Following elections earlier this month, The Rotary Club of Newtown has a new president.

Julie Davis Friend will serve as leader of the local chapter of the international organization for 2018-19, which leads into the 80th anniversary of Newtown's club.

"That's a pretty big deal," Ms Friend said July 12, less than two weeks into her term.

For women across the country, 2017 marked a big year for Rotary International (RI). Last year was the 30th anniversary of the unanimous 1987 decision by the Supreme Court that outlawed discrimination against female members by Rotary Clubs. (It was not until 1989 that Rotary International's Council on Legislation voted to admit women into clubs worldwide, so the 30th anniversary of that movement will continue into next year.)

"A lot of people think of Rotary as a good ol' boy's club with not a lot of diversity, but that's not us," Ms Friend said.

Sitting down to talk about her upcoming term, one of the first things Ms Friend said was Newtown Rotary is already doing well with supporting local organizations. In the next 12 months, she would like to see increased service, increased participation, and increased membership, all of which were highlighted in the mission statement Ms Friend crafted for her term:

"Incorporate community outreach to discover needs in order to expand the opportunity for service projects, and as a result, increase project participation, membership, as well as increasing awareness of the Rotary."

She was quick to point out, however, that Newtown's is already "a great club."

While Newtown Rotary conducts meetings every week, Ms Friend said it is no longer necessary for Rotary members to attend every one of those meetings.

"If people want to be involved in service projects," she said, "that, for me, is huge.

"They're really focusing more on service hours. Of the three largest international service groups, we probably are the largest and broad spread," she said. "We put in hundreds and thousands of hours and hundreds and thousands of dollars a year that we raise through grants."

Rotary is a self-sustaining organization, she said.

"It doesn't take any of the money" received through grants "and put it into operating expenses," she said. "That's pretty important."

The Rotary Club of Newtown currently has 37 members, according to Ms Friend. That number represents active and honorary members. Active members are those who attend meetings and participate in service projects, while honorary memberships are generally bestowed upon someone, she explained.

The club is one of about 34,000 clubs around the world, she said. Rotary International boasts 1.2 million members, she added.

Six new members joined Rotary of Newtown in 2017, a trend the local club's president is hoping will continue.

"Every one of them was younger, so I'm really hoping we'll continue that streak," she said. "The youngest one is a 34-year-old woman from Syria. We really have a nice mix in this club."

Four of the club's newest members — Noor Deeb, David Freedman, Pat Llodra (who was an honorary member during her tenure as First Selectmen but moved up to advance/full member upon retirement), and Alex Villamil — were already voted on as officers, she was proud to point out.

"I'm really encouraging that and working with them individually, getting them to craft their own service project," Ms Friend said.

"I'll put part of our operating budget toward that," she added. "Not check writing, however. It has to be service. Because it's a great way to get people to do something they're passionate about, through Rotary. "

A few women left the local club in recent years due to "business constraints," Ms Friend said earlier this month. "So that's a big focus for me, to try to populate more - both women and men."

Ms Friend also pointed out that Rotary members do not have to be business owners.

"It can be employees in a company," she said. "We have a Corporate Membership, so employers can rotate the employees who attend the meetings, if they want to."

Service Projects

Among other highlights, Rotary International is known for its efforts to eradicate polio. The Newtown club donates to RI's PolioPlus campaign annually, said Ms Friend, who would like to see additional service projects pay attention to similar efforts.

"This is just the kernel of an idea," she said, "but I would love to see a focus in town, maybe in the schools, on polio. PolioPlus Day is in October, and I'd love to get piggy banks into the schools, and a few places, for that. I'm still working on the logistics."

An increased number of members in Newtown's club would result in even more service projects, and that is what Ms Friend is ultimately hoping for.

Local efforts already focus on support for Newtown Youth & Family Services, Newtown Scholarship Association, Kevin's Community Center, Newtown Meeting House, Newtown Volunteer Ambulance, C.H. Booth Library, Friends In Service Here (FISH), Meals on Wheels, The Newtown Fund, and the town's five fire companies, among others.

Regionally, the Newtown club has also supported The Dorothy Day Hospitality House in Danbury, Danbury Hospital, and Regional Hospice of Western Connecticut.

Service projects have included cleaning local river banks, helping with construction on Funspace playgrounds at town parks, landscaping at the Ability Beyond Disability community home, and designing and installing a Rotary Park on the Fairfield Hills campus.

Ms Friend is hoping to create a service project within the next year for The Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary property.

"I love that group," she said. "And a day of service there would, in turn, raise awareness of them."

She would like to hear from people who could use help in the forms of public service. While she is not discounting the importance of financial donations - Newtown's club regularly supports multiple local and regional entities financially - "the service perspective means you're giving more than money."

In a post on the local club's website, immediate past president Joe Hemingway made two great points.

"There is no 'good cause' in Newtown that hasn't been helped by the Rotary Club," he wrote. Celebrating the international foundation's efforts, he added: "Rotary is a remarkable organization with an enormous ability to make the world a better place for all of us."

Business Background

Ms Friend runs a consultancy firm, eFriend Marketing, based in Sandy Hook.

"We provide solutions for small to medium size business, from concept to exit strategy, depending on where they are on the continuum," she explained. "That's everything from branding to reputation and social services, mobile solutions, print solutions, and banners."

She is a member of Newtown Chamber of Commerce. She is also a public member of the board of the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants (IARFC), a nonprofit credentialing association. Ms Friend is a public member of the IARFC board specifically concerned with those seeking Master Registered Financial Consultant (MFRC) certification.

A former resident of Newtown for 12 years, Ms Friend moved in 2007 to Westerville, Ohio, a northeastern suburb of Columbus. That was when she first joined Rotary International, becoming a member of the Westerville Sunrise club.

"It was a larger club covering a denser population area," she said of that first chapter of which she was a member.

Ms Friend joined Rotary, she said, because she likes offering service to the community, and for the networking opportunities offered by the international organization.

Within six months of joining, Ms Friend became secretary of that chapter, she said. Aside from about six months after she moved back to the Newtown area, she added, she has "pretty much remained an officer or director of a Rotary club."

Holding officer positions, she said, "really gets you to see the operations of a club and how things go."

She moved back to the area, to Danbury, in April 2014, "but I'm working on returning to town," she said.

"Newtown is the only place I wanted to establish because I love it here. I do very little work in Danbury."

Ms Friend is living up to Rotary's motto of "Once a Rotarian, always a Rotarian." Her membership from one chapter to the next transferred easily between Ohio and Connecticut, she said. Even better, she pointed out, members can find fellow members anywhere in the world.

"Many places you can go to and can find a fellow Rotarian," she said. There is a district and international database that members can access, according to Ms Friend. That access allows people to locate fellow Rotarians when they travel and want recommendations or referrals, or find local clubs and attend their meetings.

2018-19 Board Members

In addition to Ms Friend, the following were elected as officers of The Rotary Club of Newtown in early July:

Steve Samson, president-elect; E. Patricia Llodra, vice president; Noor Deeb, secretary; David Freedman, treasurer; Alan Clavette, sergeant-at-arms; and Joe Hemingway, immediate past president.

The following directors have been elected for the 2018-19 term: Judy Grabarz, club administration director; Julie Davis Friend, PR and media relations; Carrie Swan, Rotary International Foundation; Alex Villamil, membership; Tony Strange, community service; Dan Rosenthal, youth service; and Ken Harper, club foundation.

Two of Newtown's club members are currently serving at the District Level as well. Lawrence (Larry) J. Gardner is currently serving as the 2018-19 District Governor, "which is a great honor for him and our club," Ms Friend said. "He oversees 58 clubs in District #7980 and is the third member of our club to have held this position."

Christopher Hoeffel is serving as an Assistant District Governor to assist presidents of four local clubs in their endeavors, she added. Newtown's district also includes the Danbury, Ridgefield, and Tribury clubs.

The Rotary Club of Newtown meets Mondays at Newtown Country Club, 2 Country Club Road. Meetings begin at 6:15 and are preceded by networking that starts around 5:30. Meetings often include guest speakers.

Anyone interested in learning more about, and potentially joining, the local chapter is invited to contact Julie Friend at 203-684-5020 or visit newtownctrotary.org.

[naviga:img alt="SH_new Rotary president Julie Friend" class="aligncenter wp-image-331942" height="905" src="https://newtownbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/SH_new-Rotary-president-Julie-Friend.jpg" width="600" /]

Julie David Friend will serve as president of The Rotary Club of Newtown for 2018-19. -Bee Photo, Hicks 

[naviga:img alt="new Rotary president Julie Friend -- Friend & Whitlock" class="aligncenter wp-image-331943" height="526" src="https://newtownbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/new-Rotary-president-Julie-Friend-Friend-Whitlock.jpg" width="600" /]    Rotary Club of Newtown President Julie Davis Friend, left, was in Burlington, Vt., in June for the Rotary District 7870 Conference. While there, Ms Friend had the honor of meeting Sylvia Whitlock, on the right. Ms Whitlock was the first woman to become president of a Rotary Club, less than a year after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled Rotary clubs could no longer exclude women from their memberships. -photo courtesy Julie Davis Friend 

    [naviga:img alt="KB_Rotary new officers July 2018" class="aligncenter wp-image-331948" height="496" src="https://newtownbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/KB_Rotary-new-officers-July-2018.jpg" width="800" /]The Rotary Club of Newtown elected new officers and directors in early July. Shown during the first dinner gathering of the month at Newtown Country Club are, from left, Tony Strange, community services director; Ken Harper, club foundation director; Steve Samson, president-elect; Joe Hemingway, immediate past president; Noor Deeb, secretary; Julie Davis Friend, president; Dan Rosenthal, youth services director; Patricia Llodra, vice president; David Freedman, treasurer; and Alan Clavette, sergeant at arms. New officers/directors also include Alex Villamil, membership director; and Judy Grabarz, club administration director, both of whom were unable for the July 2 photo.-Bee Photo, Bobowick

 [naviga:img alt="new Rotary president Julie Friend -- local Rotary logo & 2018-19 theme" class="aligncenter wp-image-331944" height="183" src="https://newtownbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/new-Rotary-president-Julie-Friend-local-Rotary-logo-2018-19-theme.png" width="800" /] 

 Rotary International President-elect Barry Rassin announced in January his 2018-19 presidential theme: "Be The Inspiration." Rotary Club of Newtown President Julie Friend loves the theme, she said. The club meets every Monday evening at Newtown Country Club, indicated on the map below.[mappress mapid="1470"]