Thank you, see you next year!

2010 William S. Thomson Golf Scramble

Play will be a scramble format with a shotgun start at 9:30am. The cost is $150 per player, which includes golf with cart, lunch, dinner, refreshments. To reserve your foursome, please contact John Kennedy or Linda Tipping in any of the following ways:
1. telephone- 860.276.8025 (Kennedy) or 860.224.5900, ext 4702 (Tipping)
2. fax- 860.276.9669 (Kennedy) or 860.224.5779 (Tipping)
3. email - John Kennedy or Linda Tipping

Installation of 2010-2011 officers.....

Incoming president Brendan Goodrich presents outgoing president Vicki Triano with a plaque in appreciation of her two years as Club president.

Incoming Club president Brendan Goodrich is sworn in by District Governor Herb Toback.

Incoming president Brendan Goodrich and outgoing president Vicki Triano present a check for a $2,000 grant to Beth Pestillo, president of the Southington Education Foundation.

Chetnotes- meeting of 5/19/10...

Notes of Meeting of May 19, 2010-   President Victoria Triano presiding

Today's Rotary Guests:
Sandy Blumer, lifetime member George "Red" Griffin

Raffle Winner:
Dolores Fanelli

Happy Bucks:
Dolores (winning raffle), Dennis (caution buck: Dick Chaney Division of N.R.A.), George"Red" Griffin (happy to be here!),Donnnnn Reilly (Back from vacation in Wyoming & Utah with son, Ben), Linda (listened to Dave & Dave & charlie), Art Blumer( nice  to be here),   Sandy Blumer (also glad to visit Southington Rotary), Joanne Alfieri ($2- back from 8 days in Pompano Beach),  Susan Smayda (church play raised $7,000),  Brendan Goodrich($10- District Assembly, able to recreate his computer project), Chet (attended the  20^th anniversary celebration at Southington Care Center), Jim Earl (daughter graduated from high school; will attend C.C.S.U. on a softball scholarship), Ron Klein (Ruth's e-mail on getting rid of chipmunks),  Art( yard is inundated with bunnies-saw a fox nearby which may take care of the problem), Harold Kane (Sox pulled one out),  Gloria Brown (son left back to Minneapolis),  Vickie($3-"stolen" pocketbook (her dog was playing with it)

Fines :
Vickie self-fines herself for not nominating a finer

Announcements:

-Received letter from Bread for Like requesting budgeted $ 600 donation

-Meetings of May 26^th & June 2nd will be held at Mulberry Gardens

-Relay for Life: theme "Hope shines at  Rotary"- need more members to sign up for timeslots.

-Rotary Scholarship recipients are: Isabel Palumbo, Seth Crampton, Andrew Dominello, Alexandra Williams, Diana Babineau, & Michael Dolan. They have been invited to attend the meeting of June 23^rd.

- Interact will have its Installation Dinner on Thursday, May 27^th at 6 P.M. in the Atrium at S.H.S. Cafeteria. Rotarians are invited to attend.

Today's Speaker - Member Steve Giudice, Harry Cole & Son Surveying & Engineering. 

Land surveying is done for both residential, commercial, & insurance customers. Reasons for surveying a property include: finding property lines to avoid disputes or for building a house, site management, & elevation certificates. 
Steps in surveying:
-agreeing on cost of survey
-research at the Town Clerk's office: get copy of the assessor's map
-finding the dimensions of the property-
-send out the field crew-record information in the field book & on computer using a transit-find iron pins to identify property boundaries- make the final map.

Engineering Projects:
Site Plans: Survey-same field work as for residential customers. Make a map with layout for owner's needs. Submit to town, make revisions, present to commissioners-see site through to end of construction.

.

Southington Rotary Card Raffle  (target card: Queen of Diamonds):  

Donn Reilly picked the 9 of Hearts; the 50/50 jackpot now stands at ?

Chetnotes- meeting of 4/21/10...

Notes of Meeting of April 21, 2010 (President Victoria Triano Presiding)

Today's Rotary Guests- Welcome All on Administrative Assistant's Day!
Jess Potrepka, Lorraine Coty, Marcia Fiorillo, Debbie Albatas, Meghan Belanger, Linda Stuckman, Jane Hollman, Melissa Erickson, Sharon Robinson, Karen Drouin
Raffle Winner:
Carl Sokolowski
Happy Bucks:
Carl (winning raffle), Scott (Sox finally won again), Joe E (kids in Europe finally made it home Tuesday), Art (leaving again-this time to Amsterdam, grandson went to Athens with group from Greenwich H.S.-someone chartered a jet to bring the kids home), Dave (generally happy), Trish (George says hi!), Harold (heard a rumor that Dave's becoming a Republican!), Cindy (back from New Orleans Jazz Festival), Ron (test driving a Buick-question on airbag deployment)
Fines by Brendan Goodrich:
Ron (interruption fine), Chet (delivering drugs), Harold (receiving drugs), All female table (Art pays for breaking it up), Carl, Harold, Dennis, Brendan, Dave, Steve W. (all-male table), Trish (cell phone), Volcano Fine (anyone who's traveled to Europe sine January 1st), Administrative Assistant's Day (if you brought one to the meeting, you don't work hard enough-pay a buck)
Emergency Gifts & Grants:
Janet Mellon requested that Rotary sponsor a table at the Unique Boutique fundraiser: Cost: $320.00-approved
Guest speaker:
Former Rotarian John Gissis (assisted on the powerpoint presentation by his son Michael) on the Advantages of a Roth I.R.A. over a Traditional I.R.A.

(There was no drawing of the Southington Rotary Card Raffle today; the target card is still the Queen of Diamonds)

Chetnotes- meeting of 4/14/10...

Notes of Meeting of April 14, 2010- President Victoria Triano Presiding

Today's Rotary Guest:
Former Southington Rotarian George Costanzo-guest of Joe Erardi
Happy Birthday Harold Kane!
Raffle Winner:
Chet Potrepka Jr.
Happy Bucks:
Chet ($5 winning raffle, scholarship committee is meeting today to determine this year's recipients), Carol (brother, Calvanese Gala), Dennis ($2-Harold's birthday party last night, story buck), Art ($2-story buck, great to be here), George C (great to see old friends), Joe E. (7,000 of his friends are on vacation this week), Sue (just happy), Vickie (interviewed by Record-Journal on the youth services program), Harold ("I made it!")
Announcements:
 · Administrative Assistant's Day is next Wednesday. Don't forget to bring you're asst. to lunch
· Thank you note received from Girls State for the donation
· ARC of Southington Respite Program application received
· Southington Care Center's 20th anniversary party is Thursday, May 13th & Rotary is invited.
· Southington Education Association is 1 year old. In June they are giving out $ 25,000.00 in grants to children. A major grant was received from an anonymous donor & used to purchase & install a digitized audeo system in the Kennedy Middle School auditorium. This system will also help to start an audeotech program at Kennedy. Rotary's donation of $ 2,500.00 from Mardi Gras will be used to purchase & install a similar system at DePaolo Middle School.
Fines by Rich Drouin: (Maximum of $2.00 assessment decreed by President Vickie)
· Rich: Self fine: No Pen, No Pin
· Not wearing a Rotary Pin? -$ 1.00 Please
· Wearing your name badge ajar: $ 1.00
· How many members are in the Rotary Club of Southington? Kate & Carol pay (39)
· If you don't have 100% attendance since January 1st: Ante up!
· If you haven't filed your income tax return yet: ditto
Business Meeting:
Secretary's Report accepted as presented; Treasurer's Report- none; Membership: every Rotarian is responsible for seeking out new members & once in the club, to get them involved; Community Service: Scrabble tournament is April 28th;  Relay for Life is June 4-5th & Sue Smayda & Steve Whitaker are captains-help will be needed to decorate the tent! Fellowship: N.Y. Trip: 23 people have signed up & 40 are needed for the bus; Attendance: down last month-please try to make up missed meetings, either on-line or at a neighboring club; Golf tournament: Please work on getting golf 4-somes & Tee sponsors & turn in money as soon as possible. Major sponsors include Hospital of Central Connecticut & Thomson Financial Services. Major sponsorships are $ 2,500.00 each.; Gifts & Grants: Childrens Home in Cromwell, ARC Dinner & Golf tournament, Ct. Mental Health Association, Wheeler Clinic-committee had no recommendation.

Board of Directors & Club Committees: Brendan announced the following:
· Southington Rotary Trust- John Kennedy
· At Large: Dave Zoni, Sue Smayda
· Gifts & Grants: Ron Klein
· Fundraising: Rich Drouin
· Club Service: Cynthia Martel
· International Service: Art Blumer
· Vocational Service: Art Blumer
· Community Service: Gloria Brown
· Executive Treasurer: Dan Daigle
· Executive Secretary: Dolores Fanelli
· President: Brendan Goodrich
· President Elect: Linda Tipping
· Assistant Treasurer: Scott Garver
· Assistant Secretary: Ginny Roy
· Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Ginny Roy
· Past President: Vickie Triano
Southington Rotary Card Raffle Target Card: Queen of Diamonds; Dolores Fanelli picked the 7 of Clubs; The 50/50 jackpot now stands at ?

Chetnotes-meeting of March 24, 2010

President Victoria Triano Presiding

Today's Rotary Guest: Paul Schulze, guest of Harold Kane
Raffle Winner: Jim Earl
Happy Bucks:
· Jim E.- $ 4.00- winning raffle, having a good time growing his office
· Chet: $ 2.00- sad buck-missed the Interact Art Auction, happy buck-went skiing with friends at Mount Snow & escaped with no injuries
· Gloria: very successful Art Auction (Interact made $ 1,500.00)
· Brendan: poor after the Art Auction (he bought 4 pieces of art)
· Sue: her birthday today, John's birthday Thursday, ticket for her church's musical sold out in 1 hour.
· Ginny: Sad buck- wasn't at the Art Auction as she went to Gloucester
· Jim W: wanted to go to the Art Auction but fell asleep after doing yard work
· Vickie: $ 2.00-had a great time at the Art Auction, Ruth leaves on Sunday for one month in Africa

Fines: Vickie didn't nominate a finer, so everyone pay a buck for guilty pleasures

Announcements: The big check is Here!
· Bus Trip to New York: 22 people have signed up. Need 18 more for bus deposit. Please consider going.
· Brendan did P.E.T.S. training
· Need Rotarians to consider serving on the club's Executive Board of Directors
· There's been a development on the Pavilion to be built at Recreation Park: The proposal has been submitted to the Town Budget and is in process. It will be considered at the April 5th Board of Finance meeting. Dave Zoni passed out a sheet with telephone numbers & e-mail addresses of Finance Board member. Please contact the & voice your approval of this project.
· April 21st is Administrative Assistant Day. Rotarians are encouraged to bring their Administrative assistants to lunch at Rotary that day.

Guest Speaker: State Representative Bruce "Zeke" Zalaski speaking on balancing the State's Budget
· 2009 was a tough year. $ 500Million was passed in deficit mitigation legislation.
· The State faces an $ 8 Billion deficit. The 2010-11 budget includes $ 300Million cuts in spending revenue, millionaire & cigarrette taxes. 48 state face a shortfall in 2010.
· Nationally the total budget deficit of the 50 states is $ 194 Billion, the largest deficit in U.S. History.
· A new mitigation plan was vetoed in November. The Governor submitted a new plan on March 1st. This includes an $ 81 Million cut to towns & municipalities. Personal property taxes will skyrocket if this is passed.
· Only the Governor's office can negotiate with the State's unions on givebacks.
· Democrats want to keep the Estate Tax in place for 2 more years.
· Towns are going to have to band together & regionalize in the futureto avoid duplication of services & to maximize buying & spending economies.

Southington Rotary Card Raffle:
Target Card: Queen of Diamonds; Dolores picked the 5 of Clubs
The 50/50 jackpot now stands at ?

Sue Smayda's St. Paddy's Day Irish Trivia...

1. What is the title of Frank McCourt's followup to Angela's Ashes?
2. What Irish poet won the Nobel Prize in 1923?
3. Who wrote Ulysses?
4. When is Bloomsday?
5. What is Jonathan Swift's famous book?
6. Where was Bram Stoker born?
7. In Samuel Beckett's play, who are we waiting for?
8. Who wrote The Thorn Birds?

Ralph Riccio...

Riccio dies at 81; Southington loses a pillar of the town

By Jeffery Kurz (Record-Journal staff)

SOUTHINGTON—Ralph J. Riccio, who with his twin brother, Vito, ran a clothing store that was a downtown staple for nearly four decades, died Wednesday at 81, after a short illness.  “We have lost a pillar in the community,” said Vic­toria Triano, a former Town Councilmember who re­called going to the shop when she was growing up. Embedded in the concrete sidewalk in front of the store, the phrase, “Did You Riccio Today?” was an en­during marketing slogan.  Riccio had been a member of the Southington Ro­tary Club since 1950. On Wednesday, the club set a rose in his place to honor him, said Triano, the club’s pres­ident.

Though Riccio did not seek public office, he was a major influence. He was a strong believer in the council-manager system of government and was in­strumental in bringing Town Manager John Weich­sel to Southington. The two became close friends. 

“Everything he did was for Southington and the Southing­ton people,” Weichsel said.  “He was a leading light in the community,” said Carl Sokolowski, a lawyer. “He was into everything. He knew al­most everybody and every­body liked and respected him.” “I think Ralph could have been elected to anything had he desired to do so,” Sokolowski said. “He just chose to be active in the back­ground.”  For many years, Riccio vol­unteered his time at The Or­chards and Southington Care Center, where he would dance with the senior citizens. After suffering a near-fatal aneurism in 1984, Riccio was told he needed to keep busy.

“Wewere the beneficiaries of that advice,” said Trish Walden, vice president of senior services at Southington Care and The Orchards. Riccio had a way of bringing “a ray of sunshine to the seniors,” she said.  “He lived the full life, right to the very end,” said his son, Michael Riccio. Along with his wife, Ruth (England) Riccio, Riccio is survived by five chil­dren and nine grandchildren. Vito Riccio died in 1994 of a blood disease. The two had re­tired from their clothing busi­ness in 1988. Among other sig­nificant community collabora­tions, the brothers had been a driving force behind the Down­town Merchants Association and in fundraising for the prop­erty and construction of St. Dominic Church. In 1997, Ralph Ricciowas grandmarshal of the Apple Harvest Festival Parade. Born March 23, 1938, in Southington, Ralph Riccio was the son of Ralph A. and Rose Riccio, who had come to Southington from Amorosi, a province of Naples in Italy.

Michael Riccio said he and his father had traveled several times to the town in Italy the past few years, for reunions with family. Ralph Riccio spoke fluent Italian.  “He didn’t speak a word of English when he went to kindergarten,” said Michael Riccio.  After graduating from Lewis High School, in 1946, the broth­ers served in the Army in Ko­rea for two years in what was considered World War II serv­ice. They’d insisted on serving together, said Michael Riccio. Returning to Southington, they attended school in New Haven, before establishing their clothing business at 79 Center St. in 1950. They were 21 years old at the time.  Vito Riccio took an outside job to help support the fledg­ling business, while Ralph Ric­cio ran the store.  The two did everything to­gether and they never argued. As children, they’d decided that if there was a disagree­ment it would be settled by a coin toss.  “That’s how they ran the business,” Michael Riccio said. At the onset, the business catered to men, but over the years it expanded to women and children. They even had a clothing line for priests, said Michael Riccio.

Expanding business com­pelled the Riccios to move in 1967 to larger space at 37 N. Main St. There they remained until 1988. Along with “Did You Riccio Today?” was the slogan “See the twins for dou­ble values.”  It was, as Sokolowski re­called, much more than a clothing store. The downtown location, and the personality of the owners, helpedmake it a community center.  “That was the place to go to find out what was going on in town,” said Sokolowski. “Ralph always found time to chat.”

Riccio’s aneurismhelped lead to the decision to retire the business, the burden of which had fallen to his brother. Michael Riccio was a junior in high school when the aneurism afflicted his father and said “it was like I had two fathers.” Gone was the aggressiveness that helped make Riccio a com­petitive businessman. He also struggled with short-term memory.  However, “he never lost his love for life,” said Michael Ric­cio. “He just loved people. Southington was his gem.”  Riccio also never lost an­other asset of note, his sense of humor.  “He loved to tell jokes,” said his son, “right to the very end.”

Come dancing with Ginny...

BALLROOM DANCING 

AT THE 

NEW ENGLAND CAROUSEL MUSEUM 

Friday, February 26, 2010

Bring your buddies, bring your dancing shoes and take a spin on the beautiful hardwood floor at the New England Carousel Museum.  Enjoy classic ballroom dancing and music from 7-10:30PM.  Beginners are welcome and encouraged. Dances will be held regularly on the last Friday of the month at the Carousel Museum, 95 Riverside Ave, RT 72 Bristol. BYOB Entry cost is $10.00 per person. For additional information call 860 585-5411 or visit www.thecarouselmuseum.org.

It was a dark and stormy night...

The 2010 Southington Rotary Mardi Gras Night Crossword Contest
Alas, a stormy night wasn't about to deter these hearty souls from a great Fat Tuesday party. Nor a great crossword contest!  (SEE MARDI GRAS PICS)

Rules: There are NO rules! Gather your team of four; then select a name. Get the answers by hook or by crook, then submit your completed puzzle to us by the end of the night. (Hint: Tip your servers, they may return the favor.) A winner will be selected from the correct entries and the team will receive gift certificates to Anthony Jack's Wood-fired Grill.

The results:
Eleven teams submitted completed entries. Five teams were eliminated for incorrect answers. Teams FTT#1 and FTT#2 (possibly cheating from each other) tripped up by answering that January 6th, the start of the Mardi Gras (or Carnival) season, was Trinity instead of Twelfth Night. The Friends team slipped up by guessing that the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is commonly known as Carnival instead of Jazz Fest. The Three K's Plus One did not know that the Mardi Gras parades are organized by Carnival krewes. And Minnow 3 was tripped up by inserting an a instead of e in file gumbo (I know, I wanted to give you a pass, but the that damn rules committee overruled me).

That left six finalists:
The Mighty Browns
Sue, Meg & Eric
Chet & the Juniors
G-Spot
The Kanes
The Saints

And the winning team is -
CHET & the JUNIORS!

Congratulations!

On behalf of the Rotary Club of Southington, we would like to thank Barry, Cheryl and the wonderful staff at Anthony Jack's for their generosity, assistance and good humor in putting on this event again this year. The food was outstanding (kudos for the beignets) and the servers were good sports helping us out with the crossword contest. We would also like to thank Pat Giamatteo and Rogo Distributors for their donation of the beer. To Rob Jockel and Dr. Ya Ya's Gumbo Party, another great performance to set the mood for the evening! To all those who braved the surprising storm to attend and to all who couldn't make it, but bought tickets anyway - thank you! And finally, to all the committee members who pitched in to make this event possible (you know who you are), you're the best! See y'all next year!
John Kennedy/Trish Walden, co-chairs

Join us for the Mardi Gras!...

Join us for the 6th annual Southington Rotary Mardi Gras Night at Anthony Jack's Wood-fired Grill, 30 Center Street, Southington. Enjoy great food, drink and entertainment while supporting our designated beneficiary, the Southington Education Foundation, as well as other Southington Rotary charities. - more

Just the facts, Ma'am:
Date/time: Fat Tuesday, February 16, 2010 from 6:00pm to 10:00pm
Where: Anthony Jack's Wood-fired Grill, 30 Center Street, Southington, CT 06489 - directions
Cost: $65/person, includes food stations, beer, wine, entertainment
Reservations:

Co-chair John Kennedy @860.276.8025,

Co-chair Trish Walden @860.378.1226,

Anthony Jack's @860.426.1487

Per IRS regulations, $35 of the ticket price qualifies as a donation to the Southington Rotary Trust, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Hail the Hartford Dark Blues...

Gary "Pops" O'Maxfield, Commissioner of the Vintage Base Ball League in Hartford was our guest luncheon speaker on Wednesday, giving us a baseball history lesson and discussing plans for the Colt Park Revitalization Project..

Club member in public service...

Self Insurance Committee leader steps down
Kane, 90, will remain a member
By Leslie Hutchison (Record-Journal staff)

SOUTHINGTON — Harold Kane figures he de­serves a break from his duties as chairman of the town’s Self Insurance Committee. After all, he’s been in that role for 10 years, and served on the com­mittee for about 25. And he’s 90 years old. Kane’s leadership through the 1980s and ’90s saved the town millions of dollars, ac­cording to his colleagues on the committee. He was instru­mental in making it possible for the town to act as its own insurance agency. Kane said the cost now to be fully insuredwould be an addi­tional $3 million per year. He estimated that the town has saved between $200,000 and severalmillion dollars per year in insurance costs since the ’80s.

Board of Education member Jill Notar-Francesco has served with Kane on the com­mittee for two years. “He’s kind and generous. He’s put a lot of effort into the commu-n­ity,” she said. “He’s saved the town tons of money.” While Kane is stepping down as chairman, he’s not leaving the committee. “When you have a change of leader­ship, you have new ideas, but we’ll have him as a resource,” Notar-Francesco said. “He will be a guiding influence.” Kane decided earlier this month not to accept the chair­manship again. He joked about the reason: “To accept another two years would be quite a feat. I don’t want to go out feet first.”

John P. Moise has served with Kane for two non-consec­utive terms. “He brought in­surance issues to light in town. He is a wealth of knowledge,” Moise said. He said he’s glad Kane is staying on the commit­tee. “Whoever is chair will need his bank of knowledge to move forward.” The town’s employee well­ness program is an initiative Kane helped start in 2008 as a cost-saving measure. He said the committee will soon pres­ent plans to the Town Council for a new program for employ­ees to support healthy choices. “We’re going to offer incen­tives, money,” Kane said.

The town’s health insurance budget has grown from $1 mil­lion when Kane joined the committee in 1983 to about $20 million today. More than 3,000 town employees and their de­pendents are insured by the town, he said. This year’s insurance costs are expected to grow again, from $18 million to $21 million. Kane said 70 percent of that cost is from the Board of Edu­cation. “The BOE is quite con­cerned” about the increase, he said. As health insurance costs continue to gobble up a bigger piece of the budget pie, Kane believes the wellness incen­tives could be a solution. “Obesity is a big problem,” he said. “Smoking has been, but it’s on the decline.”

Kane has studied how other businesses and municipalities have decreased their health in­surance costs. He said a pro­gram by Safeway grocery stores has kept that company’s insurance costs level for four years. “They saved millions,” he said. Poor health is costly because it increases use of health serv­ices. Kane believes if employ­ees exercise and follow health guidelines, the town could see its health insurance costs level off in the next few years. - lhutchison@record-journal.com