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THE FOUR WAY TEST

Is it the truth?

Is it fair to all concerned?

Will it build good will and better friendships?

Will it be beneficial for all concerned?

WELL THAT WAS FUN!

The weather could not have been better with a clear blue sky and mild temperatures. It was the perfect day for an off-site outdoor meeting at Diamond Spring Brewing Company (thank you for hosting us)! It's nice to spice it up a bit and do something a little different. Pizza and salad were ordered from Denville Pizzaria and of course individual beverages from the brewery were a real treat! We love supporting our local businesses. Thank you to new members Bernadette Lindsay and Jesse Lindsay for introducing us to their business, North Capital Funding.

BUGLES ACROSS AMERICA

Bugles Across America was founded in the year 2000 by Retired Marine, Tom Day. The mission of this organization is to sound a live rendition of "Taps" for verterans by a bugler. BAA provides this honorary service at no cost to the verteran's family. It is strictly a volunteer organization. Larry Schillings, BAA NJ State Director, explained the details of the ceremonious presentation of "Taps" and the presentation of our country's flag to the family. For more information and to request a bugler, visit their website www.buglesacrossamerica.org. Pictured below is Larry Schillings, BAA NJ Director.

DENVILLE'S MUSIC IN THE PARK

The newely formed Denville Arts Council (DAC) presented it's first Music In the Park concert with Denville Rotary and Sheeran Real Estate Group serving as sponsors. There was full cooperation from the weather setting the stage for a beautiful evening at Gardner Field. Headliner, Eric DeLauro of the Rat Pack Band, sang Frank Sinatra songs and encouraged the audience to display their own vocal abilities. Other young performers included the Lakeland Youth Symphony and students of Bach to Rock. Concessions were available in the snack stand and Denville Public Library provided games and crafts for the kids. Thank you DAC for this wonderful community event. A good time was had by all! Pictured from left are Rotarians Michael Boudway, Joe Paci, Nurys Paci, Patricia Agliata (singing), Betsy Roberts, Bill Roberts, Yasmin Pareti-Boudway and headliner Eric DeLauro. Click on read more for additional photos.

END HUNGER PROGRAM

Rotarians Doug Cook of Pequannock and Ray Freeney of Madison joined us for lunch and gave a presentation on the End Hunger Program which provides packaged food for those in need not only in New Jersey but well beyond our borders. Volunteers from churches, scouts, corporations, service organizations, families, friends and more gather to work in an assembly line set-up to measure, package, weigh, seal and box up for shipping dry food pouches each meant to feed a family of four. The food is shipped to preselected organizations/charities where it is distributed to families. The Grains of Hope in Pequannock is one such program, having already packaged more than a million meals, they have two million in their sights. Stay tuned for more to come on End Hunger. Pictured from left, Ray Freeney and Doug Cook.

WELCOME TO ROTARY TOM AND GAY!

Denville Rotary extends a warm welcome to our two newest members. Tom Vitiello and Gay Hotalen. Tom is the Owner/President of Sphere Construction Group LLC and Gay is Therapist and Board President of Sun Valley Wellness Center of NJ. We look forward to your participation in our many service events and fellowship activities. Pictured from left are Tom, Gay and Tony Toriello, Membership Chair.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES DONATION

Members and friends of Denville Rotary are donating school supplies for local families in need of support as the new school year is just around the corner. Steve Dublanica of Denville Social Services will be hosting a parent/child visitation day where families can secure the items they need. We wish all students a very sucessfull and fun-filled 2023-2024 school year! Pictured from left are Rotarians Betsy Roberts, Mary Radicsh and Diane Grabowski.

Welcome Flags and Jewelery

Denville Rotary welcomes and supports new businesses to our community. Andrew Abdul, sole onwer of Flags and Jewelery, gave a presentation to us at our weekly luncheon meeting. He shared some details of his background, including community service projects, and gave a history of his business which he began in 1987. You can visit Abdul at his new location at 123 East Main Street. Welcome to Denville Andrew!

JOINT MONTHLY BLOOD DRIVE

Denville Rotary and Sunrise Rotary are having their monthly Blood Drive on Wednesday, August 16th. This drive is a special celebration of the life of Allison Sillence who passed away following a courageous battle against ovarian cancer. Please see the flyer for details and donate if you are able to. Thank you!

SAVE THE DREW FOREST!

Last Thursday's meeting brought us a very informative presentation by Judy Kroll and Colette Crescas of Friends of The Drew Forest. Drew Forest is a 53 acre parcel located on Drew University property in Madison and was in desperate need of restoration. Since 2008, numerous regional and national organizations joined forces to take on the challenge of restoring store this land to what is now a beautiful natural habitat. Not only is it a beautiful landscape, but is a biodiversity hot spot and is home to Buried Valley aquifer wells which four towns soley rely on for their drinking water. Drew University is offering this parcel of land for sale. Please visit their website to view before and after photos, read the story of its restoration and learn how you can help 'Save the Drew Forest' www.friendsofthedrewforest.org. Pictured from left, Collette Crescas and Judy Kroll

Welcome To Rotary Bernadette and Jessie

Welcome to our two newest members! Meet our first mother/daughter team, Bernadette Lindsay and Jessica "Jessie" Lindsay. Bernadette transferred to us from Patterson Rotary after moving to Denville. She relocated her business, North Capital Funding, downtown on Second Avenue. Welcome to Denville Township!

We also extend a warm welcome to Bernadette's daughter, Jessie. Jessie is back from Columbia following her tenure as a teacher and is now working as a Mortgage Processor with North Capital Funding. We look forward your friendship and service as active members to our club and our community.

Pictured from left are Denville Rotary President Rick Rafferty, Bernadette Lindsay, Jessica Lindsay and Membeship Chairperson Tony Toriello.

Installation Luncheon 2023

Exciting things happened at Denville Rotary on June 24, 2023. We joined together at Navona Restaurant celebrating the installation of incoming President Rick Rafferty and his Board of Directors serving the 2023-2024 Rotary year with PP Diane Vezzuto serving as Master of Ceremonies. As tradition holds, this is a very special time for us! That's not all though. Denville Rotary awarded Rotarian Dr. Andy Smith with the prestigous Paul Harris Recognition for his contributions and service to Rotary and to our community. A second Paul Harris Recognition was awarded to Dave Sipple, Chairman of the Denville Beautification Committee, for his nonstop efforts to keep Denville "flowering" season after season. A special thank you to Dave and his volunteers for literally getting down and dirty so our community remains bright and beautiful! To show our appreciation, we presented the DBC with a $1,000 donation to help with their ongoing plans. As things wind down, we offer a very special thank you to President Joe Paci and his Board for their leadership and dedication as we continued to grow and prosper. Looking forward, we wish the best to incoming President Rick and his Board of Directors in keeping the momentum going for another prosperous year!

(Please take a look at the Installation Photos under the Photo Album tab below.)

Celebrate the Flag of the United States of America

On this day in 1777 the United States approved the design of its first national flag. Today we honor its beauty and its glory!

AND THAT'S A WRAP!

Our 40th Anniversary Street Festival was a huge success! We had perfect festival weather, thousands of visitors, over a hundred vendors, numerous sponsors, a very lucrative 50/50 raffle, live music all day long, dancing in the street, a very busy beer garden, a variety of yummy food and treats, rides for the kiddies, and balloons, cotton candy and zeppoles. All this topped off with lots of smiles, laughter and the joy of children of all ages! Thank you to all who visited and enjoyed the day with us. Your support contributes to the many Denville Rotary community projects and donations delivered over the course of the year. Also, a special thank you to our club members, club families, club friends and all volunteers who worked so hard for many months. We want to give a very special thank you to Mayor Andes, Denville Police Department, Denville Fire Department and the Denville Department of Public Works. Please visit the Photo Album area below and click on Sreet Festival 40th Anniversary 2023 to view the photos.

Rotary Scholarship Recipients

Rotary's A. R. Spinola Scholarships were recently awarded to seven very deserving students for use in pursuing their higher education goals. We want to thank the Spinola family for their continued support in honoring "Spinny," who was a beloved Denville Township school administrator and devoted member of this club for many years. The scholarship recipients are Jessica Russo and Braden Loeffler of Morris Knolls High School; Meredith Hollister and Christian Barnard of Morris County School of Technology; Paulina Castaneda, Olivia Kelson and Benjamin Reinhart of Morris Catholic High School. Congratulations to all!

40TH ANNUAL DENVILLE ROTARY STREET FESTIVAL

Turn back the calendar to1983 and you'll find Ronald Reagan was President, the final episode of M*A*S*H aired on TV, "The Right Stuff" won four Academy Awards, Cabbage Patch Kids were the most popular toy, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was the best-selling album, and the very first Denville Rotary Street Festival was held. Forty years later and we're still going strong!

Join us for good food and good fun on Sunday, June 4th, from 11a.m. to 6p.m. on Broadway in downtown Denville. Enjoy all-day live entertainment, fabulous food trucks, beer garden, unique merchandise for sale as well as professional vendors, 50/50 raffle, and lots of rides and inflatables for the kids, see your neighbors and meet new friends! Proceeds support Denville Rotary charity efforts locally, nationally and worldwide.

GUEST SPEAKER DETECTIVE SCOTT WELSH

Denville Rotary would like to give a special thank you to Detective Scott Welsh for presenting a very informative program at our May 11th lunch meeting. He spoke about current events within the police department, the growth of Denville Township as seven parcels of land are being developed for residential living spaces and how this growth will effect the department, he spoke about school safety and discussed the requirements regarding the new conceal carry law in New Jersey. Detective Walsh answered many questions from those in attendance. It was such a pleasure to have one of Denville's finest join us for the afternoon! Pictured are Detective Welsh and President Joe Paci.

Paul Harris, Attorney and Rotary Founder

Rotary would not be in existence today if not for the vision of one man, Paul Harris, born April 19, 1868, he died on January 27, 1947. Paul was born in Wisconsin, grew up in Vermont, attended the University of Vermont, Princeton University and the University of Iowa where he received his law degree. He ultimately settled in Chicago where he opened his law practice. During a walk along the streets of Chicago's North Side with a fellow attorney, Paul was very impressed by the comaraderie among businessmen and wanted to find a way to channel it. He had a vision and on February 23, 1905 Paul met with three business associates to discuss forming a networking organization for local professionals. This became known as the first Rotary meeting. To learn more about the history of Rotary and it's evolution, seach rotary.org/history. You'll find Rotary's very first service project very interesting! Thank you Paul Harris! (Graphic credit Debbie Vance, Graphic Designer)

Denville Rotary Hosts Senior Luncheon

It was such a pleasure to be back (post Covid) at the Denville Senior Center hosting our Annual Senior Luncheon. Denville Rotarians were delighted to cook up and serve a delicious pasta, meatballs and fresh bread lunch with ice cream and fruit cup for dessert. We want to give a special shout-out to Denville Dairy and Anthony's Bakery for their generous donations. Mayor Andes and Assemblyman Brian Bergen joined us with a warm welcome from the sixty plus senior residents who enjoyed a fun afternoon with good food and lots of comradery.

JOINT SERVICE CLUB MEETING

Denville Rotary's annual Joint Service Club Meeting is being held on April 20, 2023 at the Village Restaurant in Morris Plains. Our featured speaker is Lt. Col. Alexander Burgos who is second in command at Picatinny Arsenal. This meeting is open to members of local service organizations with limited seating. Respond by April 7th to claim your seats.

76th Anniversary Presidents' Highlights

In recognition of Denville Rotary's 76th Anniversary, several Past Presidents addressed our club highlighting the events of their year (or in some cases years) serving as president. What an enjoyable walk down memory lane! We were reminded of some historical events and shared lots of laughs revisiting the many fun times! Past Presidents pictured left to right are Bill Kader (1982-83), George Hrobuchak (2009-10), Betsy Roberts (1998-99), Mary Radicsh (2017-2018), Diane Vezutto (2018-19) and Rick Rafferty (2014-15). Missing from the photo are Patricia Agliata (2001-02 and 2020-22) and Tony Toriello (2007-08).