Club News

Everyone is invited to this year's Independence Day parade and community picnic in Shepherdstown on July 4.  The parade will step off at 3:00 p.m. at the top of German Street and proceed all the way to the Rumsey Memorial Park on Mill Street. The picnic will be held right afterwards at the Rumsey Park, and last until 8:30 p.m.  Admission to the picnic will be free.

The Shepherdstown Rotary Club has donated $250 to Shepherdstown Elementary School for the purchase of new books for the school's library. The check was presented to school officials at the Club’s April 26 weekly breakfast meeting at the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown. Shown in the accompanying photo, from left to right, are Rotarian Doug Alexander, Shepherdstown Elementary School Librarian Sue Mellott and Shepherdstown Elementary School Principal Suzanne Offutt.

The Shepherdstown Rotary Club's annual Christmas Charity Ball will be held from 7:30-11:30 p.m. Friday, December 3, at the Shepherdstown Volunteer Fire Department Hall.

The event is entitled "Our Ball, Your Charity."

Individual Rotarians help underwrite it by sponsoring tables and contributing funds toward the costs of food, beverages, music and decorations. Four event sponsors are covering the rest of those costs: All the proceeds from the sale of tickets to each table are then donated to a charity selected by that table's host. There is no fixed price for tickets; instead, attendees are asked to make appropriate contributions.

Each table is also given the opportunity to participate in a silent auction, and all the auction proceeds go to the designated charities as well.

Last year's Ball raised a total of $28,097 for 20 different Eastern Panhandle nonprofit organizations.

Music for dancing and listening at this year's ball will be provided by the Bing Crosby Band. Heavy hors d'oeuvres and desserts will be served. The dress is black tie optional.

The lead sponsor for this year's Ball is Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races; the other sponsors are Canterbury Center, Jefferson Security Bank, and Shepherd University.

The nonprofit organizations that have had tables sponsored on their behalf this year are as follows: Alzheimer's Association, American Conservation Film Festival, Animal Welfare Society, The Arts Centre, Arts and Humanities Alliance of Jefferson County, Contemporary American Theater Festival, Country Day School, Freedom's Run, Friends in Action, Good Shepherd Caregivers, Panhandle Hospice, Patriot's Path, Potomac Valley Audubon Society, Relay for Life, Saint James School, Shepherdstown Public Library, Shepherdstown Volunteer Fire Department, and Shepherdstown Rotary Foundation.

Rotary Club of Shepherdstown Charter Member, Dr. Guy J. Frank, passed away on Aug. 24, 2010.  Born in Los Angeles in May 1919, he married Alice Wright Frank in 1943, after his Whittier College graduation. He taught band and science for a year. Then served as WW II Staff Sergeant, 29th Infantry Division Bank, Central Europe, winning medals.  He received his Music MA from Claremont Graduate School, class of 1948 and received his Ph.D. from Eastman School of Music, class of 1958. He taught music for 33 years at Shepherd College (now Shepherd University), serving as Chair of Creative Arts Division and Music Department and helping establish The Center For the Performing Arts in 1981.  Guy was a co-founder and past President of the West Virginia Chapter of Music Teachers National Association and co-founder of Millbrook Orchestra.  He retired in 1984 and won the Lancer Alumni Achievement Award from Whittier in 1999. During his retirement he wrote Symphonic Triptych, honoring beauty of Shepherdstown area. Guy's Symphony was performed on June 20, 1997 and Oct. 17, 2009 at Shepherd University. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Shepherdstown Planning Commission, Contemporary American Threatre Festival, Coolfont Resort, and Jefferson Memorial Hospital. Guy was Rotary charter member and Paul Harris Fellow.  A Memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 25, 2010 at Trinity Episcopal Church in Shepherdstown. In Lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Alice Wright Frank Music Memorial Scholarship Fund by writing a check to Shepherd University Foundation, P.O. Box 5000, Shepherdstown, WV 25443-5000. Online condolences may be offered at Melvin T. Strider Colonial Funeral Home at www.mtstrider.com .

Nicole Saunders-Meske, an Attorney and owner of Saunders-Meske, P.A, and Steven Koepp, a Software Engineeer for the USCG Operations Systems Center, joined the Rotary Club of Shepherdstown in July and August respectively.  Nicole has a significant legacy in the legal profession since 1997 and is a former graduate of Ohio State University.  She started her legal career in Florida and moved to Harpers Ferry with her family in 2001.

Steve Koepp joined the Operations Systems Center in 2008 as a principal applications developer for the USCG's Long Range Tracking and Identification System which tracks all international SOLAS class vessels globally to assist the Coast Guard with their search and rescue efforts, track international commerce, and monitor National security efforts.  Steve is a graduate of Frostburg State and lives with his family in Sharpsburg, MD.

The 2010 Rotary Club of Shepherdstown Paul Harris Fellow Award recipients were announced and honored at the Junee 22 Club meeting.  Tom Trumble is a past club president, a Vietnam veteran, and member of the Jefferson County Planning Commission Appeals Board. Tom expressed his thanks and said his time in Rotary represents “the most important years of my life.”  Ed Herendeen was the driving force behind founding the Contemporary American Theater Festival in Shepherdstown, which has become one of the most notable annual events in our community. The festival now brings in over $1.5 million each year, and it has been attended by people from across the nation. Ed said, “This means a lot, but let’s look at the next 20 years.”  The Rev. Dr. George Thomas “GT” Schramm, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Shepherdstown for 27 years. GT does a significant amount of work for the community, within and outside of the church. He has selflessly donated his time and energy to numerous community activities, including recently leading the drive to obtain a permanent building for our local hospice. GT stated that “to join the ranks of past members of this club is a high honor.”

     The Energy Express program provides children of low-income families with an opportunity to increase their literary skils and maintain proper nutrition over the course of their summer break.  In order to be successful, the Energy Express program depends a great deal on voluntary community outreach.  This is where Rotary and our contributions to community service fits in.

     Andrea Miller, the Community Coordinator at Ranson Elementary, is actively soliciting any volunteer Rotarians we can offer to help out with the program.  The level of effort is somewhat minimal as they are looking for approximately 2-hours of time between 08:00 and 12:15 M-F.  Assuming they acquire a sufficient number of volunteer readers, you could most likely select one or two days every week during the summer to read for a 2-hour session.  Specifics follow:

• Energy Express Summer Program: June 22-August 30
• Hours: 08:00am to 12:15pm Monday - Friday
• Sign-up for a 2-hour period for one or two morning sessions/week
• Elementary school-age children, 8 per group
• The 'celebrity reader' (that could be you!) rotates among multple classes. 15-20 minutes/class (equates to about 6 classes during your 2-hour window)
• Lunch is available for purchase for a small fee

If you are at interested, please call Ranson Elementary and ask for the Community Coordinator (Andrea Miller) at 304-725-7310.

Thank you for your interest.  You can make a difference for local school children who need our help!

Community residents Austin and Heather Hovermale and Jennifer Peterson were inducted into the Rotary Club of Shepherdstown on April 20.  The Hovermales are attorneys at local law firms in Martinsburg, while Ms. Peterson provides Financial Consulting services with a financial advisory team located in Shepherdstown.

Rotary club sponsors Chris Horowicz and David Miljour are pictured here at the member induction ceremony with the Hovermales and Ms. Peterson.

75 Rotaract Students, Rotarians, and Shepherdstown Volunteers donated their time to collect and distrubute...

• 42,000 Potatoes
• in 4-hours
• on 1 Saturday morning
• for 1 community
• to help eliminate World Hunger in America

Thank you Shepherdstown!

photo courtesy of The Journal