The Gloucester Rotary has named Tracy Arabian as a Paul Harris Fellow, the prestigious award named after the Chicago lawyer who founded Rotary in 1905. Tracy was selected by a committee of previous recipients of the award and will be honored at a special dinner on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at Cruiseport Gloucester, located at 6 Rowe Square in Gloucester. The social hour will begin at 5:30pm, followed by dinner at 6:30pm. 

 

Tracy Arabian was born and raised in the southwest U.S. The daughter of a career Marine, Tracy grew up in southern California, Hawaii, and Arizona—graduating from high school in Phoenix, Arizona. She then joined the U.S. Army, where she was trained as a Russian linguist. Her seven years in the service saw her stationed in Missouri, California, Texas, Washington DC, Kansas, and Berlin, Germany. 

 

Tracy married a fellow soldier she met in Berlin and moved to Gloucester, where she was welcomed warmly into the large Gloucester Doucette/Jenkins/Klopotoski/Arabian family. Tracy fell in love with the Cape Ann area quickly. In 1997, she accepted a position at the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce and learned firsthand the importance of community service. She met business leaders who commit to the betterment of their community through their service as little league coaches, scout leaders, Chamber volunteers, members of local service organizations, and more. Tracy now works at SeniorCare, a non-profit human services agency that serves nine communities on the North Shore. 

 

Community members have the opportunity to sponsor a flag in memory or honor of the men and women who are serving or have served as members of the Military, Police Officers, Firefighters, First Responders, Parents, Teachers, Coaches, Mentors, Community Leaders, and fly for all the people who have made a difference in their lives. Arlington Rotary has dedicated this year's installation in memory of Maria Krepelka, longtime town employee and Rotary volunteer who died last October. 

 

Flags for Heroes is a way to honor people who are your heroes. They may be men and women who are serving or have served as a members of the military, first responders, parents, teachers, coaches, mentors, community leaders, or other heroes. You may sponsor as many heroes as you want, and a flag with the name of your heroes will be flown at Park Circle Water Tower on Park Ave in Arlington.

 

Your donation of $40 will go directly to Rotary Club of Arlington's scholarship program.

 

We honored James Maloney for his 50 years of service to the Methuen Rotary Club and presented him with his 2nd Paul Harris which is the highest honor a Rotarian can receive.  In January we held a brunch in his honor and many local city leaders attended to celebrate James.  He was the City Clerk in Methuen for many years, served as Methuen Board of Trade President, and was involved in many different service areas within the Merrimack Valley. He also served as President of Methuen Rotary Club which is where his heart truly remained. 

 

To quote his wife Louise Rotary was always a very important part of his life and has given him some wonderful memories.  I remember when he was still active in the Club I could never schedule anything on a Friday from 12 to 2pm.  He still likes to talk about all the good times the Club provided, and the good the Club does for various organizations.

It was our honor to celebrate him and thank him for his years of service.  James truly exemplified the Rotary Motto “Service Above Self” 

Ipswich-Rowley Rotary is happy to announce that Doug Brendel and Stephen Crane have joined the Rotary family. Doug and Stephen bring with them long track records of community engagement and service.

 

Doug Brendel is well known in Ipswich and the North Shore. He truly is a renaissance man – novelist, essayist, actor, speaker and humanitarian. His amusing and highly readable “The Outsidah” column about life in a small New England town is a popular weekly feature in the Ipswich Local News. He is an accomplished actor with numerous theater credits to his name. A former clergyman, Doug and his wife Kristina created a non-profit called NewThing.net in 2002 to provide health and support services in Belarus. They also actively support the Trustees of Reservations. 

 

Stephen Crane came to Ipswich in September when he was hired as our new Town Manager. He brings with him 22 years of municipal job experience, including 14 as a municipal manager. His portfolio includes having served for six years as Town Manager in Longmeadow where he succeeded Robin Crosbie, herself a former Ipswich Town Manager and Rotarian. Stephen tells us that, as a town executive, he really enjoys community involvement and is helped by his sense of humor. In his spare time, he enjoys golf, reading, and the arts. 

 

Ipswich-Rowley Rotary is thrilled to welcome Doug and Stephen to the Rotary family. We know that their energy, skills, creativity, and compassion and will fit very well with our core missions of service and environmental sustainability. 

 

Pictured from left: President Martha Mauser, Stephen Crane, sponsor Nat Pulsifer, Martha and Doug Brendel. Doug was sponsored by Joan Arsenault.

Help make Rotary's Public Image a priority!  A strong and vibrant Public Image is one of 2 proven key tactics for successful and growing clubs -- the other is a large number of service projects.  They go hand-in-hand.  Promote your service projects before and after the event.  Invite the public to participate.  During the event, use banners and signs to promote you as sponsors, and have club brochures or handouts available for participants and passersby.  Make sure you have a call to action so that they can communicate with you.

 

Always include a Call to Action in all of your promotions:  that is, what do you want people to do?  Send email?  Click on a web link?  Register for an event?  Learn more from an informational email address, your club's website or Facebook page, or a specific club member's contact information?