Welcome to the Rotary Club of Middleboro

 
Are you an established professional who wants to make positive changes in your community and the world? Our club members are dedicated people who share a passion for community service and friendship. Becoming a Rotarian connects you with a diverse group who share your drive to give back.
Home Page Stories
Join us this Wednesday, January 8th at 6:15pm at the Fireside Grille in Middleboro as science writer and award-winning author Michelle Cusolito shares her behind-the-scenes stories about scientific research at sea. Her latest book, A Window Into the Ocean Twilight Zone: Twenty-Four Days of Science at Sea, brings readers along on a three-week journey to the North Atlantic with scientists and engineers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to study the ocean twilight zone with cutting-edge technologies. Learn about how research is conducted at sea, Michelle’s personal experiences out on the ocean, and the creation of the book. Michelle’s talk begins with a reading accompanied by photos and videos from the expedition followed by a short presentation. Q and A follows. Learn more about Michelle at michellecusolito.com.
 
It took three cold & blustery hours!  Jake Quevillon, 17, recently offered his community service hours to help restock the eight little book boxes sponsored by the Middleboro Rotary Club. He visited each book box, rearranged the stock and added books for adults and children.
The Middleboro Rotarians, their family and friends were hosted by Brockton Rotarians the Iolli’s of Lakeville for our annual Yankee Swap.  The purpose of the gathering is to enjoy the camaraderie of such a great group, the excellent food & conversation and to ‘gift’ the most egregious and/or funny wrapped present to the ‘lucky’ recipient!  The laughter was real and frequent. Of course, once unwrapped and examined, that person had the option of keeping the gift or swapping it with another previously displayed. Some years ago the most memorable ‘gift’ opened was a live chicken!  That theme has been carried forward each year since in the form of a rubber chicken!  The recipient of that 'honor' at the end has the responsibility to assure it finds its way under the tree again, next year. 
 
Left to Right in group photo:  Albert Mui, Johnathon Mui, Mimi Duphily, Willy Duphily, Ron Schmidt, Bob Saquet, Matt Bruce, Peter Regas, Karen Regas, Cherie Kostant, Quack, Penny Quackenbush, Karen Iolli, Gino Iolli; kneeling - Kevin Schmidt, Steve Quevillon and Qaiden Gordon - Quack's grandson.  Not shown - Larry Kostant taking the photo. 
During each year our Middleboro Rotary donates funds to the Sacred Heart Food Pantry to assist our less fortunate.  Then we step up our efforts each year at this time by personally baking Cranberry bread loaves for the Food Pantry for the Holidays.  This year our scribe and Cranberry bread coordinator, Bob Saquet of Eggers Furniture, delivered our > 300 Cranberry breads to Dave Cunningham @ Sacred Heart Food Pantry who does one fantastic job providing sustenance to between 300 and 400 families every week...all year long. Our thanks to Dave for all his efforts throughout the year, to our Rotarians for their baking skills and, to Bob for being the engine behind the Giving.
Each year Rotary Club of Middleboro members, as well as family and friends, gather at ‘My Brothers Keeper’ in Dartmouth to select and wrap presents for those who would otherwise not have a Christmas.  This year was extra special...
 
(Group photo - L to R ... Quack, Pen, Nicole, Lucas, Steve & Mike)
At the start of our meeting on December 4th, President Matt presented a plaque of appreciation to Mike Deering who, along with his wife Erin, owns the Fireside which has hosted our Rotary Club for the past 5 years. Mike and Erin are Middleboro High grads and shared that they are happy to do what they can for our club.  We are grateful for Mike and Erin's support, along with the wonderful staff at the Fireside.
 
 
Amateur astronomer Mike Renzi of Lakeville is serious about his hobby and was happy to share his story and photos with us at our Dec. 4th meeting. He built his own observatory at his Lakeville home of 17 years. As a ten-year old he was captivated by the movie, “2001, A space odyssey”. The science inspired him to learn coding so he could track the celestial bodies.
Come join us on Saturday, November 23rd, at 12:00pm for the dedication ceremony for our second Rotary Peace Pole that was recently "planted" at Pierce Playground. We hope to see you there!!!  Thank you to Willy, Mike and Quack for your efforts.  What is a Peace Pole?  Read on to find out...
On Saturday 16 November 2024 our Rotary co-Presidents Matt and Emma Bruce and our Area 4 Assistant District Governor J. Kevin Quackenbush visited the Robbins Museum at their annual meeting.  We presented their President, Vic Mastone, & V.P. Gregory Lott with a donation check for $250.00 , which will be doubled by a Massachusetts Archaeological Society (MAS) benefactor.
 
You can start the holiday season on a charitable note by donating on Giving Tuesday, 3 December.  Why should Rotary be your charity of choice?
 
Because our 1.2 million members see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.  Here are six reasons to donate to Rotary...
Rotary Club of Middleboro thanks Greg Lott - V.P. and Archaeologist @ the Robbins Museum - for collaborating with us to provide a Night of Archaeology for our group and Our Community.  More than 25 of us, including Alex a budding archaeologist, enjoyed Greg sharing his knowledge and stories of the pre-history of our area going back approximately 12,000 years. There was pizza for all and questions from many. Greg answered each, offering examples whenever possible.
 
Every year the Rotary Club of Middleboro participates in the Indoor Ride to End Polio.  All funds raised are matched 2-to-1 by the Gates Foundation in support of Rotary's efforts to eradicate polio from the face of the earth.  Thanks to our intrepid team of Rotarians - Sue, our instructor Jodie, Bob, Willy, Matt and Ron - for riding to raise awareness that polio still exists in the world and funds to help Rotary eradicate it.
Come join us this Sunday, September 15th, at 12:30pm for the dedication ceremony for our very first Rotary Peace Pole. Earlier this month a small team of dedicated Rotarians planted this Peace Pole at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Middleborough at 25 S. Main Street.  We hope to see you at the dedication ceremony!!!  What is a Peace Pole?  Read on to find out...
Have you ever wanted to learn more about how we use our Charitable and Educational Foundation funds?  The RAYEs program (Rotary Advancing Youth in Education) is a shining example of Rotary in action and a beneficiary of funding by our Rotary club.  Check out this excerpt from an interview with Derek Thompson, Principal of the Henry B. Burkland Elementary School, hosted by our very own Matthew Bruce, past President of the Middleboro Rotary Club.
 
Click HERE to see the full interview.
 
 
 
Community Service ... Our Rotary Club of Middleboro engages in it in many ways all year long.  Most recently it was in the clean up & beautification of the John F. Glass memorial island that we adopted.

We added seasonal touches last fall -- cornstalks & pumpkins - and followed that up with a large snowman for the winter.  So this Spring week on May 1st we gathered there as a group, tools in hand and with many flowers and plenty of mulch and set to work

Special thanks to Heather, a nearby neighbor, who also brought plants and her helping hands. And, since it takes a Village, special thanks also to the couple walking by who stopped to inquire of our efforts and then offered their assistance and pitched right in!   That's what it's all about!!

We hope to have more Middleboro citizens join us for our next round coming soon. Check us out here and on Facebook, or just Ask Quack!!!
Our meeting this week on Wednesday, May 1st, will be held at 5:30pm at our adopted island across from the Nellie Rose in Middleboro, at the 5-way intersection of Center Street, Everett Street, Station Street and Center Ave. - weather permitting, of course.  So far it looks like the weather should hold out.  Our plan is to tidy up and plant some spring flowers, then head over to one of the nearby restaurants for dinner and camaraderie.  All are welcome!!  No green thumb required....
This week, in lieu of our regular meeting on Wednesday April 3rd, we will be attending a fundraising event for the Lane family of Middleboro.

The Networking Group USA and the Cranberry Country Chamber are hosting a fund-raiser to benefit the family of fire victim Jasmine Lane at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 3 at Loon Pond Lodge, 28 Precinct St., Lakeville.
 
Monetary donations of any amount will be accepted. Those donating $1,000 or more will be recognized at the event and on social media.
 
Tickets are $25 at the door. The event features live music, cash bar, food, raffles and a silent auction.
 
All costs are covered, so all proceeds will benefit the family.
 

THANK YOU for helping make the Rotary Club of Middleboro’s 35th Annual Auction a big success!!
 
Thank you to our auction sponsorsWPLM Easy 99.1 FM, Grants Rental, Fat Cousins and Williams Trading Post  – for helping us support the Middleboro and surrounding communities and enabling us to continue to engage in local projects as well as support other local non-profit agencies and Rotary International’s worldwide programs.
 
THANK YOU to all of the donors and bidders, without you this auction would not have been possible.
 
And CONGRATULATIONS to all the winning bidders!  If you haven’t already, you can log into your account on the auction website and pay for your items before arranging to collect them.  Winners can collect your items by contacting our Auction Co-Chair, Robert Saquet, at Egger’s Furniture – the phone number is (508) 947-0680 and they are located at 177 Center Street in downtown Middleboro.
 
Any questions can be emailed to us at middlebororotaryauction@gmail.com.
On January 31st instead of our regular meeting we all gathered at Soule Homestead where they graciously loaned us their kitchen so we could make lasagnas for Lasagna Love.  This is such a wonderful organization - borne out of love and kindness at the height of COVID, it resonates with people so much it has transformed into an international movement of kindness, impacting thousands of volunteers and recipient families each week.  We couldn't be more excited to volunteer with this amazing organization...
On January 10th we had the pleasure of meeting Missy Garlisi as our guest speaker.  Missy Garlisi is the Membership Chair for District 7950.  She is also a successful real estate agent and instructor for Keller Williams. Her late dad was a long time Rotarian and Paul Harris Fellow.  Missy earned a Paul Harris in 2009 and again in 2022.  She has served on the district membership committee since 2017 and has chaired it since 2020—the Covid year which was a real challenge.
Missy brought us some good points about what motivates people to join Rotary... 
I am privileged to be a member and past president [2020-2021] of the Middleboro Rotary club and honored to be the Assistant District Governor [AG] of our area 4, District 7950.
 
Our heartfelt Thanks to Willy & Mimi Duphily for inviting us to their farm, again this year, to hold our Middleboro Rotary club Induction gathering.
On Thursday, July 20th, the Rotary Club of Middleboro helped to sponsor this year's Family Day held at Conway House in Middleboro.
 
Conway House is a local homeless shelter for women and children offering advocacy, counseling by referral, a community kitchen, some clothing, medical care nearby, a day program and transportation.  They are located at 14 East Grove Street in Middleboro.  This year's Family Day was well attended, and they were able to provide bags of clothes, toys and other items for the children thanks to generous donations form the community.
The Rotary Club of Middleboro is proud to be a sponsor of this year's Middleboro PrideFest!  There will be lots of vendors, raffles, live music, food and a wine/beer garden by the Bartending Service of New England!  This event will be held on Saturday, June 24th from noon to 4:00pm on the Middleboro Town Hall Lawn.  If you are interested in participating as a vendor or if you have any questions, please contact:  middleboropride@gmail.com.
 
 
Our current Club Secretary, Bob Saquet, met David Stalk, President of the Forfar Rotary Club in Scotland.  Notice the official regalia, and Bob was presented with their banner. Two interesting speakers - one spoke about donating loads of food and toiletries for Ukraine and a woman from Australia spoke about her work to bring health and sanitation to remote villages in Nepal.
 
Next week they will hold their “hand-over meeting “ and tonight’s meeting ended with a toast to Rotary International.
 

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    Speakers
    James McGrail
    Jan 15, 2025 6:15 PM
    Middleboro Town Manager
    Joel Kopke
    Jan 29, 2025 6:15 PM
    Assistant District Governor, and Disctric Governor Nominee (26-27) for District 7950
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