Virginia Peninsula Rotary - Club History

At a gathering of District leadership July 16th, our President Adam was recognized as the outstanding club president in the entire District for the Rotary year 2021-2022. Well done, Adam!!

June 29th brought a bright sun and kind temperatures to our social at Styron Square in Port Warwick.

The evening of June 10th saw the Peninsula Club and the Warwick at City Center Club jointly holding a social at the Virginia Living Museum. There was camaraderie, good food, and an excellent venue.

On the 11th of May Oleksandr Humen, better known here as Alex, visited our club. He is a native of Ukraine, and gave us an interesting and thought-provoking talk about the informal but effective methods he and his fellow Ukrainians in the U.S. are using to help his friends and relatives back home. We Rotarians got first-hand insight into the ongoing war.

April 23rd was a work morning at the Virginia Living Museum. A crowd of Peninsula Club Rotarians and Warwick at City Center Club Rotarians worked on a new museum site--a playground area next to the Dinosaur Discovery Trail. We worked on preparations for a "treehouse" with a swing, climbing boulders, balance beams, and a slack line. And we took a large pile of mulch and distributed it over the area.

Schoolchildren in Costa Rica are still going to school virtually, and some of the students cannot afford the internet access necessary for online schooling. The Peninsula Club, partnering with the Warwick at City Center Club and the Heredia Club in Costa Rica, obtained a District 7600 grant to give two years' access to 23 families in Costa Rica. The photos above show a meeting at which the Heredia Club gave instructions and internet hotspot devices to high school students taking part in the program. A similar meeting was held for grade-school students.

On April 7th Adam Duncan and John Frantz attended the annual Christopher Newport University President's Donor and Recipient Scholarship Luncheon. Ariana Gatewood is this year's recipient of the Peninsula Rotary Club Endowed Scholarship. Ariana is a sophomore majoring in cellular, molecular, and physiological biology, and minoring in Spanish and Leadership Studies. Our scholarship fund is one of the oldest at CNU, and since its inception in 1983 we have awarded 38 grants totaling $146,435.

March 30th saw a social at Burger Theory.

Sunday afternoon, March 20th, saw three local Rotary Clubs--the Peninsula Club, the Warwick at City Center Club, and the Yorktown Club jointly turning a hallway in Patrick Henry Mall into a food factory, packaging thousands of meals for Rise Against Hunger.

In March we had a brewery fest--three programs, each presented by a different local craft brewery. On March 2nd Seth Caddell of the Coastal Brewery talked about the quest for excellence. On March 9th Eric Williams of the Billsburg Brewery discussed the brewery as a destination venue. On March 16th Tuan Bui of 1700 Brewing talked about brewing your own beer at home.

Our annual February party is Charter Night (46 years!), held at the Hampton Yacht Club. There was a good crowd, good conversations, and good food.? The upper photo shows Paul Harris honorees.

January 19th saw the inauguration of our new meeting venue at the Holiday Inn at City Center. Not quite coincidentally, the first program was by the manager of the newly-renovated hotel.

What would the holiday season be without the day of Peninsula Rotary bell-ringing for the Salvation Army? On December 22 we rang all day long at the Sam's Club in Newport News, in one-hour shifts of two people each. Above are Howard Waters and Charlie Edmonson.

On Friday night, December 17th, our annual holiday party at the Hampton Yacht Club was a great success. The usual seafood spread plus cut-to-order beef, and lively companionship.

During a meeting of the Board of Directors the morning of December first, President Adam laid out some possibly important shifts in the Club's direction: a change in the venue of the meetings, an innovative new type of membership, and a surprise in the core of the Club's year--the Tennis Ball.

Some happenings during the months of October and November not mentioned elsewhere include Wendy Drucker giving us an insider's look at the world of real estate, Greg Seigel discussing the streetcars on the Peninsula, Alex Ritchie Oniell talking about the current state of Rotaract on the Peninsula, and Martha Morris giving us a nostalgic look back at Buckroe Amusement Park.

Once again this year the Peninsula Club was active at the District Conference. As you can see here, two of the four members of the Sargent at Arms team were from our Club.

October 13th found us once again at the Bull Island Brewery.

On October 6th Past District Governor Judy Cocherell delivered a check for our District Grants.

Programs duing August and September not mentioned below include Randy Troutman, Regina Mobley discussing the life of a video-journalist, Betsy Layman explaining lean agility in business, and Holly Koons telling about the new CNU Torggler Fine Arts Center.

The evening of August 18th found us at a club social event at the Bull Island Brewery in Hampton. Good food, good beer, and good fellowship.

As the first act of his new presidency, Adam Duncan congratulated Bill Ziglar as the 2020-2021 Peninsula Rotary Club Rotarian of the Year. At a time of immense challenges--the Covid pandemic and the Club President moving away, to name but two--Bill's leadership made a success out of what could have been a disastrous year.

The Club's change of leadership took place on June 30th. Past District Governor Diane Hagemann swore in President Adam Duncan, and District Area Governor Bill Ziglar swore in the officers and board of directors as a group.