PAST WEEK'S SPEAKER/PROGRAMS
April 17, 2019
Rockaway Rotary Student Honors
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UPCOMING SPEAKER/PROGRAMS
April 24, 2019
TBA
PREVIOUS SPEAKERS THIS ROTARY YEAR
At our April 3rd lunch meeting, PDG Jim & Susan Allison spoke to our members about the great work of Gift of Life of New Jersey since its inception in 1985. Gift of Life of NJ is the second oldest and second largest of the over 60 Gift of Life programs worldwide. The Rotary Club of the Rockaways supports the life saving efforts of GOL through weekly collections and yearly donations to the organization. ift of Life NJ saves the lives of children. Our mission is to provide resources to treat children with congenital heart defects from anywhere in the world where our assistance is needed. We help bring children to the United states for surgery, sponsor overseas missions, train foreign surgeons, and provide needed equipment."
George T. Hanley, Esq., a partner in the Weiner Law Group, was the guest speaker at our March 27th club meeting. George spoke about the non-profit organization, Welcome Home Vets of New Jersey, that he founded in 2009 to "to assist soldiers, veterans and their families in need in New Jersey, including housing, financial assistance and employment assistance."
"Welcome Home Vets of New Jersey is an entirely volunteer, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping our service men and women overcome obstacles in their return to civilian life. America asked these stalwart men and women to possibly die in it’s defense and yet, when they return home, the support provided is often inadequate. We strive to provide former service members from all conflict eras, legal assistance as well as help with access to medical services, housing and jobs." For additional information go to www.http://www.welcomehomevetsofnj.org.
At our March 20th club meeting, John Hauck of the Blairstown Rotary Club spoke to our members about his role as a stem cell courier. He talked about his experiences and explained his volunteer position flying between hospital locations around the country picking up and delivering life saving stem cells and bone marrow. For more information about becoming a bone marrow donor go to BeTheMatch.org.
At our March 13th club meeting, PP Ken Nickel gave us an overview and recap of the End Hunger 3.6 event that took place on Saturday, March 9th at Drew University. Rotarians and friends from District 7475 packed 200,600 meals for distribution to local food banks.
Our guest speaker at our February 13th club meeting was Kelly DiNorcia from North Star Pet Rescue. She spoke to our members about the origin of the organization and the adoption services they provide for rescue pets.
Diane Williams, President & CEO, of Jersey Battered Women's Service was the guest speaker at our February 6th club meeting. She discussed the beginning and early phase of the organization which began with a hotline to aid the victims of domestic abuse in 1976 to the current full-service, private, nonprofit domestic violence agency. Diane provided disconcerting statistics of cases of domestic abuse that occurs in Morris County each year and the many services that are offered by JBWS to assist these victims and their families. For more information go to www.jbws.org.
Sally Hespe, Marketing & Special Events Manager, and Rick Thoeni, Board Member and Past President of Pre-School Advantage were the guest speakers at our January 23rd club meeting. "Preschool Advantage is a non-profit organization established in 1995 whose mission is to provide tuition for eligible children to attend our partner preschools. For the 2018-2019 school year we are funding tuitions for 85 children to one of 23 carefully selected partner preschools in Morris and Somerset Counties. By the age of three, children from lower income families are already developmentally behind their more affluent peers. Research shows the most efficient and effective way to equalize that shocking gap is to give children a quality preschool education so they can enter kindergarten ready to learn and succeed. As adults, children who attend a quality preschool are better educated, interact better with others, are healthier, and have higher economic productivity than those who don't get that opportunity. There are thousands of families in New Jersey who cannot afford to provide their children with early education. Preschool Advantage is committed to addressing the need, one child at a time." For more information go to http://www.preschooladvantage.org.
Janine Furtado, our Global Scholar, was the guest speaker at our club meeting on January 16, 2019. She is back in the US between semesters and spoke to our members about her background, including her previous work around the world, and her experiences during her first semester of graduate studies. Janine is pursuing an Interdisciplinary Masters in Development Studies at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. Janine is being sponsored by our club and funding for this scholarship is provided by District 7475 and The Rotary Foundation. The award is in the amount of US$ 30,000.00.
Rev. Dr. Jack DeMatteo, Executive Director of "Rise-Up Rockaway" was our guest speaker at our January 9th club meeting. He outlined the purpose and programs of the non-profit organization that is ... "committed to supporting the local community in a variety of difficult situations. The collaborative group of volunteers is able to customize their approach to support both emotional and practical needs including employment counseling, distribution of clothing, furniture, & food, health and wellness screenings, counseling, transportation to appointments, and behavioral healthcare provided by qualified professionals. Rise-Up Rockaway believes every human being has a fundamental right to access available community resources. Their goal is to put each person back on the road to self-sufficiency." For additional information go to www.riseupnj.org.
At our November 28th club meeting, Jason Daniels and Peggy Kane, representatives of the Vision Loss Alliance of New Jersey, spoke to our members and guests about the history of the organization and their programs that help people with low vision or blindness. For additional information read the article about their visit to our club at https://www.tapinto.net/towns/denville/articles/rotarians-in-rockaways-glimpse-life-without-sight-with-visit-from-vision-loss-alliance-of-new-jersey.
At our November 5th club meeting, Rockaway Rotarian Dr. Marissa Johnson spoke to us about natural drug-free healthcare and the benefits of chiropractic care. She explained how our nervous system coordinates and controls all of the tissues, organs, and functions in our bodies and by detecting stress on the nervous system they can find the root cause of many health issues. Her ADJUST practice along with Rockaway Rotarian Dr. Jason Abaza utilizes a Torque Release Technique that is different from traditional chiropractic techniques as there is no popping, cracking, or twisting. For more information go to www.adjustNJ.com
Jaime Bennett, Community Outreach Coordinator for the Visiting Nurse Association of Northern New Jersey, spoke at our October 31st club meeting. Jamie outlined the numerous comprehensive services provided by VNA and discussed the various causes of falls, providing us with important tips to ensure safety and fall prevention in the home.
At our October 24th club meeting, our speaker was Geraldine Callahan of Callahan Financial Services, who shared her expertise in "Elder Care" with our members and guests. Geraldine explained the various programs and services available for assisting with elder care and provided us with many important tips regarding financial and health issues to be considered in preparing for the care of ourselves and elderly family members.
At our October 10th club meeting, Rockaway Rotarian Bob Galenkamp shared his challenging and inspiring life journey from Alberta, Canada to American citizenship. Thank you Bob for telling us your heartening story!
The speaker at our October 3, 2018 club meeting was Katelyn Tiernan, Community Development Manager, with the American Cancer Society. She educated our members on all that the American Cancer Society does for cancer patients and their families and spoke about one of their signature fundraising events, "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer." This event celebrates survivors, raises awareness, and fundraises to help save lives and provide free programs/services for cancer patients and their families. The American Cancer Society works hard every day to provide people battling cancer the resources and support they need.
District Governor John Wilson, making his annual visit to our club, addressed our members at our September 26th meeting. DG Wilson spoke about his background and experiences professionally and as a Rotarian. He spoke about the challenges and process that was followed to merge District 7470 and 7510 into our current District 7475 and outlined Rotary International's mission statement and strategic plan to strengthen individual clubs, increase humanitarian giving to the Rotary Foundation, and to promote the great work done by clubs around the world. DG Wilson encouraged members to attend the district conference which will take place next spring in Gettysburg. He thanked our club for all of our efforts and urged everyone to remain active in district events and initiatives.
At our September 12th club meeting, Christopher Garibian, Chairman of the Cannabis Law Department for the Weiner Law Group, spoke to our members and guests about the history of the regulations governing the production and use of cannabis in our country. He discussed the changing laws throughout the country regarding medical and recreational use and the pending legislation being considered in New Jersey.
At our September 5th club meeting, Rockaway Rotarian Bill Stepka, Business Administrator for the Rockaway Borough School District, gave our members an overview of his position's duties and responsibilities. He also outlined the three questions on the upcoming referendum regarding building additions and improvements to be voted on in October, 2018.
At our August 29th club meeting, PP's Ken and Denise Nickel gave a very interesting and enlightening overview of the events and personal experiences at this past year's Rotary International Convention in Toronto, Canada.
At our August 22nd club meeting, Achintya Saxena, a senior in the Finance and International Business Academy at the Morris County School of Technology, spoke to our members about the "Business BootCamp" program. Business BootCamp's mission statement is “Business BootCamp seeks to educate and inspire an interest in business studies for all ages.” Through the program, the creators intend to do just that and teach 6th-8th graders crucial business skills and 9th-10th graders other career development skills. They believe that these skills would be extremely helpful to students who attend schools that don't traditionally have business exposure and hope that the program will help middle and high schoolers find a passion in business, which could translate to their future career. The business curriculum is detailed on their website, https://www.businessbootcamp101.org, and their career development lessons include interview skills and resume writing skills. In addition, the Board of Directors consists of former industry professionals with real-world experience who are helping model the curriculum into something that can be of value to anyone, no matter what type of job they pursue.
At our August 15th club meeting, Rockaway Rotarian and Rockaway Township Superintendent of Schools James V. McLaughlin, Ed. D spoke to the membership about the upcoming school year. He outlined the preparation for the school year and explained various new initiatives and programs that will be instituted in the schools' programs. Rockaway Rotary welcomes Dr. McLaughlin to our club and look forward to his contributions in our charitable and humanitarian efforts.
At our August 8, 2018 club meeting, Bob Shankman from the Newton Rotary Club gave a summary of Amazon from the viewpoint of consumer and vendor.
At our August 1st lunch meeting, Elizabeth Nuss, Morris/Sussex County Resource Families Recruiter for the NJ Division of Child Protection and Permanency spoke to our members to raise awareness of the need for foster and adoptive parents in New Jersey, especially in Morris and Sussex Counties.
NJ State Senator Joseph Pennaccio (LD26) addressed our members and guests at the Rockaway Rotary Club meeting on July 25th.