Newton Rotary Club
May 23, 2018
The meeting was opened by President John Roberts. Carl Lazarro led us in prayer, and Frank Eberhardt served as musical director with a rendition of God Bless America.
Introduction of Guests: Liza Nechamkin was introduced (for the last time as a guest) by Denise Current. Matt Hannum was accompanied by Michelle Kaminsky, Interact Advisor at Kittatinny Regional High School, and student Lexi Sarni, who serves as the communications chair of the club. Barbara Miller introduced her guests; Marcia Rittie and Ryan Rittie. Ryan is a student at Newton High School and will be sponsored by Newton Rotary Club when he travels to Germany for a year as an exchange student during the 2018-19 school year, and Marcia is his mom. She also was a Rotary Youth Exchange student in 1984 sponsored by the Randolph Rotary Club when she spent a year in New Zealand.
Our Greeter, Frank Eberhardt, welcomed our guests to Newton Rotary.
Happy Dollars: George Kaiser was happy that he got to visit with Paul Cummins during the past week, and for the Star Ledger article about the rebuilding and re-purposing of the former Bell Labs Building where his grandson now works.
Frank Eberhardt put in a “sad dollar” because he forgot to introduce his wife, Elaine, who was also a guest at the meeting!
Buz Tomasino was happy for the rededication of the Richards Building at the Sussex County Fairgrounds that was held on Saturday, and for the recognition of Rotary as one of the contributors to the renovations. He also praised Carolyn Ottenbreit’s company for providing all the food for the event.
Announcements:
The Marketing Committee will be meeting immediately after the conclusion of the Rotary meeting today.
Newton Rotary Club scholarship interviews have been completed, and the students will be recognized at our meeting on June 6, 2018. That meeting will be held at Bristol Glen, and the cost will be $22. per person. George Kaiser, Chair of the Scholarship Committee, recognized each of the school teams that conducted the interviews.
There are several Rotary books available for loan through “Laura’s Lending Library” (courtesy of Laura Camp) and John has them available for those interested.
We have finally received a check for $1,000 from the District 7470 Foundation Grant Committee for our project to assist homeless people in Sussex County. This has been “lost in the mail” for several months! Thanks to Denise Current for her leadership in this project, and to Barbara Miller for writing and submitting the grant proposal.
President John announced that host families are needed for one week in August for students from Japan who will be spending time in Rotary District 7470. Interested persons can contact PDG Jim Allison at jra188@aol.com or by phone at 201-213-6382.
Garden Party: The Garden Party is without a home this year, so we have been looking at some alternative venues where it could be held. Barbara Miller went to the Lafayette Municipal Building to inquire about the use of the Lafayette Pond Pavilion. It is available on June 30th, and the cost to rent it is $75. She reported that there are 8 picnic tables, 2 big charcoal grills, an ADA compliant port-a-potty, swing sets and playground, a sand volleyball pit, and swimming is available in the pond, with lifeguards on duty. President John asked everyone to think about this idea, and a decision will be made next week.
Program:
Kittatinny Interact Student Lexi Sarni told the club members about some of the 23 activities the club has done this year, including a 9/11 Day of Service, a Toy Drive for Project Self Sufficiency, and an expansion of the Early Act programs into two additional schools. Next year’s plans include a School-wide 9/11 service day and a nighttime walkathon to coincide with the school’s week of “under the lights” games. President John presented a check for $250 to the club for their use in continuing the work that they do.
Barbara Miller introduced Ryan Rittie, long-term youth exchange outbound student to Germany for next year. He told the club members a little bit about himself.
Past Presidents Charles Grotyohann and Denise Current had the honor of inducting Liza Nechamkin into the Newton Rotary Club. Charles spoke about work of Rotary both locally and worldwide, and as her sponsor Denise spoke about Liza, who is the daughter of Lonnie and Jerry Nechamkin. Liza owns a business in Andover, where she specializes in work as a silversmith, and she hopes to continue Jerry’s legacy as a Newton Rotarian.
