Jackson Rotary Club member and Allstate exclusive agency owner Virginia Khoudary, whose agency is located at 21 South Hope Chapel Road, Unit 129, Jackson, has been designated an Allstate Premier Agency for 2017. This designation is given to only 26% of Allstate’s approximately 10,00 agency owners in the US, and only 14% of NJ agencies, as reported in the May 31^st. issue of the Tri-Town News.

The Allstate Premier Agency designation is awarded to owners who have demonstrated excellence in delivering an accessible, knowledgeable and personal customer experience while achieving outstanding business results.

The Jackson Rotary wishes to congratulate Virginia!

For the last several years, the Jackson Rotary has supported the effort of the Eatontown, NJ based organization American Recreational Military Services (A.R.M.S.) to collect toys and other essentials for the children of active duty service personnel. We receive, from A.R.M.S., paper stars with the name and age, as well as the wished for toy or other essential gifts, for the child. These stars are then posted at the various locations where collection barrels have been set up, and those who wish to participate buy the gift the child has asked for; when the gifts are collected they are provided to the A.R.M.S. group for distribution to the children. Below are examples of Little Soldier fliers, as well as photos of some of the Holiday gifts supplied.

Rotary member Luke Stango presents the collected toys to A.R.M.S.

Sunday, September 25, 2016 saw a bright, clear, crisp, sunny day filled with the laughter of nearly 100 adults, teens and youngsters enjoying themselves on the Kitay family farm, located on County Line Road, in Jackson. The farm, which has a large, park-like yard and an equally large stocked pond, has been provided by the Kitay family for the last several years for the Jackson Rotary Club’s sponsored and hosted Steven Kitay Picnic and Fishing Derby. This yearly event is designed to provide a fun and activity filled day for special citizens and their families. The day is in memory of Kitay family member Steven.

Steven Kitay was the second of five children of Izak and Paula Kitay, Holocaust survivors, who settled and started the farm in Jackson. Steve Kitay was very community minded, and strongly supported the Handicapped Commissions efforts. Steven Kitay passed away in 2002.

The picnic stated at 12 Noon, and continued until 4 PM. Near the end of the day’s events, which included a picnic buffet of grilled hamburgers, hotdogs, potato and macaroni salads as well as coleslaw, cold drinks and ice cream donated by Farley’s Ice Cream, judging of the days catch was conducted by members of the Jackson Memorial and Liberty High Schools’ Interact Clubs, who were on hand to help set up for the day, and help the picnic goers with whatever needs they had. The prizes included Biggest Fish, Smallest, Ugliest, Prettiest, and so on—in essence, every fisherperson received a trophy!

All the attendees, the Interact Kids, and even the hard working Rotary Club volunteers, had a great time—and all were looking forward to next year’s event!

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TOMS RIVER - One of the surviving drivers from a crash that killed a 60-year-old Lacey man is facing aggravated manslaughter and other charges, prosecutors say.

Officers from the Toms River Police Department's Traffic Safety Unit and the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office's Vehicular Homicide Unit arrested 34-year-old Jack Kennedy Jr. of Jackson on Friday in connection with a July 14 Whitesville Road crash that left Michael Gormley dead.

Gormley was driving his 2010 Chevrolet Malibu north on Whitesville around 7 a.m., and Kennedy was coming the other way in a 2000 Nissan Xterra, police said at the time. Kennedy drifted over the center line and collided with Gormley head-on.

The Rotary Club of Jackson will be hosting its 9^th. Annual Charity Golf Tournament at the Westlake Golf & Country Club, Jackson, NJ; this event will be held in the Memory of Mike Gormley, our immediate Past President. Mike was tragically killed in an auto accident on July 14, 2016 while driving to the Jackson Rotary club’s meeting and then to work at Harmony Bank, where he was the Chief Financial Officer.

Because of this horrific accident and his death, the Jackson Rotary has decided to specially dedicate one hole in the tournament to Mike Gormley's name, and solicit funds for an ongoing scholarship to be presented to a graduating Jackson Township High School senior. The hope is that enough money will be donated to this cause that the scholarship fund will be given such a start that the scholarship can be a continuing facet of the tournament in the future.

Anyone wishing to donate to this scholarship fund can send a check to the Michael Gormley Scholarship Fund, P.O..Box 751, Jackson, NJ 08527.

On June 23rd, 10 inches of rain fell in just a few hours in West Virginia, causing floods that were simply devastating. According to meteorologists, this was a "1,000-year flood" and the deadliest anywhere in the United States since 2010.

News reports showed homes in flames as they floated down the s w o l l e n river, and the town of Rainelle was described as " l o o k i n g like a war zone." DG David has spoken to DG John Powell of District 7550 in West Virginia, and he told how many of the communities served by his Rotary clubs have been shattered. "Twenty-three people died, and two are still missing from the floods," he said. "Five thousand homes have been completely destroyed, along with numerous roads, bridges, schools, and libraries"

Of course, we know something in District 7500 about the devastation that flooding can cause, as Superstorm Sandy is still fresh in our memories. The winds had barely died down from Sandy when we received help from Rotarians around the country, and even from abroad. I am therefore asking for us all to help our fellow Rotarians to show how "Rotary Serves Humanity" in West Virginia.

1: Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our own foundation, the Rotary District 7500 Foundation. Mark your checks "WV relief" and mail them to Harry Welsh, 115 N. Church St., Moorestown, NJ 08057

2: We will suggest that District 7550 host a Global Grant to provide some long-term assistance, which we could support with some District Designated Funds, and this would then earn matching funds from The Rotary Foundation. .

3: Entire libraries-full of books were destroyed by the flood waters. Both schools and public libraries now have no books. We would therefore like to start a book drive for West Virginia. If you would consider being on a committee to coordinate this campaign, please contact PDG John Hammer, chair of our Disaster Relief Committee at 609.509.4414. For the public libraries, we need undamaged, unmarked books—no paperbacks or trashy novels, please! If you have a contact where we might be able to obtain school text books (all grades), please let John Hammer know. We will deliver the books at the end of July

Figure 1 Pope Francis greets Rotary International President

K.R. Ravindran at a Jubilee audience at the Vatican on 30 April,

where 9,000 Rotary members were special guests of the pontiff.

Thousands of Rotary members, motivated by a special invitation from Pope Francis, gathered at the Vatican in Rome on Saturday to celebrate a message of compassion, inclusiveness, and service to humanity.

At midmorning, the group -- numbering some 9,000 members from 80 countries -- made its way through the congested streets of Rome, past the tight security surrounding St. Peter's Square, and settled into the area reserved for Rotary in front of St. Peter's Basilica for the Jubilee audience. Francis, a 79-year-old Argentine, urged the crowd of more than 100,000, which included members of the police and armed forces from around the world, "to build a culture of peace, security, and solidarity around the world."

His message of peace resonated with Rotary members, including R. Asokan from Tamil Nadu, India. "His message about peace is about accepting. Rotary, which accepts all walks of life, can carry his message to all our clubs, therefore carrying his message to all our communities," says Asokan.

Though Francis is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, his words often reach a wider audience. A poll published earlier this year found him to be one of the most liked and trusted world leaders.

Taken From District 7500 May 2016 Governor's Newsletter

***CHANGE OF DATE***

Dr. Kieran Bhatia will be speaking on July 21, 2016 on Hurricane Science & Preparedness

Kieran Bhatia is a PhD. from Miami's Rosenstiel School and is doing post doctoral work at Princeton University. Three years ago, he started an outreach program that focuses on hurricane science and preparedness. He has spoken at over ten Rotary Clubs and a variety of schools.  To see a more detailed description of his work, started at University of Miami,  and his outreach program, go to http://hurricanes.rsmas.miami.edu/outreach/ . The last five years have been very active hurricane seasons for the Northeast and especially New Jersey. The state received significant damages from both Sandy and Irene. Traditionally, this area has not been frequented by tropical cyclones so public education regarding these natural catastrophes has not been as extensive as other regions.

Food Drive collects non-perishable food for Jackson Pantry