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Making a Difference in Our Community & the World

Shrewsbury

Service Above Self

We meet Mondays at 12:15 PM
Post Office Pub
1 Ray Street
North Grafton, MA  01536
United States of America
Email:
judyshrewsburyrotary@gmail.com
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Bulletins
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Venue Map
 
Important Upcoming Events
The 4th Annual Food & Brew Fest will be on Sunday, June 23th 2019  from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM at Avidia Bank, 23 Maple Ave, Shrewsbury.  Information for participating vendors, sponsorship opportunities, and tickets will be available soon!
 
 
 
No Meeting Notice
There will be no meeting on holidays or when schools are closed due to inclement weather.  Also, we may not meet on a Monday immediately following a club event such as Recycle Day or Community Reading Day.  Please check the Club Calendar or contact Judy Merriman at judyshrewsburyrotary@gmail.com for more information. 
 
Rotary International News
 
Club Executives & Directors
President
Don Harbert
President 2019-2020 (PE)
Stephanie Luz
President 2020-2021 (VP)
Owen Russell
Past President
Kathy McSweeney
Secretary
Cliff Gerber
Treasurer
Matt Armenti
Sgt. at Arms
Art Dobson
Board Member
Judy Merriman
Board Member
Julieann Parent
Board Member
Lorraine Jones
Board Member
Craig Barry
SERVICE Chair
Don Harbert
Membership Chair
Judy Merriman
Foundation Chair
Julieann Parent
Public Image Chair
Julieann Parent
YOUTH Chair
Melanie Petrucci
Literacy Chair
Owen Russell
Visioning Champion
Lorraine Jones
Bulletin Chair
Cliff Gerber
Website Administrator
Moira Miller
Speaker Chair
Barbara Heisler
RYLA
Melanie Petrucci
Youth Chair
Melanie Petrucci
 
 
 
Welcome to the Rotary Club of Shrewsbury
Are you an established professional who wants to make positive changes in your community and the world? Our club members are dedicated people who share a passion for community service and friendship. Becoming a Rotarian connects you with a diverse group who share your drive to give back.
 
Contact Us
 
Club Stories
Abby’s House
Posted by Moira Miller on Feb 01, 2019

Members of the Shrewsbury and Worcester Rotary Clubs recently visited Abby’s House. Abby’s House provides homeless, battered, and low-income women and their children with shelter, housing, and support services to help them get back on their feet. The Two clubs jointly donated 20 dressers to Abby’s House. Angela Tivan led the Shrewsbury project to obtain a District Grant. Barbara Guthrie led the Worcester club effort.

4th Annual Food & Brew Fest 
Planning has begun for the 4th Annual Food & Brew Fest.  Mark your calendars for Sunday, June 23th 2019 from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM at Avidia Bank, 23 Maple Ave, Shrewsbury.  Information for vendor participation, sponsorships, and tickets will be available soon!
SYFS Holiday Toy Drive
Posted by Moira Miller on Dec 18, 2018
The club's Freshman Project was to help organize the annual Shrewsbury Youth & Family Services Toy Drive. There were several opportunities for all club members to volunteer to help make the holidays brighter for more than 90 children this year!  (photo credit to Christine Mowry, SYFS).
 
Holiday Buffet and Yankee Swap
Posted by Beth Casavant on Dec 06, 2018
On Monday, December 10th our meeting will be spent celebrating the holiday season with a buffet lunch and Yankee Swap. Swap gifts should not exceed $20 in value.
 
There will not be a regular lunch meeting on Monday, December 17th as many members are volunteering to set up the annual SYFS Toy Drive as part of the Rotary Freshman Service Project.
 
 
Rotary Friendship Exchange
Posted by Beth Casavant on Nov 27, 2018
 
            Jan Mark shared information about the Rotary Friendship Exchange, a Rotary activity launched by Rotary International in 1984. Rotary Friendship Exchange (RFE) offers Rotarians and their spouses or partners to experience other cultures by visiting each other's countries and homes. the program is reciprocal and lasts for a maximum of 12 days. The purpose of the exchange is to stimulate international understanding, create goodwill and peace, as well as link international contacts through person to person contacts across international borders. 
 
Jan's Rotary Club in District 2390  in Helsingborg, Sweden participated in this program with a club in Chinese District 3461 in Taiwan.  Jan is anxious to establish and exchange with our District and will be speaking to the Worcester Rotary Club as well. 
Personal Care Collection for Veterans
Posted by Moira Miller
For the fourth year, the Rotary Club joined forces with the Lion's Club of Shrewsbury to collect needed personal care items for clients at Veterans, Inc.  Shoppers at Price Chopper in Shrewsbury were given lists of needed items as they entered the store.  Members of both clubs collected the items as shoppers left the store. A great community effort to remember and thank our veterans for their service around the time of Veteran's Day!
 
 

 
Welcome to Our Newest Member!
At the October 1st meeting, President-Elect Stephanie Luz installed Betsy Hudson as the newest member of the Shrewsbury Club.  Welcome Betsy!
Rotary at Spirit of Shrewsbury
The Rotary Club of Shrewsbury participated at the 22nd Annual Spirit of Shrewsbury Fall Festival on September 29th.  The Town Expo on Saturday is a popular event celebrating business, town, civic, educational, and religious organizations. 
Don Musial from Wheelabrator
It's always a pleasure to welcome Don Musial, General Manager of Wheelabrator Shrewsbury, to our meetings.  On August 13th, Don spoke about environmental performance and efficiencies at the town landfill. And did you know they have bee hives and make their own honey?
Students Write "From My Heart"
Thank you to Melanie Petrucci, Senior Community Reporter for the Community Advocate and Shrewsbury Rotarian, for writing this article highlighting the Shrewbury Club's "From My Heart" writing program for high school students. 
 
New Officer Installation
The club installation of new officers was held on Monday, June 18th.  Congratulations to Don Harbert on his Installation as Club President for 2018-19!  A big Thank You and well wishes to outgoing President Kathy McSweeney!  See more photos at photoalbums/new-officer-installation (photo credit: Rotary District 7910). 
 
Welcome to Another Member!
Welcome to our newest member, Rob Guinard, Director of Community Relations for Benchmark Senior Living at Shrewsbury Crossings!  Rob was inducted by Shrewsbury Club President, Kathy McSweeney at the May 7th meeting. Congratulations to Rob for joining Rotary to get involved and make a difference. 
Mindy McKenzie Receives Paul Harris
Mindy McKenzie (left) is awarded the distinguished Paul Harris Award by Club President Kathy McSweeney for her contributions to the Rotary Club Foundation.
Welcome New Members!
Four new members were installed at the club meeting on April 30, 2018. Welcome to Emily Chiarelli of Benchmark Senior Living, Michael Richard of United Bank, Amber Polisher and Colleen Lanza of Grafton Jobs Corps. 
Installation Set for June 18
The Installation of Don Harbert as the club’s 2018-2019 president and the other officers of the club for the coming year is scheduled for June 18th. The installation will be held at the regular club meeting time of 12:15 p.m. and at our regular venue, The Post Office Pub.
 
The Guest Speaker will be Shrewsbury Town Manager, Kevin Mizikar. Kevin will offer his reflections on his first year as Town Manager and where he sees the club going in the next few years. 
 
Some Recent Speakers
Big Brothers Big Sisters - Our former member and past president, Jeff Chin, now Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters spoke to the club on February 5, along with his assistant, Colleen Shroth.
 
Among the things that Jeff shared was that “Bigs”, as he refers to his agency, has two basic programs: 1) Site Based programs that are based in a school, club or company, and 2) Community Based programs that are more flexible and focus on single pairings of Bigs with their “Littles.”
 
He noted that many of the Littles come from single parent families, headed by a mother (52%) and 18% have incarcerated parents. Positive roll models are crucial. There is a crying need for Bigs with nearly 50 children presently on a waiting list.
 
SHS Athletic Field Refurbishment - Michelle Biscotti and Kathleen Keohane addressed the club on February 12th to talk about the need for refurbishing the athletic field at Shrewsbury High School. The problem with the current field is that grass does not offer enough playing time in New England. In order for the field to be useable for full seasons, artificial turf is required. Additionally, artificial turn would extend the use of the field beyond football. It would also make it possible to play games in less than ideal weather conditions.
 
The project to install and renovate the field is $2.1 million. Of that sum, $1.8 million needs to be raised. Currently fundraising is at $1.3 million.
 
Rotary Leadership Institute - Owen Russell, club Vice-President, recently attended the Rotary Leadership Institute. Like all who have attended the institute before him, Owen gave a glowing report of this experience. He noted that RLI is not mandatory, as PETS is, but is recognized as valuable by Rotary International.
 
Owen attended the first of the three part program. It began with breakfast on a Saturday and ran until 3:30 p.m. Subjects covered in part one include: insight into leadership qualities, how individual Rotarians fit into the “world of Rotary,” discussion of ethics of Rotary and vocational service, information on the structure of the Foundation, engaging and mentoring members, and creating service projects.

 
Support the Rotary Foundation
Our annual goal to support the Foundation of Rotary International needs to be met by the end of June. The best, simplest and most direct way to do that is to go online and make your contribution at <my rotary.org>. You may also contribute by giving a check to our club secretary, Cliff Gerber. If you give by check, make certain that the check is made payable to “The Rotary Foundation.”
 
The Shrewsbury club’s goal for this year is to average a $125 gift per member. We regularly exceed our goal and we are counting on all of our members to help us maintain our excellent record.
 
Donations to the Foundation support projects at home through District Grants and Global Grants, fight cancer, provide healthcare in places of need, provide clean water among a variety of other charitable causes. Most prominent of all is Rotary’s effective crusade to eradicate polio.
 
The Rotary Foundation is highly rated by Charity Watch and was cited by CNN as the most effective global charity.
 
Watch for Service Project Survey
Darlene Trainor of the District 7910 Service Committee spoke to the club about planning hands-on service projects. The resultant discussion produced a healthy list of potential new projects for the club, most of them of significant value to the community and yet easily accomplished.
 
A Survey Monkey poll is being created in order to help the club sort through the list of potential projects and select the ones that will be pursued at this time. Members will receive the poll in 2 parts (the list of potentials is too long for a single Survey Monkey poll!). When you receive the invitations to take part in the poll, you are asked to respond to them as quickly as possible.
No Meeting Monday, March 26th.
There will be no Lunch Meeting on Monday, March 26, 2018 as many of our members will be attending the District 7920 "Service Hero" dinner on Monday Evening.  Congratulations to long time Shrewsbury Rotarian Art Dobson who will be honored as a Rotary Service Hero at this District Event!