This is the final few days of the Champlain Valley Fair, so stop on by the Rotary Corn Booth where ALL profits go for Wood4Good, an organization that provides home heating assistance to neighbors in need.
The Williston-Richmond Rotary, South Burlington Rotary and Rotary District members joined this year in support of the Rotary Essex Rotary club's yearly fundraiser.
Tuesday, September 15, will be Rotary Day all day at Wild Meadows Books & Cafe in Williston. The business will donate 10% of that day's revenue to the Charity Fund of the Williston-Richmond Rotary Club to support the group's charitable grants and community service work.
Wild Meadows recognizes the important work done by the Rotary club to support our community, including promoting literacy & youth leadership development, supporting home heating assistance, fighting food insecurity, along with many other causes.
Show your support to Rotary charities and the community it services by making a purchase at Wild Meadows on Sept 15th!!
The Williston Fire Department will be hosting the annual 9-11 Remembrance at the station at 645 Talcott Road - open to the community.
UPDATE : The start time will be 8:45am
WE WILL NEVER FORGET
From left to right sponsor Tracy Seamster, new members Mike Artist and Debra Fay, and President Chris Burns DiBiasio
On August 27th, we welcomed two new members, Debra Fay and Mike Artist into our club. Debra and Mike are residents of both St George Vermont and Florida as snowbirds. Both Debra and Mike are retired from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Debra is also a member of 100 Plus Women Who Care (https://www.100wwc.org/), an international organization of giving circles where members pool their donations to make a large, direct impact on local charities, and PEO International (https://www.peointernational.org/), an philanthropic educational organization where women motivate, educate and celebrate women through grants and scholarships.
Debra and Mike became Rotarians to belong to an organization that makes positive and collective impact in their community.
Welcome Debra and Mike. We are so glad to have you in our club.
Williston Rotarian Bonnie Lord-Meunier, Assistant Director and Youth Services Librarian at the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library spoke to our club on August 13, 2026 about STEAM and why it is important to kids and the community.
STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics, and adds the Arts to traditional STEM programs. As a quick bit of history, STEM actually started as SMET (not as catchy as a phrase) back in 1957 when the US passed the National Defense Education Act to boost science and math funding after the USSR launched Sputnik. Educators and the National Science Foundation started using the term SMET in the 1990s, and in 2001, the NSF changed to the friendlier term STEM. STEAM (adding the Arts) was launched in 2006 and became mainstream in 2011. The term STEM is still used by government grants, news media, schools and job markets but STEAM is gaining steam.
The DAML offers Afterschool STEAM activities featuring hands-on activities, creative challenges, and unique learning projects along with providing STEAM backpacks filled with interactive activities and books for kiddos to take home and explore.
The future library expansion incorporates a physical STEAM room space in the building layout to include tech equipment such as 3D printers and the needed safety systems and electrical upgrades for these new technologies.
To learn more or to donate to the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, go to: https://damlvt.org/index.php
On August 6 rising CVU junior Avery Antonioli enthusiastically presented to our club about her experience this June at the Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA) that took place at Northern Vermont University in Lyndonville with participation from 61 teens from Vermont, New Hampshire and Quebec.
Avery described an exciting and action-packed weekend where she made new friends, learned about different types of leadership styles, and participated in a community service project packing meals for people in need. She also learned about Rotary Interact clubs, which bring together young people ages 12-18 to develop leadership skills while discovering the power of Service Above Self.
Avery felt so inspired, she resolved to start an Interact club at CVU. And our club is inspired to help her!
Stay tuned for news about the Interact effort and future acts of service from Avery and other young people in our area.
One of the jobs of the District Governor is to reach out and visit each of the Rotary clubs within their District, and it was a treat to have DG Ariel Mondlak come to our club meeting on Aug 6th.
With a tie in to Rotary International's 2026-27 message Creating a Lasting Impact, one main topic from Ariel was Planting the Seeds to Create a Lasting Impact, a District-wide initiative to plant milkweed to support monarch butterflies across the Northeast. Like Johnny Appleseed from the 1790s, Ariel passed out milkweed seed packets for home garden plots. You just need a 10'x10' area to start a milkweed and select nectar flower plant garden.
To see and hear Ariel's presentation to our club, visit: https://youtu.be/vqtYMxnAR48
If you are in Rotary, you get introduced to the 4-way test even before you join. President Chris Burns-DiBiasio has started us stating the 4-way test in unison at our weekly meetings to help keep it on the top of our minds in everything we plan, do or say.
Basically, the 4-way test (of the things we think, say and do) is an ethical guide used by Rotary worldwide as a moral compass for personal and professional relationships. It was created by Rotarian Herbert Taylor when he was asked to take charge of a company facing bankruptcy. Rotary International adopted the 4-way test in 1943.
In truth, most Rotarians use the 4-way test in their everyday social, community and professional lives, in addition to their Rotary lives, and it is one tool to become better friends, peers and citizens. We hope you reading this (as non-Rotarians) will embrace the 4-way test in your own way in your everyday lives.
To read more about Herbert Taylor and his creation of the 4-way test, go to: https://rotary5630.org/history-of-the-four-way-test/
We had a great time participating in Williston's July 4 parade! Club members handed out “I Love Williston” stickers and had a great time showing off what Rotary does.
This year the parade judges awarded us “Best Float.” We love being part of our community's celebration!
See more photos in our album.
Photo by Al Frey, alfreyphotography.com
Our annual Deb Beckett Memorial 5K Run/Walk drew record participants this year, with 92 runners and 39 walkers participating on a beautiful morning. Our event kicked off Williston's Independence Day celebrations on July 3.
The event was dedicated in 2021 to the memory of longtime Williston Town Clerk and Treasurer Deb Beckett, who was an active member of the Williston-Richmond Rotary Club and had great enthusiasm for celebrating the Fourth of July.
In addition to bringing out the community for a fun activity, the race generates funds to fuel the club's charitable and service work.
Two shorter kids runs also took place that morning along with a visit from the Lake Monsters' Champ!
Check out the race results and our photo album!
Thanks to everyone who joined and who supported the race!
Past President Elizabeth Davidson, Secretary Jason Adams, President Elect Chris Burns-DiBiasio, President Vince Conte, Vice President Sherry Pidgeon, Treasurer Andy Mikell
Catherine Benedict from Vermont Stage was our speaker on May 28th. Catherine shared with us the importance of acting troupes (and Vermont Stage more specifically) for a community. Vermont Stage's mission statement is to create a future that makes a community a better place - and extremely noble goal. Their goal first off is to entertain through stories that move us, remind us we are human, and remind us, in this hectic world, that everything isn't so serious. HAVE FUN!!!
Vermont Stage offers 6-7 plays each season and a multitude of programs including Public Square Plays, Vermont Young Playwrights and adult summer classes in playwriting, Turning Experience Into Art, and Directing.
Their next production is The Bake Off running June 17-21 in Burlington, and is a lively experiment where 3 playwrights create brand-new short plays based on a beloved classic. This year's classic is Arthur Miller's The Crucible, and with 3 directors and 3 casts, each play takes the source material in totally different directions. We were honored to have Catherine join our club meeting and check out the meeting presentation.
To get tickets to The Bake Off, visit: https://www.vermontstage.org/the-bake-off-2026.html
To learn more or donate to Vermont Stage, go to: https://www.vermontstage.org/
To see and hear Catherine's presentation to our club, click on: https://youtu.be/S6QhM5Iz1ao
On Monday, May 25 nearly 80 community members came together for our 5th annual Williston Memorial Day Observance to honor those who served in the armed forces and lost their lives to protect our freedoms.
An invocation was offered by club member and veteran Charlie Magill, reminding us of the toll of war.
"Whenever we are deciding that war is worth it, for good reasons, and for bad reasons, the decision for war is a deciding that people will die. Rather than look away on Memorial Day, this is a day to look directly at this reality.
As we honor those who die in wars, we must not lose sight of the reality that war equals death.
Let us honor all those who have died for our country by becoming workers for peace."
Our gratitude to Lesley Murray for organizing this year's event and to all those who contributed to its success. Please enjoy this photo album.
Read the write up in the May 28 issue of the Observer.
Our crack team of spellers – Lori Ledak, Elizabeth Davidson and Howard Novak – claimed victory at the Burlington Rotary Spelling Bee on May 21 at Champlain College. The threesome bested fellow Rotarians from the Shelburne/Charlotte/Hinesburg, Essex, and Milton/Colchester clubs to regain the championship status we first won in 2024.
Additional rounds in the competition feature area businesses and students.
This annual fundraiser supports the Burlington Rotary Club's work to fight food insecurity and promote literacy.
Williston Rotary has had a long term commitment, both with financially and with club members mentoring, to the Connected Youth Mentoring Program at the Williston Central School and this year is no different. The program aim is to increase student confidence, social-emotional health, and and community connection, with research indicating that mentored youth often have better school attendance and higher aspirations. Our $500 gift to the program is but one part of our efforts and we are so proud to support our community youth.
Pictured left Rotarian Jude Hersey and right WCS Mentoring program coordinator Becky Martell
Laura Slesar, Director of Kidpower Vermont, was our speaker on May 7th, 2026. KidPower brings safety education to children, teens and adults of all ages and all abilities in Vermont. Kidpower Vermont is part of Kidpower International, a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching child protection, personal safety, and personal safery skills since 1989. 1700 people have gone through the program in Vermont and 10 million nationally.
Kidpower builds the skills and confidence to take action and Laura demonstrated some of these skills during the presentation, one in particular was the Kidpower trademarked Positive Practice method in which Laura role played with repetition so that the skill becomes natural and requires little thought to remember when faced with a fearful situation.
One important takeaway was the Kidpower Protection Promise that you can use when speaking to children in your lives:
“You are important to me. If you have a safety problem, I want to know, even if I seem too busy, even if someone we care about will be upset, even if it is embarrassing, even if you promised not to tell, and even if you made a mistake. Please tell me and I will do everything in my power to help you.”
Powerful words and a wonderful presentation worth watching and sharing.
To see and hear Laura's presentation to our club, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J_0-0_wtIo
To read more about Kidpower Vermont, contact Laura or donate, visit: https://www.kidpowervermont.org/
To get educational resources from Kidpower International, the website is: https://www.kidpower.org/
On April 23rd, we made another donation to a community food shelf in our effort to fight food insecurity in the Williston, Richmond, and St George area. As shown, the Richmond Food Shelf and Thrift Store was our recipient for $1000. Our club has partnered with the Richmond Food Shelf for 3 years now with previous campaigns of GOT MILK, an effort to provide milk, cheese and other dairy products for Richmond and surrounding members in need of food.
To read more or donate to the Richmond Food Shelf, visit: https://www.richmondfoodshelfvt.org/
Pictured Left to Right Peggy Curtis, RFS Program Director MaryJoy Patchett, and Rotary Grants and Donations Team Leader Sherry Pidgeon
On April 16th, we gladly inducted a new member into our club - McKew Devitt.
McKew is a Williston resident and is a UVM educator for 20+ years as professor (Spanish) and lecturer. He recently added Williston SelectBoard member to his activities this year, actively giving his expertise to the community.
Fun fact on previous Rotary involvement - McKew was sponsored by a Rotary club back in 1992 to do a learning year abroad, where he chose Spain for his studies.
When asked why he wanted to be Rotarian, McKew responded he had a strong desire to be a part of our community and serve as a volunteer. Welcome aboard McKew!
Pictured left to right McKew Devitt, sponsor Eliabeth Davidson and President Vince Conte
Come one - come all
On Saturday May 2nd, the Williston-Richmond Rotary club will be participating in TWO events. You can join us even if you are not a member!!!!
Green Up Day
Most people know Green Up Day is the time of year the entire state of Vermont cleans up the discarded items along the sides of the road. We are meeting up at Hannaford's parking lot at 8:45am for a 9am start. Our clean up area is Marshall Ave from Casa Grande at Rt 2A to a bit past Gardener's Supply and around the Harvest Lane circle (where Home Depot and Walmart reside). Bring gloves, bright colored clothing, and grabber/reachers if you have them.
Williston Green Fair
For the 3rd year, Rotary will have a booth from 9am-noon, where we hand out plants, meet and greet neighbors, and provide some insight on Rotary's Sevice Above Self. Stop on in and see us.
On April 23rd, our guest speaker was Ang Dawa Sherpa, a fellow Rotarian from Nepal, and one of the Himalayas' most accomplished mountaineers. Ang is an internationally certified mountain guide with more than 21 years of high altitude expedition experience. A ten time summiteer of Mount Everest, he and his wife, Pasang Phuti Sherpa, hold the Guinness Book Record as the fastest couple to summit Everest at 2 days, 7 hours and 36 minutes on May 14th, 2019. Everest is the worlds highest mountain above sea level at 29,032 feet, which is 6.6x Vermont's highest peak Mt Mansfield at 4,395 feet.
Ang started hiking in 2005 and made his first summit of Everest in 2007. Ang also runs ANH Sherpa Treks and Expeditions, and gave us a few pointers on how to make climbs at high altitudes. While most understand that physical fitness is needed, mental fitness is required to overcome fear from storms and the unknown, and technical ability is needed in cases of emergency such as if your guide gets sick or injured on the trail.
Other interesting facts were that Sherpa is not a job title, but one of the many Tibetan-speaking ethic groups who are globally renowned as expert mountain guides and high-altitude porters, carrying 66-220 lbs up the mountain, sometimes exceeding 100-175% of their own body weight. High altitude porters have to carry food, tents and oxygen for their clients. Absolutely amazing, and so was Ang's talk.
To see and hear Ang's presentation to our club, visit: https://youtu.be/NsjeRL_OMNU
To read more on ANH Sherpa Treks and Expeditions, go to: https://anhsherpaexped.com/
On April 26th, Wendy de Forest, Richmond Free Library Youth Director, and her assistant Margaret, joined our club meeting to tell us what's new at the library. Wendy spoke to our club 2 years ago and her talks are always exciting.
First a few interesting facts
Vermont has more public libraries per capita than any other state at 3500 with 185 libraries. Vermont also has the highest public access computers per capita at 9 per 5000 people - almost double the 2nd highest state of Minnesota.
What's New at the Richmond Free Library and where our donations were spent over the years
1- Playaways are preloaded audio books. RFL has 174 playaways, 25 that were gifted from our club
2- Vox books are chidren hardcover books with built-in players for read-alongs. RFL has 62 Vox books, 17 gifted from our club.
3 - Launch Pads are educational game tablets for early literacy focused on social and emotional skills.
4 - Graphic Novels are book long narratives told through sequential art.
5 - Early Chapter Books are bridge books for readers 5-9 (grade 1-3) transitioning from picture books to longer novels
6 - Library of Things is a collection of non-traditional items available for loan, allowing users to borrow instead of buying. At RFL, you can get so many items from pickle ball paddles for outdoor activity to a briefcase and tie for an interview.
7 - STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) kits at the RFL are themed tote bags. “Bugs-themed” was brought in and contained books, a collection receptacle to watch catured specimens, and much more.
To read more about the Richmond Free Library, go to: https://www.richmondfreelibraryvt.org/
Jason Adams, our club's Secretary and Board member, led the April 9th club assembly on INTERACT. INTERACT is a Rotary club made up of 12-18 year olds, and Jason's team has been working hard to create a community club with 7-8 graders that will be supported by Williston-Richmond Rotary.
We do have the support from WCS, but we also want to reach alternative schooled children (home schooled, other). As the young members progress and succeed, hopefully they can also create a club at CVU in the next few years.
Why is INTERACT important to the youngsters? Independence and leadership are two identified skills needed for 7-8 graders, and INTERACT fulfills those needs, along with teaching them service, international understanding, finance, fundraising techniques, and collaboration.
Why should our club start an INTERACT club? Beyond giving youngsters important life skills and the platform to be future Rotarians themselves, Jason provided benefits including parents becoming Rotarians, a strong branding into our community, and extra hands at service projects.
To see and hear Jason's presentation to our club, please visit: https://youtu.be/XXlYgSNcVmw
To read more about Rotary INTERACT clubs, go to: https://www.rotary.org/en/get-involved/interact-clubs
Service Above Self
44 North Williston Road
Williston, VT 05495
United States of America