Victoria Reilly, Madison HS student, will share with the club members her experiences with the Rotary Youth Exchange Program and her visit to Japan.

Our neighboring club, Morris Plains, has inspired the Madison and Morris to organize a social event that will bring together ou local club members in a social setting and provide an atmosphere to foster new ideas and partership opportunities.

We are meeting at the Stirling Hotel in Long Hill Township to see Jeirus Cook perform his brand of R&B classics hit songs from Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and many more. This is a free show from 2pm to 5pm on a Sunday afternoon and the location provides for many shaded areas and fans to provide a comfortable temperature. We look forward to a fun afternoon in the sun with great food, craft beer/cocktails/mocktails, and amazing barbeque. The event won't cost anything to the either of the clubs and each member is responsible for their own bill/order.

The music starts at 2pm and so it our suggestion to gather at 1pm and secure a few tables so that our clubs can congregate together and Will and I can share information on our progress with the Veterans Valor project. We also suggest to invite the other local clubs (Morris Plains, East Hanover, Florham Park, Denville, etc) and start building relationships with other local rotarians.

Show Information:  https://www.thestirlinghotel.com/upcomingevents/jeiris-cook-band 

Menu Information:  https://www.thestirlinghotel.com/smokehouse 

Laura Jennings will speak about ArcMorris, a local nonprofit that serves individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout Morris County, including in Madison. 

Bob Butts will speaK to club members about the programs and plans for the Baroque Orchestra of NJ.

Barry Kroll, Madison Rotarian, will speak regardingClub Runner Mobil App and how to navigate our new and updated website.

New Member Inductions & Classification Talk

Joe Smith, Madison Rotarian, will speak to the club about membership, how to attract, recruit, and maintain new members.

Rotary District 7475 Governor will update members on the current issues and plans for our district.

This event is a festival celebrating our hometown and downtown with over 10,000 in attendance.  Madison Rotary operates a food consession selling hamburgers, hot dogs, beverages, etc as a club fundraiser to support Madison Rotary's charitable distribution program.

Volunteers are needed to help with the operation of our booth including set up, break down, food sales, and more.  

Sign up to volunteer (click Bottle Hill Day button)  or contact event chair Joe Smith - contact Joe at jtsmith0443@gmail.com if you have questions or need additional information

For those that like competition with other clubs like Morristown, Morris Plains, Somerset Hills, and others, this is for you.  It will be at Tiff's Restaurant and Bar, located at 231 Speedwell Ave, Morris Plains.  While it starts at 6:30PM, Amul suggests that folks show up by 6:00PM to get a table together.  Please RSVP to Amul by Thursday Oct 2, 2025 so that we have a head count.  There is no limit to the number of participants as we can have multiple teams represent our club. 

Thursday, October 9th at both the moring and afternoon meetings, Madison Rotary will kick-off its 50/50 raffle.  Thickets and materials will be distributed at both meetings.  Plan now to attend one of these important club meetings.  7:45 am at the MYMC and 12 Noon at Firehouse Pizza.

If you have questions or need additional information, Contact Lois Bhatt 50/50 raffle chair.

Service Workshop and Planning Session & 50/50 Kickoff

Paul and Avery Mantell will update members on the Maasai Girls Fund.

Peter Hinge, Madison resident, will talk to the club about the Civil Air Patrol. Civil Air Patrol is a congressionally chartered, federally funded, 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation and serves as the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. Founded Dec. 1, 1941, to mobilize the nation's civilian aviation resources for national defense service, CAP has evolved into a premier public service organization that is a cost-effective force multiplier for Air Force-assigned missions. 

Learn the basics of the new ClubRunner mobile app and the new highlights of the Club's updated website.

Diane Mann, President, Madison Area YMCA, and Madison Rotarian, will update members on the current and planned events and programs of the YMCA.

Jerry Vezza, Jazz Pianist and Piano Maintenance, and Chair of the Board of the Madison Arts and Culture Alliance, will speak about arts and culture in Madison and his 40 years of experience as a jazz musician.

Tim Gulick, Outreach Coordinator at The Milestone House, will tell us about his organizations mission and plans. The Milestone House is one of New Jersey’s oldest and most trusted sober living communities. 

Bottle Hill Tavern on Waverly Place will be providing "free" Thanksgiving Dinners on November 27th, Thanksgiving Day, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., first come, first serve.   There is no cost for the dinner, but donations will be accepted from those who can help.  Donations will be made to  Madison Rotary and earmarked to alleviate food insecurity locally.

Madison Rotary volunteers are neeedd to help with logistics - There will be 4 one hour shifts from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm.  2 volunteers are needed per shift.

Click the link on the left to sign up for a shift.

Please join your fellow Rotarians  by marching in the Holiday Parade on Friday, November 28th.  Meet at the Ambulance Corp building on Keep Street at 5:30 pm.   The parade itself will begin at 6:00 pm. Madison Rotary has participated in the Madison Christmas Parade for over 25 years.  Rotarians walk alongside the Santa Claus float and make sure excited children don't run out to greet Santa.  The event is generally over by 6:30 pm.  Immediately after the parade is the lighting of the town Christmas tree at 6:30 pm.  We need about 20 volunteers to help with this service project.

• Saturdays 9:30 – 6 PM
• Sundays 10 AM – 6 PM
• Monday – Friday 4 PM to 8 PM

🎉 Rotary New Member Orientation Announcement 🎉

📢 Greetings Madison Rotarians 📢

We are thrilled to announce our upcoming New Member Orientation session, an integral part of our Rotary family's growth and community engagement.

This orientation session is designed to welcome and acquaint new members with the values, goals, and opportunities within our esteemed Rotary club. It's a fantastic chance for new members to network, learn, and get involved in our various initiatives aimed at making a positive impact in our community and beyond.

The event is for new members who have not previously attended a new member orientation. Dinner will be on you own at Romanelli's. Plan on going through the ordering/eating starting at 5:30 pm. Orientation program starts a 6:00 p

Let's continue to inspire and serve together! See you there!

Regards

Barry Kroll

Membership Committee

Jonathan Golden, Drew University Associate Professor and director of Drew's Center on Religion, Culture & Conflict (CRCC) as well as the program director of Drew's Conflict Resolution & Leadership program, will join us for a discussion of his work.

Soup Making

The Madison Rotary team will cook dinner for an estimated 80 homeless persons  at the Morris County Homeless Solutions facilities on West Hanover Ave. Our team will be six persons (max is 7). The menu we have chosen, after discussion with the manager there, is meat and Vegan tacos, black beans and rice, salad, bread and a desert sheet-cake. We will arrive no earlier than 3:00 pm and will leave by 7:00 pm. All preparation must be done on site. There is a new kitchen where we will work. The first sitting, single women and families, will line up to be served dinner at 5:45 pm to be followed later by the single men. 

50/50 Raffle Drawing at the breakfast meeting.  

New Member Orientation and Classification Talks

Grant Recipients

Here is your opportunity to meet many of the people and organizations that receive grant support from Rotary.  All organizations will be invited to participate in our regular breakfast meeting.

Barry

This is a food packing event for our club on Monday, January 19, 2026 that will benefit the following local organizations:  Homeless Solutions, NourishNJ, JBWS and Hope One.  The location will be the Grace Episcopal Church in Madison (parking is in the back of the church).  We decided to let our new members lead the way with planning and execution but we will need others in our club to volunteer as well for the set-up and packing portions of the event.  Here's the schedule:

• 9:15AM:  Those that have purchased supplies arrive at the church with items for packing. - purchasers arrive at TMC with items for packing.
• 9:15AM to 10:00AM:  Unload cars and set-up the assembly line for the breakfast bags. We need at least 2 more volunteers to help with set-up.
• 10:00AM to 11:30AM :  Pack 400 bags and load into cars (2-3 "assembly lines").  We need at least 12 additional volunteers for the packing.

Participation in this wonderful event is limited to our club members and their families.  If you'd like to volunteer (and haven't already done so), please reach out to Ray DeRiggi (rjderiggi3@gmail.com) and Steve Eckhardt (eckhardt.steve@gmail.com).  What a great way to kick off 2026.

Nicole Pittaluga, Director of Development and Communications at the Cemter for Evaluation and Counseling will discuss the organization's miossion and role in the community.

Claire Whitcomb, Chair of the Madison Environmental Commission, will discuss the newly completed Environmental Resource Inventory.

Carol Graham, President of RAMP. will discuss her organization's mission and role in serving our community.