Newton Rotary Club
May 22, 2019
Barbara Miller
President Bill called the meeting to order at 12:15, and the Pledge was led by Charles. Carl called us together in prayer, and John Cuozzo was the lead voice in “God Bless America.”
There were no guests present at the meeting, which was sparsely attended this week.
Happy Dollars:
John Cuozzo was happy about the article in the NJ Herald featuring a teacher from Ogdensburg who taught a lesson on the connection of the letters Q and U by having students enact a wedding ceremony, a lesson that students will remember!
Charles is happy to be here after a good business trip to Austin.
Denise is happy to report that bus donated to school in N. C. last week did make it, although there was a 10-hour delay in Carlisle, Pa.!
Jim attended the concert of the Water Gap Singers last Sunday (John C. is a member of the group) and reported it was outstanding.
George also attended the concert (outstanding) and is happy his granddaughter graduated Magna Cum Laude from college. He has another grandchild graduating this coming Friday.
George also is happy that Dewey Budd is going to be honored at the Memorial Day Parade in Newton on Monday.
Barbara is happy that her granddaughter, Lexi Gray, received the Caring Award from Kittatinny Regional High School.
Tom Brodhecker is sad to see so many empty seats at Rotary!
Picture Fines: Nice writeup in the NJ Herald regarding the donation of bus last week—but since Frank was not in attendance the fine will wait until next week.
Announcements: President Bill announced the following:
Wallkill Valley Grapes and Hops event raised over $17,000 for club, and they sent a thank you to Newton for our support.
Veteran’s Cemetery project is still on hold until state removes the trees.
Newton Interact Club is seeking donations in memory of Lexi Faye and anyone wishing to donate can give to Bill today. They are also encouraging everyone to wear white tomorrow.
June 3rd: Charles announced this will be a meet and greet “Rotary Means Business” at Farmstead from 6 – 7:30 p.m. Purpose is to promote your business, so he encouraged those attending to bring business cards, etc. Cost is $25.
June 5th: George announced again that this will be the Scholarship Awards program and he encouraged everyone to be in attendance.
June 15th: A Rotary club in the district is holding a Casino Night. See Bill for details.
June 25th: There will be a joint Officer Induction ceremony for all the Sussex County Clubs; however, Newton Rotary will not be participating.
June 29th: Garden Party at home of Denise Current. She announced that 20 pounds of shrimp is being donated by Shop Rite so as people are thinking about what to bring, do NOT include shrimp!!!
Speaker: Our speaker was Peter Southway, a farmer from Fredon. He and his family purchased the original Phil Hardin farm about 20 years ago and he left the banking business to pursue a career in farming and to spend more time with his family about 15 years ago. He reports that there are now only 17 dairy farms in the County, and he is seeking to find ways to make farming a more viable option to make a living for others who are interested but need to support families as well.
Lots of interesting information was shared, including the process Peter went through to finally be able to sell his milk directly to the consumer by purchasing equipment to pasteurize his own milk. He now has a shed on his property where folks can purchase milk 24 hours/day (in a glass bottle) and those at the meeting who have done so reported that it is the best milk you can buy—especially the chocolate milk which is made with non-GMO sugar and cocoa beans!
Peter’s business is “Farm Certified” and this is an annual process; they use no pesticides and all products are non-GMO.
Great presentation!!
50/50: Dawn Hall won $6.00 but left the larger pot to continue growing.
