Tag Archives: Ridgefield Rotary

8 Rotary Clubs come out to support Newtown Connecticut in the Labor Day Parade

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iPDG Brian put up the ‘Wheel Signal’ about a month ago for area Rotary Clubs to participate in Newtown’s Labor Day Parade and he received marching support from eight Rotary clubs including; Newtown Rotary Monroe Rotary, Danbury Rotary, Ridgefield Rotary, Ridgefield Sunrise Rotary, Trumbull Rotary, East Hampton Rotary and North Haven Rotary (hopefully I didn’t miss any).

Over 100 community groups marched in the parade (or rode in a cool yellow car) today through on and off rain and the occasional threat of a thunder boomer. The weather didn’t seem to thin the crowds a bit as parade viewers were out in big numbers in full support of Newtown Connecticut.

The Newtown Rotary Club was kind enough to select yellow as the color for their 75th Anniversary shirts as they know what this DG knows; Yellow is the Happiest Color!!! It even helped to offset the fact that we were marching behind the Lions, perhaps we will be in front of them next year. Our own iPDG Brian Amey, Newtown Rotary Club, was one of the key committee organizers of the Newtown Labor Day Parade today. Brian was keeping duty at the end of the parade and wasn’t fortunate enough to get one the yellow shirts. For some reason he was wearing a lime color shirt.

From the community outpouring today it is clear that Newtown is a town on the mend. Jennifer and I were happy and honored to be part of this event today.

Ridgefield Rotary donates $1,000 for Oklahoma Relief

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Ridgefield's donation to the Oklahoma Disaster Fund

Ridgefield’s donation to the Oklahoma Disaster Fund

On Aug 21, 2013 the Ridgefield Rotary Club presented me with a check for $1,000 towards the Oklahoma Relief Efforts of our district. It is a generous contribution that we sincerely appreciate.

Many clubs in our district are either contributing directly to the D7980 fund or they are holding various fundraisers to support the effort.

Barbara Moore, Immediate Past President of East Hampton, is leading this relief effort.

On Sept 20th the East Hampton Rotary Club is holding a major fundraising dinner to benefit Oklahoma Relief (read about it here)

Official Visit #10 – Ridgefield Rotary Club

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The Ridgefield Rotary club just came off of an award winning year under Past President Bill Wyman and President Joe Kritez is already building on those successes.  President Joe is a highly organized leader running a very motivated club that is looking to accomplish big things in their community. The Ridgefield club is looking to add a 2nd major fundraising event on top of their Taste of Ridgefield  event so that they can meet the increased demand for community needs and they are also looking to expand their already successful community presence by leveraging social media more effectively.

The club has a very good handle on membership growth and retention and they brought in a dynamic young member, Kathy Graham, last night they also have plans to bring in 3 – 4 additional members in the coming months. After Kathy was inducted each member introduced themselves to her and gave her a warm welcoming and thanked her for being part of their club (it was the first time that I had seen this done at a Rotary club). President-elect Rich Vazzana was Kathy’s sponsor.

Assistant Governor Larry Gardner actively participated in the board meeting last night and he clearly has the admiration as a trusted advisor and friend of the club. AG Larry also did a superb of introducing me to the club!

The Ridgefield Rotary club generously supported the Oklahoma Relief effort by presenting me with a check for $1,000 last night. Barbara Moore and I are extremely grateful for this kindhearted support.

Just off the Presses: The first page of the The Ridgerunner -Aug 22, 2013 by Bill Wyman

The Ridgefield Rotary club meets for dinner on Wednesdays at the Bar & Grill on 7 @ 967 Ethan Allen Highway in Ridgefield. It’s a fun group and a nice place to visit. I was lucky enough to have an item on the menu in my honor (DG Ribs).

Ridgefield Rotary Club – Citizen of the Year Event

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Sarah Bouissou with President Bill Wyman

Sarah Bouissou with President Bill Wyman

I had the pleasure of attending Ridgefield Rotary Club’s annual Citizen of the Year event tonight at the Silver Spring Country Club. This was an excellent event at a fabulous venue with warm Rotary fellowship.

This year Sarah Bouissou was recognized as the 2013 Citizen of the Year in recognition for her many years of service to the Ridgefield community. Sarah and her husband, Bernard, own Bernard’s Restaurant in Ridgefield which is one of Zagat’s top 10 restaurants in Connecticut.

President Bill did a great job running a very uplifting program to honor Sarah. Numerous friends, associates and relatives paid their respects to Sarah in various ways.

This event is a long standing tradition for the Ridgefield Rotary Club and the Ridgefield community. About a dozen past recipients going back as far as 1972 were in attendance.

For me it was especially nice to meet many of the Ridgefield Rotarian’s for the very first time.

President Bill has had a bang up year leading his club. Besides all the successful projects that the club has completed they picked up many awards of recognition at the District Conference last month. Bill will pass the gavel to Joe Kreitz’s very capable hands on June 26th.

I am looking forward to attending their regular meetings.