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.
SHEPHERDSTOWN ROTARY CLUB INDUCTS NEW MEMBER
The Rotary Club of Shepherdstown has inducted Jeff Soloway as a new member.
The induction ceremony was held at the Club's December 6 morning meeting at the Bavarian Inn.
The accompanying photo shows Soloway, center, with Club Secretary Rick Caruso, left, and Club President Sean Murtagh, right.
Soloway has been employed by the Aramark Corporation for nearly 10 years, the last two-and-a-half as director of food services at Shepherd University. From 2013 to 2020, he supervised contract management of Aramark environmental services for large healthcare operations.
Previous positions included directing all aspects of hotel operations for a Carnival Cruise Lines ship, establishing a day spa company, and serving as president of a firm that specialized in fundraising for community organizations.
He is married and has one daughter.
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.
Soloway has joined the morning group.
To learn more about the Shepherdstown Rotary Club, including how to become a member, contact info@shepherdstownrotary.org.
Shepherdstown Christmas Parade 2022...a few (many) images from this great gathering...
The Rotary Club of Shepherdstown wants to thank everyone who volunteered to help with Saturday's Christmas parade as well everyone who fielded an entry, and everyone who turned out to watch. If the recent pandemic taught us anything, it's that community matters. And events like this help bring us together as a community. Well done, everybody!
CHRISTMAS PARADE STILL ON FOR SATURDAY
With the weather forecasts for this Saturday currently not looking all that great, please remember that Shepherdstown's Christmas parades always take place rain (or snow) or shine.
So let's accentuate the positive (even if it does rain, the temperature is supposed to be relatively mild--near 60!). We'll make the most of whatever weather we get and even if we loose some entries to the weather the parade will still be a fun, family-oriented event that everyone can enjoy.
As always, the parade will start at 10 am sharp at the corner of German and Church streets, and proceed down German to Princess Street.
Rotary will be there. We hope you'll be there too!
SHEPHERDSTOWN ROTARY HELPS SCHOOL TOY DRIVE
The Rotary Club of Shepherdstown has donated $1,212 to this year's "Candy Cane Express" Christmas toy drive for needy children attending T.A. Lowery Elementary School in Shenandoah Junction.
The toy drive is intended to assist T.A. Lowery-student families who have been identified as lacking sufficient means to provide their children with toys. It begins on November 1 and lasts through the first week of December. The school provides detailed guidance on the kinds of toys needed, and all the toys collected must be new and unopened. When the drive is over, families come to the school to select their children's toys before the school begins its Christmas break.
The Rotary Club presented its check on November 30 at the school. All the funds for it were raised through individual contributions from Club members.
The accompanying photo shows, from left to right, Rotary Club member Walt Eifert; Rotary Club Youth Service Committee Chair Cara Keys; T.A. Lowery Special Education Teacher Beth Saunders, who helps direct the toy drive; T.A. Lowrey Principal Kristen Martin; T.A. Lowery Special Education Teacher Barbie Scott; Rotary Club member Jennifer Wabnitz; and Rotary Club President Sean Murtagh.