As part of Chester County History Center’s “Season of Lights,” our club added to the festive display with a “Rotary Around the World” decorated Christmas Tree. We were invited to decorate a tree by one of our club members, Pachy Banks-Cabral, who also happens to be the development director at the History Center. As part of Chester County History Center’s “Season of Lights,” our club added to the festive display with a “Rotary Around the World” decorated Christmas Tree. We were invited to decorate a tree by one of our club members, Pachy Banks-Cabral, who also happens to be the development director at the History Center. 
Even though the annual, popular October Chili Cook-off was hosted by Fiorenza’s Food For Friends (4F) instead of our Rotary Club, and the footprint for the event was smaller than in the previous 21 years, an estimated 11,000 chili lovers managed to spend a beautiful fall afternoon eating chili in the Borough of West Chester. A dedicated group of Rotarians even managed to prepare a huge pot of healthy, hearty, one-pot Quick Turkey Chili, named 4-Way Hi-Test Chili for which the chili loving crowd awarded it second place in the non-profit organization division for the People’s Choice Award contest. Thanks to our cooks, Diana Liberi, Rich Murray, Jeff Cantwell, Charles Streitwieser, and newer member Connell O’Brien, who stirred up the tasty fare. Rich’s wife, Katie and their son brought the makings to the Providence Church, which gave generous use of their commercial kitchen for our chili preparation.
One of our outstanding Rotarians, Mac Neilon, was just named the 2023 Outstanding Citizen of the Year by the Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce at its annual banquet, and presented his award by Chamber President Katie Walker! Numerous fellow Rotarians attended the banquet in his honor.
One of our newest club members, Miranda Reilly, volunteered to attend the West Chester University (WCU) annual Volunteer and Non-profit Fair on campus. Along with Jeff Cantwell, Miranda answered questions, explained Rotary, locally and internationally, and passed out informational brochures to about seven students who stopped by our table during the afternoon.
With funds generated by last year’s Chili Cook-off, grants were awarded to nine non-profits by the Community Philanthropic Committee (CPC) on behalf of our Rotary club.Grant recipients included (front row, from left) Glenda Brion, Community Warehouse Project, Heather Robino, Parish Hall Kitchen, Jacquie Finnan-Hemmer, A Child’s Light, Kara Todd, Believe and Achieve Foundation, Kathleen Sanger, Home of the Sparrow, and (standing from left) Christine Scott, CPC Co-coordinator, Kenneth Winston, Charles A. Melton Arts and Education Center, Ken Hutton, Housing Partnership of Chester County, Don Neimetz, North Star of Chester County, Catherine Friedman, Rotary Club President, Courtney Zimmerman, Bournelyf Special Camp, and Rob Malone, CPC Co-coordinator.
Rotarians from our club, headed up by our Rotary Day of Service coordinator, Mac Neilon, including Joe Driscoll, Patty Jefferis, Melissa Baxter and Katie Martin, returned to the project C.U.R.E. warehouse at Dansko in West Grove recently.This was the second time our club members helped out at the C.U.R.E. warehouse this year. Several helped out at the collaboration of the four area Rotary clubs in April.
Play Ball!Kate Diffenderfer, Doug Meis and Melissa Baxter were among the Rotarians from District 7450 who attended this year's annual Philadelphia Phillies baseball game to raise funds for our international program, PolioPlus.
Rotarians sold over 500 tickets to the game, which entitled our District Governor Francy Cross to throw out the first ball. Not only did eight dollars of every ticket sold go to PolioPlus, but the game provided an opportunity for Rotarians throughout the district to participate in this shared fellowship activity with Rotarians from other clubs. And, the funds raised are matched by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation! A win win for all!
Thanks to Phil McFadden for capturing this fun photo for us.
Predictions of rain prompted the Melton Center to move their annual Community Day inside on Sunday. There was a brief downpour the last 30 minutes of the event (we DO need rain!) but it didn't deter a large crowd of people from turning out for this popular event. Our club was well represented by Charles Streitwieser, Melissa Baxter, Steve Brown, John Schwab, Gary Hewitt and Jeff Cantwell. Although our assigned table was in a hallway, we had good neighbors with the NAACP and Natural Lands Trust.Thanks to Jeff for capturing these photos at the event.
Rotarians are having so much fun golfing and snacking with each other that our club "Golfing Guru," Steve Quigley, arranged a second day of golfing recently at the Downingtown Golf and Country Club. Pictured with Steve at a recent outing are Anne Driscoll and Glen Sweet. The weather cooperated, and along with the great fellowship of this event, it was a "Fabulous Friday!"according to one golfer. Might we expect another golfing outing if the weather cooperates?
At our recent presidential induction gala, District 7450 Governor Francy Cross not only inducted our new club president, Catherine Friedman, she also inducted the board, comprised of new and continuing board members. “Your club believes in you,” she said before asking for their commitment to their offices.After the induction, past club presidents lined up for our annual tradition of passing the gavel.
Rich Murray turned over the club presidency to Catherine Friedman at a memorable gala and induction last week. Over 34,000 Rotary clubs around the world are also doing inductions this time of year. Newly elected District 7450 Governor Francy Cross conducted the induction, telling Catherine, “Your election is an expression of the confidence placed in you by your club members.”
A number of Rotarians gathered early in June for a day of fun and fellowship, organized by our West Chester club's "golfing guru," Steve Quigley. It was a beautiful day to be out on the golf course at the Downingtown Golf and Country Club, where Rotarians always look forward to golfing together. Following a perfect weather day for the activity, the golfers stayed around for food, beverages and more fellowship. Thanks to Anne Driscoll for arranging for this photo.
Rotarians joined hundreds of residents, businesses and organizations as they marched in the parade on Sunday celebrating the 225th Anniversary of the Borough of West Chester. Despite the cloudy skies and cool weather Sunday, over 30 bundled up Rotarians, carrying Rotary banners and wearing Rotary garb, showed up for the parade.
It was a busy weekend for our club in terms of activities and visibility. It started off on Saturday morning when a large group of Rotarians descended on Marshall Square Park in West Chester to help with mulching. Volunteering at Marshall Square Park has become an annual project for our club. Under the direction of our service coordinator, Mac Neilon, over 20 Rotarians participated, which included several family members. President Rich Murray, for example, brought his son. What a great way to begin getting our youngsters involved in charitable service activities!
Nearly 20 Rotarians from the four West Chester Rotary Clubs, Sunrise, West Chester Passport, WEGO and our club, collaborated on a Rotary Day of Service at the project C.U.R.E. warehouse of Dansko in West Grove. Rotarians from our club, headed up by our Rotary Day of Service coordinator, Mac Neilon, included Jeff Cantwell, Katie Martin, Phil McFadden, Steve Bayles, Melissa Baxter, and new member, Mark Lucas.
Jeff Spencer, chair of the Fun and Fellowship Committee, and committee members Joanne Tadeo, Rachel Barakat, Phyllis Dunn, and Patty Jefferis planned the gala holiday party for our club this year. Held at the West Chester Golf and Country Club in the early evening, it was highly decorated by the country club, which lent itself to our holiday gala. Delicious hot hors d' oeuvres were passed by the waiters, and welcomed by Rotarians and their guests to go along with beverages from the bar. A cheese board, dinner, and a luscious hot apple and vanilla ice cream dessert rounded out the tasty food.
While England and Arlington engage in the changing of the guard, in Chester County, West Chester Rotarians engage in the changing of Salvation Army aprons at the annual ringing of the bells! And, after many years of supporting this activity, note the NEW aprons this year, modeled by Randy Lindel, that include "Rotary" on them. Acquisition of the personalized aprons was facilitated by the Communications Committee, and Jesus Corraliza, Captain of the local Salvation Army, and a member of our club.At the Amish Market, Katie Martin (left),chair of this Rotary volunteer activity, and Mac Neilon (right) turned over their aprons to Chris McCawley and Howard Sundwall. Bonus - Chris brought her husband, Dwight, who donned an apron and joined in the bell ringing! At Shop Rite, Joe Driscoll and Glen Sweet were one of the teams who rang the bells there. Between the two locations, 36 Rotarians, including a couple of Rotarians from the Passport Rotary Club, teamed up to ring the bells.
Our club was included in one of the seven events to which new students at West Chester University (WCU) were invited to attend to get acquainted with the West Chester community.Jeff Cantwell and John Schwab were among those who represented our West Chester Rotary Club in at Align Space in the West Chester Borough. John had a chance to visit with Mayor Lillian De Baptiste (her father Clifford has been a member of our club for many years), and Jeff had an opportunity to meet and visit with Miss West Chester University at the gathering.
Approximately 15 District 7450 Rotarians gathered with other daredevils who took the plunge and participated in what has become an annual event – rappelling down the side of a building in Philadelphia to benefit the Philadelphia Outward Bound School! Among those brave souls who took the plunge were our own Kate Diffenderfer and Charles Streitwieser (as well as Bill Friedmann’s wife, Debi, and Carol Hanson’s husband, Dennis Wallace). In fact, Dennis is the one who got Rotary involved in this program in 2015, which has been held annually except for a couple of years due to the pandemic.
Sue Casso Rogers and Blue Dog Printing and Design were honored at this year’s annual banquet of the Greater West Chester (GWC) Chamber of Commerce. Sue was named 2023 Outstanding Citizen of the Year, sponsored by West Chester University, Blue Dog Printing and Design, founded by Bill and Debi Friedmann, was named 2023 Business of the Year.“Blue Dog s work in the community reaches far beyond their printing, graphic design, mailing services and promotional products business, of which they donate a significant amount to local organizations,” said the moderator in presenting the award to the Friedmann’s. This recognition is very evident to our Rotary Club, having benefited for many years by help from Bill and Debi with the Chili Cook-off and other club activities/events.
Our club was invited to participate in the Volunteer Fair at West Chester University (WCU), and of course, we accepted! WCU alums and fellow Rotarians, Austin Aimone and Corey Cahill, helped man our table at Sykes Union on the campus. They answered questions, explained Rotary, local and international mission, avenues of service, passed out Rotary tri-folds, provided/ shared info about the upcoming Chili Cook-off (CCO), and encouraged them to volunteer. They also gave away about a dozen free tee shirts from previous CCOs. The head of Greek Life (campus organization of sororities and fraternities) even circulated the Sign-up Genius for the CCO to enlist volunteers!
The new 50/50 raffle event at the Chili Cook-off (CCO) this year, the Chili Pepper Drop, was won by our own club member, Glenda Brion, holding her winning little pepper while being congratulated by President Rich Murray! CCO Co-chair Jeff Cantwell reports that $13,000 was raised by the raffle, with half being shared with the raffle winner, and half to be used for Rotary Club good works. Winner Glenda has generously donated her $6,600 winnings to the Community Warehouse Project of Chester County (CWP)! CWP is a multi-service non-profit that collects and redistributes donated furniture and other household items, and works with over 40 Community Partners to benefit individuals, families and veterans. CWP has been well supported by volunteers and Community Philanthropic Grants from our Rotary Club, since its founding in 2017. Glenda is the founder and executive director of CWP.Mailing Address:
Rotary Club of West Chester
PO Box 743
West Chester, Pennsylvania 19381-0743 USA
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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