"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." – John F. Kennedy
Dear Rotary Friends,
Happy Friday!
Big news! Next Wednesday, October 23rd will be our final lunch meeting at the Temperance House. Per member feedback, starting this November, we'll have a fresh meeting schedule and a new home. We’ll soon gather on the first three Wednesdays of each month at 12:15 PM at the American Legion in Newtown, complete with a tasty buffet meal by Joe Garvey of Joey G's Catering!
This new venue offers not only ample parking and accessibility but also allows us to gather in a space dedicated to our our veteran heroes. We’re hopeful that they’ll join us and enrich our meetings with their presence, adding an even deeper sense of purpose and community spirit.
Alongside our lunch meetings, don’t miss our Camaraderie for a Cause on the fourth Thursday of each month, plus a calendar full of dinners and events. Check out the details below and keep an eye on your email and our website for updates!
Our newsletter is getting a makeover too! Starting next edition, you’ll receive it twice a month instead of weekly. You’ll still get all the club news, event highlights, and fun photos! Plus, you’ll receive a weekly email for important calendar updates. We’ll also spotlight ouramazing corporate sponsors listed below, sharing who they are and how they support our community. These changes will keep you informed and even more connected to our Rotary world!
For now, please dive into the fun photos and recaps below depicting our events and meetings this week — you might just spot yourself in action! Don’t forget to click on the events and volunteer activities to register!
Thank you for your time, service, and friendship. Cheers to a bright future together! We can’t wait to see you at the next gathering!
Warm regards,
Debra Porter
President and proud member of the Newtown Rotary Club, District 7430
New Member Spotlight
The Newtown Rotary Club is delighted to welcome these new members into our family! Please take a moment to get to know them by reading the thoughts below in their own words. We look forward to swearing them in and hearing their Classification Speech at a future meeting. Welcome, everyone!
RYAN KROCKER
I am an elder care law and estate planning attorney. I help seniors plan for and pay for long-term care, and I help everybody put together documents like wills, trusts, and powers of attorney to plan for the future. I joined Rotary because I’m a recently returned Newtown native looking to get involved in service to the community my family is part of! I'm interested in learning more about the resources available to everyone in Newtown and helping to get the word out, Rotary exists to help and serve, and part of that is connecting people to resources they don’t know exist. A fun fact about me is that this year I took the fifth-longest flight in the world (JFK to Auckland, New Zealand, 8,828 miles, 17.5 hours) with my wife and then nine-month-old son. Cool flight, though my son wasn’t a big fan. Visiting his granddad is a long trip.
EVAN CONNELLY
I’m an entrepreneur. I have an Appraisal Management Company for residential and commercial Real Estate valuations. We operate in about 15 states. I also have a financial graphic design firm specializing in ESG Reports and Annual Reports for public companies. We’ve been producing Microsoft’s Annual Report for the past 12 years. And my wife and I have commercial, residential and vacation properties we rent out. I joined Newtown Rotary as a way to be active in the community in a positive way and contribute to worthy causes. I’m still discovering how and where I can contribute to the organization. An interesting fact about me is that I am an avid traveler, and have done several trips as far away as China and India. Much time in my 20s and 30s was spent backpacking, driving or with a train pass through Europe, and I proposed to my wife on one such trip at a vineyard in France. I’ve gone as far north as Newfoundland Canada and south to Columbia South America and I've driven across the US twice (visited 44 states so far with a trip planned to Hawaii in 2026) My favorite place now is our beach house on the Pacific in Costa Rica!
We will be making a few adjustments to our meeting schedule based on feedback received from our "Member Feedback Survey" results. Effective November 1st, we will be adopting a meeting schedule as follows:
Lunch Meetings will be held the first three Wednesdays of each month from 12:15-1:30PM at the American Legion building. A Lunch Buffet catered by Joe Garvey will be served at a cost of $16 per person.
Camaraderie for a Cause events will be held the fourth Thursday of each month from 5:30-7:00PM. Locations and causes will vary but the donation of $10 remains the same
Our November schedule is as follows:
11/6: Lunch Meeting
11/13: Lunch Meeting
11/20: No Meeting
11/21: Camaraderie for a Cause @ Newtown Brewing - Hurricane Relief
We appreciate the feedback that helped inform this change and look forward to getting into a rhythm! Thank you.
As you are aware, there is devastation in parts of the United States from the effects of Hurricane Helene. We have Rotary friends and neighbors to the south who are working to support each other and others in their communities who are victims of the hurricane. Our Rotary leaders in Zones 33 and 34 have established a fund for those who would like to assist recovery efforts by making a donation. Contributions can be made via online payment, mailed check or wire transfer. Information to make a donation is at https://www.rizones33-34.org/disaster-relief/. Also below is a QR code that connects to the donation link. The organization is a 501(c)(3), so U.S. taxpayers can make their donation tax-deductible. Please note that our Newtown Rotary Club will be making a $500 donation to this effort and encourages our members to do the same. Please use the QR code below to contribute.
NextGen Good Stuff Thrift Drive - 10/19
Our NextGen team will be supporting the collection of donations for Good Stuff Thrift on 10/19. Please sign up to help collect donations in one of two shifts. Kira Altomari will have pastries and bananas for all volunteers. See you at Grace Point Church, 592 Washington Crossing Road, Newtown, PA between 8:45am - 12:00pm. Thank you!
PS: Click the link below for guidelines on donations.
Please join us for our PEDALS FOR PROGRESS on Saturday, 10/26. It will run from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM at the Olde Church of St Anthony on 135 S Sycamore Street. Thank you!
Join us as we learn more about some of our newest members and they share their Classification Speeches with us! During this meeting, we will hear from Roxanne Fitzgerald and Shikha Prashar. Should be great!
Thank you to our few and mighty Road Clean Up volunteers who braved our busy streets to make Newtown a cleaner place! Well done, team of Kyle Davis, Val Davis, George Duthie and Jeff Saperstein!
Rotarians At Work Again!!!
Horsham District Race to Zero - End Polio 5K Race - 10/13
Shout out to our own Newtown Rotary runner, Joe Adelmann who finished strong in this 5K race along with his own personal cheerleader, Kira Altomari! Way to go, Joe! We appreciate you running for this important cause and representing our Club, especially in front of our District Governor, Katie Farrell!
Rotarians Still Working!
Tuesday Dinner Meeting - 10/15
What a night of "pomp & circumstance" for the Newtown Rotary Club during our Tuesday Dinner meeting! We had the distinct pleasure of having five new members sworn in by our very own fellow Rotarian and District Judge, Mick Petrucci and he even wore his robe! Please join us in welcoming Evan Connelly, George Duthie, Alex Szlanic, Joanne Peterson and Dan Peterson into our Newtown Rotary family! Special thanks for Mark Craig for keeping all of this organized! In addition, our NextGen team had the honor of presenting a check for $7,000 to Alpha Bravo Canine as a result of the great success of the State Street Fundraiser. Wow, congrats!
Evan Connelly
Alex Szlanic
George Duthie
Joanne & Dan Peterson
Check out the video from our "State Street Fundraiser" courtesy of our very own Juan Ortiz of Redd Pen Media! Wow!
Who wouldn't want to join a Club full of this fun loving group!!??
Photo by Rotarian Brandon Valeri-Bruchini, Mediaology
Community & Volunteer Opportunities
In this section, you will find opportunities to volunteer outside of our own Rotary events.
In doing so, we expand our "Rotary Reach" into our community! Please sign up or even just attend these events if you can.
Bucks County Veterans Affairs Golf Outing - 10/28
Matt Allen has asked our Club to support the Bucks County Veteran Affairs Golf outing on October 28th at Spring Mill Country Club. He is looking for players and sponsors, please see the information below: All proceeds from the outing will go towards 3 things: The Veterans Affairs office, a transportation van which transports veterans to doctor appointments, and the construction of a Women Veterans Memorial Statue in Doylestown.
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