Speakers

Speakers and Program

1/10/2008 : Despite record-cold December temperatures, this year's holiday bell ringing generated a record $19,602 for the Salvation Army. Over 190 local residents gave their time to ring the bell, including members of the Wellesley Kiwanis, Wellesley Rotary,Wellesley Town Employees and elected officials, the Kiwanis-sponsored Wellesley High School Key Club and numerous residents.

Pictured Left to Right, Mark Antonelli, Kiwanis President, John G.
Schuler, Kiwanis Lt. Governor and Bell Ringing Coordinator, Kim
McGhee-Walford, The Salvation Army, Dwin Schuler, Kiwanis Bell
Ringing Coordinator.

On March 22nd, Gayle Barker from the Wellesley Council on Ageing discussed programs in Wellesley for Seniors.

We held our annual St. Patrick's Day Party on March 15th. The luncheon was enjoyed by all and very well attended by both members and visitors. The food and music were great. The kids danced in the middle of the room so that everyone could see their intricate steps and beautiful costumes.

On March 1st, Beth Krimmel, Director of the Wellesley Historical Society, presented and discussed the Society's costume collection. She gave a fascinating talk on the society's efforts to catalog and preserve the collection, and brought with her a number of examples from various eras. Normally, such delicate gowns would not be allowed outside of the Society's headquarters, but Beth wants to ensure that people are aware of their existence (and of the other 1,000 or so other items in the collection). She said the Wellesley society "has one of the richest collections of costumes in the area."

On February 15th, Alexis Frank discussed the successful distribution of donated books to communities in Sri Lanka.

On February 8th, the Wellesley Middle School Jazz Band entertained the Wellesley Kiwanis.

Wellesley's building inspector for the past three years, Mike Grant, spoke to Wellesley Kiwanis on January 18th. Much of his talk was devoted to manzionization and citizens' concerns about the character of the Town's neighborhoods and aesthetics. It isn't all bad, he said. The larger homes raise property values and the tax base and they are likely to be more energy-efficient and up to code compared to older buildings. He also noted that he only implements policy. Those unhappy with the rules need to work with the Planning Board and Town Meeting to change the bylaws.

On January 11th, our featured guest was local Wellesley resident and personality Howie Carr. His reputation as a radio host, author, and columnist drew more than 65 people to the College Club. As always, he was informative and entertaining, covering everything from mob figures to his new WRKO colleague, Tom Finneran. (Want to know how happy he is about that? Read all about it: http://news.bostonherald.com/columnists/view.bg?articleid=176590)

On December 28th, we had a very well-attended meeting in which John Schuler, chairman of our Red Kettle Drive for the Salvation Army, expressed his deep appreciation to all the bell-ringers and donors, and to Roche Bros., which each year offers space for the project. The spectacular result: $18,321 over 24 days. One of our invited guests was 9-year-old Wellesley resident Charlotte Oettgen, who contributed money she had made over the past two years from doing chores and babysitting to the kettle. Charlotte, who came to our luncheon with her mother, turned over the proceeds of the drive to Salvation Army representatives, one of whom was the daughter of Wellesley resident Richard McGhee.

Fourth-graders from the Boston Renaissance Charter School were our guests on December 7th. The smiles on their faces as Santa arrived was something to behold. The kids asked Santa a lot of great questions before they lined up to receive their presents. Thanks to everyone who helped organize and carry out this wonderful annual event.

On November 30th, Marc Alterio spoke to the Kiwanis about programs for children's wellness. He noted that proper nutrition and exercise are not just good for children, but also lead to improved scholastic success. Marc is the retired coordinator of Health & Wellness for the Reading Public Schools and also a member of the Massachusetts Department of Education Interdisciplinary Health Education and Human Services Advisory Council. Back in June, he co-authored a column for the Wellesley Townsman on prevention of childhood obesity.

Our speaker on November 16th was Barbara Levitov, Marketing Manager of the Davis Museum and Cultural Center, located on the Wellesley College campus. Her presentation focused on the museum's mission and collections. Barbara arrived at the Davis Museum and Cultural Center almost a year ago. Unfortunately, visitors will have to wait until summer 2007 to see most of the museum's works as the museum is closed while it undergoes renovations. However, you can get a sense of what's there by going to the website and viewing the on-line catalog.

On November 9th, our speaker was Joel H. Smith, Ph.D., Executive Director of Autism Services Association (ASA). Based in Wellesley, ASA is a private non-profit agency that provides community employment services, day habilitation services and other clinical supports to adults with autism and other developmental disabilities. Joel noted that while there are many programs for Autistic youngsters, the situation changes once they reach 22 years of age. Thus one focus of ASA is to place participants in jobs within the community. A typical placement will include several participants supervised by a job coach all working at one location.

Beth Furman, owner and publisher of WellesleyWeston magazine, spoke to the club on 11/2. She discussed her career in advertising and how an industry downturn in 2001 coupled with a visit to Connecticut one day lead to the creation of the WellesleyWeston magazine. First published in 2004, the magazine is sent free quarterly to every household in Wellesley and Weston with articles covering such topics as home, garden, family, education, and fitness.

On October 12th, Lydia Harman spoke to the Wellesley Kiwanis about Kidsave. This organization is a volunteer-driven organization that is working to move older children out of orphanages and foster care and into permanent, loving families. Children from South America and Russia have been in Wellesley during recent summers as part of their visit to the United States.

Gail Lockberg of the Wellesley Food Pantry spoke to Kiwanis on October 5th. The Pantry has seen a 40% increase in demand over the last year and now serves 140 families in town.