Posted by Bryan Smolarz on Dec 06, 2019
A humorous and informative wrap up of our meeting.
 
 
10/10/19 Rotary Club of Floral Park-Bellerose Networking Dinner Meeting Recap
New Hyde Park Diner, 160 Hillside Avenue, New Hyde Park, NY
 
Hello Readers!
 
On behalf of the Rotary Club of Floral Park we would like to thank everyone who attended the meeting on November 12th, 2019. The meeting began with members shuffling in around 5:30. The two new inductees Jake and Mike, who will probably be late to their own funeral, arrived at 6 with members eagerly waiting. After a few minutes of organizing and deliberation, members took their seats and District Governor Justin Quaranta began to deliver a speech on recent developments in Rotary International. Justin covered numerous points regarding the status of Rotary membership across the world, new projects, and the Floral Park Rotary Club’s two new inductees.
 
Food orders were placed around this time and members enjoyed hearty meals from the New Hyde Park Diner as Justin gave his concluding statements. Richard Burgess ‘got back in touch’ with his inner fraternity maniac and shared a rum and coke with the future John Grisham, Mike Guarini, and future U.S. Senator, Jake Dertinger. During this time, Greg Kramer nominated his wife Beth to become a member of the club. District Governor Quaranta then asked the two new inductees to stand and take the Rotary oath. The two men who represent the youth of the Floral Park Chapter, took to the stage and were humbly sworn into the organization.
 
The night was not all fun and games however, as some significant generosity was given by multiple members of Rotary. The lovely Maribeth Pietropaoli from the PinkTie organization had previously donated $1,500 to the club which in conjunction with the charity from Give-n-Go totaled $4,660 in one month for the Floral Park chapter. Give-n-Go gave one cent for each gallon of gas sold and was able to earmark two checks of $1,375 and $1,785 respectively. After, numerous ‘happy dollars’ were given by multiple members of the club, Rich Mooney also made a special donation to the club that night which was greatly appreciated. The night then began to conclude as members slowly began to exit the diner.
 
We would like to thank all our members, attendees, and participants who made this possible. In addition, special thanks are given to the management of the Floral Park Chapter for their continued efforts in keeping Rotary a vibrant and productive organization in the community and surrounding areas.
 
Best,
Floral Park Rotary Club