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Ipswich Rotary joins with the community in remembering the victims of opioid overdose, those still struggling with addiction, and their families.
This week, Rotarians performed annual maintenance to the 9-11 Memorial in Rowley. The memorial remembers several Rowley residents who perished on that fateful day in 2001. Again this year, the beautiful plantings were donated by Country Gardens in Rowley.
Seen in the photos are Ipswich Rotary Past President, and member of the Rowley Select Board, Bob Snow and his wife Jami. Due to the extremely dry weather this year, it was decided to conduct the maintenance later than usual.
Rotarians and neighbors will stop at the site tomorrow at 8:44 am for a few moments of reflection and remembrance.
We are reposting this 2015 memory of our long time friend and fellow Rotarian Don Whiston who sadly left us on July 11 at age 93. His friend and Rotarian, Nat Puslifer, said recently that he will be remembered as an honorable and wise man.
Speaking to the club in 2015, Don regaled us with anecdotes from his then new book “Winning Silver” which recounts his years as a hockey pioneer at Brown University and a silver medal winning goaltender for the US team at the 1952 Oslo Winter Olympics. At Brown, Don was the 1951 NCAA tournament MVP and a First Team All American. He later served as head hockey coach at Brown.
That day, Rotarians had a rare opportunity to hold a real Silver Medal. He also was the first college goaltender to wear a mask, proving there are no dummies at Brown; Don still had all his teeth.
He served with the Coast Guard in the Pacific theater during the final year of World War II, was a former President of the First National Bank of Ipswich, and was known for his philanthropy, including serving on the Board of the Coburn Charitable Society in Ipswich.
Greetings Members and Visitors,I am extremely privileged to be able to serve the club as President again for the first four months of our 2020 – 2021 Rotary year! I thoroughly enjoyed serving as your President in 2016-2017 and I am looking forward to the next four months.
Our Rotary club is extremely special – we are truly a Rotary family! We all work hard to do our best to hold true to our Rotary Mission of providing service to others, promoting integrity, and advancing world understanding, goodwill, and peace. But what makes our club truly amazing is the respect and admiration we have for each other …. we are a family.
My goal during my four months as President is to get every member engaged in the club by serving on a committee, volunteering for projects, or attracting new members. When I first joined the Ipswich/ Rowley Rotary Club in 2010, I received a call from the Rotarian I admire the most and the one who has been my mentor over the years, Bob Wicks. Bob called me because I was a new member of the club and he talked to me for a while. He wanted to know what my interests were and what committee I thought I would enjoy serving on. Since that day, I have been on the Membership Committee, Chaired the Fundraising Committee, served on the Board many times, served as Vice President, President Elect, President, Past President and now President. Bob knew what he was talking about when he said, “You have to get all members engaged and not only engaged in club activities, but engaged in things they enjoy.” So this is my mission over the next few months!!!
Sincerely,
Lisa
This summer, The Ipswich-Rowley Rotary Club presented scholarships to 12 recent High School graduates from Ipswich and Rowley. This year, graduates received $500 or $1,000. Since the traditional presentations at a club meeting were not possible during the pandemic, the club arranged a special one-on-one event to ensure safety. We are grateful to our Scholarship Committee, led by Sr Leonore Coan, for putting this wonderful plan together. Dubbing it the “Auto Award”, the club scheduled a drive-by outside Ipswich High School. Each young scholar was assigned an arrival time and was required to wear a mask and practice social distancing. As the student arrived, a large sign displayed his or her name in calligraphy print. They were dropped off for a few minutes to accept their award and exchange a few pleasantries. Rotarians and family members who were on hand cheered in appreciation for their achievements. Some students were accompanied by a parent or their entire family.
In an historic first for our 97 year old club, three recent Presidents will share presidential duties and responsibilities this year. From left to right, Lisa Shanko, Martha Mauser, and Cushing Titcomb have agreed to combine their experience and passion for Rotary during a year of unique challenges. Each will lead our club for four months.
Our year began on July 1 with Lisa at the helm until the end of October. On November 1, Cushing will step into the chair for the next four months, through February 28. On March 1, Martha will carry the leadership baton for the bell lap until the end of the Rotary year on June 30. During this time, President Elect Clint Dalton, a second-generation Rotarian, will prepare to take the reins next July 1 for 2021-22.
If COVID-19 strikes again, get ready for a long winter indoors arguing about money.
And don’t expect any sympathy from me. If you land on the Ipswich Local News property, you’ll have to pay up. It’s all good clean fun, of course, when families and friends can fleece each other playing Ipswich/Rowley-opoly.
All but a few of the sponsor locations have sold out, according to organizers at the Rotary Club of Ipswich and Rowley. There are still some $50 spots on the board, but the big properties have been snapped up.
Our organizers are taking orders for the board games, which will be on sale in mid-November for $30. A limited number are available and can be ordered by calling or emailing Julie Nelson at jnelson23@mac.com or 978-335-4939.
Proceeds will be used by the Rotary Club for its charitable efforts and service projects in Ipswich and Rowley.
Stay up to date on all the local news from Ipswich and Rotary at thelocalne.ws/
Out of an abundance of caution, the club has suspended live meetings until further notice.
We will continue to meet virtually, so watch this site, and our social media pages, for information about our on-going activities to support the Ipswich and Rowley communities.
We are all in this crisis together. Together, we can help keep each other safe. Please follow the recommendations and guidance of the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. State Department, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Thank you for a Great Year of Leadership!
Joan Arsenault
Rotary Club of Ipswich and Rowley
District Governor D7930 2019-20
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Rotaplast International, Inc. is committed to helping children and families worldwide by eliminating the burden of cleft lip and/or palate, burn scarring, and other deformities. Working with local professionals, Rotarians, and other organizations, Rotaplast sends multidisciplinary medical teams to provide free reconstructive surgery, ancillary treatment, and training for the comprehensive care of these children. Rotaplast supports education and research towards prevention of cleft lip and/or palate. Our aim is to help local professionals build sustainable models for the care of these children, improving their lives and those of their families.
Rotaplast will employ the following strategies to reach this goal:
Facilitate medical missions to provide surgical intervention for children who are not able to receive treatment or who are in need of more complicated medical procedures than can be provided by local physicians.
Counsel families about ways of reducing the incidence cleft palate anomalies through diet, vitamin supplementation, and lifestyle changes.
Collaborate with local health professionals on follow-up care and on development of comprehensive cleft palate programs where feasible.
Learn about the incidence and causes of cleft lip and palate anomalies, including both genetic and environmental factors.
Educate local physicians and specialists by urging them to work with our teams to broaden their skills in treating cleft anomalies.
Foster international goodwill and fellowship by working with Rotarians as well as with health officials in host countries.
Program: "ArtLink – Winthrop School Students" -
Six students from the Winthrop School will join us along with Principal Sheila McAdams to show a video-clip presentation sharing their experience with the ArtLink project. We expect a full house to be in attendance so don’t miss out!
What is ArtLink? ArtLink is Creative Connections’ international exchange program designed for 3rd – 12th grade classes.
Students create art pieces that reflect their life and culture, and exchange their work with a partner class in another country. Students then examine and enjoy the art from overseas, gaining new insights into both their own and their partner’s cultures. Finally, students share their insights with one another by posting online thoughtful written responses and photos.
After receiving the art, classes that sign up for the videoconference option (highly recommended!) participate in a live one-hour session in which students share their insights with one another face-to-face in real time. The fully facilitated videoconference is available for an additional fee.
The Rotary of Ipswich donates truckloads of supplies to the Open Door Food Panty.
At the club's meeting last week, Rotarians loaded up two vans from their “25 Days of Giving” initiative in December. Using a reverse Advent Calendar method, club members added one item daily according to a 25 day calendar leading up to the Holidays. Donations ranged from food to clothing to small kitchen appliances.
Seen loading the Open Door van are Open Door Executive Director Julie LaFontaine, President Cushing Titcomb, and Open Door Ipswich Manager Luke Kleindienst.
When Interact President Grace Quinn attended a recent Ipswich Rotary Board of Directors meeting, she heard about Rotaplast International, a group committed to helping children and families worldwide by eliminating the burden of cleft lip and/or palate, burn scarring, and other deformities. Grace then met with her own Board of Directors, and they decided to contribute $600 to Rotaplast, an amount that will pay one full surgery.
Pictured from left to right are Sydney Doolan, Co-Secretary Ava Warren, Co-Secretary Mackenzie Greenleaf, President Grace Quinn, Ipswich Rotary President Cushing Titcomb, Vice President Meghan O’Donnell, Anna Davis, and Treasurer Caroline White.
On Monday September 18th, the Ipswich High School Interact Club sponsored the weekly Dinner Bell at the Masonic Temple. Working with a team of weekly Dinner Bell volunteers and some Ipswich Rotarians, seven high school students served dinner to over one hundred community members. The Interact students had a fantastic time serving and meeting the attendees, and in between refilling coffee cups and clearing dirty dishes. Many interesting stories were exchanged and some new connections were made. Many thanks to all the volunteers who made the evening a smashing and delicious success!
Pictured with a few of the diners are Interact students Martha Rand and Ellie O’Donnell.
