Tag Archives: Connecticut

Woodbridge Rotary Pours it on with Major League Wine Tasting

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Just when you think the Woodbridge Rotary Club has hit a comfortable cruising groove, they kick it up a few notches. The Club ran a ‘major league’ Wine Tasting event this Thursday evening at the Woodbridge Club in Woodbridge Connecticut. The 200+ attendees enjoyed great homemake wines from area competing winemakers, fabulous food from area restaurants and deli’s, music and a large silent auction with a nice diversity of top notch items.

The event was attended and supported by Rotarians from Orange Rotary, Blackrock Rotary, North Haven Rotary, New Haven Rotary as well as from members of the Greater New Haven Rotaract Club.

The Woodbridge Club members did a tremendous job of planning and executing this first class event and have a lot to be proud of.

This is a Rotary Club that anyone could easily identify as vibrant. Just a few years ago this Club was virtually on life support with dwindling membership, poor attendance at meetings and finding it difficult to do meaningful service projects and fundraisers. All that has changed as the membership has been steadily growing with  younger, dedicated, caring, engaged and fun Rotarians; which has made all of the difference.

 

The Deep River Rotary Club drops the hammer in Antiques Auction

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The Deep River Rotary Club held their annual Antiques Auction this past Saturday evening at the First Congregational Church in Deep River. The weather was perfect and the crowds were big; there were over 125 registered bidders including Rotarians from The Madison Rotary Club and The Chester Rotary Club.

The event featured amazing pieces at great prices – Wicker, Outdoor Furniture, Good Antique Furniture, Rugs, Lamps and (1) Nascar Racing Hood. Food and Drinks were provided by the Whistle Stop.

 

Dwight ‘Doc’ Gooden speaks at Fairfield Rotary’s 11th Celebrity Luncheon

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Dwight ‘Doc’ Gooden spoke at the Fairfield Rotary Club Celebrity Luncheon today in front of a crowd of over several hundred people. It was an open engagaing Q&A talk with no punches held where ‘Doc’ discussed his baseball career and his battles with rehab.

 

Gooden is a four-time MLB All-Star, and three-time World Series champion. He won the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year Award in 1984, as he led the league in strikeouts, and won then the NL Cy Young Award and a Triple Crown in 1985. While a member of the Yankees, Gooden threw a no-hitter in 1996 the day before his father passed away.

Gooden retired in 2001 after he was cut by the Yankees in spring training, ending his career with a record of 194–112.  After retiring, Gooden was repeatedly arrested for drug and alcohol-related offenses. He served seven months in prison in 2006 for violating his probation by using cocaine.

On August 1, 2010, ‘Doc’ was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame along with Darryl Strawberry, Frank Cashen, and Davey Johnson.  In  2011 he was part of the of the reality show, Celebrity Rehab. with Dr. Drew. Gooden told the crowd that he has been clean and sober since 2011.

Interact Council of Presidents held in Stratford on Sunday

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Members from 20 (of our 53 Interact Clubs) and 12 (of our 61 Rotary Clubs) attended a lively program Sunday (2/2/2014) on Interact at the Homewood Suites in Stratford.

The Interact Council of Presidents (ICoP’s) is an Interact district wide meeting of Interact Presidents within Rotary District 7980 that is designed to collaboratively lead and plan the activities of the Interact Clubs within our District.

Interact are clubs for youth ages 12-18 who want to connect with others in their community or school. Interact club members have fun while carrying out service projects and learning about the world. Interact clubs organize at least two service projects a year: one that benefits their community and one that encourages international understanding. While Interact clubs receive guidance from individual Rotary clubs, they govern and support themselves.

Interact has a membership of over 250,000 youth in more than 11,000 clubs worldwide. It’s one of Rotary’s fastest growing programs. Interact clubs are self-governing and self-supporting and can be either school or community based. Interact’s name is a combination of the words international and action. With clubs in over 120 countries and geographical areas, Interact is truly an international phenomenon. Interact’s global youth network is dedicated to community and international service. Every Interact club project, great or small, has a lasting impact on society worldwide. Brazil, India, the Philippines, and the United States boast the highest number of Interact clubs.

Six Rotary Clubs gather in Old Saybrook tonight to support local and international causes

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About 50 Rotarians from the Old Saybrook, Essex, Chester, Deep River, Mystic and  The Stoningtons Rotary Clubs met in Old Saybrook tonight to support the Estuary Council of Seniors. The Estuary is the meeting place of the Old Saybrook Rotary Club.

Estuary Board & Old Saybrook Rotary PresidentGerri Lewis introduced Paul Doyle, Executive Director Tri Club (Rotary Clubs of Essex, Deep River, and Chester) International Chairman Jeff Mehler presented the 2014 Projects & Goals and recognized the International Sponsors.

The international committee has sponsored humanitarian initiatives from Africa to the Caribbean and South America. The Nomad Foundation, supported by the Tri-Club Committee, provides everything from wells and clean water to maternal health care and solar technology in the landlocked West African country of Niger.

ShelterBox, another of the organizations that has received aid from the local Rotary, furnishes disaster victims throughout the world with large plastic containers with the basic physical necessities of life, from a sturdy tent to a cook stove and water purifying equipment.

Simply Smiles works to improve the lives of impoverished children in southern Mexico. At the moment, the local clubs are planning a mission trip to Mexico this summer to participate in the work of Simply Smiles.

The international committee has also involved itself in a number of programs that link the local communities to Haiti, which the United Nations Human Development Index has identified as the poorest country in the western hemisphere. The local international committee is a supporter of Sister Cities Essex Haiti (SCEH), which is working to build a library in the Haitian village of Deschapelles. The Tri-Club Committee has pledged to provide 1,000 books in Kreyol, the French-based vernacular that is the most commonly spoken language in the country for the library. (text in blue: source: the day 02/20/2012)

Amy Riggio speaks to Wilton Rotary on Builders Beyond Borders (B3)

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Amy Schroeder-Riggio, Executive Director, from Builders Beyond Borders (B3) was the speaker at the Wilton Rotary Club this past Friday. Amy presented an excellent program on the important projects which B3 does and how it impacts the lives of young people.

B3 gives high school students opportunities to experience local and global community service through building projects in the U.S. and abroad.  They sponsor programs in Peru, Honduras, Brazil, Guatemala, Ecuador, Cuba, Tobago, Chile, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica Nicaragua and Guyana.  Over 350 students from 25 area high schools are on teams which are sent with leaders to work on projects during school vacations.  B3 works closely with other social service agencies and Rotary clubs abroad.  Students need to fundraise 80% of the costs, B3 contributes 20%.  Many projects are for improving water supply, sanitation, better living conditions and constructing schools in developing countries.  Locally, they have established 40 community gardens.  10 students from Wilton High are involved.

If that last name  Riggio sounds familiar, and it should, it is worth pointing out that Amy is married to Westport Rotary President Tony Riggio who last March was written up in the Rotarian Magazine for his involvement in a B3 water project in Latin America <click here to read that story>.