THE EXCHANGE CLUB OF SEBASTIAN, FL
~~~ NEWSLETTER ~~~
Meeting 12 Noon, 2nd – last Wednesdays of the Month
Captain Hiram’s Tiffany Room, Sebastian, Florida Volume 21, Issue 24
December 31, 2021
This and That
Please contact Ali Qizilbash or Kimball Stadler with ideas for future speakers. Suggestions are appreciated!
Eva Chapman needs to know of any volunteer work a member has done outside of Exchange Club. This counts toward credit we get from national toward year end awards. Please use her log or send her the name of the organization and number of hours you spent volunteering.
Eva Chapman says the Blue Water Open Sponsor Packet has been sent out. Many sponsors finalize their budgets before year end. We need to get our requests out to them soon.
Kathy Burns and Margie Duffell are working with both Sebastian Charter Junior High School and Sebastian River High School to rebuild their Excel Club programs. Club meetings are held immediately after school at each school. Volunteers to assist with these meetings are needed! For more information please contact Kathy or Margie.
Adam Preuss reminds us that on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, our luncheon will be held at SRHS (rather than Captain Hiram’s) to recognize the Male & Female Youth of the Year students and the ACE student. Lunch will consist of: Salad, Chicken, Veggie, Dessert & Drink and will be paid for by the club. We will need to provide the culinary school a firm and final count of members wishing to participate by April 4th.
Terry Gardner is chairing the Community Involvement Committee. Karen McElveen will serve with her. They encourage members to give them ideas. December events were a food pantry drive and a toy drive for Guardians for New Futures. Karen McElveen says member Fred Jones solicited donations from acquaintances and collected $400 for the Guardians for New Futures Toy Drive. A big thank you to Fred for going beyond in seeing that these kids will have a Merry Christmas!
The Community Involvement Committee delivered the additional $500 of non-food items to the Roseland Ecumenical Food Pantry yesterday. This is in addition to the $2,000 donation we gave them to fill their 100 Christmas food boxes for needy families. These were items that the Food Bank cannot buy directly, but can be donated (i.e. diapers, paper goods dog and cat food, etc.)
The Sebastian Exchange Club’s $4,000 contribution helped put Nana’s House goal of constructing security fencing around the lake within their community OVER THE TOP! The children will be safe and secure. .
More Community Outreach
Kimball Stadler organized efforts for our participation in the Sebastian Christmas Parade on Friday December 10th. Volunteers and kids from Youth Guidance and Boys & Girls Clubs decorated our entry and walked handing out candy canes. It was a fun evening to share the holiday spirit! Great job Kimball and thanks to all who participated.
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Our club contributed to the Wreaths Across America effort held The Sebastian Cemetery on December 18th. Several of our members also participated.
Laura Luettger with members of Boys & Girls Club
Sebastian Police News
On December 14th the Sebastian River Area Chamber held its Volunteer Appreciation Award presentations honoring members who have demonstrated their commitment to make a better community. Our member, Sergeant Todd Finnegan of the Sebastian Police Department was awarded for his commitment as COPE (Community Outreach Policing Effort) Director. Congratulations Todd and thank you for all you and your fellow officers do to keep our community safe!
Sgt. Todd Finnegan receives Volunteer of the Year Award from Chief Dan Acosta
| This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY |
4th Qtr. Visitors – Please Come Again!
10/13 – Joe Walsh, Florida District President (Rene VanDeVoorde)
10/13 – Ashleigh Dupont, Treasure Coast Tees (Rachel Cannon)
10/13 – Dan Romance, Tax Savings Professionals (Ali Qizilbash)
10/13 – Linas Liubinskas, Tax Savings Professionals (Ali Qizilbash)
10/20 – Allison Zukowski, United Against Poverty
10/20 – Celeste Cashatt, McLeroy Realty (Sean Facey)
10/27 – Wilford Hart, Community Liaison IRSD (Donald Hart)
10/27 – Joy Votrobek, ASCF (Lane Solomon)
11/10 – Phil Weiler, Teri Eno, Jim Maxner, Space Coast Honor Flight (Kimball Stadler)
11/17 – Omar Krespo, Director of HR Hiram’s (Kimball Stadler)
12/15 – Francis Papineau, Sports Performance Consultan (Adam Preuss)
Calendar of Events
January
01/05 – No Meeting (Board Only)
01/12 – Elizabeth Thomason, Exec. Dir., Boys & Girls Clubs
01/19 – Students
01/26 – TBD (Meeting in Ramp Lounge)
February
02/02 – No Meeting (Board Only)
02/09 – TBD
02/16 – Students
02/23 – TBD
On December 22nd we celebrated members who have December Birthdays:
Susan Baron 12/01
Todd Finnegan 12/03
Paul Reeves 12/20
Rachel Cannon 12/24
December Anniversaries
Rachel Cannon (re-up!) 1 Year
Debbie Fitzpatrick 5 Years
Ali Qizilbash 11 Years
On December 22nd we also celebrated with a Holiday Gift Exchange. Everyone brought a gift to “share or swap.” It was a time to celebrate the camaraderie we share as members as well as the accomplishments our club has made. We also remembered our waitress Lisa Schwarz who goes beyond all year round to make us comfortable at our weekly luncheons.
Excel Club of Sebastian River High School
An election of officers was held on September 13th. Approximately 25 students attended for the election!
New club officers are:
President Ray Temino
President-Elect Desiree White
Secretary Sawyer Held
Treasurer Adam Chester
Historian Dylan Weragoda
2021-22 Officers
2021-22 Club Members
Club meetings will be held on Wednesdays immediately after school at 2:00 p.m. Club members are learning/practicing Roberts Rules of Order protocol. For their first project students participated in a school-based Annual Care Package for Soldiers (Pillar – Americanism). The current project is collecting items needed for foster children at Hibiscus Center for the holidays. (Pillars Youth and Community). Club Advisor Jaime Sturgeon is very supportive of our efforts and is enthusiastic about having members get underway with activities which support the ideals of Exchange.
Volunteers are needed to assist with these meetings!
An election officers was held on October 13th. New club officers are:
President Amber Fuller
President Elect Shane Corley
Secretary Teagan Keefe
Treasurer Teagan Keefe
Meetings are held on the 2nd Wednesday of the month immediately after school. The next meeting is December 8th. The club is learning/practicing Roberts Rules of Order protocol. This year members have already participated in a school-wide dress down day for Hats Off to Heroes benefitting the Sebastian Police Department (Pillar Americanism) and for the Bill Wilson IRSC Student Scholarship Fund (Pillar –
Community). For their next project students wrote letters of appreciation to soldiers to be included in the SRHS Excel Club Annual Care Packages for Soldiers (Pillar – Americanism). They recently participated in a Dress Down Day in December to collect funds for the SCJHS Athletic Programs. (Pillar – Youth).
Volunteers are needed to attend future meetings and assist with helping the students achieve activities which represent the four pillars of Exchange. Any member willing to assist should contact Margie Duffell or Kathy Burns.
COVID-19 Attendance Guidelines Our New Guidelines Effective August 1, 2021. These guidelines shall apply to all members and guests that attend our Club meetings in person in the Tiffany Room at Capt. Hiram’s restaurant: There shall be no more than 6 people at each table.
- Facemasks are optional.
- If any member/guest has tested positive for COVID-19, has experienced symptoms of COVID-19, or has been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19, he/she shall not attend any meetings in person until they become symptom-free or test negative. Additionally, he/she shall notify the Club President of their condition, so that we can determine if any other members/guests may have been exposed.
District Director Rene’s CornerIndian River Club: The 5th AnnualToss Out Child Abuse Charity Cornhole Tournament was held on October 16th at Walking Tree Brewery. This year’s event was very successful with 33 teams participating. Over $11,000 was raised! Congratulations Indian River Club for your continued successes!Fellsmere Club: The 2021 Shrimpfest & Craft Brew Hullabaloo was held Friday, March 19th through Sunday March 21st, 2021. This was a joint effort with the Rotary Club of Sebastian and roughly $55,000 was raised support youth sports and organizations throughout north Indian River County.South Brevard County Club: Club members have recently packed and distributed another 25 Blue Bags with children’s items for donation to the Melbourne Police. These bags are for use when police are working with children in stressful situations. R
on Smith says the One Nation Under God Pancake Breakfast was cancelled for this year. A car show is planned for the future – location and date to be determined. The Junior Fishing Tournament is planned for next spring, probably in late April. Contact Ron for more information at ronlsmith45@gmail.com.Margie Duffell
May Good Health and Happiness be yours in 2022!
Margie Duffell