Rotary meets on Monday, September 28 at 12:15 at Christ Church. Please do not park in the church parking lot, as it is used for the school during our meeting time.
Our program will be the first of two focusing on the upcoming election in Summit.
The September 28 meeting will focus ton Summit’s two Republican candidates for the 2026 Common Council race. They are incumbent Ward 2 Councilman Jamel Boyer and former Ward 1 Councilwoman Delia Hamlet, who returned to the GOP slate after previously serving from 2023–2025. Both candidates campaign under the “Together for Summit” banner, emphasizing public safety, taxes, infrastructure, recreation, neighborhood preservation, and overall quality‑of‑life issues. Hamlet is described by local reporting as an independent voice who frequently challenged overdevelopment, pushed for transparency, and advocated for taxpayer interests, while Boyer has focused on limiting the city’s direct role in development and maintaining established plans — including supporting the sale of the former firehouse property rather than revisiting mixed‑use or affordable‑housing alternatives.
Our last meeting was a club assembly focused on the future of the club and led by Melanie Cohn who is heading up the Strategic Plan Committee. The following is the Executive Summary of the report from that meeting.
Club Assembly Report Executive Summary
The Summit/New Providence Rotary Club is at an important point of transition. Joe’s departure has highlighted the risks of relying too heavily on one individual. The club agreed to move toward a shared-work model in which key responsibilities are clearly defined, divided among members, and assigned for limited terms. Immediate needs include filling or supporting the roles of secretary, treasurer, church and caterer coordinator, scholarship coordinator, December school concert coordinator, and future club leadership.
Looking ahead three years, members want Rotary to be known as a welcoming and enjoyable organization that brings people together and gets meaningful work done. Priorities include strengthening fellowship, increasing membership, raising the club’s visibility, developing a few signature service activities, and undertaking at least one new project with tangible community impact. Members also see an opportunity for Rotary to serve as a valuable nonpartisan gathering place where people can build relationships, engage with community leaders, and find common ground.
Fellowship emerged as the club’s greatest strength and should be central to its future direction. Meetings and programs must be purposeful, timely, and worth attending, with strong speakers. Home-hosted dinners, cocktail gatherings, and similar events could support fellowship, recruitment, and fundraising simultaneously. Partnerships with established community organizations could expand Rotary’s reach while avoiding unnecessary duplication of effort.
Immediate priorities are to define and fill open roles, establish a thoughtful leadership pipeline, finalize a concise mission statement, and adopt practical measures of success, including membership growth and participation. The club should also consider an active-service proposal model that allows any member to propose a project, seek club approval, and help lead its implementation. Together, these steps can create a more resilient, participatory, and sustainable Rotary Club, one that continues to thrive while strengthening its impact in the community.
And now a personal note …..
It was Monday, December 19, 1977 and a 29-year-old started his new job as Executive Manager at the Chamber of Commerce of Summit, New Providence and Berkeley Heights under the watchful eye of former Police Chief John Sayre. At 11:45 Chief announced that it was time to go to Rotary, and he told me that I WOULD join because this job couldn’t be done without it. As usual he was right, and over the next 48 years I steadfastly made Monday Rotary meetings a priority. Through it I would meet many dignitaries and lots of just regular folks from around the world. Pam and I would host a few at our home, including exchange students from Africa, South America and our yearlong Sarah Swede, who enjoyed her senior year in high school at Millburn High. We went to conferences around the northeast, and even an international conference. The projects were never ending – from Willie Wilson Day at Yankee Stadium (my first) to helping with the transportation of an African youngster who came to Summit for life saving heart surgery through our donations to the Gift of Life, helping fellow Rotarian Gus Pushpraj with his grant paperwork for two different grants to bring a school to his Indian hometown, countless blood drives, shredding during COVID our first project after a year of no in-person Rotary meetings and those are just a few.
But most of all there were the Rotarians of Summit and New Providence. First a group of guys who welcomed me and helped me with the other things in my life; and then after 1985 when we welcomed women the ladies added style and drive to what we were all doing and taking us into new areas including red ribbons and the MLK events. Then in the mid 90’s Editor Norman Rauscher (of the Summit Herald) asked me to help him with the Headlight, the weekly news mailed every Friday to all members. That led to becoming his assistant Secretary and then the Secretary from 2001 through 1999 and again from 2022 through today.
The Summit / New Providence Rotary club has been a big part of my life and I wanted to take a moment in this, my final Headlight before heading to South Carolina, to say THANK YOU to all of you who have participated and been such good friends and fellow travelers along this road of Service Above Self.
I promise to come visit when I’m back in the area, and I promise not to forget everything you all have meant to me!
