Courtesy photo
Changing of the Guard
Westfield Rotary Club
The Rotary Club of Westfield recently held their Changing of the Guard ceremony.
The Changing of the Guard Ceremony has 4 parts: The outgoing President Tony LaPorta reviewed the accomplishments of the club over the last year. Second, the Induction Officer, PDG Dr. D. Michael Hart, thanked and discharged the outgoing officers and board of directors for the club, and the officers and board of trustees for the Club Foundation, then inducted the incoming officers, directors and trustees. The third part is the “Passing of the Gavel” ceremony. The fourth part of the ceremony is that the incoming President, Barbara Frantz, reveals her goals for the coming year.
The incoming officers for the Rotary Club of Westfield are: Barbara Frantz, President; Lauren Barr, President -elect; Michael Hart, Secretary; Steve Ketcham, Treasurer. The club Board of Directors are Brendan Bertsch; Burim Regjaj, Heidi Caponigro; and Mark Wright. The incoming Club Foundation Officers are Tony LaPorta, Chair; Barbara Frantz, Vice Chair; Michael Hart, Secretary; and Stephan Specht Treasurer. The Foundation Trustees are: Lauren Barr, Brendan Bertsch; Burim Regjaj, and Mark Wright.
In outgoing President Tony LaPorta’s remarks, he noted that two members won District wide awards: Ray Kostyack won the Matty Mathewson District Rotarian of the Year, and Darielle Walsh won the Jean Harris Award for volunteer services of a non-Rotarian. Two club awards were Warren Rorden winning the Golden Pancake Award for going above and beyond at The Breakfast with the Bands (formerly Pancake Day), and Brendan Bertsch winning the Golden Wrench Award for services during the bicycle collection.
Tony presented six Paul Harris pins. This is a recognition which requires a $1,000 contribution to The Rotary International Foundation. The six awardees are: Brendan Bertsch for organizing all of the club programs; Carl Peer- Scholarship Chair; Burim Regjaj- for spearheading the Homeless Veterans project; Stephan Specht; Blake Width as Chair of the Foundation; and Mark Wright.
In addition, President Tony presented 9 Presidential Certificates of Merit to:
Marta Alexandre- for being Grants chair; Lauren Barr- Publicity chair;
Chung Kun Shih- club photographer; Barbara Frantz- for running Breakfast with the bands; Steve Ketcham- for being club treasurer and financial advisor; Ray Kostyack- for running all of our hunger initiatives; Warren Rorden- for the fall bicycle collection; Stephan Specht- for running the Ukrainian dinner fundraiser and being treasurer of the Foundation; Mark Wright- for running our international high school student exchange.
To lighten the mood, President Tony gave a “Presidential Pardon” to Warren Rorden, who was quite mischievous as a kid growing up in Westfield.
President Tony thanked Secretary Michael Hart for supporting him and guiding him during his year, and presented him with a Native American Dream Catcher, so Mike can sleep well after all of his hard work behind the scenes.
President Tony LaPorta reviewed the projects run by the Rotary Club of Westfield this past year. The projects were: Ukrainian Dinner Fundraiser to help the refugees in Eastern Europe; Sweet Sounds fundraiser for homeless veterans; Bringing in 10 new members to the club; Breakfast with the Bands fundraiser for scholarships; Bike collection to recycle used bikes to the third world; Awarding $97,000 in Scholarships; Awarding $20,000 in Community Grants; Frequent publicity almost every week; Hunger projects- making sandwiches, etc. to help the Soup Kitchen at St. Joe’s Service Center in Elizabeth; The Homeless Veterans project at Lyons VA Hospital; International High School Youth Exchange- receiving a student from Brazil; Sponsoring a Global Scholar, Emily Rice from Australia, to earn a Masters in Conflict Resolution at Columbia University; Sponsoring six youth service clubs in our schools – 3 in elementary schools; 2 in Middle Schools, and the High School Interact club. Tony commented these accomplishments were all the result of team work by the members of the club. Our club goals were met and exceeded, and we have a solid succession plan in place.
The Rotary year runs from July 1 through June 30th. The Passing of the Gavel ceremony honors the past presidents, shows continuity of leadership, and demonstrates that the previous presidents will support the new incoming President. The previous club presidents in attendance were, in chronological order: Past District Governor Dr. D. Michael 1997-98; Bill Bonsall 1999-2000; Carl Peer, 02-03; Darielle Walsh 07-08; Mark Elsasser 08-09; Mark Swingle 09-10; Ray Kostyack 10-11; Maggie Subhas 13-14; Marta Alexandre 16-17; Clark Lagemann 18-19; Liz Ensslin 19-20; and 20-21; Blake Width 21-22; and Tony LaPorta 22-23.
Barbara Frantz is looking forward to being President next year, and is excited to work with everyone to continue the good work the Rotary Club does to help our community. Barbara is a partner at a local law firm, Phelan, Frantz, Ohlig & Wegbreit, LLC. Barbara specializes in Trusts and Estates.
The Rotary Club of Westfield meets the first three Tuesdays of each month for lunch at noon, at Limani Seafood Grill on North Ave. Guests are always welcome. For information check out the website westfieldrotary.com or contact club secretary Dr. D. Michael Hart by email at drmhart@yahoo.com
