2015 Archive News Stories
Jul 29, 2015
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Excellent talk by Forest Grove teacher, and NFL Referee Paul King about balancing work life, and the gridiron.
Some great stories - soon to be available on YouTube!
--Brad
The Worcester Rotary Club welcome Shawn Goodspeed and Dante Comparetto of Stand Up for Children to the club.
--Brad
Great time by all - click HERE for pictures
The Worcester Rotary Club announces it's "Ghoulish" Glow Ball Tournament on Friday, Oct 30th, 2015.
The Worcester Rotary Club Service Fund supports projects locally and globally. Click HERE for a list of some of the projects supported.
Good afternoon,
Happy September! It is not only the beginning of the school year but the beginning of Pumpkin Spice Season. That usually lasts until December first, but if a college student see their shadow on 12/1 there will be Pumpkin Spice everything for 6 more weeks! Yesterday's meeting was another great one! We had several guests and potential new members. Tom Valentine and Gretchen Antonelli submitted a corporate application as did Mark O' Flaherty. Our guest speaker was our own Ellen Sachs, Ellen is the founder of My Self Plan. This is a researched based curriculum founded in self-efficacy and mindfulness that impacts learning for teachers as well as students. Ellen discussed her success with a student. Great work Ellen. Corrie Groth , a representative from the Boy Scouts will be leaving the club as she will be moving to Michigan, however she has brought in Ian Snyder to take her place as the Boy Scout Representative. Please join me in welcoming Ian to the club. There were many Happy Dollars for Tom Brady as he was vindicated yesterday! Also we were happy to nominate Past President Satya Mitra for District Governor 2018-2019! Mark O' Flaherty won the 50/50 raffle. Speaking of the 50/50 raffle, I would like to mix it up a bit and add the idea of not only having your number picked but also picking the correct card out of the deck. This will add excitement as the pot grows each week.
We need to continue to bring in a Member per Member. We have 4 members that have done this already! Keep up the good work! We have our Glow Ball Tournament coming up and we need the following:
Golfers, Sponsors, Hole sponsors, auction items. This is limited to 60 golfers the tournament is on October 30th at Pine Ridge GC in North Oxford. Please keep in mind that there will not be a meeting on the 29th, All are welcome for dinner on the 30th. Dinner is $40.00 and is a Prime Rib dinner, or Vegetarian. We will also ask for other options for members with food allergies.
Our speaker next week will be the City Manager Edward Augustus. Please make every effort to attend as Ed will talk about the City and also address where we are with the Elm Park Bridge!
I think I covered everything!
Thank you for all you do to make the world a better place!
Bob Mangan
President 2015 - 2016
Good afternoon,
We had a fantastic meeting on Thursday. We had good attendance and a few guests as well. Click HERE for pictures.
Tim McGee was awarded a Multiple Paul Harris Fellow, or as Tim says MPH award. Thank you Tim for all you do for our club and your outstanding generosity to the club and TRF.
Our guest speaker was the Hon.Mel Greenberg. Mel discussed the Market Basket Saga and what lead up to the dismissal and reinstatement of Arthur T. Demoulas.Mel talked about the family background and how the grocery chain started then how greed played a roll in the family business. I hope we got Mel to seriously consider joining the club.
The Service Fund Committee approved funding of $1,000 to Nicole Scavone. Nicole is a teacher at the West Tatnuck School and teaches severely handicapped children. Our donation will help Nicole purchase computers for her classroom. Nicole thanked the club and also brought a poster with the students pictures on it, there was also a story about making a difference. This is why we are Rotarians! Making a difference in the lives of others.
Glow Ball: We are looking for Golfers! Sponsors! Auction Items! Items for the goodie bags for the golfers! (we should have 60 golfers. Anything with your company logo should do). This is going to be a lot of FUN! You don't want to miss this one...
Barbara and I were on the Hank Stolz Experience TV show discussing Rotary, our club and the Glow Ball Tournament. The show will air on Charter cable Channel 3 Tuesday at 8:30 AM and Wednesday 6:0 AM and again at noon. Please tune in!
Membership Forum and Dinner:
Please join Dr.Satya Mitra (District 7910 Membership Chair) at the annual Membership Forum and Dinner at the Holiday Inn Boxborough October 14th from 6:00 - 9:00 PM. The keynote speaker, Art MacQueen, past district governor ofDistrict 6970 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The cost is $25.00 however the first 10 members to sign up will be reimbursed by the club, Thank you Satya! Lets have a great Worcester Rotary Club presence at this event!
Kids Cafe' - We are once again supporting Kids Cafe' this year. The next Kids Cafe' is October 27th from 3:30 - 6:00 PM at the Boys and Girls Club on Tainter Street in Worcester. We need 8 volunteers - please contact Amy Mosher-Berry to sign up. This is very rewarding as we serve 300 hungry children.
Locations Committee: The locations committee has sent out a survey via e-mail. Please take the survey so the committee will have the information needed to begin the search for a new meeting location. It is important that we have a good location to meet that will work for the club, guests and most importantly guest speakers. There were also concerns regarding food and price. Dave Frazier is the chair of the committee, please see Dave with any comments or concerns. PLEASE TAKE THE SURVEY. your input is needed.
50/50 Raffle: Dr. Richard Prager drew the lucky number but not the 10 of Diamonds. The pool has grown to $77.00 in 3 weeks so we will begin next weeks meeting with $77.00 plus 1/2 of the days take. - good luck!
We had a great meeting yesterday!
Lots of fun and Steve Loring let us know that today is national Smile Day. I hope you put your Smile on!
Our guest speaker was Elizabeth Bacon, Director of the Clemente Project at the Worcester Art Museum. This is a year long course in humanities for 30 students. This course can help students advance to college as well as inspire students to complete college. There are professors from local colleges involved in this project. Elizabeth provided details in the courses. She was a fantastic speaker!
We had a guest, Maureen Harrington who is joining under the corporate membership at the Greater Worcester Foundation. Maureen is already engaged by joining the fundraising committee.
Past President Dave discussed RYLA and how the district is looking for a new location in Worcester to accommodate 250 students and staff.
We need GOLFERS, AUCTION ITEMS, SPONSORS for our Glow Ball tournament.
Please sign up for the District Membership Dinner and Forum, this is free to the first 10 members to sign up. Let's give Satya a huge turnout from the Worcester Club!
50/50 Steve Loring pulled the lucky number but not the 10 of Diamonds - carryover will be $101.00 plus!
Next weeks speaker will be Cha Chi Loprete. Cha Chi is the Marketing Director at WZLX Boston Radio and has been with the station since the WBCN days. He has a great story to tell as he has met all the Beatles except John and is a friend of Tony Bennett
We had a fun filled packed meeting yesterday!
We had 16 Junior National Honor Society students from Seven Hills Public Charter School visiting the club, congratulations on your achievement! The students helped open the meeting by leading us in the National Anthem.
We also had a number of guests on hand, Keith Kirkland from Southbridge Savings Bank, Emmanuel Bibi - African Community Education, Kofi Tonto - African Youth Excellence - Kofi has applied for membership!, Candice Cramer - Visiting Rotarian from the Scituate Club, Val introduced two ladies from England that have come to us through the Bandy Hefler Program - Maggie Heath and Maureen Bell.
Our Guest Speaker was Cha Chi Loprete, Cha Chi is the resident expert at CBS Radio on all that is The Beatles. He gave a fantastic talk about his experience with the Beatles as well as sharing part of his collection of Beatles memorabilia.
The raffle pool is now up to $121.00. Ken Harling had the lucky number but not the 10 of Diamonds.
Glow Ball - Please confirm your commitment of support by sending your check and filling out the form. Please let me know if you need a registration form.
There are only a few days left to sign up for the Membership Forum and Dinner - ets show good support from our club!
Good morning,
Last week Amy Mosher - Berry organized a group of members to serve dinner to 300 children at Kids Cafe' Thank you Amy and all who volunteered. The work you do is so important to these children. So often others will say "someone will take care of this" but not Rotarians. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of those less fortunate.
Our Glow Ball Golf Tournament was fantastic. First I want to thank Barbara and her committee for their hard work. You all deserve a Pat on the Back! I also want to thank everyone that participated and helped to support this Funtastic event as well as the staff and management at Pine Ridge. Barbara will get us the final report next time we meet at Leo's.
REMINDER:
We will not be meeting at Leo's this week. We will be at the Business Expo on Thursday at the DCU Center. We now have 10 members that have committed to attend the lunch. I will submit their names so they can gain entry to the dining area. Lunch is $55.00 please make your checks out to the Rotary Club of Worcester. Please feel free to attend the Expo, walk around or join us at our table. This is a great opportunity to Grow Membership, Build Awareness, garner support for our "Celebrate Community" fundraiser and promote our projects - Opioid Addiction and our Be Like Brit clean water project in Haiti.
Next week we will be at Leo's. Our meeting on the Nov 19th will be at the Compass Tavern 90 Harding Street.
Wednesday evening: Tomorrow night is the Foundation Forum at the Holiday Inn in Boxboro. Cost is $25.00, there will be a dinner. Our club will be mentioned along side 2 other clubs that have combined Foundation donations over $500,000 since 1997. Our own Satya Mitra will be a panelist. Join me in supporting Satya and our club.
I look forward to seeing everyone at the DCU Center.
Thank you for making a difference in the World we live in!
Note - No Regular Meeting on Thursday, Oct 29th, or Thursday, Nov 5th. (Rather, we will be attending Glowball on Friday, Oct 30th, and the Worcester Business Expo on Thursday Nov 5th)
We had a fantastic meeting yesterday as we inducted 3 new members to the Rotary Club of Worcester. Please join me in welcoming Tom Valentine and Gretchen Antonelli from Forward Financial and Mark O'Flaherty from the Odd Fellows Home. We look forward to your service! Our guests were Assistant Governor John Sprogna, Brian Ford and Lisa Casillo from Edward Jones who will be joining our club soon. We also had Carl Gomes visiting from the Nashoba Valley club but also representing the WPI Rotaract Club. Click HERE for pictures
Yesterday was Purple Pinkie Day as our Happy dollars went to End Polio Now! We raised $69.00 Thank you for all your happiness.
Glow Ball Golf - We need your commitment- Please let Barbara Guthrie know if you plan on going to the dinner on Friday evening 10/30 at Pine Ridge, or if you plan on golfing. we need to have all the names in so the course manager can plan. This is going to be a fun time! Remember there is no meeting on the 29th.
Business Expo- We also need to know who is coming to the Business expo. Please sign up with Ron Fraser at rfraser@fraserfunding.com If you can work the table for a couple of hours that would be great. If you want to attend the lunch we need to know as the Chamber is looking for our numbers and the names of participants.Lunch is $55.00 per person and you can make your check out to the club (cash is also accepted). Remember there is no meeting at Leo's on November 5th.
Our guest speakers were Cassandra Andersen - Health Department and Eric Batista - City Managers office. Eric and Cassandra discussed the project our club is considering taking on. This is a great opportunity for the city and our club. As you have heard in the news, from presidential candidates and Governor Baker, the Opioid addiction problem is nation wide as well as in central Ma. We have been presented with an opportunity to help battle drug abuse and Opioid addiction in the City of Worcester. This problem goes across every socioeconomic line. Helping an individual helps entire families. I firmly believe that this will take off just like the NICU camera's did a few years ago.
Road Trip! - November 19th we will be meeting at the Compass Tavern 90 Harding Street Worcester. Dave Frazier and the search committee want us to try this location to see if it will suit our needs.
Kids Cafe - We can use a couple more volunteers to help out on Tuesday from 4:00 - 6:00 at the Boys and Girls Club on Tainter Street. Please contact Amy Mosher Berry at amy@expressivecapital.com
50 / 50 raffle - the lucky number was drawn to give Charlie Houston a chance at the $160.00 but Charlie did not find the 10 of Diamonds.
Hope to see you at Pine Ridge on Friday evening Tee time is at 3:00!
Please click HERE for past videos of club meetings.
We had a great meeting last week filled with excitement. We began the meeting early because of all we had to cover. We started off with a fine to Chris Crowley for making the newspaper complete with photo. The article was about sugary drinks and obesity studies.
We had many announcements:
This weeks meeting 11/19/2015 will be at the Compass Tavern 90 Harding Street. Please join in as Dave and his committee continue to look for a viable location for our club to meet.
Myra Hiatt Kraft Bridge Dedication: Tuesday December 8, 2015, 11:00 at Elm Park.
Salvation Army Soup Kitchen: November 22nd 4:00 PM 4 volunteers needed to serve food - Contact Bob Johnson at 508-835-3492. Also the Bell Ringing schedule is out. Our club has December 12 and 19 ar Sams Club and Walmart. Please call Bob Johnson for more details at 508-835-3492.
We had a busy past couple of weeks as our club participated in Kids Cafe', Glow Ball Golf and the Business Expo, all very successful! I want to thank everyone that made all these important events possible.This is how we come together and make it all happen!
Val Callahan and Satya Mitra discussed the importance of and need to raise funds for the Foundation and how important grants are and the effect they have on the communities we serve. Since 1997 our Club has had an impact of Foundation dollars of $583,000 (estimated), this is the second largest in the District and we should be proud of this. Satya discussed our impact on the school in Calcutta India where donations and grants reached over $100,000.
Barbara discussed the results of the Glow Ball tournament and began the campaign for "Celebrate Community" .
Speaking of celebrations, please join me in congratulating Satya Mitra as he celebrates 25 successful years in business with The Guru Tax and Financial Services.
Ellen Ganley from the WCAC received a check for $1,200 from the Service Fund to purchase coats for the annual coat drive.
Our guest speaker was Dave McMahon of Dismas House. Dave thanked the club for our support and described how the funds were used to make improvements to the landscaping as well as the facility.
Satya pulled the lucky number and ............. drew the 10........ of Hearts. (we are looking for the 10 of Diamonds). Next weeks pool will begin at $182.00 plus the days take.
Remember the meeting on the 19th will be at the Compass Tavern! (I will not be able to attend as I have a Bank function that day) Past President Dave will run the meeting.
There is also a board meeting on the 19th at the Compass Tavern prior to our regular meeting.
Thank you for everything you do, you can see the results from all the great volunteer work..
Thank you for being members of this club, Thank you for being Rotarians!
It's time to start preparations for the Worcester Rotary Club's annual fundraiser to Celebrate Community.
More details will be coming soon - but save the date, Saturday, June 4th, 2016.
If you would like to nominated anyone for a Celebrate Community Award - Please Click HERE
Contact Barbara Guthrie to get involved!
--Brad
On Thursday, Nov 19th, the Worcester Rotary Club met at the Compass Tavern on Harding St, instead of the normal Leo's on Shrewsbury St.
Mark your calendars, and bring your friends.
Worcester Rotary Club Christmas Party - Thursday, Dec 17th at Tatnuck Country Club!
I apologize for three weeks of news stories in one post - I've been enjoying the Florida weather.
--Brad
Dec 10th Meeting notes
This week our guest speaker will be Krishna Dasgupta. Krishna will discuss the importance of giving to The Rotary Foundation. I would like to see our club participate in Every Rotarian Every Year and make a contribution you are comfortable with. The goal is $125 per member.
This week: The WPI Rotaract Club inducted their new members and officers Monday evening where Rod White, Emily Buresh and myself were present. Congratulations to all the new members and officers at the Rotaract Club.
Tuesday morning the Myra Hiatt Kraft Footbridge was dedicated. There were several Proud Rotarians on hand. Satya and I represented Rotary on the stage and delivered a few words while many folks gave inspiring speeches. It is amazing what happens when a community comes together to make this happen. This bridge was made possible by many hands that include students at WPI and The Worcester Technical High School, Friends and neighbors of Elm Park, Madigan Company, many others and the Worcester Rotary Club. We should be very proud to be part of such a fantastic project. Please go visit the bridge and see how Myra Hiatt Kraft still brings the community together.
Kids Cafe: Please let Amy know if you are interested in helping out with Kids Cafe on Tuesday December 15th at 4:00 Boys and Girls Club on Tainter Street.
Salvation Army Bell Ringing: Please contact Bob Johnson at 508-853-1402 to schedule your time. Bell ringing is at Sams Club and Walmart on December 12 and December 19th between 10:00 and 4:00 Please schedule an hour or two.
Project New Hope: Please remember our Veterans by bringing a gift card for Walmart, Price Chopper, Stop and Shop or Shaws to help a Veterans family in need this Holiday Season. After all they served you and our country... By bringing a donation you will be placed in a raffle to win a pair of Bose Headphones ($160.00 Value).
Dec 3rd meeting notes
We had a great meeting yesterday. Our guest speaker was Jan Mark, ar Rotarian from Helsingborg Sweden and a friend of Bengt Hansson.
After the Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem we had a moment of silence in remembrance of the 6 firefighters that died in the cold storage warehouse 16 years ago as well as remembering the 14 victims of the senseless killing in California.
We indicted a new member, Lisa Casillo from Edward Jones. Please join me in welcoming Lisa to the club!
Rotaract Club - Rod White reported on the Rotaract Club - You are invited - The Rotaract Club is having their induction of officers on Monday December 7, at WPI Campus Center , Hagglund Room 7:00 - 8:00 PM. Please let me know if you would like to attend as you will need a parking pass.
We had many announcements!
Kid's Cafe'- We need 3 more volunteers for December 15th, 4:00 at the Boys and Girls Club on Tainter Street. Please contact Amy Mosher-Berry to volunteer.
Salvation Army Bell Ringing - Bob Johnson has 24 slots to fill. There are 2 dates and 2 locations. Locations are Walmart and Sam's Club. The days available are December 12th and December 19th. Shifts are 2 hours long and are from10:00 to 4:00 or if you want you can volunteer longer than 2 hours.
Celebrate Community - Barbara Guthrie - Please direct any potential corporate sponsors to George Bernardin at gfbernardin@verizon.net.
Myra Hiatt Kraft Bridge Dedication - Tuesday December 8, 2015 from 11:00 - 12:00 at Elm Park.
Project New Hope - Bill Moore from Project New Hope, a local Veterans support organization sent me a general e-mail asking our members to donate Walmart or Stop & Shop gift cards to be distributed to Veterans families in need. These Veterans served our country and protected our way of life here in America. Not only did they put their lives on the line for our families but they also sacrificed being home with their families. When you are out holiday shopping this week please think of these Veterans and pick up a gift card and support a family with a gift of a holiday meal. Bill has offered an incentive for our members to give. He is offering up a pair of Bose Headphones valued at $160.00 (even if you are not interested in the headphones you can re-gift them) Anyone that donates a gift card will get a raffle ticket at the end of our meeting on December 10, Bill will draw the lucky winner!
Glogg Party - Our Glogg Party will be Thursday December 17th at Tatnuck Country Club. Please let Barbara Guthrie know if you are attending.
Raffle - Rod White had his lucky number drawn but his lucky streek ended when he did not pick the 10 of Diamonds.
December Notes
Announcements: We have a request from Project New Hope a local Veterans support organization that is looking for toys or grocery store gift cards to help veterans families in need. I have sent an e-mail to the organization to find out how we can help at this short time.
Celebrate Community! If you have a corporate Sponsor for our annual fundraiser on June 4th please send their contact information to George Bernardin at gfbernardin@verizon.net
Kids Cafe - Kids Cafe is on December 15th at the Boys and Girls Club on Tainter Street we need 2-4 volunteers.
Myra Hiatt Kraft Footbridge - The Myra Hiatt Kraft Footbridge at Elm Park will be dedicated on December 8th from 11:00 - 12:00. I will be speaking as well as Satya. Mr. Robert Kraft and family will be there to celebrate the new bridge we helped to fund. The Rotary Logo will be prominently displayed. Please make an effort to attend the festivities.
WPI Rotaract - The WPI Rotaract Club will be inducting their officers on Monday evening 12/7/2015 from 7:00 - 8:00. The location is Higgins Lab room 230, 100 institute Road. Please let me know if you would like to attend so parking can be arranged.
Glogg Party - As I mentioned earlier the Glogg Party this year will be at Tatnuck country Club due to limited space at Leo's.
Chamber Breakfast tomorrow! - The Worcester Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Club is honoring The Guru Tax and Financial Services for celebrating 25 years in business. This is a great achievement for Satya and his family, Congratulations!
Last week update from President Robert Mangan.
Don't forget we are meeting on Dec 17th at Tatnuck Country Club this week for the Annual Christmas Party
This week our guest speaker will be Krishna Dasgupta. Krishna will discuss the importance of giving to The Rotary Foundation. I would like to see our club participate in Every Rotarian Every Year and make a contribution you are comfortable with. The goal is $125 per member.
This week: The WPI Rotaract Club inducted their new members and officers Monday evening where Rod White, Emily Buresh and myself were present. Congratulations to all the new members and officers at the Rotaract Club.
Tuesday morning the Myra Hiatt Kraft Footbridge was dedicated. There were several Proud Rotarians on hand. Satya and I represented Rotary on the stage and delivered a few words while many folks gave inspiring speeches. It is amazing what happens when a community comes together to make this happen. This bridge was made possible by many hands that include students at WPI and The Worcester Technical High School, Friends and neighbors of Elm Park, Madigan Company, many others and the Worcester Rotary Club. We should be very proud to be part of such a fantastic project. Please go visit the bridge and see how Myra Hiatt Kraft still brings the community together.
Kids Cafe: Please let Amy know if you are interested in helping out with Kids Cafe on Tuesday December 15th at 4:00 Boys and Girls Club on Tainter Street.
Salvation Army Bell Ringing: Please contact Bob Johnson at 508-853-1402 to schedule your time. Bell ringing is at Sams Club and Walmart on December 12 and December 19th between 10:00 and 4:00 Please schedule an hour or two.
Project New Hope: Please remember our Veterans by bringing a gift card for Walmart, Price Chopper, Stop and Shop or Shaws to help a Veterans family in need this Holiday Season. After all they served you and our country... By bringing a donation you will be placed in a raffle to win a pair of Bose Headphones ($160.00 Value).
Thank you for being a Gift to the World!
I want to Wish you a Safe and Happy Holiday Season!
There will be no meeting this week or next week due to the Christmas and New Year holiday! Our next meeting will be January 7th at Leo's.
Last week we had our annual Glogg party at the Tatnuck Country Club. We had 55 members and guests in attendance as the Seven Hills Charter Public School Choir filled the air with seasonal song and Bengt Hansson filled our cups with Glogg. It was very festive as members and guests gathered by the fireplace.
We had many raffle items on hand and raised $900 for the general fund. Paul Shusas was unable to attend but he did donate raffle items! Thank you Paul. Ken Harling did a great job running the raffle as both Ken and Rod White showed up in shorts... How about that in December! Ken also started the Happy dollars off with $100.00. Everyone had an opportunity to tell why they are happy. Thank you Ken, well done!
Bob Johnson was able to get a full roster for bell ringing as well as for serving a Christmas meal at the Salvation Army. THANK YOU to all the volunteers.
Last Tuesday evening we had a group of 9 volunteers at the Kids Cafe helping to prepare and serve 300 children. The volunteers were Amy, Ellen, Mark, Patrick, Donna and her son Zevon, Lisa, Mike (WPI Rotaract) and myself.
Thank you to all our volunteers and Thank you to everyone that helped to make our Glogg party a success! None of this would be possible without YOU! Together we can do more good in the world than we can do as individuals!
Have a great Holiday!
See you next year!
Bob Mangan