Daryll Speicher of the Monroe County Environmental Education Center talks about backyard habitats for birds with Karen Ecke and members of the West End Rotary Club.

Club President Jill Rehrig pins the lapel of Linda Salas-Mamary to welcome her as a member of West End Rotary. Linda is the area director at Riverside Rehabilitation. Her classification is occupational therapist.

The same day West End Rotary inducted Jennifer May into the evening Fellowship Club. Her classification is advisor and her sponsor is Jill Rehrig. Jennifer works at the PA CareerLink center in Tannersville as an employment counselor. Prior to that she worked as an instructor and admissions counselor at Lehigh Carbon Community College. She has a masters of education degree from DeSales University and a B.S. degree in education from West Chester University.

Please be sure to give a warm welcome to our newest members.

Three Pleasant Valley High School juniors have won the 2013 West End Rotary Essay Contest.

The winners are: Nina Rose M. Giambalvo, first place; Rachel Wenrich, second, and Katheryn Hull, third. The students received certificates of achievement and monetary awards in the amounts of $150, $100 and $75, respectively. They were honored at the regular Thursday breakfast meeting of the club in Brodheadsville by club members and Pleasant Valley High School Principal John Gress.

The club has forwarded the first-place essay to Rotary International District 7410, where it will be judged along with the essays from approximately 50 high schools in Northeast Pennsylvania. The district essay awards will be presented in June. Some 100 students entered the West End essay contest. This year’s topic was “Describe your personal role model and how that person influenced you to make a difference in your community.”

Nina Rose Giambalvo selected her mother, Tracey, as her role model and indicated that her parents “felt it was an important value to contribute to the family and neighborhood because charity starts at home and our neighborhood is important to our home.” Nina volunteers for several organizations including the LEO and KEY clubs at her high school, Wesley Enhanced Living, Mrs. Bush’s Personal Care Homes and AWSOM, the Animal Welfare Society of Monroe County. She is a member of the Pocono Medical Explorers, a junior sergeant-at-arms for the American Legion Unit 928 and is active in the local Italian heritage group.

Rachel Wenrich wrote that her role model, actor Jennifer Lawrence, inspired her “to volunteer for something that you are passionate about,” which in her case is volunteering at an animal shelter, the Special Olympics, helping to build a memorial garden, participating in Relay for Life, donating her clothing to families in need and teaching children to ride horses through the Equi-Librium program for disabled youth.

Katheryn Hull wrote that her older brother was her personal role model and inspired her to participate in her community by volunteering at a daycare center, and teaching autistic children to ride horses at the local Equi-Librium horse farm.

“Rotary sponsor programs such as the essay contest because they help students improve their writing abilities, self-confidence and leadership skills,” said essay contest Chair Elaine Ackroyd-Kelly. “It also encourages young people to embrace community service early in their lives and careers.” Those comments were echoed by West End Rotary Club President Jill Rehrig, who thanked school officials and parents for stressing the importance of those values.

West End Rotary is part of Rotary International, a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian service and encourages high ethical standards in all vocations. At the local level the club conducts several fundraisers to support students, firefighters, police, libraries, the Pleasant Valley Ecumenical Network and other organizations within the community.

The club meets at 7:30 a.m. most Thursdays at the Western Pocono Community Library in Brodheadsville.

Antique planes and cars come together on Sunday, May 26 when the Mt. Pocono Rotary Club sponsors its annual Fly-in, Drive-in Breakfast at the Pocono Mountains Municipal Airport in Mount Pocono. The show runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. rain or shine.

This year Aviation Day wil feature static displays, military airplanes, refreshments and the Pocono Raceway pace car. Airplane and helicopter rides are available. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. the Young Eagles EAA Program will offer free rides to children ages 8-17.

The event is also sponsored by Baileys Rib and Steakhouse and Smuggler's Cove. It is hosted by the Pocono Mountains Airport Authority and Moyer Aviation. Proceeds will benefit Rotary causes including Polio Plus and the Pocono Mountain Public Library.

Monroe County Controller Marlo Merhige speaks to the West End Rotary Club about the system of checks and balances in government.

West End Rotarians Honi Lynn Gruenberg, left, and Karin Susan Breitlauch, right, receive multiple honors from past Rotary International President Luis Vicente Giay at the Rotary Foundation dinner in Tunkhannock. The club was recognized for its ongoing contributions to Rotary Foundation’s $200 million Polio Plus challenge to eradicate the disease worldwide and other charitable giving, including the Every Rotarian Every Year project. Honi leads that project for the West End Club. A native of Argentina, Past President Giay chairs the Rotary Foundation and the Rotary Global Peace Forums.

President Jill has released the schedule of board meetings and club assemblies for 2013.

Board Meetings
May 15, Jill's office
June 12, Jill's office

All board meetings start at 6 p.m.

Club Assembly
April 25
May 23
Jun. 20

Twenty-five years ago, nearly two dozen people banded together to form the West End Rotary Club. Over the years the club has donated thousands of dollars to local organizations, thousands of hours to service projects and countless hours of leadership training for its members.

Sponsored by the Rotary club of the Stroudsburgs and chartered on Jan. 29, 1988, West End Rotary was one of the first Rotary clubs in the world to be chartered with a female officer. Four of the club's 22 charter members were women, the first such charter members in the district. Those members were Terri Zinn, Leona Wood, Jacquelyn Hallas and Patricia Slutter.

The club was founded by Wes Brush, Bob Wilson and Ron Dietrich. In addition to Wes, Ron, Terri and Leona, officers and directors included Tom Kresge, Parker Lindsay, Michael Scovil, Stan Roberts, Ross Blakeslee and Jeff Cohen.

Join us at our regular meeting--7:30 a.m. most Thursdays at the Western Pocono Community Library--to see how Rotary can help you better your community and your business.

West End Rotary isn’t just for breakfast anymore. The service organization has expanded its offerings by adding an evening meeting for business people who’d rather service their community when fully awake.

“We’re extending Rotary’s community outreach to new members whose schedules don’t allow them to attend a breakfast meeting,” said Jill Rehrig, the club’s president and principal organizer of the PM Fellowship Club. “The new schedule offers greater flexibility. Members can choose to meet in the morning or the evening.”

The club has traditionally met for breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Thursdays at the Western Pocono Community Library in Brodheadsville. The new branch of the club meets at 5:30 p.m. Thursdays.

The new meeting time also offers greater possibilities for community service, she said. Over the past few years West End Rotary has held several high-profile fundraisers, including a Vera Bradley/Longaberger Basket Bingo the Sunday before the Super Bowl and its Oktoberfest and Car Show at the Polk Township Fire Hall. With those proceeds the club has purchased equipment for local firefighters, coats for children in need and dictionaries for every third grader in the Pleasant Valley School District. It has also supported regional projects such as the new Dale and Frances Hughes Cancer Center in East Stroudsburg.

For more information contact Jill Rehrig at (570) 778-3846.

Members of the West End Rotary Club turned out in force for their annual Vera Bradley/Longaberger Basket Bingo, held the Sunday before the Super Bowl each year at the West End Fire Hall in Brodheadsville. This year, proceeds from the event will benefit Breast Friends, the Western Pocono Community Library and the many local organizations on the club's Community Wish List.

Twenty-five years ago, nearly two dozen people banded together to form the West End Rotary Club. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, West End Rotary will host a charter dinner on Tuesday, Jan. 29 at the Scorecard, 130 N. Broadway in Wind Gap. Cocktails start at 6 p.m. with dinner at 7 p.m.

Dinner selections include a choice of New York strip steak, grilled salmon or chicken parmigiana. The cost is $25 per person.

Please RSVP Karin Breitlauch by calling or texting (610) 390-2013 or sending email to ksbvet@ptd.net by Jan. 21 and indicate your menu selection.

Sponsored by the Rotary club of the Stroudsburgs and chartered on Jan. 29, 1988, West End Rotary was one of the first Rotary clubs in the world to be chartered with a female officer. Four of the club's 22 charter members were women, the first such charter members in the district. Those members were Terri Zinn, Leona Wood, Jacquelyn Hallas and Patricia Slutter.

The club was founded by Wes Brush, Bob Wilson and Ron Dietrich. In addition to Wes, Ron, Terri and Leona, officers and directors included Tom Kresge, Parker Lindsay, Michael Scovil, Stan Roberts, Ross Blakeslee and Jeff Cohen.

If you have any stories or pictures to share with the group, please send them to Karin. She will assemble a photo montage. Digital media is preferred but actual photos could be used and returned after the event.

Bart Springer believes that learning is a lifelong activity. A member of the Jim Thorpe Rotary Club, he shared his passion, and his reading list, at a recent meeting of the West End club.

Bart, who with his wife Meriel owns Crave restaurant in the Albright Mansion, listed several resources for people who would like to improve their attitude and performance. His top-five books:

1. Personality Plus, Littauer
2. How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling, Bettger
3. How to Have Confidence and Power in Dealing with People, Biglin
4. Resolved, Woodward
5. The Ant and the Elephant, Poscente

A past president of the Jim Thorpe Chamber of Commerce, Bart also talked about another resource, the Mental Fitness Challenge series of books and videos. And he issued a challenge to West End Rotarians: gauge your mental fitness by taking a test at TakeYourChallenge.net.

Karl and Jane Kirchhofer, owners of a 1916 Model T Touring car, stand with West End Rotary President Jill Rehrig after winning the President's Choice Award at the service club's Oktoberfest and Car Show in Kresgeville. Hundreds of people and cars showed for the annual festival of fun, food and German music. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Western Pocono Community Library, Jackson Township Fire Co. and other community organizations.

The Olympics may have ended but it's the students from Pleasant Valley Intermediate School who are taking home the medals for helping the West End Rotary Club raise money for charity through its annual holiday card project. Front, from left, Zach Koshinsky, Audra Jarecki and Shannon Simpson hold the plaques, art kits and packs of cards printed from the designs they submitted during an awards ceremony at the club's breakfast meeting. Standing behind them, from left, are Melinda Ludwig, PV Intermediate School art teacher; Honi Gruenberg, Rotary's holiday card project coordinator; and West End Rotary President Jill Rehrig. Each year West End Rotary commissions artwork from PV students to grace its holiday cards, which are sold throughout the region to raise money for community projects.

If it's July it must be a new Rotary Year. For our newest members here's a list of officers and directors for 2012-2013:

Jill Rehrig, president
Debbie Borger, president-elect 
Theresa Yocum, vice president
Diana Cardwell, secretary
Frank Mullane, treasurer
Karin-Susan Breitlauch, past president
Joey Krawitz, club administrator
Dave Pierce, sergeant-at-arms
Jeff Widmer, public relations
Karen Ecke, Rotary Foundation
Elaine Ackroyd-Kelly, New Generations
Kevin Noll, service projects
Joanie Loveless, membership

Three Pleasant Valley High School students have won the annual West End Rotary Club scholarship competition.

Myranda Fredericks, Amber Butterfield and Alexis Telepo received checks for $100, $50 and $50 respectively at the club’s meeting on April 5. (See photo under Photo Journals, 2012 Scholarship Winners.)

This year the club asked students to describe their personal role model and discuss how that person influenced them to make a different in their community.

Myranda Fredericks wrote about her church’s youth group leader, who provides volunteer opportunities at camps and food banks. She said those programs and ones sponsored by West End Rotary benefit students as well as the community. “You get to share with people, help other people,” she said. “It might encourage them to give back, to make them more involved in their community.”

“Programs like this help students improve writing abilities, self-confidence and leadership skills,” said scholarship program coordinator Elaine Ackroyd-Kelly. “They also encourage people to embrace community service early in their careers. In fact, ‘New Generations’ is one of the five avenues of service in Rotary.”

Myranda Fredericks’ winning essay now moves to Rotary’s district level, where she will compete for a $1,000 scholarship.

West End Rotary raises money to benefit students, firefighters, libraries and others in the community. It is a part of Rotary International, a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian service and encourages high ethical standards in all vocations.

For our newest members we offer West End Rotary's traditional table blessing before each meeting:

For these and all thy gifts of love
We give thee thanks and praise.
Look down our Father from above
And bless us all our days.

New to our club and looking for information about Rotary programs and procedures? The club website (westendrotary.org) is the place to start. From the upper left-hand corner of the homepage, find "Links" and click on "For New Members." That will take you to the RI page for new Members. There you can view documents such as "Rotary Basics" and "What is Rotary?" You can watch a video about the organization and click on the "Member Responsibility" link for more info.

During its first ten years, the West End Rotary Club has made a difference in hundreds of ways. Find out how in a brief excerpt from the club's history book.

There are several ways to maintain your attendence by making up for a missed meeting. You can attend the meeting of another club. Or you can meet online--at Rotary eClub One http://www.rotaryeclubone.org/ or one of Rotary's 14 officially chartered e-clubs. View the list at www.rotary.org keyword "make-up" or visit http://www.rotary.org/en/MediaAndNews/News/Pages/081222_news_howto.aspx

If you do a physical make-up, please give your card to Diana. If you do a virtual make-up please notify her at dirog@ptd.net