President Justin Sallaway opened the meeting.  Paul Stone led the Pledge of Allegiance, and Susanne McInerney  led us in song with “Sweet Caroline”. All proceeds from today’s raffle and Happy Dollars will go to the OneFund to benefit those who were hurt in the Boston Marathon Bombings.

GUESTS

Sargent at Arms, Mark Nicholas introduced guests:

Student of the Month, Jenissa Vote, and her parents Steve and Marion.  Sister Margaret, Maureen O’Rourke, Jennifer, and Doug Girth a friend of Jeff Tucker.

Mark then gave us 10 phrases used when hiring, and a definition of what those phrases really mean.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Paul Harris awards will be discussed.  Rotary International strives for donation of $100 per member.  Paul Kerrissey will work on the Paul Harris initiative.

The Prayer Breakfast will be May 29, 2013.  Senator Elizabeth Warren will be the guest speaker.  There are three scholarships given out by Rotary; Newton North, Newton South, Metco.

RAFFLE

Steve Vote won the raffle, however he failed to pick the ace of spades.

HAPPY DOLLARS

All proceeds will benefit Boston’s One Fund.

STUDENT OF THE MONTH

Ed Casavant introduced the student of the month, and also reminded us that grant requests are due soon.  If you have anyone who would like apply, please do it soon, and get it to Ed.

Meghan Lahey from Mt. Alvernia High School introduced Jenessa Vote as our Student of the Month. Jenessa talked about her community service at the Italian Home for Children.

CLUB ASSEMBLY

Mary Kern reminded us that next week’s meeting will be at the West Suburban YMCA , and we will have a club assembly which will focus on the Strategic Plan. Bring your own lunch;  the Y will provide drinks.

We will discuss what our goals are and work on the SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats).  We will also try to zero in on what we want to focus on as a club; service, Membership,  local interests, international interests, youth….

MEETING WAS ADJOURNED

President Justin Sallaway called the meeting to order.  Paul Stone led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Susanne McInerney led us in song with "God Bless America".  And, Justin gave the invocation with special intentions for those who were killed and injured in the Boston Marathon bombings the previous day.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Board Meeting will be held next week at 11:00, here at the Marriott. The following week, (April 30), the meeting will be held at the Y, in Newton Corner, and it's a bring your own lunch day! (The Y will provide drinks!)  There will be a Club Assembly, where we will discuss the Rotary Club's Strategic Plan.

Indira Desai spoke about GSE---she still needs 3 more host families and also drivers.  Indira will be calling about hosting a family, so expect her phone call! The group arrives May 12, then Indira will host a welcome party at her house on May 13.  The group will be in Newton May 13, 14, 15, and there will be a total of 5 people.

Mark Nicholas wanted to thank those who responded yesterday to the Boston Marathon bombings and noted that it could have been much worse.

SARGENT AT ARMS

Sargent At Arms, Mark Nicholas welcomed Todd Drickel from Wegmans as our guest for today.

RAFFLE

Mary Kern won the raffle, however fell short on winning the jackpot by picking the Jack of Spades.

HAPPY DOLLARS

Most people remembered the victims of the marathon bombings with their dollars. HOWEVER, one bright spot was that Paul Kerrissey, our own beekeeper in residence had a birthday!

SPEAKER

Todd Drickel from Wegmans spoke to us about the Wegmans culture, and philosophy.  We have alot to look forward to when their store opens March 30, 2014!

STAY SAFE ROTARIANS!

Justin Sallway is out today, so he asked Mary Kern to run today's meeting.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was led by Ed Casavant. Marie Presti led us in song with "God Bless America". In place of an invocation, we had a moment of silence to send our warm thoughts to Justin and his family as they memorialize Justin's father.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Jeff Tucker reminded us not to forget that on April 10 (two weeks) is the Death By Chocolate joint meeting with Waltham Rotary Club at The Chateau in Waltham.

Tom Keery discussed the extremely successful Newton Has Talent event held on Sunday, March 24. The NHT Committee was commended for their tireless efforts, and volunteers who showed up on the day of the event were also recognized.  Chris Chu and Susanne McInerney were especially crucial to the success of the event.  Kevin O'Connell on loan from the Y was the Executive Producer of the show, and wowed us with his expertise.  Next year we will want ALL rotarians to participate in this event!  The wrap up meeting will be held at the Y on

Mary also did the Sargent at Arms duties as she did a poor job delegating...(where is Kevin when I need him?).  Guests included Jamie Lynn Salisbury, soon to be inducted into our club! Jeff Loeb, of the Ecuador Children's Project, our speaker for today.  Under the radar was Ron Facienda, Sue Peghiny's husband who is beginning to look more and more like a rotarian!

Happy Dollars--lots of happy Rotarians! A large number of happy dollars were in honor of Newton Has Talent and the committee. 

Raffle--OOPS! No raffle, no deck of cards.

New Member Induction: Chris Chu inducted Jamie Lynn Salisbury as our newest member!  Welcome Jamie Lynn!

Speaker--Jeff Loeb of Ecuador Children's Project

President, Justin Sallaway adjourned the meeting, Paul Stone led us in the Pledge of Allegiance, Susanne McInerney led us in song with "God Bless America", and Justin gave an invocation, and requested prayers for his father who passed away this past week.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Justin announced that today we had a board meeting, and we have scheduled out meetings for few months.  We will have a Paul Harris Day. For those who don't know, as Tom Keery reminded us, The Paul Harris Award is the highest award you can bestow on a Rotarian.  We will also be putting together a Strategic Plan at the meeting on April 23. Tech Scholarships will be on June 11, Community Grants will be June 18, and Investiture of new officers will be on June 25. Be sure to check the Clubrunner Calendar regularly for dates of upcoming events and meetings as there are LOTS of dates coming up.  http://rotarynewton.org/

Chris Chu, our Membership Chair announced that we would like to do a membership drive that is promoted in coordination with the Newton Rotary Club's 90th anniversary.

The Death By Chocolate Wrap Up Meeting will be held at the Chateau in Waltham on Wednesday, April 10. 

Jeff Tucker reminded us to pay our bills!

Indira Desai will be leading GSE(Group Study Exchange) and this year it will be a group from Brazil. Let's make it a big success this year as it is the last year it will happen. On May 14, GSE will be presenting at our meeting.

Newton Has Talent is in less than two weeks!  We need lots of volunteers, and we need sponsors. It will happen Sunday, March 24 at 2:00 at Newton North High School.  There are 10 finalists that will be announced today.  We have 600 tickets to sell.  Tickets are $10 online, $15 at the door, $8 if you get them from Susanne's place of business.  We also have Dan Rea, Joe Amorsino, and Joe from Click and Clack.  There is still alot of work to be done. There will be a list for volunteers circulated next week.

Sargent at Arms, Mark Nicholas introduced our guests:  Helen Lowrey, Jamie Lynn Salisbury, Victoria, Susanne's intern from Newton North.  Mark told a very corny joke.  We've missed you, Mark!

Happy Dollars: Lots of happy Rotarians.  Highlight was that Indira has a new grand baby!

Raffle:  Dick Bowen won the raffle again---second time in a row! But, unfortunately, he picked the Ace of Diamonds.

Peggy Lepore announced that next week we are going to Lasalle Village for lunch.  This has happened a few years in a row.  Rotarians should meet at the main entrance of Lasalle Village - 128 Seminary Ave. Enter where the tower is.  Parking will be difficult.

SPEAKER:

Investigative Reporter for Boston Herald and Boston Globe, Ralph Ranalli.  Mr. Ranally wrote book about Whitey Bulger and the FBI.  

Today's Memorable Quote:  "Better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission"--T. Keery

President Justin Sallaway called the meeting to order. Dick Bowen led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Susanne McInerney led us in song with a rousing rendition of "God Bless America".

RAFFLE: Paul Kerrissey sold tickets like a pro.

Gia Nicolazzo (Student of the Month) won the raffle, but was not able to pick the Ace of Spades.

HAPPY DOLLARS:
Lots of happy Rotarians today but happy dollar highlight for today:

Paul Kerrissey announced that his daughter, Mikaela has been accepted into the PhD program in Public Health at Harvard, and will be around in the area for 5 years much to Paul's delight!

Sargent at Arms duties were performed by Dave Sellers...you haven't lost your touch, Dave!

TODAY'S GUESTS: Sheriff Peter Kotoujian, Chuck and Gia Nicolazzo and their daughter Gia Nicolazzo, Sara Malone, James Farina from Village Bank, Susanne's intern Victoria, and Sue Peghiny's husband, Ron.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Midnight on Sunday was the final date for submitting acts for Newton Has Talent. There were 37 entrants into this contest. GREAT JOB EVERYONE! If anyone wants to go to Chris's house to look at the videos, they will be going through them on Thursday at 9:15 AM. Let Chris know if you are interested in helping.

Don't forget, the event is March 24. Marie Presti is handling sponsorships--we have top 3 sponsors, and are now looking for half page or full page sponsorships. Let Marie know if you have any sponsors or would like to help with calling to get some sponsors.

Student of the Month, Gia Nicolazzo was introduced by Sarah Malone, a teacher at Newton Country Day School. Gia has gone above and beyond as a student, and is extremely dedicated to serving the Newton Community.

David Sellers introduced Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian, who discussed life as the sheriff.

President Justin Sallaway called the meeting to order. Paul Stone lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, Chris Chu led us in song with "God Bless America". Justin gave the invocation.

GIFT OF LIFE UPDATE:

Marc Epstein introduced Zomaya and her mother and grandmother! Zomaya is doing well after a few bumps in her road to recovery! Jim Means translated the story of getting little Zomaya here for this operation to save her life in spite of being a special needs child. A Rotarian in Santo Domingo pushed to help get this child accepted into the Gift of Life Program.  The family was extremely appreciative of all that Rotary has done, and while language has been a barrier, the Epsteins have been super stars! We are all so impressed with Marc and Annette for their work with Gift of Life!

Sargent At Arms Mark Nicholas introduced our guests: Ron Peghiny, who is the husband of our newest Rotarian, Sue Peghiny, Kevin O'Connell, superstar musician and brains behind Newton Has Talent, on loan from the West Suburban YMCA, and Susanne McInerney's Intern.

Mark came prepared with a joke, which offended most of us Yankee's fans...but don't worry...we are classy as most Yankees fans, and we kept our cool, and will wait until next October to start up with our Red Sox jokes...

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Tom Keery gave us an update on Newton Has Talent. Tom introduced Kevin O'Connell who gave us an overview of the progress of Newton Has Talent.  Please forward any potential acts to Kevin (Chris will send around the link). A table will be set up at Newton North to try to recruit acts for Newton Has Talent. We are at 187 facebook likes, and there are lots of emails and inquiries about this event. We still need more celebrity Judges...

SPEAKER:

Our newest Rotarian, Sue Peghiny gave us a classification speech. We are very happy to have Sue join us!

Gift of Life---Marc Epstein reported that Zamaya came through her surgery, and will be coming home this afternoon. Hotel Indigo donated a crib, thanks to Bruce Leaver. Jim Means brought a big bag of supplies for the family. The family will be at Marc's house for the next two weeks, and they welcome visitors to come by and spend some time with the family.

Chris Chu, our wonderful chair of the Membership Committee reported on some of our Rotary Members who have been missing in action. Carolina Trujillo cracked a rib, and also is recovering from a bout with bronchitis. Feel better, Carolina! We miss your spirit! Cornelia Cain-Heard and her husband are recovering from the flu. Hope you and your husband feel better soon, Cornelia! No one can do an invocation better than you can!  Marianna Dagatti has been extremely busy and hopes to come back soon!

SPEAKER:

We did not have a speaker scheduled, so the honorable Tom Keery  entertained and informed us about our next big fundraiser, Newton Has Talent! If anyone has any ideas for talent judges, please let Tom or Chris know as soon as possible.  Also, the website is up and running, and we are accepting YouTube videos, so get the word out to anyone who has some talent they would like to showcase.  It was suggested the Dr. Bob Staulo work on his stand-up routine and enter the competition...

DON'T FORGET

Guest Speaker will be Peter Koutoujian on Feb 26

Justin Sallaway called the meeting to order. Paul Stone led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.  Marie Presti led us in song with America the Beautiful.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Death By Chocolate:  The event was a success, and we will have the numbers next week.

Newton Has Talent--The website is live! Please direct interested acts to www.newtonhastalent.com.  There is a press release going out this week, stay tuned for more info.

Next Board Meeting is Feb 12

Dave Sellers told us a joke...it drew a collective groan, as usual.  Good to see you have not lost your touch Dave!

RAFFLE: WAS WON BY A GUEST!! Jackpot is around $400, so the winner gets $200! Congrats to the winner!

Gift of Life Update - 6 month old baby is getting surgery today!

Happy Dollars: lots happy Rotarians, highlights included Tom Keery giving shameless plugs to the visiting students to Newton Has Talent

Membership Induction--Sue Peghiny was inducted as the newest member of the Newton Rotary Club. Welcome Sue!

Student of the Months were celebrated.  Bob Staulo introduced the Student of the Month for Newton South.  Chris Hardamon, guidance counselor for Newton South introduced Jonee (sp?) as a motivated, engaged student at Newton South.

Our speaker today is Miss Brooks from Newton North from The InvenTeam and members of the team.  This group has developed a Pedestrian Alert System for a town in Ethiopia.

**NOTE:  My apologies for a rather abbreviated newsletter! There was alot that had to be done in wrapping up Death By Chocolate. Next week will be jam packed full of info!  -- Mary Kern

President Elect, Mary Kern called the meeting to order.  Paul Stone led the Pledge of Allegiance, Tom Keery led us in song with with a beautiful rendition of "America the Beautiful" and Paul Kerrissey gave the invocation.

Dave Sellers told us a joke for old times' sake.  It was a a groaner as usual--thanks Dave, you haven't lost your touch!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Mary gave the Death By Chocolate Update:  We are in the final leg of this event....the event is this Sunday at the Crowne Plaza from 1:00 - 4:00. Tickets are being sold at the Y so stop in and get yours ahead of time! I am collecting for the Lottery Basket---John Hurney sent a donation for the lottery basket -- big thank you to John! Glad someone is reading this newsletter! The volunteer sign up sheet was available.  If you would like to volunteer, call Mary to see what positions are left.  If not, you can still show your support by buying a ticket and showing up to the event!

Tom Keery reminds that there will be another big event after after Death By Chocolate; Newton Has Talent!  Website for NHT is going to go live this week!

Guests: 

• Sue Peghiny, who has joined us before as an interested club members.
• Rotarian from Westboro, Milton Steen,
• Speaker Stefan Bajohr from Germany, Rotary Scholarship Recipient

Membership -Sue Peghiny will be inducted next week as our newest Rotary Member!  Welcome Sue! Chris Chu read off the list of people who still need photos for the Clubrunner Website, and was available after the meeting to take pictures of those still in need of a photo.

Marc Epstein reminded us of making car donations.  He also updated us on the Gift of Life family who is coming in tonight.  Mark is looking for warm clothes to loan plus any gifts to send home with them. Mom is doctor, from Dominican Republic, and the child is the first special needs child. Anyone who can help with visits, transportation, Spanish, etc. contact Marc if able to help. Marc's cell phone number is: 617-510-7434

Happy Dollars - there were many happy dollars, of note was Bert Martinson's story about lunch with Martin Luther King, Jr., Bill Lowrey's  Newtown update, and recognition for Tony Bibbo's role in tirelessly coordinating and running the very successful and well attended MLK event.

SPEAKER

Stefan Bajohr spoke about his experience attending Boston University on his one year foreign study for Law.  If it were not for Rotary, he would not be here, as he is a Rotarian Scholar! 

MISSING IN ACTION

We have not seen our friends Carolina, Cornelia, Rachel and Marianna in a while...here's hoping you are not a victim of the flu, and we will see you soon! Jeff Tucker, we hope you had a relaxing time in Florida, and you bring us back warmer temperatures! Justin Sallaway, your presence was missed, but the show went on in spite of your absence-a testament to your leadership!  John Hurney, we miss your presence, and send our warmest wishes your way!

President Justin Sallaway called the meeting to order. Paul Stone led the Pledge of Allegiance, Susanne McInerney led us in song with "God Bless America".

 Death By Chocolate Update

 Mary Kern gave an update about this event, which will take place on Sunday, January 27, 2013 from 1:00 - 4:00.  We have beaten our sponsorship record! HOWEVER, we will still take sponsors, so send them Mary's way!  We have 13 vendors, but quite a few who are interested, but we have not yet gotten committments from them.  We collected a whopping $240 for the Lottery Basket, but we did over $400 last year, so let's shoot for that number.  Next week, Mary will collect again for the lottery basket.  The basket went for over $800 last year, so it's one of the biggest draws at the Silent Auction! Mary will bring the sign up list for volunteers next week.  We are still accepting Silent Auction items, so send them Mary's way! 

Gift of Life Update.

Mark Epstein--next week Gift of Life Child will arrive a week from tomorrow from Dominican Republic.  Maya has significant heart issues, and was born in July.  Need some help--visits and rides.  This is the first child with Special Needs in the history of the Gift of Life New England. Hospitals only have so many free care allotments, but they made it happened!  Guardian Angel Motor Sports raised the money and they raised $5,000 to completely fund the Gift of Life child and a an extra $1,000 towards next year's child. Bravo to Mark for his commitment and perseverance!

 NOTE:   Marc sent the following update (which is as of today, January 16):

Omit Naty and her daughter Zomaya will be arriving from the Dominic republic a week from tonight.

I was planning to take then to our death by chocolate event on Sunday. The pre op is Monday and Surgery is Tuesday.

I have been advised that it is not a good idea to have them out in areas with people before the surgery to make sure that they do not catch the flu or anything else.

We will be taking them to our home in NH for a few days before and will not be able to attend the Death by Chocolate event.

I am looking to borrow some warm clothes for them for their stay. They do not have any use for warm clothes to bring back with them.

However if anyone also has some regular clothes they are interested in giving them we usually send them home with some that we have collected.

Newton Has Talent Update

Chris Chu and Susanne McInerney updated us that Dan Rea will be Master of Ceremonies.  Mayor Setti Warren has been approached to be a judge--but we don't hold out too much hope, as it may be a little too political to be judging the good citizens of Newton.  We are still looking for celebrity judges--talk to Susanne or Chris if you have an idea.  We have a Facebook Page, Twitter Account and the Website is almost ready. The Y donated the posters and fliers to be put up around Newton.  We need sponsors end acts to enter. Marie Presti is in charge of sponsors, and sponsorship opportunities will be emailed out to Rotarians. 

Membership Committee:

Chris asked that all those who have not yet updated their rotary information to please do it today.

Sargent at Arms Report

Harriet Fink was our guest and potential Rotarian--handed out gluten free cookies. She will be a vendor at Death By Chocolate this year!

Speakers for today are Nikki Shearman and Laura Dedominicis from Nurturing Minds in Africa.

Mark enlightened us with Michael Jordan's finances, and in a nutshell, explained to us all how how far out of our league monetarily Michael Jordan is from us...and how far out of Michael Jordan's league monitarily Bill Gates is!

Raffle

There is a new card deck, but Justin forgot the cards! No raffle--but next week we will be back in business!

Happy Dollars

Lots of happy rotarians as usual!

Speakers

Nurturing Minds is a non profit prganization based in the US but operates in Africa. This 5 year old organization, founded by Polly Dolan believes that girls' education is the way to affect change and reduce poverty in Tanzania.

Justin Sallaway called the first meeting of the New Year to order.

Paul Stone led us in "The Pledge of Allegiance",  Chris Chu led us song with "My Country Tis of Thee", and Justin gave an invocation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Paul Kerrissey read the slate of Officers which will take effect July 1, 2013:

President--Mary Kern

President Elect--Mark Nichols

Vice President--Indira Desai

Sargent at Arms--Stella Pang

Treasurer--Jeff Tucker

Recording Secretary--Chris Chu

Ex-Officio--Justin Sallaway

Board of Directors:

Dave Sellers

Marianna Dagatti

Marie Presti

Jim Means

Tony Bibbo

Justin Sallaway-Ex Officio

Tom Keery moved that the nominations be accepted; Paul Stone seconded, and the motion passed.

Tom Keery also nominated Paul Kerrissey to be the Nomination Chair again, and it was unanimously approved.

Mary Kern gave a Death By Chocolate update:

We are getting down to the wire, and we need more sponsors and auction items.  Mary will be reaching out to those who sponsored last year, and donated auction items.  If you did not donate, there's still time!  Thanks to all who who have donated!  Those of you who have not donated should check out potential "regifts" from Christmas to add to the auction basket.

Jeff Tucker reminded us that we are also doing a Lottery Basket from the entire club, and Indira Desai gave the first donation to the lottery basket and the whole club joined in! In all, $240 was collected, which is a great start!  Mary will be collecting again next week, so bring some dough!

Tom Keery gave an update on Newton Has Talent-- Marie Presti has been "hired" as Director of Sales. She will begin looking for sponsorships and donations after Death By Chocolate so as not to overburden and "double dip" from our gracious sponsors. Good luck in your new position, Marie, and I hope it included a huge pay raise! 

Tom Keery will talk to Brae Burn about what we can expect in the Spring, ie. with price, dates, etc., as there will be a new manager. 

The financials were approved at the Board Meeting and Jeff Tucker reminded us that Quarterly bills will be going out.  There may be an adjustment second quarter depending on how much we will be paying at Brae Burn. 

RAFFLE

Unfortunately, the Newton Fire Department came in and cleaned our closet, and the basket and raffle tickets were thrown out, so there will be no raffle today.

Justin is till looking for speakers for February and March, so keep them coming!

HAPPY DOLLARS:  Lots of happy Rotary Members!

SPEAKER:  None other than Rotary Member Paul Stone!  Paul talked about his experiences in the Navy during World War II.

President Justin Sallaway  called the meeting to order to a packed house!

The Christmas Party is December 4 at Gregorians.  If you did not get the evite, let Susanne know so that you are on the list--send her an email.  It starts at 6:30. We could use some help with the set up--let Susanne know if you can help via email.

There WILL BE a meeting the day of the party, even though in the past we have not met on the day of the Christmas Party.

We WILL have a meeting the 18th of December-just so we don't miss 3 weeks of meetings-Justin will try to get a speaker.

Sargent-at-Arms Report was presented by Mark Nichols:

GUESTS: 

Traute Marshall--Speaker

Student of the Month, Michael Evans, and his mom, Selina.

Principal of Newton North, Jennifer Price and her intern, Anthony Oliver

Amanda Griffin, Guidance Counselor

Scott  Hasse, Teacher

Amy Clark from Brookline Rotary

Azmi Hajaj from Beirut and his wife

Joe Presti, Marie's Dad

NEW MEMBER INDUCTION

Chris Chu, Membership Chair, brought up Carolina Trujillo to say a few words about our new member, Mariana Dagatti from Argentina, an architect. Tom Keery gave us a refresher on Rotary History.  Paul Kerrissey then explained the 5 avenues of service in Rotary. Stella Pang described the 4 way test for Rotary. Marianna epressed her gratitude to be able to be a member of the club.

STUDENT OF THE MONTH

Bob Staulo announced the student of the month, Michael Evans. Amanda Griffin talked about Michael's progress at Newton North, and his great attitude, and polite way about him.  Michael then spoke about his academic and motivational successes since moving to Newton.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Susanne asked for someone who can volunteer to be a celebrity judge for Newton Has Talent on March 24.  Email Susanne if you have any connections.

RAFFLE:

Justin pulled the winning raffle number, which caused a bit of a ruckus.

To keep things on the up and up, Chris shuffled the deck.  Justin pulled the 9 of hearts, which settled everyone down.

HAPPY DOLLARS--lots of happy dollars from lots of happy Rotarians!

Chris introduced her neighbor and ourspeaker, Traute Marshall, author of Art Museums Plus.  Traute will donate the price of the first 5 books sold to the Rotary Club.

Meeting was called to order by President Justin Sallaway.  Paul Stone led the Pledge of Allegiance.  Susanne McInerney led us in song with "God Bless America", and Cornelia Heard-Cain gave the invocation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Justin gave a recap of the Board of Directors Meeting:

• To avoid issues with the room when we are displaced, we will ask Bruce Leaver to speak to his contact at the Marriott to see if we might be able to get a different room at least for the business portion of the meeting. (Last week, there was an issue with sharing space since we were not able to get our regular room).
• Next week is the Annual Football Luncheon with the Brookline Rotary Club at the The Brookline Holiday Inn.  Damon Amendolara will be the speaker at the event thanks to Laurisa Neuwirth.
• Justin will use the Price Center Van to pick up anyone who needs a ride.  The van will pick up at 11:30 at Lasell Village.  If anyone needs a ride, let Justin know.
• Laurisa spoke about this year's "Gift of Life" recipient, an 11 year old  girl from Central America who needs a lifesaving operation at Mass General Hospital for a congenital heart defect. We need Rotarians to provide housing and meals and transportation for the mother and child, which she gets the medical help she needs.  Please call or email Laurisa if you can help.
• Death By Chocolate Update:  Next meeting is Friday, November 30, at the Crowne Plaza at 5:00 PM.  ALL ARE WELCOME!

GUESTS

Sargent At Arms, Mark Nichols presented the guests:

• Jim Sanzi from St. Judes Children's Research Center
• Tim Stamp From Chapter 7, Boston
• And our old friend Holger Michael from Berlin, Germany

RAFFLE

Indira Desai won the raffle, but pulled out the 5 of hearts.  In her usual gracious way, she looked at the bright side of things and was happy for the rest of us all that we have another chance to win.

SPEAKER

Jim Sanzi, Senior Philanthropic Advisor from St. Jude's Children't Research Center discussed this organization. Their mission is, "No child should die in the dawn of life". No one pays for their treatment, transportation, housing or meals.  And all research is shared with other hospitals.  Danny Thomas was the founder of this hospital. 

SECOND MEETING AT THE NEWTON MARRIOTT!

Justin Sallaway called the meeting to order. Paul Stone led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Chris Chu led us in "God Bless America".  Justin provided the invocation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Indira Desai  announced she is starting up GSA which will be held March 28 - April 10 and the trip will be to Brazil.  Participants include vocational students and they must be 25 years of age or over.  Everything is paid for by Rotary.

Tom Keery said there is no update on Newton Has Talent at this point, but stay tuned, as there is work being done behind the scenes...

Jeff Tucker  talked about Death By Chocolate.  We need sponsors!!  If you know anyone who can help, please let Jeff or Mary Kern know. We may be raising price of the entry fee, but we will use coupons liberally so that we average $17.50

Chris Chu brought a draft of the Newton Has Talent lawn Sign

Cornelia Cain-Heard asked Chris to give out pens for Breast Cancer Awareness Pens.

GUESTS

Marty Lindeman from Rotary in Seattle, who has moved in to the area is checking out Rotary Clubs to join.

Kyle Farrell, who works for Village Bank joined us.

Kaitlyn Bryant from Golden Living Center in Chestnut Hill was also in attendance.

RAFFLE

Stella Pang picked the winning number, but did not correctly pick the ace of spades!  Too bad, Stella--maybe next week!  (Note:  Stella has also joined the Death By Chocolate Committee--we are delighted to have you!!)

Chris Chu asked a trivia question about wine...

HAPPY DOLLARS-as usual, there were alot of happy Rotarians!

SPEAKERS

Tim  Alberts, Director of Admissions for Jackson/Montessori school and Nancy Fish, head of Walnut Park Montessori School joined us and spoke about their work.  Sponsorships in the schools go from very young (2.9 mo) through College. The schools include Walnut Park Montessori, Jackson School, St. John's Prep, and Regis College.  The general concept of Montessori is that children work best through their hands. Montessori has multi age classes which helps with learning and growing according to the individual child's interests and pace of learning.

Below, Justin Sallaway, President of Newton Rotary Club, with Tim Alberts, Director of Admissions for the Jackson/Montessori School, and Nancy Fish, head of Walnut Park Montessori.

FIRST MEETING AT THE NEWTON MARRIOTT!

Paul Stone led us in Pledge of Allegiance, Susanne McInerney led us in song with "God Bless America", and Cornelia Cain-Heard gave the invocation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

There was a Board of Directors Meeting today.

There is a new date for Newton Has Talent, so mark your calendars for March 24, 2013, from 2-4:00 at Newton North Auditorium. There will be prizes for the top three:  $1000, $500 and $250.

Next Meeting is Thursday, 10:00 AM at the Y.  More volunteers are needed, so please join us!

Death By Chocolate--next meeting is Friday, October 19, at 5:00 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.  AGAIN, more volunteers are needed!

Quarterly bills have gone out, so please pay up!

Student of the Month will resume soon.

HAPPY DOLLARS--there was an abundance of happy Rotarians!

SARGENT AT ARMS REPORT

Mark Nichols, Sargent at Arms welcomed our guests, Susan Kelliher from Second Step, and Dave Andelman of Phantom Gourment fame.  Mark told some rather amusing jokes, and we were all left wondering if he should keep his day job or if he really should go into comedy...

Jeff Tucker introduced Dave Andelman, CEO of the Phantom Gourmet.  Dave relayed how Phantom Gourmet was originally a restaurant review show, but has evolved into more of an informational and entertainment business. 

There were lots of comments about the food at the Marriott being delicious, as well as the room having a delightful view of the Charles...

MEETING ADJOURNED

Justin Salllaway called the meeting to order.  Paul Stone led the Pledge of Allegiance, Susanne McInerney led us in song with "God Bless America. Justin delivered an invocation, and reminded us of the good things in life, even when the Red Sox let us down.

Justin reminded us that Dennis Prefontaine has retired, and is no longer going to be at Rotary Meetings.  He will be sorely missed.  Hopefully, we can plan a more forma goodbye so we can all send our good wishes with Dennis for his years of Rotary Service. 

CLUB ASSEMBLY
Justin gave an overview of the goals of the club. Justin will get the Dictionary Project going.  The total cost is $1600, matching funds of $800 are available.

 The goal for the coming year is a donation of $50 per member to the Rotary Foundation.  Keep in mind, if we get $100/member we become eligible for matching funds.

Justin brought up the sumbect of social events.  Do we want more of them?
We still have time to plan...

The Christmas Party is coming up.  Paul Kerrissey mentioned a train that goes around the Cape, and serves dinner and drinks (Cape Cod Railway)

Another idea is the Hotel Indigo for a social event--informal, whoever can make it type of atmosphere
If anyone has any other ideas, let Justin know.

Jeff Tucker presented our fundraising goals and handed out a rough P&L for the year.

Tom Keery gave an update on Newton Has Talent:

November 17 is Finals/$10 adults, $5 children Entry Fee is $20 per act Ad Book will generate revenue Oct. 27, Nov. 3--Auditions at Y, (NOTE: this information has been updated since our meeting -- updated information at next week's Rotary Meeting)

Laurisa Neuwirth reported on PR efforts from Tony Bibbo--and she reviewed the importance of getting our message out to the community. Special thanks to Tony for working on this initiative while recovering from pneumonia!  We miss you Tony--get well soon!

 In order to get name of Rotary Club of Newton out into community, and widen our audience about what we do, Tony requests that we continue to ask guests to come.

 Chris Chu presented the Membership Committee Goals:

We need to update the website with membership data -Membership status report was distributed -Everyone can upload their own picture.

Club Survey was distributed, and a roundtable discussion was facilitated by Membership Committee members.

NOTE:  This week, Rotary will meet on WEDNESDAY, at Brae Burn. This is our final meeting before moving to the Marriott.

BELOW, President Justin Sallaway, with Newton Mayor, Setti Warren.  Mayor Warren joined Rotary for the September 25 meeting to discuss the "state of the city".

SPECIAL GUEST:  District Governor, Richard Dietz

The meeting was brought to order, and Paul Stone led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.  Dennis Prefontaine gave an invocation, and Susanne McInerney led us in song, with “God Bless America”.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Next Week, Mayor Setti Warren will attend our Meeting, so Chris Chu reminded us it’s a good meeting to bring some potential Rotary Members.

Chris and Carolina will be meeting Friday afternoon at 4:00 at Carolina’s house to brainstorm ideas about how to get new members to join Rotary.  If you are interested in joining them, let Chris know.

The week after next, (October 2), will be Club Assembly

Death By Chocolate; committee has had their first meeting.  Information will be available after the next meeting.

Newton Has Talent; website is being developed, as well as Facebook Page.  More information to come…

October 2, will be Club Assembly

SARGENT AT ARMS

Our past Sargent At Arms, Dave Sellers introduced our two guests, Architect,  Mariana Dagatte, and Holger Michael, from the German Consulate. Like old times, Dave told a real stinker of a joke and as usual, his timing was impeccable.

RAFFLE

Mary Kern won the raffle, but chose the Ace of Hearts.  Paul Stone, once again helped out with the trivia question, so Mary went home with the consolation prize of a scratch ticket.

HAPPY DOLLARS

Many happy Rotary Members!

SPEAKER

Rich Dietz discussed the merits of being in Rotary. There are currently only 139 cases of polio in the whole world, but that is 139 cases too many, so we cannot stop the fight to eradicate polio. The theme of this year is “Peace through service”.  Rich’s goal for our district is to build membership by 10%. He also suggested that family projects get a lot of local press, so in order to gain visibility about Rotary, to consider doing these family service projects.

   Richard Dietz our District Governor      Special Guest, Holger Michael                    

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COMMITTEE SUMMARY FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE:

Death By Chocolate – Meets Monthly - Contact Mary Kern

Newton Has Talent – Meets as needed – Contact Tom Keery

Senior Safety Day – Meets Monthly – Contact Marie Presti

Membership Committee – Meets Monthly – Contact Chris Chu

Community Grants Committee – Meets as needed – Contact Ed Casavant

Newton/Brookline Relay for Life – Meets Monthly – Contact Jeff Tucker

Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast – Meets as needed – Contact Tony Bibbo

President Justin Sallaway called the meeting to order. Paul Stone led us in the Pledge of Allegiance, Jim Means shared an invocation, and Susanne McInerney and Lee Sullivan helped us feel a little more patriotic on a beautiful late summer day, with a rousing rendition of "America the Beautiful".

ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Winnepesaukee event at Marie Presti's house has been switched to a week later than mentioned in last week's newsletter...the new date is the weekend of September 22.

The Marriott is just about all set to be our new home for a while as Brae Burn does some renovations. 

Justin reminded us that we are working on our goals for next year so if anyone has any input about what they would like to see included, let him know.

SARGENT AT ARMS
Mark Nichols welcomed our guests, potential Newton Rotary Club Member, Mike the winner of the jackpot back in June.  Jim's lovely wife Linda was also in attendance.  

RAFFLE: Marie Presti picked the winning raffle ticket, but was not able to correctly pick the ace of spades.

GUESTS
Our guest was supposed to be Sean Bielat, Republican Congressional candidate for Massachusetts' Fourth Congressional District, however he did not make it... 

Our program for next week will include guest speaker,  Elizabeth Childs, and Jim Means has personally guaranteed that she will be there! See you all next week!

Newton Rotary Club--August 14

 President Justin Sallaway called the meeting to order.  Paul Stone led us in the pledge of Allegiance. Dennis Prefontaine shared an invocation. Susan McInerney challenged us in song with The Star Spangled Banner.  Paul, was so inspired by our national anthem that he continued with verse 2.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
There was a board meeting today.  Governor Rich Dietz will be here for the Sept 18th meeting. Sept. 11 meeting is CANCELLED.  Lake Winnepesaukee "meeting" will be weekend of September 15.  More details will be available soon on the Website. There was a discussion about how to handle the Emergency Fund.  Interest of that fund goes to emergencies usually around the amount of $500.  However, interest rates have been low the past few years, so we are making less than half that amount in interest income. However, we still want to be able to give out a significant amount for emergencies, so do we dip into the corpus and assume interest rates will rebound in the future, or do we fundraise? The topic was tabled, but will be revisited at a future Board Meeting.

We are still on target for the Newton's Got Talent Show for November 17. Tom Keery will reconvene the committee after Labor Day.

SARGENT AT ARMS 
Report was given by past sargent at arms, David Sellers who introduced new Rotary Member Stella Pang and speaker Abby Kidder from the World Ocean School.  Dave did not have a joke on hand, but Marc Epstein bailed Dave out by telling a joke.

RAFFLE:
Marc pulled the winning ticket...and picked the 10 of clubs. Sorry Marc! Unfortunately, he missed the trivia question--but it was a valiant effort...

HAPPY DOLLARS-there were lots of happy Rotarians this week!

MORE ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Marc--car donation was recieved...if you  know anyone who would like a 1994 toyota camry--send them out way

Mary Kern read an email from fellow rotarian, Rachel Sturma, who announced that she had a baby boy, John David Sturma, on Monday, August 13. 8lbs. 12 oz., 21' long.  Mom and baby are doing well!

SPEAKER
Jeff Tucker introduced Abby Kidder from World Ocean School. The World Ocean School, started in 2002, is a non-profit that helps kids to learn about community by participating in the running of a boat (the Roseway).  Academics are tied to sail training. The population taking part in this program is predominantly underserved kids.

President Justin Salaway commenced the meeting. Paul Stone led the Pledge of Allegiance.  Dennis Prefontaine provided the invocation.  Lee Sullivan led us in "My country Tis of Thee".

ANNOUNCEMENTS
There is a Board Meeting Next week, August 14, at 11:00 AM.  Remember, all members are welcome to attend.

Dustin Sullivan recognized August Birthdays;  Mary Kern and Dave Sellers received the Happy Birthday honors in song.

Lee Sullivan sent a shout out to Marie Presti, and Executive Realties for supplying sponsorship money for the Second Step Reunion and backpack drive.

GUESTS 
Sargent at Arms, Mark Nichols introduced Roger Knight and Kelly Clark as our guest speakers from the HomeBase program.

Past Present of the Malden Rotary Club Dan Hoffenberg was in attendance.

Joke:  Mark enlightened us with a list of what Men are Like...the women laughed a little more than the men.

RAFFLE
Raffle Drawing was held....and Marie Presti won a chance to pick from the deck. Sadly, Marie chose the ace of hearts. Jeff Tucker gave Marie a consolation question, asking what is the second most hiked mountain....ANSWER: Mt. Monadnock was easily guessed with a little help from Mark.

HAPPY DOLLARS
Lots of happy dollars...but one of note: Tom Keery's golf club was given a happy dollar, and since Tom was not present to retrieve his club, in true Rotary fashion, it was auctioned off, with Paul Kerrissey starting the bidding at $5, bidding ended at $10, and for a mere $10, Tom can get his club back, proving that it's just not worth missing a Rotary Meeting!

ANNOUNCEMENTS 
Paul Kerrissey suggested next week after Rotary, he would be happy to take some of us on a cruise.  Let Paul know if you are interested.

GUEST SPEAKER
Roger Knight discussed the Home Base Program; a partnership between Mass General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation. The Home Base Program developed after the Red Sox won the World Series. Many of the players admitted if they weren't playing baseball, they would most likey be in service in Iraq or Afghanistan.  This program seeks to help verterans and their loved ones deal with the stresses of combat and deployment.

Coming next week:
Don't miss Abby Kidder from the World Ocean School...

Rotary Meeting 7/31/12

On Tuesday July 31, 2012 the Rotary Club of Newton inducted two new members, Stella Pang and Cornelia Cain-Heard!  Stella, who comes with a wealth of experience from the world of finance, comes to us via a former client who had introduced her to Rotary a while back and she was inspired to take part in Rotary.  Cornelia Cain-Heard, a consultant in the field of public education and public health, was introduced to Newton Rotary by Rachel Sturma.

Pictured below, left to right, new members Stella Pang and Cornelia Cain-Heard, and President Justin Sallaway

The Induction ceremony was initiated by Chris Chu, who gave a little background on the two candidates.  It was also greatly enhanced by an overview of Rotary International history, with a particular focus on the the admittance of women, by Laurisa Neuwirth, recent past presdent.  Dick Bowen, also a past president, who reminded us all of the object of Rotary and its mission, while Jim Means rounded out the induction with a review of the avenues of service and the four-way test.  President Justin Salloway presented Stella and Cornelia with Rotary pins and pens and congratulated them on their induction into Newton Rotary!

Our guest speaker was Mark Wasnock.  Better known as “The Waz” by his friends in Waltham Rotary, Mark told us about his experiences  in the US Navy  where he was stationed on the USS STARK3. The STARK was struck by two missiles while on patrol in the Persian Gulf in 1987. Mark has also been a key member of our Death By Chocolate planning committee for many years.

Pictured below, Mark Wasnock

ROTARY MEETING MINUTES

 President Justin Sallaway called the meeting to order. Paul Stone led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Justin delivered the invocation.  Marie Presti led us in song with "My Country Tis of Thee".

Announcements

Chris Chu announced that two new members, Stella Pang and Cornelia Cain-Heard, will be inducted next week. Looks like Chris isn't wasting any time as the new chair of the membership committee!

 Justin and Jeff Tucker are working on Board Meeting Schedule. Board Meetings will be the third Tuesday of each month. Stay tuned for the finalized schedule. 

Guests
Guests included Annette Epstein (wife of Marc Epstein) and Hans Renz from Marburg, Germany.  Hans and his family will be living in Newtonville for a year.  Hans presented us with a Rotary Flag from Marburg, Germany.  He is looking for a Rotary Club to belong to while he is here...hmmmm, I think I know one.... 

Sargent at Arms, Mark Nicholas, with special guest Harald "Hans" Renz, from the Marburg Rotary Club.

Sargent at Arms duties were performed by Mark Nicholas, but he did not have a joke prepared. He did, however, tell a story as told to him by Paul Kerrissey, aka "the most interesting man alive". 

Paul was at top of Prudential, and witnessed a heated discussion between two men.  The argument that ensued involved a discussion about the wind and centrifugal force, and what would happen if one jumped off the Prudential Building. The first man swore up and down that if you jumped, you would go down and then go swoop right back up to the top.  The second man adamantly denied that could possibly happen.  So a bet is made, $100 put down on the table, and the first man jumps out the window.  Lo and behold, he flies around, swoops down and comes right back up and lands right back on the window sill from which he jumped.  The second man jumps off the building and goes splat on the pavement. The bartender looks at the first guy and says, "You know Superman, you're a real jerk when you drink." 

Carolina Trujillo introduced Nathan Bernards from BU, who is working on the BU Urban Business Accelerator. This program focuses on Financial Literacy in small businesses in Boston. This program targets businesses who don't have accounting systems, or formalized operations and provides software and training which eventually results in these businesses being more successful.

Pictured below, President of Newton Rotary, Justin Sallaway, with guest speaker Nathan Bernards.

Paul reminds us: don't forget to mark your calendars for the Lake Winnepesaukee weekend at Marie's, weekend of September 15

What a beautiful, hot, sunny day at Brae Burn.  Justin called meeting to order. Paul led the Pledge of Allegiance, Dennis led the invocation and Susanne led us in "God Bless America".

 Sargeant at Arms - Bruce Leaver, thanks to Dave, joke about man brings dog to vet, vet says dog is dead, man wants second opinion, vet brings cat out, sniffs end to end, dog still dead, man wants another opinion, vet brings out a labrador retriever who checks dead dog out, still dead, vet gives invoice to man for $550 - says would have been $50 but since he had a "cat scan" and "lab test" it cost more!

 Raffle - Jim Means' guest Michael Kantrowitz of Merrill Lynch was the lucky winner of $1500 pot today!

 Announcements - Justin presented Laurisa with plaque for her year of excellent service as President of  Newton Rotary. Pictured below, Past President, Laurisa Neuwirth accepting her award from current President, Justin Sallaway.

 Laurisa announced her new blog "FitTech" on Boston.com.

 Happy Dollars
Bruce Leaver: his 30th wedding anniversary is today

Lee Sullivan: for the beautiful day

Michael Kantrowitz: will become new member

Marie: Happy son is back. Will help with Second Step cookout for families on Aug. 16 at the Cove, 5:30, looking for more volunteers to help out.

Peggy: Happy for our guest speaker

Paul: Youngest son has a good medical outcome

Tom: Son Thomas getting married in Sept, back from NYC  and had a good visit with future in-laws.

Peter: Thanked Laurisa's good work this past year, had a good trip to Maine.

Bert: Thanked Laurisa for her good work.

Tony Bibbo - Went to Disney World/Epcot center. Had surprise rendition of Happy Birthday in Italian sung to him.

Chris: Happy dollar for Laurisa who introduced me to Newton Rotary

 Speaker Steve Machnick from Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts who gave us a very profound and sobering talk about the impact and extent of brain injury in our world.  He gave us his personal story which made it very real.  His organization's mission is to spread the word about brain injury prevention as the only form of combating brain injury. 

 Special Thanks to Chris Chu for taking these notes!

MEETING MINUTES

New Rotary President, Justin Sallaway, called the meeting to order. Paul Stone led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.  Dennis Prefontaine read the  invocation, and Marie Presti led the singing of 'My Country Tis of Thee'.

 New Sargent at Arms, Mark Nicholas introduced our guests. Mark and Bruce Leaver will be sharing Sargent at Arms responsibilities. Mark continued Dave Sellers' tradition of telling a terrible joke.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Board Meetings will be at 11:00 on the third Tuesday of the month.  All members are welcome to attend the board meetings.

 Jeff Tucker has taken over the speaker shedule, but would like others to share in this duty.  It was suggested that every 3 months someone new can be responsible for getting the speakers. Check the Clubrunner Website for upcoming speakers. If you have ideas for speakers, let Jeff know.

 REMINDER:  October 16 we begin holding meetings at the Newton Marriott.  Dave Andelman (of Phanton Gourmet fame) will be our speaker that day.

 Chris Chu is now chairman of the Membership Committee, and has the monsterous task of filling the sockless shoes of Tom Keery.

 Dustin Sullivan will continue with birthdays, Paul Kerrissey was voted to be chair of nominating committee (but he has not yet been told the good news.)

 There will be a Club Assembly, September 25

 Lake Winnepesaukee Trip September 14-16

 There will be no meeting September 18, but the Board Meeting (which was scheduled for that day) to be determined.

 November 17, Newton's Got Talent

 RAFFLE:  6 Cards left in the deck...the pot is around $1400,  Tom Keery was the winner of the raffle....however, in spite of a valiant effort, Tom Keery was not able to choose the correct card.  We were all heartbroken for Tom. Bring your money next week...only 5 cards left!

SPEAKERS:  Our speakers were introduced by Carolina Trujillo, and discussed the Fundation for Financial Education. Alby Alvarez Cody and husband Jim Cody presented their non-profit organization which brings financial literacy to the workplace.

 NEXT WEEK: Our speaker will be Steve Machink, from the  Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts.

District Governor Tom Polito visited our club today!