It was a cold, blustery day when the intrepid group braved the course and prepared to face the ultimate... OK, it wasn't that dramatic, but it was a day that would only have warmed the crazy Scottish inventors of the game of golf. The first annual Amos Phillips Memorial Golf Outing was by most accounts a success. We had 70 some-odd golfers braving the links on Wild Turkey at Crystal Springs with some coming from as far away as Connecticut. We were able to raise over $10,000 for the Club's charity account for next year, so David has plenty to work with going into his term.
In other news, the Club voted Kurt Lozaw in as a new member. Kurt is a Vice President at the new Highlands State Bank in Vernon. We look forward to having Kurt with us and sharing his fellowship as part of the Club.
The Vernon Rotary Club will be taking part in this year's Memorial Day Parade which takes place at 10am on May 26, 2008. We will be marching in the annual VFW parade which starts at the Dairy Queen on Rt. 94 and ends at "The Flats". Let's all hope and pray for nice weather or at least no rain.
Bulletin - May 6, 2008
Bulletin - April 22, 2008
Last week we were joined by the GSE Team from District 3170 from southwest India. The team was led by Dr. Sujata M. Jali and consisted of Dr. Shailaja Patil, Pushpanjali Solanki, Koustubh Gosavi, and Rajami Kami.
The team was met by Club Rotarians at the Sterling Hill Mine where we enjoyed a tour of the museum and mine. This is very interesting, not only for visitors from outside the US, but also for anyone who lives in the area as mining was the basis for the early settlement of this region of New Jersey.
who they are and what life is like in India.
Bulletin - April 10, 2008
On Tuesday, we were joined by Wendie Blanchard and Cassie Pfister who gave us a program on Arthur & Friends, a program that provides training-for-employment opportunities to disabled and disadvantaged residents in Sussex County in the green-collared industry. Friends participate in a four tier training program that will teach them how to plant, care for; harvest and sell hydroponically grown produce. They will gain the necessary skills needed for employment in the agriculture, management, or sales industries. After completion of the program, Friends will work with staff to find unsubsidized and meaningful employment.
In addition, one of our members, Joe DeLuca who is a colonel in the air national guard, recently did a tour operating out of Crete and had the opportunity to do a makeup there. Here is a little writeup on that meeting:
ROTARY MEMBERS MEET IN CHANIA, CRETE Two visiting Rotarians from the United States visited with the Chania Rotary Chapter President on 27 March 2008 at the Royal Sun Hotel on the Island of Crete. Shown from left to right are Rotarians Col Robert Athan from Chapter 14, Lincoln Nebraska, Mr. Stavros Gkizas, President of the Rotary Chapter in Chania, Crete, and Col Joe Deluca from the Rotary Chapter in Vernon, NJ. The Rotarians had a great time discussing current issues of the International Rotary and compared activities of each of their clubs. Col Athan is the Vice Wing Commander for the Nebraska Air National Guard and Col Deluca is the Chief Flight Surgeon for the 105th Medical Group, Stewart NY. Both Col Athan and Col Deluca were in Crete supporting military airlift and aerial refueling activities in the Mediterranean. Mr. Gkizas is a prominent lawyer on the Crete Island and is very active in Hellenic civic law. This was a great opportunity to develop acquaintances, which help to serve and advance international understanding, goodwill, and peace.
Bulletin - March 26, 2008
A couple of weeks ago, we were joined by two of this year's United Way Scholar Athletes. Ted Moran (Vernon High School) was joined by Megan Murnee (Lenape Valley H.S.). Suzanne Rosen gave a short program, describing the various programs that the United Way sponsors for schools in Sussex County. One of many is a program on youth violence, specifically bullying.
Petite Comes, our Rotary Youth Exchange Student, joined us last week to promote Walkfest 2008, a fundraiser that she and the other youth exchange students are participating in on April 13th.
We're in the final stretch for the Golf Outing - sell Tee signs!
Bulletin - February 19, 2008
Winter is definitely here. Our meeting last week was cancelled due to snow and treacherous road conditions. The next day, we had a bad ice storm which closed schools and made driving even worse. Power was knocked out to much of the town, though it was restored pretty much throughout the area by the next day.
In Club news, Steve McGee was happy to report that Vinny Zinno was certified to be a Sr. Trainer Evaluator in the North American Ski Patrol. This is a pretty important honor for him as it puts him in the "best of the best" class of ski patrollers in the country. (NOTE: AARP discounts apply for the first 3 rescues...)
The golf brochures are in so everyone can start selling T signs for the upcoming golf outing in May.
Bulletin - February 9, 2008
We also touched on the use of a hunt as a mechanism to control the bear population. The Department of Fish & Wildlife is not the agency responsible for setting policy; that is done in Trenton. They do recognize that hunting is a mechanism for controlling population, but the politicians have opposed it for now.
On Saturday, Teresa, David, Petite, and Robert put the finishing touches on our sponsored apartment in the DASI transitional housing building. Kudos to Teresa for her work in coordinating this project. The apartment looks great - some would say that it's the best looking one in the building. According to DASI, there will be a ribbon-cutting in the spring, though probably not at the building itself, for privacy reasons.
Bulletin - January 27, 2008
Thanks to Teresa Vihti, Lisa Dalessio, and David Gornstein for a great turnout for the Chili Open at the Sussex County Fairgrounds. It was a capacity outing for the United Way of Sussex County in this 5th annual fundraising event. The Vernon Club, along with help from young people Sean, Andrew, Delana, Jonathan, and Travis, sponsored a couple of tables of Texas Hold'Em to entertain the golfers "post-round" after a scrumptuous lunch of chili and other favorites from local restaurants.
This effort provided a tangible example to the community of what Rotary is all about. The Newton, Branchville, Hampton, and Wallkill Valley clubs were also present, supporting this very important fundraising effort by the United Way.
Thank you, also, to Kevin Colman for his "behind the scenes" work getting the decorations together and ensuring that the committee was totally prepared to execute the day.
