Golfing is not just a matter of hitting a little ball around a golf course for West Chester Rotarians. It includes lots of fun and fellowship! Even though the skies were a little cloudy, 23 golfers, Rotarians and guests, enjoyed nine holes of golf at the West Chester Golf and Country Club following a recent Thursday noon club meeting. After completing their rounds, most participants returned to the clubhouse for beverages and snacks. On the deck overlooking the golf course, they shared fellowship and laughs (sometimes at each other’s expense!). Thanks to Randy Lindel, Sue Casso-Rogers and others for capturing some great photos and reporting on this event..
Golfing is not just a matter of hitting a little ball around a golf course for West Chester Rotarians. It includes lots of fun and fellowship! Even though the skies were a little cloudy, 23 golfers, Rotarians and guests, enjoyed nine holes of golf at the West Chester Golf and Country Club following a recent Thursday noon club meeting. After completing their rounds, most participants returned to the clubhouse for beverages and snacks. On the deck overlooking the golf course, they shared fellowship and laughs (sometimes at each other’s expense!). Thanks to Randy Lindel, Sue Casso-Rogers and others for capturing some great photos and reporting on this event.
Nsengumuremlyi Theoneste, known to us as Theo, and supported by our club for a number of years, proudly shows off the diploma he has finally received.
Ray and Paula Ott stopped by the Rotary Club's table at the Turk's Head Music Festival Sunday, and picked up a copy of the updated club brochure, Chili Cook-off flyer, and viewed the new A-frame. Sue Casso Rogers and Michelle Venema were the first club Rotarians to "woman" the table at the eight hour festival, a popular West Chester event that has restarted this year after the two year pandemic lockdown. A number of Rotarians manned the table throughout the day as thousands of music lovers, and families with children and dogs, crowded into Everhart Park. Mother Nature provided near perfect weather, making it a day to enjoy not only music, food, art, vendors of all sorts, but even an opportunity to register to vote! Let's hope we have many more such weather perfect days ahead!
When over two dozen Rotarians planted a mixture of 100 Maple and River Birch trees recently at Stroud Preserve, they accomplished two goals. The 100 trees celebrated last year’s 100th anniversary of the Rotary Club of West Chester, and it supported the mission of the Environment Committee of Rotary District 7450. “Despite the wet weather, Rotarians showed up to participate in the long-awaited anniversary celebration project, and support the district’s new environment committee,” explained Steve Brown, club president.
About a dozen Rotarians, friends, spouses, children, and a few West Chester Passport Club Rotarians, joined membered of the West Chester club on Saturday for a day in Marshall Square Park. They raked, cleaned up and mulched the trees and bushes together. The day was part of West Chester Borough's "Clean Up West Chester Day". The West Chester club has been volunteering at Marshall Square Park for many years, under the capable organizing and leadership skills of Mac Neilon. Thanks to Randy Lindel for capturing the group just as they were beginning their work. A special treat on this year's day of fun and fellowship, along with their work, the group was rewarded with cookies from The Hickman!
Despite rain, sleet/ice and snow, more than a dozen loyal Rotarian volunteers showed up during the early morning Saturday at the A. Duie Pyle warehouse to load fruit into cars of purchasers of the delicious fruits and vegetables sold during Rotary’s annual fruit sale. Our chair for over 10 years (!), Christine Wildauer (center with the red scarf), reports that among the volunteers was Kate Cipriano and a few other members of the Greystone PTO, who will benefit from over $5,000 raised during the sale toward purchase of playground equipment at the new Greystone Elementary School. As usual, numerous boxes of fruits and vegetables were also donated to the West Chester Food Cupboard. Of interest to longtime members, and our historians, Christine reports that a few years ago, the late Bob Poole presented her with a complete history of the fruit sale from its very beginning.
While West Chester Rotarians and the West Chester University Friars service club have service projects going on often, you can ALWAYS find Rotarian Jeannie McGinn (5th from right) and Warehouse Director Glenda Brion (5th from left) at the Community Warehouse Project site the third Saturday of every month! On a recent Saturday, they were joined by Rotarian Mac Neilon (far let), along with nearly a dozen members of the Friars. The third Saturday is always busy with generous supporters dropping off donations, needy families and individuals picking up items, and a diverse group of volunteers helping Glenda and Jeannie in multiple ways.
Helping spread the word about the annual fruit sale are (from left) President Steve Brown, Greystone PTO Members, Marissa Cook and Kate Cipriano, Melissa Baxter, CPC chair, Kristen Buckler, Greystone PTO, and Christine Wildauer, serving again as fruit sale chair.
Proceeds from the Annual Fruit Sale by the Rotary Club of West Chester will benefit hundreds of children for many years. At its Community Philanthropic Committee meeting, members unanimously selected the Greystone Elementary PTO from among nearly a dozen applicants as beneficiaries of this year’s fruit sale.
Sue and Bob Rogers, along with 14 other Rotarians, rang bells for the Salvation Army at the Amish Market from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Debi Friedmann and Rachel Barakat, were among the 17 Rotarians who rang bells at Shop Rite from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The annual bell ringing is the Salvation Army's (SA) biggest fundraiser for the year. Our club has been helping the SA for more than two decades, raising local funds that stay locally, supporting the SA's programs such as toys for tots , so hundreds of kids have a good holiday. In addition, the SA serves hot meals daily, has a food pantry, and offers programs like rental assistance , job training and placement, disaster services, and more. Our club members have given generously of their time and their own donations to this worthy, local charity. In addition, we are happy to have Capt. Jesus Coralizza among our membership! Thanks to all Rotarians who stepped up to help out!
West Chester Rotarians, their families and community leaders, gathered at the Penn Oaks Golf and Country Club last week to celebrate the Rotary Club’s 100th anniversary. Participating in the presentation were (from left) Sue Casso Rogers, a past club president and gala co-organizer, Michelle Venema, immediate past president and gala co-organizer, Steve Brown, current club president, Valarie Wafer of Canada, RI vice president, Jeff Cadorette of Media, RI Communications Committee, Yvette Houston, president of the Chester Rotary Club, who sponsored our club in 1921, and Jordan Norley, mayor of the Borough of West Chester.
Members of The Rotary Club of West Chester, which is sponsoring two of the79 gaily decorated lamp posts in the Borough of West Chester, recently gathered around one of the brightly lighted lamp posts. A holiday project of the Chamber of Commerce of Greater West Chester to light up the borough, the lamp posts are part of Penn Medicine Chester County Hospital's Lights Up Holiday Weekends. The hospital's sponsorship will bathe the borough streets with the glow of holiday lights. Spanning five weekends, each with a specific theme, all will include holiday singers and music, stores for shopping, and restaurants for dining, as visitors stroll the historic streets. In addition to the glowing lights, visitors will delight in seeing gingerbread houses and decorated windows, competing for awards, to further enhance the charm of the borough. To see a listing of all events, go to the Chamber's website. Thanks to Randy Lindell for providing this photo.
Over 25 club members recently restored a popular club event, the traditional gathering on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving at the Side Bar in the Borough of West Chester. Cancelled last year due to the pandemic, the annual event was originally started several years ago by the sargent-at-arms to kick off the holidays. This fun gathering precedes a special Rotary event this year, the 100th Anniversary Gala, scheduled for December 9th at Penn Oaks Country Club, where over 250 folks are expected to celebrate our 100 years of Service Above Self. The only question we have about the Side Bar gathering- where were the fun awards and ugly sweaters that had become part of the Side Bar tradition?
“What an amazing experience!” commented Melissa Baxter when she landed on the ground, one of 110 individuals who rappelled down the 29 story Commerce Two building in Philadelphia recently to raise funds to benefit the Outward Bound program. Along with three other West Chester area Rotarians, (from left) Bill Ronayne, Dan Dunn, Baxter and Dennis Wallace, Baxter was among the dozen or so Rotarians in District 7450 who rappelled. Over $22,000 was raised by “Team Rotary” from West Chester, whose funds were donated to the Outward Bound program for middle and senior high girls in the West Chester Area School District. The donations will go toward teaching leadership and self-esteem. Baxter and Ronayne are members of The Rotary Club of West Chester, Dunn and Wallace are members of the Sunrise Rotary Club. This was the fourth time that Ronayne has participated in the Outward Bound rappelling event.
Jeff Spencer, President Steve Brown, and (former club member) Bryan Brockson raised a pint of “Purple Pinkie Pale Ale” at the club’s recent Pulled Pork Throwdown at the new Boy Scout center in Exton. Brockson, one of three owners of Locust Lane Craft Brewery in Malvern, invited attendees at the Rotary event to taste the new brew, an initiative between Rotary District 7450 and the brewery as a fund raiser for Rotary’s End Polio Now. Each can had an explanation of Rotary’s polio mission, ”help eradicate polio from the planet. Throughout the world each time a Rotary volunteer administers a polio vaccine, a child's pinkie is colored purple with the topical solution Gentian Violet, temporarily marking them to prevent double dosage on National Immunization Days (NID). Lean more by scanning the QR code below.” Bryan said the brew was developed to see if it made sense to do it, and perhaps do it again next year. Having raised $2,000 between pre-sales and at happy hours throughout the district, Bryan believes it will be worth doing again next year. By the way, the beer has already sold out; look for it again next year! Thanks to Ebbie Alfree for capturing this photo.
Bob “Smoker King” Rogers was chosen by the crowd of Rotarians and their guests as the winner at the club’s annual Pulled Pork Throwdown. His “Double Pork Delight” was chosen by the 40 plus attendees over the frequent previous winner, Melissa Baxter (left), and the team of Christine Wildauer and Mickey Hall, who took second place with their “Texas Pulled Pork.” Bob’s succulent dish featured a combination of pork butt and pork belly, marinated, injected and dry rubbed for 6 days before going into the smoker for over 15 hours. His “Sue chef” handled the clean-up for Bob, who we know as an adventurous, good cook as experienced by those of us lucky enough to have enjoyed dinner at the Rogers through the years. Do we have a James Beard awardee in our midst?
Melissa Baxter, (seated left), chairperson of the Community Philanthropic Committee , joins representatives of the non-profit organizations who received grants from the club, (seated second from left) Hallie Romanowski, Christine Zaccarelli, Glenda Brion, Kim Booz, and (standing from left) Dallas Knowlton, Ellen Donohoe, Rita Brouwer-Ancher, Emily McClure, Dr. Dolly Wideman-Scott, Don Neimetz, Meghan Ervine, Natalie Coughlin, Tyler Changaris, Loretta Cohen, and Steve Brown, club president.
Looking over the donated crayons, colored pencils, scissors, flash cards, dry erasers, composition books and many other school supplies delivered to the West Chester Area School District (WCASD) on behalf of the Rotary Club of West Chester are (from left) Veronica Ortiz, Margaret Nawn, Colette McLaughlin, Katelyn Phillips, caseworkers, Ann Ranari, WCASD Director of Pupil Services, Patricia Alston, Social Work Coordinator, Steve Brown Rotary President, Mac Neilon, and Anton Burrell.For the ninth year in a row, Neilon, Rotarian and owner of Penn Office Products, and Alston, have coordinated the donation, with this year’s supplies totaling $1,800. Alston provides the list of most needed items by students from economically disadvantaged families as reported by WCASD caseworkers, and shares the list with Neilon.
Danielle Mortimer and Bill Ronayne point out the designation of our Rotary Club in the Lieutenant Category ($10,000 - $24,999 donations) onFame Fire Company #3 of West Chester’s donor recognition board at the community-wide reception on Saturday. The Willing Hearts Campaign Donor Contributions Recognition Board was part of our Rotary Club’s donation to Fame. Bill, a longtime fireman, and active Rotarian in our club, co-chaired the $2.5 million capital campaign of the 183-year-old company, and emceed the community ceremony, and reception that attracted over 100 supporters and community leaders!
In addition to the critical work being done by Rotarians worldwide, our Rotary Club here in West Chester, specifically our International Service Committee (ISC), continues its important work. We recently became aware that the COVID Respirators, which we funded with our sister Tigre Rotary Club near Buenos Aires, Argentina, ended up being donated by the manufacturer! So the funds were used to buy an Oxygen Concentrator (pictured), which is needed to feed the COVID oxygen hoods. The concentrator was donated to the community hospital’s Intensive Care Unit that allows treating patients with dyspnea quickly and efficiently.“This is one of the most frequent problems in the COVID pandemic, avoiding unnecessary hospitalization by the hospital Care Team,” according to the International Service Director of the Tigre Club. “It is also used in other respiratory syndromes. Thanks to every one of you for choosing to make a difference and to save lives,” he added.
And thank you to Ernest Zlotolow for keeping us informed of the important and ongoing work of our ISC!
Ernest Zlotolow, a leader in our club’s International Service Committee (ISC), is pictured above in a 2016 photo taken with Nsengumuremlyi theoneste (known to us as Theo) with his legal guardian, Consolee, when he became a protégé of our club. Theo was a lame orphan from rural Rwanda, who was brought to Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia by CORS (Charitable Orthopedic Rehabilitation Strategies), a division of our Greater West Chester Rotary Foundation, for treatment and prosthesis for his missing limb. Our ISC funded his high school studies, and additional personal contributions from club members provided Theo with a monetary graduation gift. Theo focused his studies in software coding, using a laptop and software sent to him by CORS. These enable him to support himself and be a productive member of his community.
Dwight Leeper, West Chester resident, and member of the Rotary Club of West Chester, and Sam Lowry, of the Downtown Rotary Club of Huntsville, Alabama, wrote a proposal to The Rotary International Foundation requesting a Global Grant to provide Deep-Water Hand Pumps to improve the health and quality of life in five, small, rural communities in Senegal, West Africa. In January 2021, the West Chester club was awarded a $131,215 Global Grant for the project.The ultra-deep pumps (LifePump) are capable of operating more efficiently than hand pumps currently in use in Africa, going three times deeper, with a projected life span of 30 years. Pumps currently in operation don’t reach potable water, resulting in villagers’ drinking water from dirty runoff, mud puddles, and ponds that livestock wade through. Consequently, people face chronic illnesses that prevent children from attending school, adults from working, and perpetuate the cycle of poverty.
Mailing Address:
Rotary Club of West Chester
PO Box 743
West Chester, Pennsylvania 19381-0743 USA
West Chester Rotary meets every Thursday at Noon at the
West Chester Country Club,
West Chester Country Club,
111 West Ashbridge Street,
West Chester, PA USA
West Chester, PA USA
Programs begin at 12:20pm