Kiwanis January 28 Meeting Program: Barrie Werfel, Past NJ District Governor Spoke on Project ELIMINATE

Barrie Werfel (right in photo), member of the Kiwanis Project ELIMINATE Speakers Bureau, spoke about the project. Lance Incitti (left), President of Kiwanis International Foundation, introduced Barrie and gave an overview of the Foundation.

With The Eliminate Project, Kiwanis International and UNICEF have joined forces to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus. This deadly disease steals the lives of nearly 60,000 innocent babies and a significant number of women each year. The effects of the disease are excruciating — tiny newborns suffer repeated, painful convulsions and extreme sensitivity to light and touch.

Barrie reported that progress is being made.  However, more funds are needed. Check out the Kiwanis International Project ELIMINATE website to learn more.

Kiwanis January 21 Meeting Program: Karen Berry Presented an Overview of Travel in Russia

Karen Berry (left in photo) made a presentation on her recent trip to Russia. She runs the youth and children’s programs at the Chatham United Methodist Church and was introduced by Doug Bryant (right), former President of Kiwanis. The presentation was a beautiful overview of Russian, from Moscow to St. Petersburg – illustrated with outstanding photographs and entertaining stories. She was delighted to see an abundance of color (not the gray images found in news reports). Her presentation was a performance “not-to-be-missed”. The audience gave several rounds of applause for this close-up view of travel and life in Russia.

January 14 Kiwanis Meeting Program: Clare Drobot of Premier Stages, Kean University spoke about “The Mission of Premier Stages at Kean University”.

Clare Drobot (right in above photo) of Premier Stages, Kean University was introduced by Kiwanis member John Bauer (left) at the January 14 luncheon meeting of Kiwanis held at Charlie Brown’s in Chatham Township. Clare gave an overview of Premier Stages, a well-known Equity Theater associated with Kean University and Liberty Hall. The audience thoroughly enjoyed the entertaining PowerPoint and YouTube presentation. To learn more, please visit website: http://www.kean.edu/premierestages/about.asp

Kiwanis January 7 Meeting Program: Doug Simon, Political Science Professor Emeritus from Drew University presented a "World Affairs Update".

Doug Bryant (right in above photo), member of Chatham-Madison Kiwanis Club introduced Doug Simon (left), Political Science Professor Emeritus from Drew University at the January 7 Kiwanis luncheon meeting held at Charlie Browns. Professor Simon gave a “World Affairs Update”. The audience was fascinated by the extensive overview of the many issues facing the United States. Following a question and answer period, the audience enthusiastically applauded the thought-provoking talk.

Kiwanis Christmas Dinner was held on December 17, 2013.

Kiwanis President John Eyre (left) thanked Jimmy, our host for many years at Charlie Brown's Fresh Grill in Chatham Township on Southern Blvd.

Nancy Boucher brought cupcakes, arranged to look like "60" years to honor member and past NJ Districk Kiwanis Governor Marc Litwack on the occasion of his 60th birthday.

 

Rich and Debby Behling braved the snow and ice to drive from South Jersey to Chatham to attend the annual Kiwanis Christmas Dinner. Rich organized the Christmas Program and both he and Debby contributed to the happy event. Others who contributed items to the program were Karen Swartz, Nancy Boucher, Ron Whalin and President John Eyre, who organized the dinner. Stu Shippey brought the last remaining 2013 Holiday Nuts for members to buy. Approximately 40 members attended the Dinner in spite of the bad weather.Our next Kiwanis meeting will be January 7, 2014. Happy holidays to all!

Breakfast with Santa Sponsored by Kiwanis, Green Village Fire Department and Charlie Brown's Fresh Grill

Santa arrived on a Green Village fire truck while it was snowing. The Green Village Fire Department helped sponsor Breakfast with Santa and their volunteers made it a success.

Student volunteers from Madison High School Key Club.

Student volunteers from Chatham High School Key Club

Santa talked with a lot of enthusiastic children.

Charlie Brown's staff served a nutritious and delicious breakfast buffet.

Charlie Brown's and Kiwanis worked together to make the event a success.

Santa Claus worked with Kiwanis to make the event a success.

Kiwanis December 3 Meeting Program: - Sarah Stanley presented "The Stanley Twins: Inventors of the Stanley Steam Car & Developers of the Stanley Hotel of Colorado".

Sarah Stanley (right in photo), Trustee of the Chatham Twp. Historical Society, was welcomed to the December 3, 2013 luncheon meeting at Charlie Brown’s restaurant by John Eyre, President of the Club. Sarah spoke on “The Stanley Twins: Inventors of the Stanley Steam Car & Developers of The Stanley Hotel of Colorado”.  Sarah is the Great Granddaughter of Francis E. Stanley.

Sarah presented a digital show covering the inventions, developments and businesses of Francis Edgar Stanley and Freelan Oscar Stanley. Patents included the airbrush, photographic dry plates and the Stanley Steam Car. The cars set speed records on flat beaches and also on the road climbing Mt. Washington.

F. O. Stanley developed the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. This hotel stands today near the beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park.

Sarah has researched the connection between the Stanley name and Chatham. George Shepard Page was a cousin of the Stanleys (son of Margaret Stanley) and he moved to Chatham, where he set up a business beside the Passaic River. Today’s Stanley Park stands in the same place as the early business.  Other places around town are named Stanley (in honor of Page’s mother, whom he adored).

After a brisk question and answer session at the end of the program, the audience enthusiastically applauded this interesting presentation.

Kiwanis Nut Sale at Kings in Chatham Boro held on November 23, 2013

Stu Shippey (left) and Alan Robertson brave the cool, windy weather to sell nuts at the Kings store on Main Street in Chatham, NJ. Proceeds go to scholarships and other community projects. Other members took their turn on November 23 and sold almost $800 worth of fine nuts.

The nut sale planned for ShopRite on November 24 was cancelled because of the dangerously cold and windy weather that day.

Kiwanis November 26 Meeting Program: Rev. Jeff Markay, Pastor of the Chatham United Methodist Church lead a panel discussing "The Spirituality of Giving Thanks".

Rev. Jeff Markay, Pastor of the Chatham United Methodist Church
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Harun Alcadag, Director for the Center of Interfaith Affairs, Peace Island Institute
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Rev. Dr. Christa Compton, Pastor of the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Chatham
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The audience enthusiastically applauded this thought-provoking program.

 

 

Kiwanis November 19 Meeting Program: Susan Fountain spoke on her experiences as a foster parent.

Susan Fountain (left) was introduced by Caesar Sweitzer at the November 19 Kiwanis Breakfast meeting held at Charlie Brown’s in Chatham Twp. In three years, Susan has served as foster parent for four different babies for periods ranging from one day to two months. Susan has three daughters and lives with them and her husband Tom in Chatham.

She addressed several items: why she served as foster parent, what concerns she had going into the process, what screening and training were needed to be eligible, how the program actually works and quality of the experience.

Susan described how her family received much more than they gave in carrying for their foster children. The audience enthusiastically applauded her spellbinding program.

Chatham High School Key Club Meeting with Chatham-Madison Kiwanis Club at Charlie Brown's Restaurant

Karen Swartz (left), Kiwanis CHS Key Club Advisor; Nicole Avery (center), CHS Faculty Key Club Advisor and Kiera Spadaro (right), Faculty Key Club advisor. All helped organize this meeting.

CHS Key Club officers made presentations regarding student service projects.

Key Club members had a happy time socializing and planning future service projects.

Parents of Key Club members also attended and learned about the work of Kiwanis and Key Clubs.

Kiwanis November 12 Meeting Program: “Canoeing the Canning River in Alaska” with Carl and Kathy Woodward.

Kathy (center in photo) and Carl (right) Woodward gave an educational and entertaining talk to Kiwanis about Canoeing the Canning River in Alaska. They were welcomed to the meeting by John Eyre (left), President of the club. Kathy is wearing a jacket that protected her from the mosquitos during their trip.

Carl is a lawyer and the Town Attorney for the Township of Chatham. Kathy is on the Friends board of the National Wildlife Refuge Association and she volunteers at the Great Swamp.

Carl and Kathy discussed and showed pictures of their wilderness canoe trip in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, North of the Arctic Circle. The photographs of the landscape and wildlife were beautiful.

At the end of this excellent presentation, the audience enthusiastically applauded.

Induction of New Kiwanis Member Karen Brodsky

Betty Anne Keat (left in photo) sponsored new Kiwanis member Karen Brodsky. Karen was recently appointed Director of the Library of the Chatham. She was inducted into the Chatham-Madison Kiwanis Club on November 12, 2013. All members enthusiastically applauded her joining the club and look forward to working with her in the community.

Kiwanis Recognizes Eagle Scout Joseph Falco, III

Karen Swartz presents Kiwanis recognition plaque in honor of Madison Eagle Scout Joseph Falco, III at his October 13, 2012 Court of Honor Ceremony.

Kiwanis November 5 Meeting Program: Kathleen DiChiara presents “The Community Food Bank of NJ – Past, Present and Future”

Kathleen DiChiara, the Founder, President and CEO of the Community Food Bank of New Jersey (left in photo) with past President of Kiwanis Mary Anne Maloney (right) at the November 5 luncheon meeting.  The speaker gave a very interesting and inspiring presentation on “The Community Food Bank of NJ: Past, Present, Future”.

Kathleen started this crusade in 1975 out of the trunk of her car and then in partnership with the Archdiocese of Newark. From distributing 75,000 lbs. of food that first year it now distributes 40 million lbs. of food annually to over 1,000 nonprofit programs and over 400 programs served by its Partner Distribution organizations.

To learn more about the food bank, please visit their website at www.cfbnj.org – be a volunteer and make donations to this fine cause.

To support this work, turkeys will be collected for the Food Bank at the Chatham United Methodist Church on November 23. Boy Scouts will be on hand to carry your turkeys to the waiting refrigerated truck. Kathleen mentioned that with the cut back in food stamps on November 1 even more people will seek help from the Food Bank this Thanksgiving. She also suggested donating medium sized turkeys in the 10-14 pound range because many of her clients do not have the pans and ovens to cook very large turkeys.

Kiwanis November 5 Meeting Announcements

Mary Anne Maloney is a past president of our Kiwanis club and she served as the President for this meeting. She mentioned that, while watching a Chatham community TV channel, she saw a video of the Kiwanis meeting program recorded July 31, 2012 by Tom Salvas. The speaker was Brian George talking about Arthritis.

David Mutchler reported that a check was received for collecting 21,000 pounds of newspapers. Members meet every Monday morning to load newspapers into a container. When it is full, a recycling company picks it up and delivers a new empty one to the parking lot near the Chatham Post Office.

Karen Swartz announced that the next CHS Key Club meeting will be 7:00 PM November 13 at Charlie Brown’s. Parents are invited to this event so they can learn more about the workings of Key Club and the Kiwanis club which sponsors them. All members are invited.

Stu Shippey announced that over $5,000 worth of nuts have been sold. Some bagged nuts are sold out, but there are plenty of holiday tins available. He reminded everyone to sign up for the Kings and ShopRite sales to be held on November 23rd and 24th. He also urged members to give him order forms and he will bring nuts to the Kiwanis meeting to give them to the seller for delivery.

Kiwanis October 29 Meeting Program: Angela McCall-Brown from the Stroke Center at Overlook Medical Center spoke on "Stroke: Managing your Risk”

Angela McCall-Brown (left in photo) from the Stroke Center at Overlook Medical Center spoke on "Stroke: Managing your Risk” at the October 29 Kiwanis luncheon. Nancy Boucher (right) introduced her.

Angela said that Overlook treats almost 900 strokes per year, ages 17 through 101. She noted that we need to know our risks factors for stroke so we can try to control the risks. Risk factors include age, gender, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, etc.

It is possible to modify some risk factors and Angela described actions that can be taken to reduce the chance of having a stroke. About 60 percent of strokes are the result of high blood pressure so blood pressure should be brought under control. Treatment of modifiable risk factors should be taken very seriously.

Angela handed out a refrigerator magnet listing Stroke warning signs and symptoms. She emphasized the importance of immediate treatment. Call 911 if any of them start.

Members of the audience enthusiastically applauded her helpful and interesting presentation.  To learn more about Stroke prevention and treatment, please visit the Overlook Medical Center website.

Kiwanis October 23, 2013 Pasta Dinner a Huge Success

The 2013 Pasta Dinner was a huge success. Tony, Dick, Maggie and Daniela prepared meals in the Chatham High School cafeteria kitchen.

 David gets a magic lesson from Magician Simon Mandal.

 The lucky winners of the 50-50 were announced by Gary and Avory

 Stu and Karen sell Kiwanis Holiday Nuts to Erv.

Starbucks in Madison donated the coffee! Pasta event leaders Gary and Sharon hold up beautiful artwork created by volunteer.

Kiwanis October 22 Meeting: Stephanie Fellippello presented program "Suggestions on Attracting Builders Club & Key Club Parents to Join Our Family".

Stephanie Fellippello (left in photo) made a presentation to the Chatham-Madison Kiwanis Club at Charlie Brown’s in Chatham Township. She was introduced by Sharon Johnson, President-Elect of the club. Stephanie made suggestions for improving the club. These were warmly received by the members, who enthusiastically applauded at the end of the program.

Kiwanis October 15 meeting Program: "The Health Care Crisis in America” by Dr. Joseph J. Murphy

Dr. Joseph J. Murphy was presented with a Kiwanis Legion of Honor award at the October 15 Kiwanis luncheon meeting held at Charlie Brown’s in Chatham Township. Past President Joan May (left in photo) announced that Joe has been a member of the club for 28 years.

Joe spoke to the club about “The Health Care Crisis in America.” Joe serves the Chatham area with the Suburban Chiropractic Center. He was introduced to the audience by David Lloyd, of Stickel, Frahn & Lloyd in Chatham.

He talked about how we got to where we are in health care. There was a time when the cost of health care was very low. Then, fees and costs started to slowly but steadily climb. Then, insurance coverage was added and employers started adding coverage as a benefit to employees. Cost of coverage grew so large that employers found that they could no longer afford to give it to employees.

Managed health care came into the picture to help control cost of insurance coverage. Fees paid to physicians were reduced to low levels. However, facilities and pharmaceutical cost were allowed to grow and Joe gave examples of how high these costs have grown. He also gave examples of how payments to physicians have fallen (relative to other costs). Americans are not entering medical schools because they cannot earn a living in that field of work.

Joe suggested several actions that would reduce the cost of health care. He also commented on Obama-care. Many companies will find ways around the provisions of this legislation. Many employees will be made part-time so they won’t be covered.

After a lively Q&A session, the audience enthusiastically applauded Joe’s insightful analysis of the Health Care Crisis in America.