Spoke ~ April 15, 2025 (Apr. 14, 2025)

This week at Rotary...

Salem Rotary Club Visits Black Cat Bistro at Salem High School

This week marked the Salem Rotary Club’s annual visit to the Black Cat Bistro at Salem High School, a highlight that showcases the school’s impressive Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. The event was opened by Rinus Oosthoek, who introduced Salem Mayor Dominic Pangallo.

Mayor Pangallo shared his appreciation for the work being done at Salem High School, emphasizing its role as a comprehensive high school preparing students for both the workforce and higher education. He also spoke briefly about long-term plans for a new high school facility to better serve the growing needs of the community.

Superintendent Steve Zrike noted he had passed up an earlier lunch to enjoy the culinary experience at the Black Cat Bistro. He commended the principal and staff for Salem High's recent recognition as one of the top three performing high schools among the Greater Boston gateway cities. He highlighted how remarkable this achievement is, given the school’s comprehensive structure. Zrike echoed Mayor Pangallo’s sentiments on the importance of a new high school, noting it could serve as a hub for community events and adult education.

CTE Director Mario Sousa followed with an update on the district’s Career and Technical Education successes. He proudly shared that over $6 million in grants have been secured to support and grow the CTE programs. These efforts have resulted in expanded programming, enhanced facilities, and a surge in enrollment—from 300 to 600 students. There are now eight fully approved CTE programs, with Graphic Design and Communications currently awaiting full approval. Sousa advocated for equitable access to technical education across the country, stressing its value for all students.

Upcoming Salem CTE Events:

April 17 – Career Fair
May 1 – General Advisory Meeting
May 22 – Merit Awards Ceremony
June 6 – High School Graduation
June 14 – Car Show (Tentative)

The Black Cat Bistro is open to the public Wednesday through Friday from 11:15 AM to 1:00 PM. It’s a fantastic way to support students and enjoy a high-quality meal prepared by the next generation of culinary professionals.

THE SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION LINK IS LIVE!

Tell your friends! Tell your neighbors! Tell the whole city! The Salem Rotary Club Scholarship Application link is live on the website. You can also access it here.

EVENT TICKETS

April 16: 4 seats available for LEAP’s Great Expectations: The Magic of Mentoring event at Danversport on Wednesday

May 3: 4 tickets to the Salem Academy's Reach for College Gala

VISITORS AND GUEST ROTARIANS

We were once again joined by Mayor Dominic Pangallo. Jeff Swartz from the Chamber was also in attendance, along with Beth Debski. Jane Stirgwolt brought Mary Simpson as a guest as well.

ROTARY NEWS

RYLA Sponsorshsips

Why Your Support Matters

RYLA remains completely free for all students, ensuring that every student has equal access regardless of their financial situation. To maintain this commitment, we rely entirely on the generosity of Rotary clubs within our district and individuals like you who understand the program's value. But the cost for the staff and family advisors is an out-of-pocket expense. This is where we could use your help!

Your Donation in Action

Every contribution, no matter what size, makes a huge difference. Here's how your donation can directly support this year's program:

$25-50 Helps provide session materials like notebooks, art supplies, and team-building resources
$125 Sponsors a facilitator or volunteer for one day
$200 Funds lunch and supplies for a Family Leader training session (there are 6 of them leading up to the RYLA weekend!)
$300 Covers the cost of our camp nurse for the weekend
$375 Sponsors a family leader, advisor, or facilitator for the entire weekend
$700 Provides all session-related supplies (art products, role play props, s'mores materials, etc.)
$1,000 Funds t-shirts for all participants

The RYLA Impact

RYLA is more than just a weekend away. It's about building confidence, developing leadership skills, creating lasting friendships, and inspiring young people to become agents of positive change in their communities. I have personally witnessed breakthroughs in participants who had life transforming experiences during the weekend!

Your contribution, no matter the size, helps continue this legacy of leadership development for the next generation.

How to Donate

Scan the Venmo QR Code
Send a check to
Kathy Morris
Rockport Rotary Club
2A Jerden’s Lane
Rockport, MA 01966

Can't donate right now? You still have time.

Annual Fund Dollars Saving Ipswich River Watershed

We closed out the grant and wanted to give an update. Over two years, this grant reached over 7500 people via stakeholder trainings, outreach and social media and educated all regarding the need for water conservation as well as providing strategies for individuals and communities to reduce water use. We also developed the water conservation toolkit including creating a website to serve as a landing page for water conservation tools specific to the Ipswich River Watershed in Northeastern Massachusetts. In addition to compiling the material on one webpage, we also developed:

• The Recipe for Resiliency, a ten-step guide to enhanced water conservation for municipal water

• tabling materials to help people engage with the water conservation message at in-person events

• water use stats in each community that uses the Ipswich River Water that can be updated annually

• creation of social media posts highlighting the need for water conservation. These social media

posts were shared with towns to be posted on their social media accounts increasing viewership

• an ArcGIS survey to measure water usage and a dashboard to share the results of household water

use patterns

• personalized flyers for their top 100 water users in Wenham to educate them about their above-

average water usage and strategies to reduce water use in the summer

• And we tracked water use patterns via survey and local water supplier data to understand long-term

trends in community water use patterns.

Our reach was far beyond local, however. For a global grant through The Rotary Foundation, we needed an international sponsor. That sponsor was Ipswich East Rotary in Ipswich England. They visited us in the Fall of 2022 and had their own training session on water conservation. They have brought this message back to their own club and this grant will be featured across England and Ireland in a Rotary Foundation publication to emphasize the need for water conservation in those countries.

Thank you again for all of your support!!! We know a clean, safe and abundant water supply is society's most important resource. We still have a way to go but through our continued collaboration we can make the Ipswich River strong and viable for generations to come!

To make your Annual Fund-SHARE contribution before June 30, you can donate online by clicking here.

Club Announcements

Service Opportunities

The Salem Pantry

April 19 from 11:45-2pm

The Salem Pantry

No volunteers are needed, but you can contact Bill Henning as soon as possible if you are interested in volunteering at the Salem Pantry. Hannah Beth Hembree assures us that they will be able to find something for you to do!

Fun and Fellowship

Boys and Girls Club

Joanne Scott announced that she will be retiring in the near future. Congratulations! There are a few events that she wanted to update the club on:

June 30th- Annual Golf Classic at the Ferncroft
September 10th- Champion for Kids Celebration at the Ledger
November 27th- Annual Wild Turkey Run

Apr 22, 2025

Evening meeting

Evening Meeting!

Apr 29, 2025

Randy Burba

Randy's annual Jamaica Dental Mission

May 06, 2025

The Phoenix School

The Phoenix School Annual Report and Travel Study Trip

View entire list

Member Birthdays

Richard Moore

April 17

Michael McLaughlin

April 19

Gerrit Bradley

April 21

Sue O'Brien

April 22

President

Carolyn Shapiro

President Elect

Ryan Guilmartin

Vice President

Alexander Sanchez

Immediate Past President

Jen Close

Treasurer

Bill Henning

Secretary

Kristen Armstrong

Foundation

Rinus Oosthoek

Membership

Marie Cardillo

Public Image Chair

Ryan Guilmartin

Service Chair

Bill Henning

Director

Gerrit Bradley

Director

Robyn Burns

Director

Timothy Clarke

Director

Adria Duijvesteijn

Director

Scott Grover

Director

Matthew Ingram

Director

Jason Lang

Director

Leslie Levesque

Director

Rinus Oosthoek

Director

Dakota Russell

Director

Ashley Tina

Tuesdays at 12:15 PM

Hawthorne Hotel

18 Washington Square
Salem, MA 01970
United States of America

NOTE: The fourth Tuesday of the month is an evening meeting, beginning at 5:15 p.m. If you are interested in learning more about Salem Rotary, please email president@salemrotary.com.