Home Page | Rotary Club of Tunkhannock

January 2021
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Jan is Vocational Services Month in Rotary. According to the RI website:

"The concept of vocational service calls on Rotarians to encourage and foster:

• High ethical standards in business and professions

• The recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations

• The dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society

As a Rotarian, how can you put these ideals into action? Consider these suggestions:

• Talk about your profession in your club, and take time to learn about fellow members’ occupations.

• Use your skills and expertise to serve a community.

• Practice your profession with integrity, and inspire others to behave ethically through your words and actions.

• Help young people achieve their career goals.

• Guide and encourage others in their professional development.

By undertaking these activities, you bring vocational service to life. Vocational service is the essence of Rotary and serves as the foundation from which we serve our communities around the world."

Due to the coronavirus pandemic in PA, Shadowbrook will not restart its food services until Feb. As a result, our weekly in-person and Zoom meetings will now be held exclusively via Zoom until further notice. The Zoom link will be sent to all members a few days before each meeting. The flash meetings will also move to Zoom. Please stay safe and healthy!

Thank You to everyone who entered our Raffle and congratulations to the winners listed below!

1	Kevin Kitchnefsky	17	Sheila Noble
2	John Keker	18	Mark Stankavage
3	Matt & Sarah Davis	19	Larry Noble
4	Alison Wetherbee	20	Mercedes Kromko
5	Beckie Zaleppa	21	Barbara Locker
6	Tom Norville	22	Terri Detrick
7	Harry Sharpe	23	Colleen McAleer
8	Cathy Ciprich	24	Francis Wilcox
9	Clarissa Miller	25	Jim Walsh
10	Gary Jayne	26	John Hovan
11	Karen Fuller	27	Zach Griffith
12	Amy Markovitz	28	Don Davis
13	Christine Traver	29	Steve Bray
14	Melissa Romanoski	30	Lucia Behler
15	Ken Walker	31	Shealynn Rogers Shave
16	Aaron Hovan

Welcome to our Website!

Service Above Self

We meet In Person

Thursdays at 12:15 PM

Shadowbrook Inn and Resort

201 Resort Lane
Tunkhannock, PA 18657
United States of America

District Site

Bulletins

On the first and third Thursday's of every month, the Tunkhannock Rotary has a flash club meeting in person and via Zoom at 5:30 PM at Shadowbrook Inn & Resort. As a result of the Dec 10 orders of Gov Wolf, these meetings will move to Zoom only until further notice. This is a 15-30 minute meeting for those members or prospective members who cannot make our regular 12:15 PM meeting.

Christmas Came Early to Wyoming County EMS Consortium

Although the Wyoming County EMS Consortium ordered their $20,000 worth of personal protection equipment (PPE) for the 8 ambulance companies servicing Wyoming County several months ago, the orders took a long time to arrive with supply shortages and shipping delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The money for these PPE purchases was funded jointly by Tunkhannock Rotary and the Wyoming County Community Health Foundation.

After a long wait, it now appears that Santa's sleigh arrived a little early bring their PPE order before Christmas. It is hoped that these supplies will help keep our emergency services personnel safe and healthy during the COVID-19 surge we are experiencing in Wyoming County.

Happy Holidays & Thank You to everyone working to keep our Wyoming County residents safe and healthy during this pandemic.

Christmas Music at Dec 17 Rotary Zoom Meeting

Even though the scheduled Dec 17 Rotary meeting had to be converted to a Zoom-only meeting due to the PA COVID-19 guidelines, those attending were treated to a festive music interlude provided by Sophia, a vocal student of Stephanie Blasi, who accompanied her on the piano.

Sophia sang 2 beautiful solo pieces and then she and Stephanie sang a duet on "It's the most wonderful time of the year".

Stephanie and Sophia then led a Zoom sing along to "Let it Snow”, which was very appropos with the recent large snowfall in Tunkhannock, “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer”, and "We wish you a merry Christmas".

Stephanie Blasi (left) on piano singing a duet with Sophia

Candy Cane Check Presentation to Wyo Cty Children & Youth

At the Dec 17 Zoom Rotary Meeting, Pres. Terri Detrick announced that a check for $2,300 for gifts for kids for Christmas goes to Wyoming County Children and Youth from the money collected at Nov 27's Candy Cane Day.

Howard Heise, Wyoming County Children and Youth Administrator, accepted the gift on behalf of the 40 foster children and other families supported by his agency. Howard thanked the Rotary for collecting this money and was awed by the generosity of the shoppers who donated a record breaking $4,600 on Candy Cane Day (half went to Interfaith Friends).

Howard remarked that for the first time in his 30 years of service, this is the most need (due to the COVID pandemic) that he has ever seen with people struggling to make ends meet and put food on their tables. Therefore, in addition to ensuring each child will get a gift for Christmas, a portion of the money will be used for food gift cards so that some of the food-insecure families can have a great Christmas dinner this year.

Howard Heise

Jenny Huang Spoke at Dec 10 Rotary Meeting

2019-2020 exchange student Jenny Huang spoke at our Dec 10 Rotary meeting via Zoom. Jenny's exchange was to Santa Cruz de La Seirra, Bolivia to Rotary District 4690. Although her time was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, she had the opportunity to sample some of the native Bolivian cuisine including sonso de yuca, empanadas, llama meat and some exotic fruits.

She also traveled with her host families and the other exchange students to various historic/scenic sites in Bolivia.

Although she was due to return to the US in June, she needed to leave early due to the pandemic. However she was unable to get a earlier regular flight home, but the US Embassy arranged for her to catch a flight in April. Jenny was the last of our Rotary District's exchange students to return to the US and everyone was very relieved when she returned.

Jenny Huang

Candy Cane Day Check Presentation to Interfaith Friends

At the Dec 10 Rotary Meeting, Candy Cane Day Chair Mike Markovitz announced that a check for $2,300 was issued to Interfaith Friends to buy toys for kids for Christmas. Mary Foley, executive director of Interfaith Friends accepted the donation and thanked the Club via Zoom.

2022-2023 Officers & Directors

Congratulations to the slate of Officers and Directors unanimously elected at the Dec. 3 Annual Meetings. Therefore, the Officers and Directors, who will take office on July 1, 2021, are:

Officers:
Mary Tempest - President
Terri Detrick – Immediate Past President
Mike Markovitz - President elect
Samantha Maruzzelli - Vice President
Sandy Lane - Secretary
Ann Way - Assistant Secretary
Elaine Walker - Treasurer

Directors:
Laura Charles
Ruth Gorski
Francine Kanyok
Norm Kelly
Susan Kelly
John Proctor
Ann Way
Dave Wilson

Paul Harris Recognition

At the Dec 3 Annual Meeting, President Terri Detrick presented a Paul Harris +6 pin to Club Foundation Chair Samantha Maruzzelli.

Foundation Chair Samantha then presented a Paul Harris +7 pin to Tom Kukuchka.

Tom Kukuchka and Samantha Maruzzelli with their new Paul Harris pins.

Candy Cane Day Thank You

l to r: Dean Detrick, Jim Welch, Bill Milligan and Francine Kanyok Collecting Donations on Candy Cane Day 2020

Thank you to everyone who donated to our collection buckets manned by Tunkhannock Rotarians, Interactors, their families and friends at several locations in town on Black Friday, Nov. 27. Money collected from this event will be given to Interfaith Friends & Wyoming County Children and Youth to provide Christmas gifts to children in need in Wyoming County.

Judge Shurtleff Spoke at Nov 19 Luncheon

Our guest speaker at the Nov 19 Rotary meeting at Shadowbrook was Russell Shurtleff. Judge Shurtleff is the President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Wyoming & Sullivan Counties. There are only 2 joint judicial districts in PA with one judge, so his schedule is somewhat challenging serving 2 Counties.

Judge Shurtleff spoke about the impact of Covid-19 on the local court system, which never closed but went virtual with hearings and sentencings done via Zoom with lawyers, probation and everyone online.

Crime wise, we are down. Fewer DUIs due to the bars being closed. Burglaries have dropped substantially. On the other hand, domestic violence crimes have increased and there is concern that Children and Youth cases are currently underreported.

The last drug treatment court graduation included 3 from Wyo and 1 from Sullivan Counties. Almost 100 people have graduated, and it has been successful.

They were approved by the DA and Office of Courts for the Veterans Treatment Court now. The VA will do all the counseling. They will also be assigned a mentor, who has had similar military experiences or disability.

We will have DUI, Drug and Veterans Courts. Next to be pursued will be Mental Health Court since it is underserved nationwide. People are trying to treat their mental health issues with drugs, which creates another set of issues.

President Judge Russell Shurtleff

Interact Club Awarded Certificate of Appreciation

At the Nov 12 Rotary Meeting, Vice President Mike formally presented the TAHS Interact Club with a Certificate of Appreciation from the Rotary Foundation for their donations to Polio Plus over the years that has now exceeded $1,200. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, Kinsley Schmeckenbecher, Interact Club President attended via Zoom along with other Interact Officers Emily Rickaby (Secretary) & Rebecca Fick (Treasurer).

Each of the officers expressed their thanks for the recognition and indicated how important it was to them to get this Certificate of Appreciation. They also expressed their pleasure at being a part of Interact during their time in the Club.

Kinsley Schmeckenbecher (President), Emily Rickaby (Secretary) and Rebecca Fick (Treasurer) of the TAHS Interact Club

Sheriff Robert Roberts Spoke at Nov 12 Luncheon

The guest speaker at the Nov 12 Rotary Luncheon at Shadowbrook was Sheriff Robert Roberts. Sheriff Roberts provided details on his personal history in law enforcement and then gave information on the history of law enforcement in Wyoming County. He pointed out that the Sheriff is the highest-ranking law enforcer in some counties.

He then talked about the duties of the Sheriff dept. They handle courthouse and jail security, process licenses to carry in the County, assist other agencies as needed and are responsible to keep the peace in the county and to arrest violators of the law.

In the future, he wants to improve security at the courthouse with screening and inspection, increase public service and visibility (especially when staffing increases next year), enhance school patrols and expand to other schools to act as a deterrent.

Sheriff Robert Roberts

Fall Roadside Cleanup on Oct 31

For at least the last 23 years, twice a year, usually in the Spring and Fall, Tunkhannock Rotarians clean-up both sides of the roadside along 2 miles of Route 6 from the Fireplace Restaurant to beyond Route 87 towards Meshoppen. So, on Sat Oct 31, Rotarians, family and friends gathered at the Fireplace Restaurant parking lot to begin the Fall cleanup. Although it was a cold day, Rotarians are "People of Action" and were determined to get the cleanup done. Chairman Mike Markovitz commented “THANK YOU! We had 20 people show up to get the project completed in rapid time. We started at 9:00 am and were wrapped up by 10:15 am and headed home by 10:30 am! GREAT JOB TO ALL!”

Rotary Celebrates Halloween on Oct 29

On Thursday Oct 29, the noontime luncheon at Shadowbrook gave members and family the opportunity to dress up in their favorite costumes. There were 4 winners in the costume contest: Kaitlyn Markovitz - 1st place, Patty Ehrenzeller - 2nd place, Mary Tempest - 3rd place and John Hovan - 4th place. Congratulations to all the costume contest winners.

Some of our costume contest contestants

Deb Shurtleff Spoke at Oct 22 Luncheon

Deb Shurtleff was the guest speaker at our Oct 22 Rotary Lunchon at Shadowbrook. Deb is the President of Cloverknoll LLC, which offers shared space for wellness professionals in Tunkhannock.

Cloverknoll and Wyo Cty Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) have gotten together to revitalize the Wyo Cty Community Alliance, whose mission statement is: “connects and educates organizations who strengthen Wyoming County communities”. The Alliance will support and introduce the non-profit organizations to businesses, and they can provide service together.

One of the Alliance Programs is the Food Emergency Distribution (FED) Program, which is a collaboration of Wyo Cty agencies. There has been 15% to 25% food insecurity since the pandemic began. There is a signup at WCCC alliance (https://wyccc.com/alliance/) for families/individuals to receive hot meals, school lunches, baby and infant supplies and groceries during the COVID-19 pandemic this fall and winter. They also need volunteers to deliver the food.

Deb Shurtleff

Mike Donahue Spoke at Oct 15 Luncheon

Mike Donahue, Director of Human Services, was the guest speaker at the Oct 15 Rotary Luncheon at Shadowbrook. Mike spoke about the breadth of programs offered by Human Services including: various programs to help those with drug and alcohol abuse issues, a variety of mental health programs, Children and Youth services, food and home insecurities and many others.

Mike commented that there are several Rotarians helping with many of the endeavors of Human Services. He finished his presentation with this comment: “As human beings, we need to invest in human beings.”.

Mike Donahue

Oct 10 Popup Pantry at Lazybrook Park

This event was coordinated by Membership Chair Mary Tempest to have a Rotary event on what would have been the Harvest & Wine Festival date (Saturday Oct 10, 2020) at Lazybrook Park. So, instead of hosting a crowd of wine drinkers, Rotary helped Child Hunger Outreach Partners of Wyoming & Susquehanna Counties (CHOP) with their first Wyoming County Pop-Up Pantry to feed families in need.

Volunteers from Tunkhannock Rotary and CHOP were at Lazybrook Park unpacking and distributing food to families as they drove-by the Rotary sponsored and newly installed inclusive swing set. The distribution was on a first-come, first served basis until all the food boxes were gone. The drive-by began at 1 PM and continued until almost 4 PM. Thanks to all the Rotarians and family members who helped with this event.

Rotarians are People of Action!

Inclusive Swing Set Installed at Lazybrook Park

Since some children with disabilities cannot use the regular playground swings, they must sometimes just sit on the sidelines and watch their friends and siblings on the swings.

With this in mind, Tunkhannock Rotary 2018-2019 President Mike Markovitz applied for a District 7410 Designated Grant for $3,000 with a club match of $3,000 to buy and install an inclusive swing set at Lazybrook Park, home to our Rotary Harvest & Wine Festival. In fact, the matching funds came from the previous year’s profits from the Oct Festival.

In early August 2020, Rotarians Ron Furman and Norm Kelly joined Tunkhannock Township workers Bob Stevens and John Algar to dig holes, assemble the swing set frame and cement the poles into the ground.

On Monday Oct 5, the wood chips were finally delivered to finish up the installation of the swing set. Several Rotarians worked with the Township workers to spread the wood chips and hang the swings. It is rated for children 5-12 years of age.

l to r. Norm Kelly, John Proctor and Mike Markovitz

Pres. Terri Reunited with Her Gavel

At the Sep 10 Rotary Luncheon, Pres. Terri was initially downcast to not find her missing gavel waiting for her at her table, even though the Club had raised $306 for the Rotary Foundation, surpassing the Wicked Witch of the West's demand for at least $225. However, unbeknownst to Terri, the Wicked Witch had swooped in on her broom outside of the meeting room and gave the gavel to the waitress to deliver to Terri with her lunch. Pres. Terri was overjoyed to see her missing gavel, who was also very, very happy to see Pres. Terri.

Happy Pres. Terri reunited with her happy “precious gavel”

Although in view of its 6 week absence, gavel should have been quarantined for 2 weeks before interacting with Pres. Terri, Terri was so excited to get her “precious” back that she held onto it tightly through most of the meeting, afraid to put it down.

Pres. Terri later remarked that gavel seemed to be in amazingly good condition and did not appear to be too traumatized by its experiences with the Wicked Witch. Luckily, although he was standing by, EMT Mike Markovitz’s services were gratefully not needed.

Pres Terri sends everyone a big Thank You for saving her Gavel from a fiery end at the hands of the Wicked Witch of the West!!

The End (for now or is it?)

Pres. Terri's Gavel Saved From a Fiery Fate

It is a great relief to announce that Pres. Terri's gavel-napped "precious gavel" has been saved from a possible fiery fate. The Wicked Witch of the West threatened that unless the Club raised at least $225 for the Rotary Foundation by Sep 7, that Terri's gavel would be used as kindling for her Labor Day cauldron fire. Luckily, the Club raised $306 to ransom Pres. Terri's "precious". Now we just wait to see when and how the Wicked Witch will release gavel.

I like to start by thanking you all for your trust and support as I begin my journey as your Tunkhannock Rotary President.

I was honored to be invited to join Rotary in 2018 at the invitation of Club Secretary, Carol Ziomek. It’s been a busy 2 years learning about Rotary and getting involved in our Club’s projects.

I’m sure it comes as no surprise to you that I’ve approached Rotary and most everything I do, with the question Why?

Why do we do it this way? Why can’t we? Why should we? Why don’t we? Lot’s of Whys!

Like many of you I believe that we have to understand the Why before we can take action. And time and time again, Tunkhannock Rotarians show they are People of Action!

When Rotary International President-elect 2020-2021, Holger Knaack announced his theme Rotary Opens Opportunities he was quoted as saying “We will capture this moment to grow Rotary, making it stronger, more adaptable, and even more aligned with our core values.”

What are those core values? FELLOWSHIP - INTEGRITY - DIVERSITY - SERVICE - LEADERSHIP

For me, those are the “Why” we do what we do.

Rotary International has set forth a 5-year Strategic Plan to address the How. The plan has 4 areas of focus:

Increase our impact;
Expand our reach;
Enhance participant engagement; and,
Increase our ability to adapt.

Those are all things we are already doing as a club. They are things we can build on.

As we begin the 2020-2021 my goal is for our Club to establish its own Strategic Plan to define and measure how we address those areas and to create continuity for the future leaders of the club.

Finally, I’ll end with a statement from the Rotary International website…

The world today is not the same as it was when Rotary was founded in 1905. Demographics have shifted, the pace of change has accelerated, and technology has created new opportunities for connection and service. What hasn’t changed is a need for the values that define Rotary: By honoring our past and embracing our future, we can evolve and keep Rotary not only relevant, but thriving.

The Rotary Club of Tunkhannock was officially chartered on Aug 25, 1925 by Rotary International President Donald A. Adams (1925-26) and Chesley R. Perry, Rotary Secretary (now called General Secretary). The RI assigned Club No. was 2109, which can be generally interpreted as our Club being approximately the 2,109^th Club admitted to Rotary. However in 1951, the charter numbers were discontinued and a new Club Number assigned that has no relation to the historic charter certificate numbers, hence we became Club 5408.

On Aug 25, 1925, the Rotary Club of Tunkhannock had 19 charter members (see below). The Club was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Pittston and its first President was William A. Kittredge.

Among the charter members of the Club, was a world-famous Olympic track & field athlete, Walter Beardsley Tewksbury, who became known as "the man who put Tunkhannock on the map" after the 1900 Paris Olympics, as well as, members of many prominent families in the area.

The regular weekly meetings of the Tunkhannock Club were held on Fridays at 12:15 PM at the Hotel Graham, which became the Hotel Prins and later Prince Hotel. With the sale and closure of the Prince Hotel for renovations in late 2009, the Club met at several locations (Twigs, Remingtons, Purkey’s Pink Apple and the Bogey Room at Shadowbrook) before finally selecting and moving in 2010 to Purkey's Pink Apple for its lunchtime meetings every Thursday at 12:15 PM. With the closure of the Pink Apple in June 2020, the Club moved its Thursday meetings to Shadowbrook Inn and Resort.

2020/2021 Rotary Theme: Rotary Opens Opportunities

RI President Holger Knaack stated in his Presidential Address: Rotary is not just a club that you join. It is an invitation to endless opportunities. It opens opportunities to serve in a project as big and historic as End Polio Now and also in a small community project, where you just plant a tree.

And it opens opportunities for you to live a richer, more meaningful life, with friends around the world, based on our core values.

As Rotarians, we are very blessed to take on leadership roles at this wonderful moment for our organization.

Everything we do opens another opportunity for someone, somewhere.

Therefore, the theme for our year is: Rotary Opens Opportunities.

Bulletin Subscribe

Service Above Self

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January 2021
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31	01	02	03	04	05	06

January 2021
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27	28	29	30	31	01	02
03	04	05	06	07	08	09
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
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24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31	01	02	03	04	05	06

January 2021
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
27	28	29	30	31	01	02
03	04	05	06	07	08	09
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31	01	02	03	04	05	06