Learning altruism abroad on Rotary dime

By JC REINDL, New Britain Herald staff writer

PLAINVILLE --One of the town’s chief welcomers will leave for Australia next summer.
Chamber of Commerce employee Sara Chorzempa was awarded a scholarship by the Southington Rotary Club last Saturday to study abroad. Because her desk is located directly inside the front door of the Chamber of Commerce, Chorzempa is often the first person visitors meet when stopping in town for advice or directions. She is responsible for supporting community functions, handling phone calls, and answering questions from whomever wanders into the office.

"Where can I find waterfalls?" and "how do I get to Norton Park?" are typical questions Chorzempa said she has answered since arriving in July. A Southington resident, Chorzempa admitted she never spent much time in Plainville before this year. "I didn’t know much about Plainville before I worked here," Chorzempa said, "but the people are just terrific." Chorzempa said she will use her $25,000 Ambassadorial Scholarship to study international relations and public policy for a year at the University of Queensland, located on the Eastern edge of the Gold Coast in Brisbane, Australia.

A 1998 graduate of Southington High School and a 2002 graduate of Fordham University in New York, Chorzempa said she will use the opportunity to help further career aspirations in conflict negotiation and peace management. Chorzempa said she was a dual American- and African-American studies major in college, and hopes to someday find employment in a field where she can be idealistic but practical. "I’m looking for something I can help people with, but also something I can work in," Chorzempa said.

Rotary Clubs allow scholarship recipients to submit six universities throughout the world where they would like to study. Southington Rotary chose University of Queensland from her list of schools in Africa, Australia and New Zealand, she said. This will be her second trip to Australia; she spent six months at the University of South Wales in Sydney during her senior year in college. It was then that Chorzempa developed an interest in helping to improve the social and economic conditions for Australian native aboriginal tribes, she said. If her schedule grants sufficient flexibility, Chorzempa said she will try to become involved in aboriginal community service projects during her stay.

Chorzempa said she first heard about the scholarship nine months ago, while speaking to the Southington Rotary about a previous trip they had sponsored for her. While on winter break her sophomore year of college, Chorzempa said she traveled to Kingston, Jamaica with a group of 11 Fordham students to take part in a global outreach program at the Missionary of Charity Shelter. The shelter was founded by Mother Theresa, and serves the needs of the neediest individuals in Kingston, where the citizen already lives in extreme poverty, she said. "Those people didn’t have anything," Chorzempa said. "It was shocking coming from Southington, Connecticut and seeing this really intense stuff."

Once she returned home, Chorzempa said she learned that the outreach program did not allow volunteers to return to a country two years in a row, unless the participant applied to become a group leader. Chorzempa said she knew it would be a challenge, but because of the bonds she developed with Kingston residents during her mission, she decided to assume the added responsibility and apply for the program again during her junior year. "You’re not supposed to go back," Chorzempa said, "(but) I chose to lead it because I really wanted to see those people."

The Kingston trips cost about $1,500 each per person, and many volunteers turned to local businesses for sponsorships. Thanks to the Rotary’s generous donation, Chorzempa said she was able to raise the necessary funds. - complete text

2003 Bocci Night Picnic at Fran Massucci's - 9/17/03

The Winners!!!! - The Bocci Ballers

John (The Artist) Kennedy

Ron (The Strategist) Klein

Pauline (The-First-Woman-in-Southington-Rotary) Levesque

Chet (The Bocci Jet) Potrepka)

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2003 William S. Thomson Golf Scramble

The 2003 Southington Rotary William S. Thomson Golf Scramble was held on Wednesday, July 9, 2003 at the Southington Country Club. The event, our major fundraiser, raised $23,000 to support our club projects, including the newly-established William S. Thomson Scholarship.

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"Bring a Guest to Lunch" featuring Rotary Jeopardy at The Orchards - 5/28/03

Congratulations to Chet Potrepka for winning our Rotary Jeopardy program over the talented field of Charlie Cocuzza, Rod Greaves and Walt Hushak.

Full Rotary Jeopardy! game board...

William (Wild Willie) Taylor, Southington Rotary Lifetime Member Inductee

I am proud have been asked to induct Bill Taylor as a Lifetime Member of the Rotary Club of Southington.  I feel a bit put out about being passed up for the John Mullett or Tom McKnerney gig, but we are all team players here, and you do what you’re asked to do.

Born and raised in the streets of New York City, Bill early on fell in with ruffians and the like, living the rough and tumble West Side Story, yet taking time to sing streetcorner harmony with one Dion DiMucci in an acapella group which became known as Dion & the Belmonts.  You might be interested to know that it was Bill’s soaring falcetto you heard on the 50’s hit 45 “Why Must I Be A Teenager in Love.” The album jacket shows a tall, skinny kid with a greased-back DA haircut, looking something like a 50’s Kevin Mezzanotte.

After a brief stint doing ‘hard time’ for running numbers for the Mob (he was known as “Willie the Tailor”),  Bill enrolled at Columbia University, you guessed it, just in time for the 1960's student takeover of the University administration building.

He then appeared, Zelig-like, as a guest composer-performer with the Moody Blues, penning “Nights in White Satin” for their ‘Days of Future Past’ LP and then playing bass and being something of a groupie-magnet on their subsequent world-wide tour.

But then Bill decided it was time to focus on his real passion- banking.

Bill joined the Southington Rotary in 1984, garnering a solid 58% approval by the membership.  He immediately made his mark on the Club, teaming with Tom McKnerney to pass legislation that every Club event be an open bar, even breakfast meetings.  He rose through the chairs eventually becoming President in 1990, succeeding a true Rotary legend (whose name escapes me at the moment), using the campaign slogan ‘hey, back off, it’s MY turn!’  Unfortunately, during his term as President, Bill hurt his back and, depending on who you listen to, was out of action, according to legend, for 6 YEARS!  But, regardless, Bill left his mark on our Club:

In addition to serving as President, Bill was the voice of reason as the chair, for over six years, of the sometimes-stormy Gifts & Grants committee.  He also chaired the important Scholarship Committee for two years.  He was a silky-smooth voice of the airwaves on Rotary Radio Days and the deadpan sidekick to yours truly in some truly memorable (some would say truly forgettable) Rotary skits and tributes.

Bill Taylor is what Rotary is meant to be- someone who works hard

I am honored to introduce one of the three new Lifetime Members of the Southington Rotary Club - my fellow Rotarian – and my friend – Bill Taylor.  

John Kennedy, Presenter

Lifetime Member Induction Luncheon at The Orchards - 4/30/03

Lifetime member inductees:

Tom McKnerney presented by Chet Potrepka

Bill Taylor presented by John Kennedy (see above)

John Mullett presented by whom?

Bysiewicz discusses voting reform

By BRIAN FRAGA, New Britain Herald staff writer

SOUTHINGTON -- Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz addressed members of the Southington Rotary Club Wednesday in a speech focusing on her office’s voting reform efforts and business development initiatives.

Bysiewicz explained to the 40 Rotary members assembled in the community room at The Orchards retirement community exactly what her job title entails and how she has gone about fulfilling her responsibilities since being elected secretary of the state in 1998. "Since the Florida (voting) debacle in 2000, people seem to have a better idea of what I do," Bysiewicz said. "I’m like the CEO of a $100-million business that turns a profit for the state of Connecticut."

State corporations and LLC’s have to register with her office and update their business profile and information annually. Bysiewicz was the first secretary of the state to post that information on the Internet and says she plans to also have an online file of business documents such as annual reports and merger papers. "The information is good for people with LLC’s and corporations to see what their competition is doing," Bysiewicz said. "Having the information online also makes you sure your information is accurate and that you know it is there."

Election reform has also been a major focus of Bysiewicz’ term, and she detailed to her audience a particular initiative she is championing that would allow three Connecticut municipalities to test electronic voting machines. According to a federal law signed last year by President George W. Bush, each state must update its voting systems by 2006. Known as the Help America Vote Act, Bysiewicz called it "one of the most important voting rights legislation since the National Voting Rights Act of 1965."

Bysiewicz is proposing three towns use electronic voting machinery for the 2003 municipal elections. She said the technology would give voters the option to confirm their votes on a screen and would print a hard copy of each ballot. Bysiewicz was not concerned whether the elderly could handle the technology. - complete article