Volunteering is a way of life in the Andovers and annually recognizing extraordinary volunteers who contribute beyond their normal job description is what the Rotary Club of Andover has been doing for 16 years with Citizens of the Year and the last 5 years with Educator of the Year.

A May 23^rd   recognition Gala starts at 6pm at the Wyndham Andover Hotel featuring Guest Speaker John Palfrey, Phillips Academy Head of School. The 2013 CWC recipients were selected from a larger pool of nominees by a Rotarian committee and the Educator of the Year was selected from a pool of nominees by a committee of 3 Andover educators. The spirit of volunteerism is embodied in gallery portraits of each recipient for display throughout the year in Andover Town Hall, several banks, commercial buildings and eventually archived at the Andover Historical Society.

Here are the names of the 2013 award winners:

Citizens Who Care 2013:

Kathleen Bates, Don Borenstein, Bud Crowninshield, Carolyn Fantini, Stephen Janivicus’, Dr. Richard Lindsay, Ellen Marcus, Nancy Mulvey, Mary Beth Nason, Susan Novick, Aileen Peters, Fred Snell.

Educator of the Year 2013:

Ken Matteucci

8^th grade Doherty Middle School teacher and Educator of the Year Ken Matteucci will tell you that he doesn't know where his job ends and life and volunteering begins.  Ken is a teacher, always a teacher, always teaching.....in school, out of school, at home, at the grocery store, wherever he is.

joined the Andover Village Improvement Society (AVIS), where he became involved in many local projects.  He began his AVIS board service in 1999, when he served as co-chair of the land management committee. He served as AVIS President from 2004 to 2011.   For seven years, hardly a day went by when Fred didn’t answer a phone call about one of AVIS’s 25 reservations.

became a member of the Bancroft School PTO, where she held just about every position available.  Rebuilding the playground at Bancroft School was one major project she led.

In 1997, Susie joined the Board of Directors of Temple Emanuel in Andover and is currently Temple President. Her community involvement began by joining the Mother Connection, where she co-coordinated the publishing of their first cookbook.  Susie then became room parent at Sanborn School and co-chair of the annual Harvest Festival, where each class makes and delivers baskets of goodies to local senior citizens around Thanksgiving.

was introduced to Quota, an international service organization of women, through friends in Andover.  She joined Quota International of Andover in 1995 and has since held every office available.  Quota International raises funds to support disadvantaged women and children in the Merrimack Valley, and offers services for the deaf and hearing impaired.  She is proud of the annual scholarship given to Northern Essex Community College (NECC) for their American Sign Language Program.  Quota also hosted a very successful “Merrimack Valley Idol” last year that raised $26,000.

served as League of Women Voters President in 1972-74, during the League’s 50^th anniversary.  Over the years, Nancy worked on a variety of LWV research projects and reports, helped plan for the League's 90^th anniversary, and prepared the League’s history to be archived at the Andover Historical Society.

joined the League of Women Voters in the 1970s where she worked on a water quality study.    Through the project, Ellen got to know the Andover Village Improvement Society and the town Conservation Commission.  Later in the 1970s, Ellen served four years on the Conservation Commission where she was involved with mapping wetlands in Andover, an issue that caused a big uproar in town.

served on the board of the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association and as president of the New England Veterinary Medical Association.  In the late 1990s, Dr. Lindsay helped start the “Shadow Fund,” to help pet owners who cannot afford necessary medical treatment for their pets.

community work has been with the Merrimack Valley Hospice in Haverhill.  The Hospice is an organization that he helped to build from the ground up.  Steven (owner of Flowers by Steve) hosted the kickoff party and fundraiser for the Hospice at his home in 2007.  Enough money was raised over time to purchase a home in Haverhill for patients.

first joined the Friends of Memorial Hall Library and later served as the board President.  During her tenure as president, Carolyn worked on the library book sale that has raised funds to provide many Library resources and opportunities not funded by the town budget.

early on joined the Salvation Army Advisory Board, and adopted two Christmas kettles.  For the past 20 years, Bud has coordinated the schedule of Christmas bell ringers for those two kettles.  In 2003, Bud was honored with the Salvation Army’s “Others” award, a rare and highly regarded distinction.

As the father of three children, a soccer player himself, with an active interest in the community, it was only natural for Don to become engaged with the Andover Soccer Association. The ASA serves 1,600-1,800 kids and 1,200 families per season which makes it one of the largest soccer associations in the state.

has been a member of Andover's Christ Church for more than 25 years.  Through the church, Kathleen was a mentor, chaired the holiday fair, and served on the boards of the Christian Education Committee and the Andover Thrift Shop, which is how this North Andover resident became involved with the Andover Business Community Association (ABCA).

The Rotary Club of Andover's annual Citizens Who Care Awards Gala is always a feel good affair, but there may be even more optimism than usual this year.

On May 23 at 6 p.m., at the Wyndham Andover Hotel, the Rotary Club of Andover will celebrate its 16th annual Citizens Who Care and fifth annual Educator of the Year awards.

Our featured speaker this year will be, John Palfrey, Head of School for Phillips Academy.

The Citizens Who Care award honors those who have made extraordinary contributions to the Andover community, above and beyond their normal job descriptions. The Educator of the Year is given to one teacher, principal or support person in the Andover public school system who exemplifies these same caring qualities, in and out of the classroom. All recipients are those who best reflect Rotary's ideal of "Service Above Self," according to the organization.

The Andover Townsman

---- — The Rotary Club of Andover has awarded $5,000 in grants to help local and international organizations further their efforts in support of stronger communities, families, and health and educational programs.

Several times each year, the Rotary Club presents grants to boost various initiatives. In the past, the club has sponsored international exchange students and members have volunteered at food drives/turkey distributions, delivered holiday presents for children, read to students at local elementary schools and offered a hand building with Habitat for Humanity in Lawrence.

The Andover Townsman

April 10, 2013

---- — The Andover Chamber of Commerce will hold its 2013 annual Community Service Awards Ceremony and Breakfast on Thursday, June 6, from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at Indian Ridge Country Club in Andover.

The morning’s program will include recognition of the five service clubs that benefit Andover: The Exchange Club of Lawrence, The Kiwanis Club of Greater Lawrence, Quota International of Andover, The Rotary Club of Andover and The Service Club of Andover.

Guest speaker will be Andover police Chief Brian Pattullo, who is stepping down from his position on July 31 after 15 years of leading the department.

According to event organizers, the five service clubs being recognized "contribute in many important ways to the civic well-being of Andover and the surrounding communities.These service clubs are indeed special organizations that make our community special. They are most deserving of this award”.

Andover Rotarians support Andover Fund for Education while improving their Spelling skills.

It took a lot of courage for seven Andover Rotarians to show up at the March 23rd Annual Spelling Bee to support the Andover Fund for Education. The fund was founded in 1991 to enrich and support Andover Public Schools.

Even with a real dummy helping the 'Dummies' team of Mark Spencer, Howard Perkins and Al Getler and a world class speller named Jillian Gelter, the team couldn't overcome other teams that could spell in Round One.

Hopes for victory relied upon Rotary Team 2 in Round 2- 'Russell's, Ringers' with Paul Russell, Jan McClure Brown, Chuck Humphrey and Ken Fey. It didn't go as planned, but Fun was had by everyone.

See you next year!

We need all the help we can get ...

Andover Rotary Club hosted a food drive to benefit Lazarus House on SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 2013 from 10am to 2pm. Shifts will run from 10am to 12pm and 12pm to 2pm or certainly for those of you that would like to participate for the entire time that is fabulous! This very worthwhile cause!

left to right: Marty, Diandra Lamas, Marketing Team Leader Whole Foods, Mark Spencer, President of the Andover Rotary Club, Alex and Diana Kiesel, Owners of Yang's Fitness & Wellness Center

Yang’s Fitness Center (Yang’s), Whole Foods Andover, and the Andover Rotary Club joined forces this year to provide Thanksgiving dinners to needy families.  Since 2001, members of Yang’s and the Rotary have helped to provide more than 2,000 Thanksgiving turkeys to local residents.  This year, Whole Foods Andover joined in this effort.

The sixty members of the Rotary Interact Club of Andover High School spent the first weeks of November organizing the contribution of 300 coats and blankets to Lazarus House in Lawrence. Not an obvious choice with all the other activities in which teenagers can invest their time and energy. The Rotary Club of Andover sponsors the AHS INTERACT Club.

“It’s terrible to be cold” commented Ali the Club President, “and a lot of people do have old coats

 they can contribute.”.  The AHS Club is one of 10,900 INTERACT Clubs in 109 countries with over 200,000 young people ages 12-18 as members.

Amy LaMarche, the Rotary Club of Andover Advisor to AHS INTERACT, was proud of the community service spirit displayed by the INTERACT Club members. Amy commented that each year the Club must complete at least two community service projects that help develop leadership skills and personal integrity, while demonstrating helpfulness and respect for others.

On November 16, Lazarus House Community Development Director Dennis McCarthy thanked the teens for their individual and club efforts in an outstanding community service project at Andover High School.

Dennis McCarthy from L:azarus House and  some INTERACT Club members- no particular order.Susan- Alexis, Eri-,Shannon, Julia, Ali, Emily, Monika, Megan and Mackenzie. 

Comedy night was an unqualified success. I am still hurting from laughing so much. Two friends who head other service groups asked me how we were able to pull off an event of this magnitude. To coin an oxymoron, Comedy Night is an instant classic. It will serve the club for years to come and selling tickets will get easier every year.

I was especially glad that our attendance was 8 greater than last year

Megan already sent out her thanks so I don't need to repeat the kudos--except to thank Megan for making last night go without a hitch. A lot of details go into an event like this and Megan got them all right.

Left (Donald Gottfried, Selim Matta, Jan Mcclure-Brown, Megan Loughney, Howard Perkins, Al Getler)

The mission of Rotary is why I belong to this great organization.  From the 4-way test we recite each week, to the countless lives that have been impacted by Rotary’s programs, to the sense of giving back to man-kind, I embrace this mission and want it to live on.

Being surrounded by others who have this shared feeling is awesome.  These fellow Rotarians, whether in my town or on the other side of the globe, are connected to me by Rotary’s cause and our shared values

A exchange student from France is staying with an Andover family while their daughter studies in Denmark this school year.

Jeanne Guesdon-Vennerie, 18, is the Rotary Club of Andover's 2011-2012 exchange student. She makes regular visits to the club. Her Andover hosts are Wes Brown and Jan McClure-Brown, parents of Susan Alexis Brown, who is studying in Denmark with the Rotary Exchange Student Program.