Welcoming Fran Zeitler to the Club, Announcing Jeff Revak as President-Elect and District Governor Dawn deFuria’s Visit

Today the Club welcomed its newest member, Fran Zeitler of Princeton …

Club President, Ira Sherman (l) presenting Fran with her certificate of membership

Ira also announced that Jeff Revak has accepted the positions as this year's President-Elect.

Jeff Revak

At the same time, the Club was honored to have current District Governor, Dawn deFuria, Assistant District Governor, Chris Potter, a District Governor-Elect, Paul Quintavalla, join us for our breakfast meeting.

(l to r) Paul Quintavalla, Chris Potter and Dawn deFruia flanking a banner promoting and encouraging Dawn's theme for her tenure, "Get On Baord with Rotary  –  2017-18"

During her presentation,

Dawn outlined her family legacy in Rotary, her dad and husband both being former Club presidents and District Governors; her personal experiences of Rotarians reaching out to fellow Rotarians when they were sick; an acknowledgement of some of the issues which occasionally frustrate members of Rotary and the positive ways she hopes to address them; her visions of how Rotary International and District 7450 supports its local clubs as well as national and international efforts to improve health, education, access to clean drinking water, and fight diseases, specifically Rotary's incredibly successful "End Polio Now" campaign and also recognized the amazing work our Club has accomplished and continues to support.

 

 

Collecting for Needy Veterans at Colonial Farms Market in Washington Crossing

Thanks to the invitation of Nicholas Angelakis, owner of Colonial Farms Market in Washington Crossing, members of the Club collected monies to provide holiday meals for needy veterans.  A tremendous debt of gratitude is owed to the dozens of the market's customers who made donations to this worthy cause. 

Irv Perlstein, Nick Angelakis and Alan Agree

Dick Newbert

As has been the case during similar fundraising drives, Irv, Alan and Dick had the opportunity to chat with many of the folks to made contributions.  Among today's most memorable donors were ..

A lady who told us about a young man who enlisted in the Marines at 17 just after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  After completing his training at Paris Island, GA, he was shipped off the the Pacific Theater where he fought at Guam, Truk and finally at Iwo Jima.  After the war, she met him, they married and shared a sixty-plus year marrige and passed away only a few weeks ago.

The son of another World War II veteran who stormed the Normandy beaches on D-Day and fought at St. Lo where he was wounded.  He subsequently spent a year in a German Prisoner of War camp.

A doctor serving at the VA hospital in Philadelphia where wounded soldiers from Vietnam were transported…  first to McGuire Air Force Base and then driven in busses with their windows painted over to prevent people form seeing the injured to Philadelphia.  Many of those men arrived less than 36 hours after being wounded .  Amazing!

In just four hours these wonderful and generous people donated just over $400!

 

The Community Helping Our Club Provide Holiday Meals for Needy Veterans

While most of  our area's citizens celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday with lavish turkey or ham dinners, unfortunately there are still too many Bucks County veterans who served our nation and yet ccontinue to face challenging economic times for themselves and their families.  In response to this crisis, the Club is continuing its efforts to provide Holiday-period meals for these needy veterans. 

However, its ability to do so would not be possible without the active enggement or many area merchants and caring individuals …. to which a great deal of THANKS and APPRECIATION is owed!  Among these latest "heroes":

Gabrielle's Pizza II in Washington Crossing

Chris Mascio

Colonial Farms in Washington Crossing

Nick Angelakis (owner)

Member of both the American Lefion Post 317 and the Guardians of the National Cemetery

Skip Munday

Shady Brook Farm, Yardley

Market at Styers Orchard, Langhorne

 

The Guardians of the National Cemetery and Bucks County Vets Center Helping Reach Veterans in Need

The Rotary Club of Shady Brook was proud to be able to donate gift certificates for complete Thanksgiving Dinners for needy veterans and their families with the assistance of.

Guardians of the National Cemetery in Washington Crossing

(l to r) Irv Perlstein, President of the Guardians of the National Cemetery Bob Craven and Dick Newbert

Bucks County Vet Center in Bristol

(l to r) Vet Center Team Leader Jeffrey Hoerger and Dick Newbert

These holiday meals were made possible by the incredible generosity of an amazing group of people out  doing their grocery shopping at Shop Rite in Yardley on  recent Thursday and stopped by the Club’s table outside the market.    They included a woman whose husband at nineteen stormed Omaha Beach on D-Day losing a leg to enemy fire; a young Marine just back from what he called the "sand box" as he termed Iraq; an female Army officer stationed at Fort Dix; a mom whose son was presently serving in Afghanistan; to name just a few.

Larry Snyder

Team Toyota Helping the Club Reach Needy Veterans

The Club presented two Thanksgiving Dinner Gift Certificates to  which will be donated to needy veterans and their families.

(l to r)  Irv Perlstein, Team Toyota's Program Manager Tom Mellon and Dick Newbert

It is worth mentioning that Tom hosts a weekly radio show on WBCB (AM 1490) dedicated to honoring our country's Veterans, our regional Police and FIre men and women and other Emergency Responders.

Team Toyota has also been a supporter of the Club's annual Charity Golf Outing for manny years.

 

Samay Ruparelia – The Club’s November Student-of-the Month

At evening's monthly dinner meeting, held at the Blooming Grove Inn in Ewing, Maple Point Middle School 8th grader Samay Ruparelia

was honored as the Club's November Student-of-the-Month.

Dr. Augie Adrid presented Samay with a certificate acknowledging his recognition and a check for $100

Samay amazed everyone with a list of his academic accomplishments as well as his music, non-scholastic school and community activities … to which one member jokingly asked,"What does he do in his spare time?"

Dr. Audrid, Samay's proud parents, Bijal and Atul, and Club President Ira Sherman

Tonight was the final drrawing for four tickets to an upcoming Philadelphia Flyers,

gacsiously donated by the Flyers' front office.  Samay had teh honor of drawing the winning ticket which had been purchased by Jim Preston of Furlong, PA.  The proceeds from this raffle will be split between A Woman's Place and the Luekemia & Lymphoma Society.

2018 Charity Golf Outing

2018 Charity Golf Outing

The Club's 12th annual Charity Golf Outing has been RESCHEDULED due to inclement weather and will be held on Thursday, October 24, 2018 at

1418 Woodside Road in Lower Makefield, PA.

This event's principal beneficiary will be the Drew's Hope Research Foundation.

whose funds support research into treatments and cures for and create greater awareness of Batten Disease a very rare degenerative neurologic disease occurring in an estimate 2 to 4 of every 100,000 live births for which there is no cure at this time and is always fatal!

 Named by Katie and Tony Ferrandino in honor and memory of their son Drew was born on February 1, 2002. 

Before his diagnosis of the Late Infantile NCL form of Batten Disease at age 5,

Drew, like most boys his age, loved trains, baseball, swimming, his brother, Gavin, and his dog, Bella.  In the months prior to his diagnosis, Drew went from being a sweet and active boy who could run, jump and play to a child needing constant care.

Sadly, Drew passed away on September 30, 2014 at the age of just 12!

The golf tournament for both men and women will be an 18-hole scramble format event with longest drive, closest-to-the-pin on the par 3s, and other skill challenges … preceded by a buffet luncheon and followed by an open-bar happy hour complete with hot hors d’oeuvres, raffles, a silent auction, dinner and an awards ceremony.   Dinner-only tickets are also available.

You can help us help Drew's Hope in finding a cure for this terrible disease by registering and playing in the outing or by becoming a sponsor, taking an ad in the event program, or providing gift certificates for goods or services which can become part of the Silent Auction.

For more information on Sponsorships and Advertising opportunities, please click on:  2018 Rotary Charity Golf Outing Flyer – Sponsorship Opportunities – (Rev

To Register to participate in the Golf Outing, please click on:  2018 Rotary Charity Golf Outing Flyer – Golfer Registration – (Rev

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Should you like to make a donation to our charity golf outing and/or in support of Drew's Hope Reserach Foundation, you can log on to gofundme.com/battens-disease-golfing-fund-raiser
 

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Two Unique Items Which have been Donated

Two (2) All-Session Tickets to the 2019 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detriot Michigan

 

Private Tour of the Capitol, including Senate and House Gallery Pass and Lunch in the Senate Dining Room

If interested in either item, please contact Irv at (267) 688-7539

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We encourage you to visit some of our golf outing's strategic partners who are helping us to make this event a huge success and its quest to find a cure for Batten Disease.

Drew's Hope Research Foundation www.drewshope.org

Batten Disease Support and Research Associationhttps://bdsra.org

VFW Post 6393, Yardley, PA  

American Legion Post 317, Yardley, PA www.yardleypost317.org/

Makefield Highlands Golf Coursewww.makefieldhighlandsgolf.com

Meghan's Foundation www.meghansfoundation.org

The Guardians of the National Cemetery, Washington Crossing, PA http://www.guardiansofthenationalcemetery.org/

Bucks Count Vet's Center, Bristol, PA  

Golf Association of Philadelphiahttp://www.gapgolf.org/outinglist.asp

 

 

Another Rewarding Day at the William Dick School

Club members again fought the I-95 traffic enroute to spend the morning at Phialdelphia's William Dick School.

Since 2008, the Club has supported this K-8 elementary school which is situated in a section of Philadelphia designated as having 96% of its population as living in extreme poverty by providing over 4,000 books for its library; school suppplies for the teachers and students; book bags, knitted hats and other clothing for all of its students; funds raised which were then augmented by Rotary District 7450's matching-grant program; other in-kind donations and volunteer time.

Aside from the challenges faced by most elementary schools, the staff at the William Dick School must deal with limited funding when compared with neighboring suburban districts, neighborhood violence which recently resulted in a second grader being accidentally wounded by a stray gun shot, an environment of drug addiction costing one student's parent their life and other overwhelming socio-econmic problems.

Yet, the school provides its 550 students a safe refuge from the many negative influences which surrounds it and neighorhoods where they live.

When visiting the school, it becomes immediately evident that the school's principal, Amy Williams,

her administrative staff and the classroom teachers have a deep affection for and are totally committed to providing their students a first-rate education as a foundation for their entry into high school while concurrently working to develop high standards for behavioor and character in each one of them!.

Spending a day in this evironment continues to be an incredibly uplifting experience for all Club members who have taken the opportunity to participate in these periodic visits over the years.

(l to r) Ira and Robin Sherman, Syd Baron, Irv Perlstein, Fran SIlverman, Alan Agree, Larry Jaffee and Lou Hatfield. (Photographer Dick Newbert not shown)

Today, we each had the chance to sit and help both kindergarteners and first graders with their reading and spelling skills.

Lou Hatfield

Ira Sherman

Fran Silverman

Syd Baron

Larry Jaffee

Robin Sherman

Alan Agree

Irv Perlstein

Dick Newbert