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 ?
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Sue Smayda's St. Paddy's Day Irish Trivia...
- What is the title of Frank McCourt's followup to Angela's Ashes?
- What Irish poet won the Nobel Prize in 1923?
- Who wrote Ulysses?
- When is Bloomsday?
- What is Jonathan Swift's famous book?
- Where was Bram Stoker born?
- In Samuel Beckett's play, who are we waiting for?
- Who wrote The Thorn Birds?
Ralph Riccio...
Riccio dies at 81; Southington loses a pillar of the town
“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.”
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.
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.”
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