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The value of a well
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Remembering Paul Alexander, who lived 70 years in an iron lung
How the polio survivor learned about Rotary
Rotaract club in Bangladesh rocks on, raises profile
Members of the Rotaract Club of Dhaka Orchid use popular music to boost Rotaract’s profile, attract members, and raise funds for projects.
Rotary honors a tireless advocate for women and girls
The 2024 Sylvia Whitlock Leadership Award recipient promotes women’s health and empowerment
New film tells story of Sir Nicholas Winton, World War II hero and humanitarian
Rotarian saved hundreds of children at risk of being killed by the Nazis in the lead up to World War II
The Rotary Club of Farmington
Farmington Rotary's Upcoming 5K Trail Race
Runners are encouraged to register for Farmington Rotary’s Annual 5K Race to be held on Sunday, September 24th beginning at 9 am. The race will be held at Tunxis Mead Park on the trail along the beautiful Farmington River and will finish near the Farmington High School Boathouse. Runners will compete for age group awards and prizes.
The Lee Chisholm Award will be presented to the first Farmington resident finishers, male and female. Prize categories include $250 awards for both the male and female First Place winners and $25 awards for top male and female winners in each of the three age categories which include Ages 18 and under, Ages 19-49, and ages 50 and above. All registered runners will receive an event t-shirt.
Visit our race website at www.RotaryTrailRace.org for event information, directions, link to the Registration Form, and the image of the Current Sponsor Poster, which includes the logos of businesses which are Race Sponsors this year. Registration is available online and will also take place on the day of the race beginning at 8:00 am. This year's fee will be $35. The Waiver and Release included with registration must be signed for all runners and, for those under 18 years of age, the waiver must be signed by an adult.
The Rotary Club of Farmington is a non-profit service organization. Involved in a variety of projects in the local area, the organization provides support through service and giving to Farmington students and other charitable, humanitarian and community organizations. Through its membership in Rotary International, the Farmington club’s support also extends throughout the world. For more information, visit www.farmingtonrotary.org.
President Elizabeth said the 2023-24 Rotary motto is “Create Hope in the World” and presented each member with a “Key of Hope” to remind us that…YOU HAVE THE KEY TO UNLOCK HOPE WITHIN YOURSELF. If we can be full of hope, then we can be the source of hope to others. You can only give what you got…I (Elizabeth) am calling upon each one of you to be a person of hope, bringing hope to those in our family, in our Club, in our community, and around the world.
JOIN THE FARMINGTON ROTARY ON APRIL 9TH, 2022
for
THE COMMUNITY TREE PROJECT
PLANTING TREES TO HELP TO IMPROVE OUR ENVIRONMENT AND BEAUTIFY OUR COMMUNITY
Stay tuned for more information and volunteer opportunities.
FARMINGTON ROTARY NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER
- November 3rd Meeting: November is Rotary Foundation month. As Foundation Chair, Cherilyn formally introduced our distinguished guest for the meeting, Prasad Menon, District 7890 Foundation Chair. Prasad updated the club on the mission of the Rotary Foundation: “The mission of the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International is to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, good will, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty.” For .60 a child can be protected from Polio, $50.00 can provide clean water to fight waterborne illnesses… Since the Foundation was founded over 100 years ago, the Foundation has spent more than $4 billion on life-changing sustainable projects. With your help we can make lives better in our community and around the world. Please be sure to make your donation this year! The club is asking for each Rotarian to contribute $100 toward the Foundation, and $33.00 toward the Polio Plus campaign. Thank you to those who have already contributed.
- November 10th Meeting: Elizabeth discussed the club’s service project of delivering Rotary bags filled with all kinds of goodies to local Veterans. In lieu of our annual Veteran’s luncheon that we canceled due to Covid restrictions, we were still able to honor and thank our Veterans by providing them with a bag full of assorted items such as socks, t-shirts, hats, cookies and candy. A special THANK YOU to Mary Lou for collecting all the items and preparing the bags with Mike Cheshire. Another special THANK YOU to Bette for the beautiful ‘Thank You’ card she designed to be included in each bag. And THANK YOU to our President Elizabeth and Paul, and Mike Cheshire and Wink for delivering the bags to 24 veterans on Veteran’s Day, 11/11. Mike’s grandsons added a special touch by helping Grandpa deliver the bags. Our club donated $1,500 to the Holiday Giving Program, a program under Farmington Community Services. They’ve been providing meals and gifts for over 250 families in town between Thanksgiving and Christmas for over 25 years. A special THANK YOU to Nancy Parent for all the work you do in our community, always putting Service Above Self!
- November 17th Meeting: We enjoyed a special presentation by Andy from the Stanley Whitman House. Andy brought us back in time talking about how Thanksgiving was honored back in Colonial times. Some of the common foods served were corn, beans, squash and deer, as turkeys were scarce. Andy was hoping to share a video of a colonial Thanksgiving filmed at the Stanley Whitman House, but it was not published in time for our meeting. So please enjoy the video called “A Colonial Thanksgiving”, by visiting Stanley Whitman’s website at: www.stanleywhitman.org. We concluded with a beautiful nostalgic video and song of “Over the River and Through the Woods”. We had a bit of fun to end our meeting by asking each Rotarian what their favorite Thanksgiving pie was…the top 2 were pecan pie and apple crumb pie! (Glad to know I’m not the only non-fan of minced meat pie).
- November 24th Meeting: We enjoyed a wonderful ‘Fireside Chat’ with special guest Harry Kraiza, who is a Charter Member of our club, and current Rotarian in Delaware. Harry did a walkthrough of how our club started, and the many changes & special memories over the years as our club evolved, most notable the admission of our first female Rotarian, Barbara LaRochelle, on September 1, 1987, against the wishes of some of the members. GO BARBARA! So happy to still have you as a member. Thank you to Mike Cheshire for arranging our special guest to join us.
- November 25th Service Project: Rotarians gathered at Highland Park Market on November 24th to pick up Rotary bags filled with a delicious Thanksgiving meal prepared by Highland Park, along with fruit and a pie donated by Gnazzo’s Food Center, and candy purchased by Elizabeth’s daughter Lauren as an extra special treat. Highland Park Market was kind enough to donate 10 of the 20 meals. A special THANK YOU to Brendan and Elizabeth’s Paul, for purchasing the additional 10 meals. Nancy Parent provided a list of individuals in our community most in need, and Rotarians were assigned names to deliver the meals to. THANK YOU to Elizabeth, Paul & Cherilyn for preparing the bags, and to Mike Cheshire, Brendan, Dave & Robin, Andy and Chris for heading out to deliver the meals. Mike Cheshire’s grandson joined to help deliver meals, learning firsthand at such a young age about Service Above Self from his Grandpa!
- November 30th Rotary Mentoring Session: Mike Cheshire, our Alt School liaison, worked with Margaret Mayr of the Alt School to coordinate a virtual mentoring session on interviewing & employment application skills for students of the Alt School. Mike Cheshire played a pre-recorded video with Brian Gibbons, Highland Park Market Manager. The video was a Q & A between Mike and Brian discussing interviewing skills and the job application process.
- Salvation Army ‘Help Rescue Christmas’ initiative: To help rescue those facing poverty, hunger, and job loss, the Salvation Army has created an alternative way to raise funds for Farmington in lieu of bell ringing this year. The Salvation Army created a link for donations, please visit:
- Our clubs fundraising goal is $5,000, currently we have raised $501, and have quite a way to go to meet our goal. Again, please share the link (also posted on our Farmington Rotary Facebook page) with local businesses, friends and family.
- Our next service project will be “Adopt a Senior” for the holidays! Please stay tuned for more information!!
- Be on the lookout for December's newsletter coming in the beginning of January.
Wishing you all a wonderful holiday!
Hello Rotarians,
To “Help Rescue Christmas For Those Facing Poverty, Hunger, and Job Loss”, The Salvation Army has created an alternative way to raise funds for Farmington in lieu of bell ringing having to be canceled at Highland Park Market due to Covid-19 restrictions. Michael Baldelli, fundraising specialist for The Salvation Army, has created a Peer-to-Peer fundraising link for us to make donations, share on our social media pages and work to reach our much-needed goal of $5,000.00!
Here’s the link:
We’d like to ask Rotarians to share this link on their social media pages, and share with family, friends and local businesses. The link will also be posted on Farmington Rotary’s Facebook page, you can also share to your own social media pages from there.
Many Thanks,
Cherilyn
Farmington Rotary Monthly Newsletter & Updates
October 6th Zoom Meeting:
- Elizabeth thanked Robin & Dave for planning our social gathering, which was held the week before at Farmington Gardens. We had 17 Rotarians & guests. A huge thank you to Phil Chabot for the fabulous spread!!
- Our Assistant District Governor, Dave Tedeschi, was a guest at our Zoom Meeting. He provided us with a few district updates.
- We had a request for a transferring member, Renata Cocozza, formerly of the Newington Rotary Club, and a Rotarian for over 20 years. She is the new Administrator of Amber Woods of Farmington.
- Brendan is working on a fundraiser “Feed Our Neighbors CT Food Drive”. He’s asking all members to contribute $20 by the end of the year. Checks can be dropped off or mailed to Brendan’s attention at: 4 Main St. Farmington CT 06032.
- Committee Updates: Tree Project is still moving forward. Mary Lou is working on the Veteran’s Appreciation bags and the Senior Holiday outreach project.
- Mike Cheshire updated on the Alt School Mentoring Program, which will be on hold until further notice.
October 13th In Person Meeting:
- Mary Lou had the distinct pleasure of welcoming aviator Peggy Loeffler (Women in Flight), and Katherine Wadsworth Delano (record setting balloonist) as our guest speakers. Peggy and Kathy presented a beautiful slide show and informed us about their project to showcase the history of New England’s Women in Flight. (Pictures included in this communication). They are raising money for an upcoming exhibit at the Air Museum in Windsor CT.
October 23rd Special Message: Elizabeth sent out a message to all club members regarding the board’s decision to have all future meeting via Zoom as follows:
“Dear Fellow Rotarians,
As the Coronavirus is still affecting most aspects of our lives, it doesn’t look like it will be going away anytime soon. With the change in seasons we are now forced to spend more time indoors making social distancing more challenging. Your Board has discussed the potential impact on our members, our meetings and our club events.
An important goal is to ensure the safety of our members and their families and not contribute towards the spread of this virus.
In light of the increase in cases in our state, we (The Board) have taken some pro-active measures:
We have decided to change our meetings to Zoom only until further notice. We will continue to hold weekly meetings, 2 monthly meetings at 12:15pm and 2 monthly meetings at 5:30pm, to allow flexibility so more members can join us.
For the remainder of the year the schedule for Zoom meetings will be as follows:
- October 27th – Polio Plus Meeting -12:15pm
- November 3rd – Foundation Meeting with PDG Prasad Menon -12:15pm
- November 10th – Regular Meeting 5:30pm
- November 17th – Regular Meeting followed by Board Meeting -5:30pm
- November 24th – Fireside Chat with our Charter Member, Harry Kraisa -12:15pm
- December 1st – Regular Meeting -12:15pm
- December 8th – Regular Meeting -5:30pm
- December 15th – Regular Meeting -12:15pm
- December 22nd – Regular Meeting followed by Board Meeting -5:30pm
- December 29th – No Meeting- Happy Holidays
Our goal is to be consistent with our meeting times and we will try to get on a schedule of meetings at 12:15pm on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday and at 5:30pm on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday. Board meetings will be held after the last meeting of the month. Based on the speakers that we had previously scheduled we had to modify the schedule for November and December.”
October 27th Zoom Meeting:
- Our meeting was focused on Polio Plus as October is Polio Plus Awareness month. Our guest was Assistant District Governor, Dave Tedeschi. Cherilyn provided the club with an informative video: “World Polio Day 2020 Global Update”. Please take the time to watch it if you can, there's so much information & updates as it pertains to Polio & Covid-19 as well. Here's the link to watch the 30-minute video: https://youtu.be/v1B_0BKISZQ
- REMINDER…Please contribute your $33.00 for the Polio Plus campaign by visiting my.rotary.org (or send checks to Brendan Goodrich and he will process your donation and ensure you get proper credit).
***Please be on the lookout for November’s Newsletter & Updates which will be coming out at the end of November!!***
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU & YOURS!!!!!
Hello Rotarians,
On this day, September 11, 2020, in recognition of the dedication and sacrifice of Farmington's first responders, the Farmington Rotary Club held its second annual 'First Responders Appreciation Breakfast'. The event was held outside under the tent at Farmington Gardens, and all first responders including police officers, firefighters, ambulance, CERT team and volunteers were invited. Thank you to Phil Chabot at Farmington Gardens for the delicious breakfast and for the use of your beautiful venue. Thank you to our Rotary Assistant District Governor, David Tedeschi, for attending. And thank you to all the Farmington Rotarians for everything you do & continue to do to make a difference in our community, especially during these difficult & unprecedented times.
We were blessed with beautiful weather today, please enjoy the pictures!!
Best Regards,
Cherilyn
Hello Fellow Rotarians,
This Friday we'll be hosting our 2nd Annual First Responders Breakfast at Farmington Gardens, please see the flyer below for details. Although the pandemic has presented its restrictions, we found a way to honor our first responders on 9/11 by safely and responsibly hosting the event outdoors under the tent at Farmington Gardens. Thank you Phil for your continued support! Last year the club saw record attendance of its members who stepped up to volunteer and attend the event. This year amidst trying times, it's as important as ever to come show your support & appreciation for their service and dedication to our community.
Best Regards,
Cherilyn
***DUE TO THE CORONA VIRUS, THE SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2020 DINE N' DANCE EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED. WE WILL BE RESCHEDULING THIS EVENT WHEN IT BECOMES APPROPRIATE. STAY TUNED!!!
**** DUE TO THE CORONA VIRUS, CLUB MEETINGS ARE BEING HELD BEGINNING IN SEPTEMBER TO HALF TIME IN PERSON AT THE COUNTRY CLUB OF FARMINGTON (1ST AND 3RD WEEKS OF THE MONTH) AND THE REMAINING WEEKLY MEETINGS AS AN ONLINE MEETING. Check back for exact information and a link to online meetings.
*****THE ROTARY 5K ROAD RACE HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR SEPTEMBER 2020 DUE TO THE CORONA VIRUS. Check this site for information about other Farmington Rotary activities on hold currently which will be rescheduled when it is safe to do so.
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A ROTARY SALUTE TO VETERANS
Veteran’s Day is intended to honor and thank all military personnel in the United States who served in all wars, particularly living veterans. In honor of our veterans, Farmington Rotary hosted a Veteran’s Day celebration at Farmington Gardens on Tuesday, November 12th. We had approximately 75 in attendance, including several veterans, dignitaries, Rotarians, family and friends, as well as active members of the Marine Corp. Farmington Rotary club has been supporting our veterans and the Tunxis Oasis for many years with a special annual event.
The program opened with President Elizabeth Sheridan addressing the attendees, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a special performance of our national anthem and God Bless America led by vocalist Carrie Hammond and Albert Tomasso on the piano. The invocation was led by club Chaplain Diane Kennedy followed by a delicious lunch provided by Phil Chabot of Farmington Gardens.
Robin Barrett introduced our first of three guest speakers. Chelsea Edwards, granddaughter of long time Rotarian and veteran Norman Ballard, gave a very heartfelt and emotional tribute to her grandpa and spoke of their special connection through their mutual gift as artists. Next Robin introduced Jody Viola, who was honoring her late father, Joseph Gustin. Jody read a memoir in her father’s own words about his time serving in World War II. Lastly, Robin introduced her & Dave’s longtime friend, Brett Quinion. Brett shared his personal experience “My Day in DC with WW II Veteran Walter Kizilski”. Brett shared many emotional details of his humbling experience with Walter and many of our countries veterans when honored in our nation’s capital.
Unionville Pediatrician and veteran, Dr. Peter Jannuzzi, ended the program with his performance of “American Way”. Peter collaborated with a Southington based video producer to create the music video (American Way) a song Jannuzzi wrote and recorded. Peter donated proceeds from the video of over $10,000 to the Veteran’s Oasis. The Veteran’s OASIS (Operation Academic Support for Incoming Servicemembers) is a place on the campus of Tunxis Community College where the service men and women transition from military service to civilian life.
A special thank you to our Veteran's Day Celebration committee: Co-chairs Robin and Dave Barrett, committee members Mike Cheshire, Bob Festa, Mary Lou Wadsworth and Bette Case. Also a big thank you to our sponsors: The Joseph Gustin Family, Robin & Dave Barrett, and Bette & Bill Case.
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Service Above Self
Farmington, CT 06032
United States of America