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.
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.
“It was an amazing day!” says Jeff Cantwell, co-chair of the 21st annual Rotary Chili Cook-off. “Our team of volunteers went above and beyond, like a well-oiled machine. Attendees, teams, sponsors and vendors raved about the day. Many said it was the nicest event they ever attended, and I attribute that to our Rotary demeanor – embracing all who were helping our cause,” he added.
Among the many tasks surrounding the Chili Cook-off are numerous activities that engage members of the Rotary Club of West Chester in preparation for the big event.
Almost $30,000 in grants was awarded to 16 non-profits by the Community Philanthropic Committee (CPC) on behalf of our Rotary club. CPC committee members carefully reviewed 34 applications to choose recipients of the available funds generated by our annual fundraiser, the Chili Cook-off.
While our new tent and banner drew interested individuals to our site at the Restaurant Festival, the star of the booth was the introduction of our little foam Chili Peppers. In case you haven’t seen one yet, Anne Driscoll shows off one of the cute peppers that will be dropped from a large bag hanging over Jack’s Plaza on Gay Street at 3 p.m. on October 8th, the day of our annual, popular Chili Cook-off.
A large group of West Chester Rotarians were among the 500 Rotarians in District 7450 to attend the Phillies versus Milwaukee Brewers baseball game on Tuesday. An annual event of District 7450, some Rotarians made it a family affair. The Schwabs attended with son Matt and their grandchildren, the Sammarone family was there, and Paul Woodruff brought his grandson. Among others spotted in the crowd were Doug Meis, Melissa Baxter, Corey Cahill, and Kate Diffendorf.
A small but enthusiastic group of Rotarians gathered on a recent Saturday evening at Marshall Square Park to eat dinner and enjoy rock and roll music by Slingshot. Continuing her efforts to encourage West Chester Rotary Clubs to participate in joint activities, Immediate Past President Melissa Baxter was joined by Angela Brown from the Passport Club to picnic and listen to the music. An assortment of food trucks lined up along Matlack Street, but most folks brought their own picnic dinners and beverages.
Melissa Baxter turned over the club presidency to Rich Murray at a memorable presidential induction, like hundreds of Rotary clubs across the country and the world. Melissa accomplished so much in her year as our leader, notably bringing together other West Chester Rotary clubs in joint events. Apparently we did not overtax her, because she has now stepped up to join Jeff Cantwell in heading up the Chili Cook-off on October 8th! Talk about going “from the frying pan into the fire!” Fortunately she and Jeff have over 100 Rotarians and many other volunteers beside them as they venture forth, including Melissa’s supportive husband, Aaron.
Our club’s new tent and banner made their debut at the Turks Head Music Festival on a beautiful Sunday in June. The clever banner attracts visitors, and engages them in learning about Rotary, providing an additional, visible resource for displaying club brochures and information, and most importantly, publicizing our upcoming Chili Cook-off!
What has become an annual Service Above Self project for our club is helping neighborhood volunteers with clean-up day at Marshall Square Park in West Chester. This year, the clean-up day was scheduled for Earth Day weekend. Mac Neilon again handled the details, and directed 13 Rotarians and a child to help with picking up sticks, spreading mulch, shoveling up leaves, and general clean-up between 8:30 a.m. and noon on Saturday. Thanks to all the volunteers, and to Randy Lindel and Mark Sammarone for recording the event with photos.
Charles Streitwieser and Melissa Baxter represented our West Chester Club at the recent District 7450 District Conference, which Melissa described as a “relaxed format – people came and went throughout.”
Rotarians help out wherever there is a need! For example, Locust Lane Brewery (LLB), a member of the Exton Region Chamber of Commerce, conducts a series of events called ”Pints With a Purpose,” in which they pick a non-profit member of the chamber to highlight each month. The chamber’s Community Philanthropic Council’s February pick was the Chester County History Center (CCHC). All month, not only do proceeds from LLB’s monthly Community Cups project go to the non-profit, there is a happy hour at the end of the month.
The Philadelphia Eagles may have come up short on their bid to win the Super Bowl last weekend, but West Chester Rotarians were winners. Carol Hanson and new member Lona Pangia were among the four winners of the Super Bowl fundraiser conducted by Mac Neilon. Carol won $200 for her 2nd quarter pick, Lona won $200 for her third quarter pick, Fran Curtin (on a bucket list trip to Egypt with wife Judy) won $200 for his first quarter pick, and Rob Malone's grandmother won the fourth quarter pick and the $650 prize!
President Melissa Baxter and Bob Rogers tied for first place in the Rotary Barbecue Throw Down, held recently at the Boy Scout Council building in Exton. Melissa's entree was a succulent "Beat Bob Baby Back Ribs," and Bob's entrée was "Three Little Pigs," a tasty combination of pork shoulder, pork belly and bacon. Judy Curtin, past president of the Sunrise Club was runner up with her cinnamon spiced pulled pork. Other cooks/chefs from Sunrise included Bill Leber, and Laura Schofield and husband John Pierson's "Buckle Up" pulled pork (John smoked the pork for 16 hours!).
Arriving in a holiday mood, about 75 individuals, Rotarians and their spouses, gathered for a festive holiday party at the gorgeous home of Doreen and Bill Winters. Although elegant on its own, Doreen embellished the large Victorian style home with numerous decorated trees that she started putting up in October!
Another longtime tradition of our Rotary club has been the ringing of the bells at the bright red pots of the Salvation Army each year. This is a major fundraiser for the SA, which does so much good in our communities year around.
A casual, social gathering of Rotary members on the "Tuesday Before Thanksgiving" has been a longstanding tradition of the Rotary Club of West Chester. Over two dozen club members joined in keeping the tradition alive this year.
Members of our Rotary Club are never ones to shirk helping and participating in activities in the Borough of West Chester. And the recent Christmas parade was no exception! Jeff Cantwell was able to catch this photo of Rotarian and Bar Association director, Matt Holliday, on the Chamber of Commerce float. Jeff barely managed to get this photo because he was busy being one of the parade marshals!. Mark Sammarone was busy directing the hundreds of vehicles that were streaming into the borough hunting parking places. Mac Neilon also was very busy doing a variety of tasks to keep the parade running smoothly. Perhaps there were other Rotarians helping out that evening. The borough, chamber of commerce, and others know they can always depend on hard-working, often unseen Rotary volunteers and their families..png)
