Distribution: All Derby-Shelton Rotarians

Dear Derby-Shelton Rotarian ,

If you can't attend a meeting in person, you can attend by Zoom. This link will work for both regular club meetings and board meetings. 

ClubRunner Transition

On 1/15 board members voted unanimously to subscribe to ClubRunner. This will replace our (defunct) DACdb subscription. 

I have started a free ClubRunner trial for our club at dsrotary.com, which will eventually replace and become derby-sheltonrotary.org. This will increase our annual club expenses by $200 this year and $300 in subsequent years. 

If you did use DACdb for anything, please log on to dsrotary.com and get familiarized with ClubRunner. Use the “magic link” to log in at first, after which you can set your own user id and password. Please review the ClubRunner zoom recordings, and also the ClubRunner support site.  In my position as district executive secretary, I am the lead for this transition; feel free to ask me anything about it.

Club 100th 

The plaque commemorating our first meeting place has been placed at the site of Hotel Clark in Derby.

 

Club Dates: 

• Months of January and February, we will meet at the  Marriott Courtyard, 780 Bridgeport Ave, Shelton. While we are meeting at the Marriott, there is no need to RSVP. Lunch will be $19 (one dollar more than before).
   
  • Last week, 1/8, Kim received her Paul Harris plus four pin. Congratulations Kim! 
    
    
     
  • Yesterday, Thursday, 1/15/2026, our speaker was Valerie Knight-DiGangi, who spoke about mentoring in Shelton Public Schools.  Watch the video. Contact Valerie at vdigangi@sheltonpublicschools.org if you are interested in mentoring. 
     
    We also had our monthly board meeting (minutes forthcoming).
     
  • Thursday, 1/22/2026, our speaker will be Joe Bienkowski, who will speak about the Wildlife Refuge at Two Mile Island.  
     
  • Thursday, 1/29/2026, I will be away, Liza will run the meeting.  Youth Chair Gary will lead an Interact pinning ceremony. 
    
    Also, Elections. The club will vote on leadership nominees for 2026-27. Any member can make a nomination from the floor. Liza and Sharon are swapping roles for 2026-27; Sharon will move up to President, Liza will continue as President Elect. The Vice President position is still open at this time.
     
  • Thursday, 2/5, our speaker will be Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti.
     
  • Thursday, 2/12/2026, Youth Chair Gary will lead the Four Way Test Contest.
     
  • Thursday, 2/26, Our own Betsey Doane will speak on technology for the blind.
     
• Back to Brownson in March…
   
  • Thursday, 3/5/2026. Matt McGee and Sharon Herman will speak about the Shelton Clean Up Project and the Anti-Litter committee. 
    
    Note that the price of the buffet lunch would increase by $2, or we could get a limited-choice plated lunch for the same price we are now paying.  Please give this some consideration.  I will distribute a survey mid-February.
     
  • Thursday, 3/12, our speaker will be Tom Harbinson from Jones Family Farms.
     
  • Thursday, 4/16, our club will host the Area 6 “Service Above Self” luncheon. Please RSVP to Lucy.
    
    Note: we are also invited to the Area 5 Norm Parcell luncheon as we have in the past. Also RSVP to Lucy.
     
  • Saturday, 4/25/2026, 3:00PM, Shelton High School, NHSO Fundraiser. A Galaxy Far, Far Away, music from sci-fi classics like Star Wars, E.T., Interstellar, Dune and Star Trek. Star Wars and All net proceeds from tickets purchased with code ROTARY will be donated to our club. The code ROTARY  will also provide the buyer with a $5 discount. Let's all promote this event. I will have flyers at the next meeting.  Buy Tickets using the above link, the QR Code below, or call the box office at (203) 693-1486, and make sure to use the code ROTARY. NHSO also offers free tickets to children under 18 with a paying ticket. To use BOTH promos together, the buyer must call the box office at (203) 693-1486.
    
    

Also, for the "Galaxy" fundraiser, NHSO has set aside 30 reserved seats for us, so we can sit together if we'd like. These seats will be held until March 1 and then released. To reserve one of these seats, Rotarians must call the box office. (203) 693-1486, use the code (ROTARY) and say you want to sit in our reserved seating area. These are $49 seats ($44 after the $5 discount) -- but if you'd prefer not to spend that amount, you're welcome to go online and purchase a less expensive seat.  If we go as a group, maybe we can also get lunch before or dinner after.

• Date TBD (not 3/7), Area 6 food packing event. Come help assemble food kits for local food banks.
   

Other District Dates:

• Saturday, January 24, 2026, 8:00AM to 2:00PM, will be the District 7980 Training Assembly at Quinnipiac University. All Rotarians are urged to attend, especially next year's club officers. (Unfortunately, I will be away)
   
• Saturday, February 21, 1:00-3:00, the Trumbull club will have a book launch party for “Kindness is Caring, Friendship is Sharing”, a rotary themed book by Trish Rabe (our club contributed to the publishing).  This event is at Beth Stoller's home, 27 Dunellen Road, Trumbull. Please RSVP by 2/12 to beth@trumbullrotarykidsbooks.org 

YIRS,

Joe