Don't forget you have one day left to sign up for the 2023 Rotary 4-Way Speech Contest, hosted jointly this year by the Rotary Clubs of Shepherdstown and Charles Town and in partnership with Wild and Wonderful Toastmasters.
The contest will be held March 14th at 7pm at Charles Washington Hall.
Jefferson County High schoolers (9th - 12th) are encouraged to apply; One winner and an alternate will be selected to proceed to regional and district competitions. Attached is the flyer with more info and an application to participate. Toastmasters coaches will be assigned to each participant in the contest and an informational session will be held January 24th to help students connect with their coach and learn more about the contest. Students can win up to $2,000 at the district level and additional prize money at the local and district contest!
Please email carolineakeys@gmail.com today if interested and we can quickly get you signed up. This is a great resume and public speaking opportunity so don't miss out!
SHEPHERDSTOWN ROTARY CLUB INDUCTS NEW MEMBER
The Rotary Club of Shepherdstown has inducted Jane Hamann as a new member.
The induction ceremony was held at the Club's December 21 evening meeting at the Bavarian Inn.
The accompanying photo shows Hamann, left, with Rotarian Dr. Ken Hill.
Jane was born and raised in the Chicago area. After marrying her husband Brad, she moved to New York. In their 21 years of marriage, they have lived in Upstate New York, New Mexico, and now West Virginia.
Jane's early working years were customer-service based and that is where she found that she enjoyed working with and helping people. She has also always been an active person and interested in health and fitness, so in 2000 she received a personal trainer certification through the American Council on Exercise and started her own training business. She saw the need for in-home training, as gyms are not always comfortable or convenient for people.
After a personal health challenge, she realized the importance of overall health and fitness, from physical to psychological to spiritual. Therefore, in 2018 she received additional certification as a Cancer Exercise Specialist and health coach.
She has also taught health and fitness courses at the college level.
The Shepherdstown Rotary Club comprises two groups of members: a morning group that meets weekly on Tuesdays, and an evening group that meets bi-weekly on Wednesdays. Both groups meet at Shepherdstown's Bavarian Inn.
Jane has joined the evening group.
To learn more about the Shepherdstown Rotary Club, including how to become a member, contact info@shepherdstownrotary.org.
The Rotary Club of Shepherdstown was honored to support $2,500 towards the purchase of good quality band chairs for this deserving band program At Eagle School Intermediate (ESI). On December 14, 2022 Shepherdstown Rotary presented the All-Star Band with a check of $2,500. In addition, they have donated several used instruments from generous Rotarians. Music Director Matt Blom and Assistant Music Director Paige Kozak are truly dedicated to ESI All Star Band giving of their time before, during planning periods, and after school for the benefit of these wonderful kids.
The Eagle School All-Star Band program includes before school, during school, and after school instructional time in an effort to best serve the musical needs of our students. Eagle School music ensembles is currently offered to 4th and 5th graders. They currently serve 160+ students, 33% percent of the 440 eligible students or 25% of the whole school(630 including 3rd grade). This does not take into account the over 200 students who have shown significant interest in participating, but whose families do not have the means necessary for them to be members of the program because of transportation and/or the cost of an instrument. Eagle School Intermediate is a Title I school and the music ensembles have no allocated budget from the county or state. For general music class, each year their budget from the county is about $1,000, which is only enough to purchase about one quality student instrument. Funds for the program over the past 5 years have largely come from fundraising, donations, and grants that have allowed them to grow school instruments inventory to almost 60 instruments. The greatest need for the program this year was quality long-lasting music chairs for our students to sit in for rehearsals, lessons, and concerts. They have been using folding chairs for the past 5 years that quickly deteriorated.
Adults pictured from left is Assistant Band Director Paige Kozak, Band Director Matthew Blom, along with Shepherdstown Rotarians Austin Slater and James King. The remaining are ESI Band members.