Club members and the community have flooded Bill and Karen Brown's home with toys and gifts to be distributed through the Kristi's Christmas program. (Below is the Brown's Family room, other rooms are also filled with gifts)

School counselors have been streaming through the Brown's home to select gifts for students who would otherwise not have something under the tree on Christmas morning.  The flow of counselors will continue through the week and the Brown's expect the toy supply to be depleted by week's end.  Thank you to all who contributed toys this year.  On Christmas day, as you are opening your presents, the best present you may have given might be to a child who you may never meet but who may remember your gift for years.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

 Story written by Elizabeth McConville

 MPO. Sharron Williams was selected as the West Springfield's Rotary Club Police Officer of the Year for 2011. This annual award is bestowed upon a deserving Police Officer from the local chapters' area that has demonstrated sustained commitment to the law enforcement mission and community service. He was chosen as this year's recipient based on his 20+ years of service to the Fairfax County Police Department and the citizens of the West Springfield District, and his sustained professionalism during his tenure. He consistently led his squad in patrol performance bringing his 20+ years of active duty military service with the U.S. Marines into play as a leader among his fellow Police Officers. His recent cases in which he identified, arrested and successfully prosecuted con artists taking advantage of senior citizen home owners was impressive and indicative of his tenacity in keeping the citizens in his patrol area safe. The West Springfield District Station has exceptional Police Officers so the bar is set high, but through his continued hard work and commitment his have raised that bar even higher.

On November 9 Brian Gawn, Vice President of Operations of the Fisher House Foundation, was our guest speaker. A Fisher House is "a home away from home" for military families of patients receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers. The homes are normally located within walking distance of the treatment facility or have transportation available. There are 54 Fisher Houses located in the United States and Germany. A new Fisher House is currently being built at Fort Belvoir.

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Story by Rick Cernohorsky, Photos by Larry Leonard and Bill Brown 

On August 17, 2011 our Rotary had a very busy breakfast meeting packing boxes for some of our Troops overseas in Afghanistan.  Our main objective was to let the Troops know we cared.  A members' Son was assigned to the 2^nd Marine Combat Engineering Battalion, Route Clearance Platoon 1, deployed to a forward operating base in southern Afghanistan. 

This platoon was composed of approximately 30 Marines whose mission was to search and neutralize IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices).  They were in the field often and in constant danger.  They slept in their trucks many nights while they were in the field as this was the safest place to be. 

One of the few comforts they had in the field was meals which were composed of packaged government MREs (Meal, Ready to Eat).  Our members' Son had said those meals got very boring after you had them a few times.  The Marines appreciated food that was sent to them that supplemented what they had. 

Our Rotary compiled a list of the items we needed for this project and posted it on our website.  Rotary members signed up for the items they could bring.  In no time the list was filled.  We dedicated one of our breakfast meetings to packing the boxes.  You can see from the photos the fun we had on our end and the happiness we brought to the Marines. 

Semper Fidelis!

Christine Kocabay and Lawrence Rouse, graduating seniors at West Springfield High School and their families, were guests of the West Springfield Rotary Club on May  25th for the announcement of their selection to receive the club’s 2011 Scholarships. Hannah Hurlburt, the WSHS Career Center Specialist whose help and assistance to the Scholarship Committee was recognized by Rick Cernohorsky, the Committee Chairman, and given flowers in appreciation for her participation.

The scholarship(s) are designated for students who will be attending Northern Virginia Community College. To qualify, students were required to submit an application which included an essay and a letter of recommendation from a faculty member. The Rotary Club Scholarship Committee reviewed the applications, conducted interviews with the finalists and made the final determinations using the established selection criteria: financial need, demonstrated academic ability, involvement with civic or community organizations, extra-curricular school activities and scholastic achievement. In addition, special consideration was given to WSHS Interact (Rotary) Club members.

Recipients may receive up to $2,000 per semester. The actual dollar amount will be determined by the Scholarship Committee, based on needs of the student and the scholarship dollars available.

A mentor has been appointed for each recipient to provide support and encouragement throughout the school year – Clyde Findley will be working with Lawrence and Lorna Walters with Christine.

On June 2nd, Christine and Lawrence were presented with their scholarship certificates at the West Springfield High School Senior Award Assembly and were greeted with rousing cheers from the audience.

Other members of the Scholarship Committee are Mike Salkind, Lorna Walters, and Todd Lalich.

The members of the West Springfield Rotary are a diverse group in many ways.  All get involved for different reasons but the main themes that they express about their enthusiasm for the club are: 

The enjoyment and fun of getting together whether for weekly meetings, social events or service projects.

A diverse program of projects and initatives that helps right where we live and work.

The variety and quality of speakers at weekly meetings.

If you would like to see what we are all about, please be our guest at one of our weekly meetings.