since 1971. Before he retired, Potter worked at Bath Iron Works.

“I spent my entire working career there starting as a mechanical engineer after I graduated from the University of Maine Orono. Working at BIW was pretty close to home for me because I grew up in Bath and West Bath and attended Morse High School,” he said. At UMO, Bill met Barbara, the love of his life. The Potters reached a milestone in June when they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary and 50 years of marriage.

Bill said he enjoyed his BIW career and strove to live up to the shipyard’s motto, “Bath Built Is Best Built.” He rose quickly through the ranks and eventually found his way into administration, being promoted to vice president of engineering. Before retiring in 2001, he’d traveled for assignments to Canada, Australia, Taiwan and the Middle East.

“It was actually the late Stanley Davis who asked me about getting involved in the alewives run. We’d worked together at BIW and he kind of talked me into volunteering.” That was in 1997 and Bill’s been at it ever since, and not just during the annual spring run. He’s served as chairman of the fish commission for the last seven years.

Standing alongside the dam to have his picture taken, Bill said there’s always something that needs attention either at the fish ladder or the landmark smokehouse. Some work had recently been done to a release valve.

“We’ve had a lot of challenges here over the years keeping the facilities working the way they should and have been fortunate to have had help from the Bath Water District. They paid for the installation of the new fish ladder three years ago. We’re one of the few places left in New England that still has a working alewives harvest and it wouldn’t work if we didn’t have volunteers here monitoring the fish ladder and serving as counters,” he continued.

Kennebec Estuary Land Trust (KELT) has also offered its assistance and expertise to the fish commission over the years, and provided a portable safety rail at the counter station on the dam.

Barbara was asked if she had a favorite recipe for preparing alewives. “Oh, no we never eat them, although some people do,” she said. A neighbor of the Potters grinds the smoked alewives into a paste to spread on crackers. A good deal of Woolwich’s harvest ends up frozen and used as lobster bait.

Bill said he was surprised and honored to receive the Distinguished Service Award. Besides being a longtime fish commissioner, he served over 10 years on the Woolwich Planning Board. The Potters are longtime members and supporters of the Woolwich Historical Society.

Tickets are available from Debbie Locke at 443-5684 or by emailing joyful@gwi.net; RSVP by Friday, Sept. 8. The event begins at 5 p.m. with a social hour and silent auction. A buffet dinner will follow at 6 p.m. with presentation of the award afterwards.

The historical society is located in the restored 19th century house and barn alongside the town office on Nequasset Road.