Uncategorized – Derby-Shelton Rotary

2026 Rotary Grants Announced

johnwalshderby — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 01:37:51 +0000

During the June 18 luncheon meeting, Derby-Shelton Rotary Club President Joe Shapiro presented checks to 14 area nonprofits as awards in the club’s 2026 grants program totaled $18,000 to assist the nonprofits in carrying out the missions. The Club’s board of directors reviewed all of the applications and made the decisions. Representatives of the nonprofits were attended as invited guests and made brief remarks as the check were presented.

Grant Awardees

Grant Applicant	Amount
Sutter-Terlizzi American Legion Post 16 – Boy State	$450
Shelton Mentor Program	$525
Housatonic Council Scouting America	$2,000
Ruth’s House Programs Services	$1,000
Shelton High Football Program	$1,000
American Legion Auxiliary Unit 16 – Girl State	$450
Junior Achievement of Greater Fairfield County	$1,000
BHCare’s Annual Fundraising Event	$2,500
St. Vincent De Paul of the Valley	$1,500
Ngwesi Community Program Center – Kenya	$500
Master Table	$1,075
Uganda Well Project	$1,075
New Haven Symphony Orchestra	$2,500
Center Stage Theater	$2,500
Total	$18,000

Center Stage

New Haven Symphony

Masters Table

North Branford Rotary

St. Vincent DePaul of the Valley

BHCare

Junior Achievement

American Legion Auxiliary Unit 16

Shelton High Football

Ruth’s House

Shelton Mentor Program

American Legion Post #16

Connecticut Loves to Read – and So Do Rotarians!

johnwalshderby — Sat, 30 May 2026 18:33:11 +0000

Pat Tarasovic reading at Irving School in Derby

Connecticut loves to read and Derby-Shelton Rotarians are doing their bit to make sure that it continues. As they do every year, Rotarians visited schools to read to students in kindergarten through grade 3 during April. They brought along books to read to the students and leave behind for the schools’ libraries.

Here’s a list of the schools and the Rotarians who did the reading:

Booth Hill School – Liza Gambino and Kim Ryan-Caro

Irving School – Pat Tarasovic, Joe & JoAnn Shapiro

Elizabeth Shelton School – Gary Scarpa

Long Hill School – Sharon Herman & Lucy Andrade

Sunnyside School – Gayle Kreho

Bradley School – Linda Holmes-Hannon and Lorraine Inzerra

St. Mary’s/St. Michael’s – Jack Walsh

Installation Dinner – June 25

johnwalshderby — Fri, 29 May 2026 02:35:14 +0000

1ST Annual Service Above Self Fellowship Luncheon

johnwalshderby — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 19:46:45 +0000

Asst. Area 6 Governors Patricia Patusky and Lucy Andrade flank award winners Linda Holmes-Hannon, Kenneth Korsu, Thecla Kirby and Nancy Valentine.

The four clubs in Rotary District 7980 – Area 6 came together on April 6 for the first ever Service Above Self Fellowship Luncheon hosted by the Derby-Shelton club at Brownson Country Club in Shelton. In addition to Derby-Shelton, Naugatuck Rotary, ANSEOX Rotary, and Tribury came together to recognize four outstanding individuals from their respective communities with Service Above Self awards. Area 6 Assistant Governors Lucy Andrade and Patricia Patusky handled the MC duties and District Governor Stephanie Phillips also addressed the group.

Each of the clubs selected a winner from their area and the club presidents presented the individual awards to:

ANSEOX – Nancy Valentine

Derby-Shelton – Linda Holmes-Hannon

Naugatuck – Thecla Kirby

Tribury – Kenneth Korsu

The club presidents had been meeting for months to put the event together and have also decided that it will be an annual event with Naugatuck hosting the event in 2027

Some event pictures:

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Firefighters Receive Thermal Imaging Devices from Derby-Shelton Rotary

johnwalshderby — Sun, 03 Aug 2025 02:45:59 +0000

Members of the Derby Fire Department are enjoying the benefits of new safety equipment after Linda Holems-Hannon and other members of the Rotary Club were on hand to present each of the four Derby firehouses with a handheld Thermal Imaging Device. Firefighters can use the small hand-held devices to gain access to crucial visual information, improving their ability to navigate through smoke, locate victims, and identify hotspots quickly and accurately.

Linda Homes-Hannon presenting the devices.

In presenting the devices, Linda Homes-Hannon, who chaired the Flags for Heroes project which raised the funds for the donation, thanked the firefighters for all they do for the residents of Derby. Linda noted that a similar presentation has already been made to the Shelton Fire Department who put it into use in a serious fire only a day after receiving their units. She was joined by Carolyn Dow and Sharon Harmon who will chair next year’s event. Linda explained that a year ago funds raised from the Flags for Heroes project funded a donation of first aid kits to the police departments in Derby and Shelton. Next year, the club will be working to make donations to first responders in the two cities.

Retired Derby Fire Marshal shows an earlier version of the thermal imaging device.

The hand-held Seel Fire Pro 200 Thermal Imager.

George Kurtyka, Chairman of the Derby Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen, thanked the Rotary Club on behalf of the city and Mayor Joe DiMartino who was away at the time of the presentation. He was joined by Fire Marshal Brian Lampert, Chief Thomas Biggs, and Assistant Chief Fitch as well as Gary Parker.

The Torch is Passed

johnwalshderby — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 15:15:27 +0000

The Derby-Shelton Rotary Club celebrated a very successful year under the direction of President Lucy Andrade and passed the mantle of leadership for the 2024-2026 Rotary year at its Gavel Gala at Brownson County Club on June 26.

Ernie Luise led five other past presidents in praising Lucy’s leadership, enthusiasm, inclusion of everyone, reviving Interact and bringing back the Football luncheon. In addition to the traditional Rotary chair and gavel given to presidents at the end of their term, Ernie presented Lucy with the “special” gift pictured below as an enduring memory for the football luncheon revival which was so important to her.

Lucy had displayed the numerous awards won by the club at the recent District conference and presented Paul Harris Awards to Jeff Forte and Michel Wynne as well as Kate Marks’ second Paul Harris award.

Then it was time to induct our new president for 2025-2056, Joe Shapiro. Joe has been a real driving force since joining the Club in 2019 including several years as an officer and also taking on the daunting task of coordinating the annual Shelton Day event. District Governor Don Wetmore did the honor of installing Joe who then announced his officers and committee chairs for the upcoming year:

President-Elect
Liza Gambino

Vice President
Sharon M. Hermon

Past President
Lucy Andrade

Secretary
Elizabeth Doane

Treasurer
Lucy Andrade

Committee Chairs:

Foundation	Ernestine Luise – Assisted by Judith Gulish
International	Drew Scott
Community	Kim Ryan-Caro
Scholarship	Ed Sheehy
Membership	JoAnn Shapiro
Shelton Day	Lucy Andrade
Public Image	Lynda Reid
Sergeant of Arms	Dr. Jeff Forte
Club	Julie Blakeman
Polio chair	AG Jen Champagne
Social Events Chair	Rosemary Allen
Youth Services	Gary Scarpa

Derby-Shelton Rotary Welcomes New Member

johnwalshderby — Sat, 14 Jun 2025 20:06:22 +0000

(L-R) Robert Friend, Lucy Andrade, Roseanne Santamaria and Joanne Shapiro

Derby-Shelton Rotarians took advantage of a visit by District Governor Robert Friend’s visit to the club on June 12 to have him conduct the induction ceremony for the newest club member, Roseanne Santamaria from SERVPRO.

Flags for Heroes 2025 Ends with Ceremony

johnwalshderby — Sat, 14 Jun 2025 19:53:41 +0000

The 2025 Flags for Heroes program officially ended on Saturday, June 14 in a moving ceremony in the Pavilion at Shelton’s Veterans Park. Click here to see the full listings of those who were honored.

Derby Sponsors	Shelton Sponsors

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Derby-Shelton Rotary Honors Derby Superintendent

johnwalshderby — Sat, 24 May 2025 23:57:56 +0000

Dr. Matthew Conway and Club President Lucy Andrade

Derby-Shelton Rotary President Lucy Andrade surprised Derby Superintendent of school Dr. Matthew Conway with a Paul Harris Award during the club’s annual scholarship luncheon on May 22. Andrade praised Dr. Conway for the work that he has done for all the students in the Derby School system and also for his support, encouragement and collaboration between the club and the students in the school system. In presenting the award, Rotary President Lucy Andrade said, ” Dr. Matthew Conway has consistently impressed me with his unwavering dedication, remarkable presence, and deep commitment to service. His thoughtful leadership and genuine care for others truly embody the spirit of the Paul Harris Award. This recognition is both well-earned and deeply inspiring.”

The Paul Harris Fellow recognition acknowledges individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation. Rotary established the recognition in 1957 to encourage and show appreciation for substantial contributions to what was then the Foundation’s only program, Rotary Foundation Fellowships for Advanced Study, the precursor to Ambassadorial Scholarships. Rotarians have a tradition of supporting the Foundation by honoring others.

At the International Assembly in 1979, incoming RI President James Bomar challenged each Rotary club to make one non-Rotarian a Paul Harris Fellow. The Rotary Club of Pikesville, Maryland, USA, responded by making a donation in the name of Mother Teresa in 1980. The entertainer Pearl Bailey also became a Paul Harris Fellow through a joint effort of the Rotary clubs in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Many other notable figures have been named Paul Harris Fellows, including U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, U.S. astronaut James Lovell, UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, and polio vaccine developer Jonas Salk.

The number of Paul Harris Fellows reached the 1 million mark in 2006.

Flags for Heroes Are Up

johnwalshderby — Sat, 24 May 2025 16:36:23 +0000

Derby volunteers are shown by the 9/11 monument on the historic Birmingham Green in Derby.

These volunteers installed all the flags at Veterans Memorial Flag and the Shelton Riverwalk.

Rotarians, Interact members from Derby and Shelton High Schools and other community volunteers have installed all the flags for the Flags for Heroes program in time for Memorial Day. The flags will stay up through a special service to be held at Veterans Park in Shelton on June 14th at 11:00. That ceremony will include the reading of the names of all those being honored with flags this year. Each flag allows people to celebrate and honor the heroes in their lives by sponsoring a flag in their name at a heartfelt and inspiring event. This unique initiative recognizes individuals who have made a meaningful impact—whether they are heroes of the past or present. Each hero’s name is featured on a personalized medallion, which is affixed to a full-size American flag.

These flags will be prominently displayed at Shelton Veteran Memorial Park for Shelton honorees and on the historic Birmingham Green in Derby.

Click on each of the links below to see the listing of those being honored:

Derby Shelton