Kiwanis May 28 Meeting Program: Author Ann Frommer reviewed her latest book: TailGunner – war defines us if we let it.

Ann Frommer (right)was introduced by Melanie Sze (left) at the May 28 Kiwanis breakfast meeting held at Charlie Brown’s in Chatham Township. Ann collaborated with Victor Merkel to write “TailGunner”, a historical novel set in World War II. She researched real places and events to create an exciting story centered around a real WWII hero.

She described how she became involved in the project and how she went about writing the book. Here presentation was fascinating and enjoyed by the many club members and guests attending the meeting. Everyone enthusiastically applauded the excellent digital slide show. Please visit Amazon to learn more about this book.

Kiwanis May 21 Meeting Program: Pam Mansfield, Executive Director of Senior Center of the Chathams presented an overview of the Senior Center.

Pam Mansfield, Executive Director of the Senior Center of the Chathams, (right in the photo) was introduced by Kiwanian Herb Ramo (left). Pam was recently named to her leadership position at the Senior Center. She described the history and objectives of the organization. There are many activities available for Seniors, including arts and crafts, games, exercises, movies, classes and trips. Bus services are provided. For more details about the Senior Center, please visit their website.

Kiwanis grant made to the Chatham Emergency Squad

On May 21, Kiwanian Marty Sechehay (left in the photo) presented the Club’s contribution to Ricky D’Costa (right), President of the Chatham Emergency Squad. Also, Ricky D’Costa acknowledged the fine work of Marty Sechehay as a member of the Squad.

Kiwanis Club helps NJ Clean Community program by sprucing up Ogden Street in Chatham Borough

Six Chatham-Madison Kiwanis members, three CHS Key Club members and a pet worked together to remove many bags of debris from Ogden Street near the Chatham Borough Recycling Center. Nearby walkways were also cleaned up. This May 18, 2013 activity was carried out as part of the New Jersey Clean Community program.

Chatham-Madison Kiwanians remember Veterans as Memorial Day Draws Near

On May 16, members of Chatham-Madison Kiwanis Club placed flags at the graves of United States of America Military Veterans buried in Fair Mount Cemetery in Chatham Borough.  Bob Huntington, past president of the Kiwanis club and Navy Veteran, obtained the flags and organized the work.  Kneeling beside the gravestone of Chatham brothers William W. Drabble and Philip M. Drabble are (L to R) Jerry Cunningham, Nancy Holt, Marge Ahrens, and Pat Davidson. Standing behind them are (L to R) Mary Anne Maloney, Monty Montague, Dick Plambeck, Mal Kitson and Bob Huntington.  Army Sergeant Drabble and Corporal Drabble gave their lives in service of our country during the last two months of the First World War while serving in France.

Kiwanis Annual Stanley Park Picnic - May 14, 2013

On May 14, 2013 The Chatham-Madison Kiwanis Club held their annual Stanley Park picnic beside the Passaic River. Weather was sunny but cold and windy. The river was flowing rapidly from recent rains. However, the food was excellent and so was the friendly conversation as everyone just relaxed and had a great time.

Kiwanis helps “Stamp out Hunger” on May 11, 2013

 Members of Chatham-Madison Kiwanis Club worked with US Postal workers in support of the “Stamp out Hunger” program on May 11, 2013. When postal workers delivered mail on that day, they picked up bags of groceries left beside the mailbox by local residents. When the delivery workers returned to the Chatham post office, they helped Kiwanians transfer bags of food from the mail trucks to awaiting SUV’s for delivery to the Interfaith Food Pantry in Morris Plains. Total weight of all that food was 1,455 pounds. This was less than last year because of the bad weather.

The above sign showed the way for the caravan of Kiwanis vehicles to deliver urgently needed food to the Interfaith Food Pantry.

Volunteers were on hand to empty the food into carts for sorting and placing on shelves for needy Morris County clients. Check out the Interfaith Food Pantry website.

Kiwanis May 7, 2013 Recognition Reception held at Charlie Brown’s Restaurant

At the May 7, 2013 Chatham-Madison Kiwanis Recognition Reception, Kiwanis Club Benevolence Chair Karen Swartz presented the annual Community Aid Award to Dennis Kohl, Scout Executive for the Patriots’ Path Council, Boy Scouts of America. He accepted the grant on behalf of the Leadership Excellence – Direct Results (LEDR) program. LEDR is a weeklong retreat designed to give students a chance to explore their leadership skills, to connect with peers, and to learn how to get involved in their community.

Joan May, President of the Kiwanis Club presented a grant to Leigh Anne Soroka for the benefit of the Madison Area YMCA.

 

Nancy Holt, past Chair of the Benevolence Committee presented a grant to Judy Ginty for the benefit of Girl Scouts.

 

Jerry Cunningham of the Chatham-Madison Kiwanis club presented a grant to Stacey Ewald for the benefit of the Chatham Education Fund.

Former President of Chatham-Madison Kiwanis Club presented a grant to David Paige for the benefit of the Chatham Community Band.

 

Kiwanis April 30 meeting Program: David Smazik, Senior Pastor, Presbyterian Church in Morristown spoke on "Generation Groups in the US - Action vs. Reaction".

David Smazik (left in photo), Senior Pastor, Presbyterian Church in Morristown spoke on "Generation Groups in the US - Action vs. Reaction" at the April 30, 2013 Kiwanis breakfast meeting held at Charlie Brown’s restaurant. He was introduced by John Eyre (right), Kiwanis President-Elect.

It used to be true that all you had to do to get people to come to your church was just to build it. Today, people don’t come because of inertia and friction. David described a book which is helpful in analyzing and managing this situation.

Strauss and Howe wrote a classic book, “Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069. Click here to go to Amazon.com to buy the book. The work of these authors is described in a Wikipedia article, - click here.  Their research showed that there are four generations that appear in cycles which repeat themselves (see Wikipedia for a description). Four generations are Civic (born 1904-1924), Adaptive (1925-1942), Idealists (1940-1960), and Reactive (1960-1981). The cycle is repeating with Internet-Civic (1982-today). David elaborated on the four generations with interesting examples.

Members of the latest generation are using their computers or smartphones all the time. They are immersed in busy activities and are happy to just have a quiet time in church. Members of the Reactive generation disagree with the values of the earlier generations.

In a church, it is important to have a clear vision of what is needed and it must be aligned with the different generations. In closing, David pointed that the present generation is coming around to support the values of civic-minded groups like Kiwanis. They just get their information through different channels – social media of various kinds online.  They want to focus on one or two important causes - “causes to die for”. They look for high quality information and activities supporting those causes.

The members of the audience enthusiastically applauded the informative and entertaining presentation.

Kiwanis April 30 meeting Announcements

Joan May announced the nominations for 2013-14 Chatham-Madison Kiwanis club officers:
Pat Davidson, Caesar Switzer, and Bill Williams are new Directors
Mal Kitson will continue as a Trustee
John Eyre will be President
Sharon Johnson will be President-Elect
Diane O’Brien will be Vice President
Monty Montague will continue as Treasurer
Valerie Olpp will continue as Assistant Treasurer

Karen Swartz announced that CHS Key Club will do an arts and crafts activity on Wednesday at 2:30 pm to raise funds for Project ELIMINATE. Karen Swartz will attend and present a check for attending the Key Club NJ District Convention. Gary Arnesen announced that the next Chatham cleanup will be changed to Saturday May 18 at Ogden St. starting 8:00 am. Joan reminded everyone about May Day in Madison cleanup of Cole Park starting at 8:00 am. Jerry Cunningham asked members to sign up for the Fairmount Cemetery memorial flag placement on Thursday, May 16 at 9:00 am. Joan announced the “Stamp out Hunger” food drive for Interfaith Food Pantry on May 11. Dave Mutchler announced that the club received payment of $593 for a dumpster load of recycled newspapers. Dick Plambeck announced the “Explore Chatham” photo contest (outdoors in Chatham Borough). He also passed around photos from last Saturday’s Spring Cleanup and asked for more help to finish up next Tuesday afternoon – come about 1:00 pm for about 2 hours – see Dick to sign up. Marge Ahrens announced that John Hadamuscin will be doing the pulled pork again this year to sell at Fishawack on June 8. He needs volunteers to work with him at the Chatham United Methodist Church on June 7, 1:00 pm. Please let Marge know if you will help.

Kiwanis holds Church Brunch on April 28, 2013

Members of Chatham-Madison Kiwanis attended Ogden Memorial Church services on April 28, 2013. Afterward, they enjoyed Sunday Brunch at Winberies’s in Summit, NJ.

 

Kiwanis April 23 Meeting Program: Rafael Miranda told members how to run their computers free and how to back up their data.

Rafael Miranda (right in photo) of LFC Consulting, Inc. is a highly trained and experienced Computer Consultant. He spoke to Kiwanis at the April 23, 2013 breakfast meeting held at Charlie Brown’s in Chatham. His company serves the NJ & NY area.

Rafael gave an overview of his background and how his career has grown over the past 25 years. He services Windows and Apple users; however, his remarks were focused on Windows PCs and how to use free software and internet connections. Also he discussed backing up data.

His recommendation for antivirus software is “Microsoft Security Essentials” and “AVG Free antivirus”, both free products are downloadable over the internet.  He recommended looking for information and products on Google but not going to the “sponsored sites” which often give no value and can cost you money.

He also recommended free OpenOffice.org software for general word processing, spread sheets, etc. Software at this site will open and save MS-Office files.

Rafael recommends going to public businesses like McDonalds and using their free WiFi service for connecting to the internet. (Many public libraries also provide this service.)

He reviewed the advantages and disadvantages of types of data backup: external hard drives, thumb (flash) drives and online backups. He advised those who use external hard drives to make every other backup on a different drive (have two of them) and store them in different physical location. That way, the data won’t be lost in case of a fire or other natural disaster.

People have differing needs for computer services so he advised people to contact him for answers to their unique questions. His website is www.LFCSupport.com

The audience enthusiastically applauded Rafael’s informative and helpful presentation.

Kiwanis April 23 Meeting Announcements

Karen Swartz will hold a benevolence meeting immediately following today’s breakfast meeting. John Eyre reported on last Saturday’s Simon Show and he called a meeting to discuss plans for next year’s event. Joan May reminded everyone about May Day in Madison on May 4 at Cole Park. Nancy Boucher asked everyone to contribute to Skip-a-Meal at next week’s meeting. Gary Arnesen announced that Chatham cleanups are scheduled for June 15 at Ogden St. and June 13th at Shepard Kollock Park. Meet at both places at 8:00 AM. Sign up at next week’s breakfast meeting. Marge Ahrens reminded everyone about the Church Brunch at Wineberies in Summit next Saturday at 11:30 AM. Please attend the Ogden Memorial 10:00 AM service.

Kiwanis Simon Show 2013 a HUGE SUCCESS

Famous magician Simon Mandal presented an hour of hilarious family entertainment on Saturday, April 20, 2013 at the Chatham United Methodist Church. Sponsored by Chatham-Madison Kiwanis Club, this delightful show mystified and delight children 4 and up, and adults. The show combined dazzling magic with hilarious family-friendly comedy. Proceeds benefited community youth activities and scholarships. Please visit website http://thesimonshow.com/

 

Pat Davidson, Rich Behling and John Eyre pose for a photo after the very successful show. John led the committee, which included Pat and Rich plus several other Kiwanians.

 

 

Kiwanis April 16 Program: Mary Keselica spoke on the "Town and Country Garden Club of the Chathams"

Marty Sechehay (right in photo) introduced Mary Keselica (left) of “Town and Country Garden Club of the Chathams” at the April 16 Kiwanis breakfast meeting at Charlie Brown’s in Chatham. She gave an overview of the club, its history, how it is involved in civic beautification in Chatham, and other gardening activities.  She noted that the club worked with Kiwanis to plant six cherry trees behind the Chatham Township High School in 1964.

The club started in 1952. One of the founding members was Sally Vaughan, mother of the former Mayor Nelson Vaughan. Eighteen women with a common interest in gardening and the environment got together and spent most of the first year focusing on flower arrangement. Then they worked with the schools to create a junior garden club and worked with Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts. They are interested in the environment and participated in the work to save the Great Swamp from becoming a jetport. Flower arrangements were made for local convalescent homes. Early on, their club joined the Garden Club of New Jersey.

In the 1960’s there were almost a dozen garden clubs in the Chathams and there was a Garden Council which coordinated the work everyone was doing around town, including an anti-litter campaign.

Town and Country designed and installed landscaping for the land around the little red schoolhouse. The Chatham Women’s Club recently provided a grant to permit the Town and Country Garden Club to update the landscaping, which has been ravaged over the years by deer.

In recent years they have maintained planters holding flowers on Main Street. They went to the Chatham Council to ask that a cleanup be done in Chatham and that led to the April 20, 2013 Chatham Spring Clean day. The club will spruce up the memorial in front of the Chatham Library this year and Rotary Park next year.

They decorate the little red schoolhouse for Christmas every year. They take floral arrangements to the VA Hospital in Lyons four times a year. They maintain the large planters in front of the Senior Center. They decorate the Chatham Library Christmas tree and the little one in the Children’s Room. They support the Raptor Trust every year with plantings and donated items. They participated in the Community Garden under the power lines in Chatham and will continue as it moves to a new site. Funds and grants are needed to support their many projects.

Today, they are a club of about 30 members who meet at the little red schoolhouse for lunch, desert and a program. Guests are invited to join them on the second Wednesday of the month - September through June (please let a member know you are coming). Mary offered to work with Kiwanis on another project.

Kiwanis members and guests enthusiastically applauded Mary’s interesting presentation about the Town and Country Garden Club of the Chathams. See Chatham Patch article for more info: http://chatham.patch.com/articles/garden-club-spruces-up-borough-planters

Announcements: Kiwanis April 16 Meeting

Karen Swartz announced that the LEDR – Leadership Excellence project was elected to receive the Kiwanis Community Service Award to be made at the May 7 Recognition Reception. She reminded Kiwanians to vote in the School Board election on April 16. Karen also announced that CHS Key Club will hold their 10:40 AM monthly planning meeting on Wednesday, April 17. John reminded everyone about the 10:00 AM Simon Show on Saturday, April 20. More help is needed so volunteers are needed. Joan reminded everyone to help clean up Cole Park in Madison on May 4 as part of May Day in Madison. Also, Dick Plambeck reminded everyone about Stanley Park cleanup on April 20, part of the Chatham Spring Clean. Sharon Johnson reminded members that the Stanley Park picnic is on May 14 at noon. Marge Ahrens announced the Annual Kiwanis Church Service and Brunch will be on April 28. Service will be at 10:00 AM at Ogden Memorial Church in Chatham and brunch will be at Winberies in Summit at 11:30.

Kiwanis April 9 Meeting Program: Elliot Knight and Kit Cone gave an overview of the “Grace Church Recycling Ministry”

Elliot Knight (left in photo) and Kit Cone (right) were introduced by Nancy Boucher. They gave Kiwanis an overview of the “Grace Church Recycling Ministry” at the April 9th Kiwanis luncheon meeting. They organized the program about 12 years ago.

They collect furniture and other items from people who don’t need it anymore and deliver it free to people in need who are coming out of group housing. Kit took this on after he retired from a 46-year job as a Lutheran missionary in Liberia. Elliot joined with Kit to form an organization dedicated to help people who have no money and desperately need their assistance.

Clients are referred to them by a certified social or government agency.  They have a 13 year old truck named Bruno which they drive around picking up and delivering furniture.  Items are temporarily stored in their garages. Many clients have no furniture and first want a bed to sleep on.
The Recycling Ministry is affiliated with Grace Episcopal Church in Madison and St. John’s Episcopal Church in Dover.

After the presentation, members of Kiwanis applauded this inspiring effort which is helping many people. To learn more, please visit the website: www.recyclingministry.org

Announcements: Kiwanis April 9 Meeting

The April board meeting will be held next week after the breakfast meeting. Karen Swartz passed out ballots for the Kiwanis Community Service Award to be presented at the May 7 Awards Reception. An increased contribution will be given to the Interfaith Food Pantry as a regular benevolence. Signup sheets were passed around for the May Day in Madison cleanup of Cole Park. Also everyone was reminded about the April 20 Simon Show. April 20th is also the Chatham Cleanup Day – come to Stanley Park to spruce it up for the Kiwanis Stanley Park picnic, which will be held May 14 at noon.  The Kiwanis church attendance and brunch event will be held on April 28, with the 10:00 AM worship service at Ogden Memorial Church in Chatham followed by an11:30 AM delicious brunch at Winberie’s in Summit.  The Madison Little League parade is at 12:00 AM on April 20.

Kiwanis April 2 Luncheon Meeting Program: "Emergency Preparedness in Chatham Borough" by Bruce Harris, Chatham Borough Mayor.

Dick Plambeck (left), former President of Kiwanis, introduced Bruce Harris (right), Chatham Borough Mayor. Bruce spoke about “Emergency Preparedness in Chatham Borough”.

Given the issues related to the recent storms, the Borough has taken the initiative to prepare for future emergencies. Steps are being taken to provide back-up electric power and to more quickly repair damage. Also, an Emergency Notification System has been implemented to promptly deliver information to citizens when it is available. Bruce gave a demo of the on-line system. To learn more, please visit the Chatham Borough website, http://www.chathamborough.org/chatham/

Members of the audience enthusiastically applauded the informative talk and the progress made by the Borough toward withstanding future emergencies.

Christie Sedita joins Kiwanis

At the April 2 meeting, Christie Sedita became a member of Kiwanis. See photo of Joan May (left), President of Chatham-Madison Kiwanis, Christie Sedita (center), Branch Manager of the Chatham Peapack-Gladstone Bank and Valerie Olpp (right), Assistant Treasurer of Kiwanis. Valerie sponsored Christie for membership into Kiwanis.