On June 22, the Rotary Club of Newtown celebrated the annual rite of “passing the gavel” — this year between outgoing two-term president David Freedman and incoming president Alex Villamil.

The event, held at Marygold’s On Main, included dinner for Rotary members, and special guests including First Selectman Dan Rosenthal and Rotary District Governor-elect Jeff Krause.

Following the event, Freedman reflected on his service and the ongoing efforts of the local Rotary club.

“With my Rotary years coming to an end officially June 30th, it is time to ‘pass the gavel’ to Alex Villamil,” he said. “Congratulations to Alex for stepping up to lead an organization that will continue to focus on ‘Service Above Self.’ During the past two years, the club continued to push through to provide the needs to the community, to raise funds, participate in various service projects, and live the motto.”

Freedman noted that Newtown’s Rotary club has been around since 1939, and for 81 years, its presidents served a one-year term.

“Then COVID came, and in our 82nd year and for the first time in history, we voted to extend another year for the president’s term, and I am grateful for their decision and their trust in my leadership,” the outgoing leader said.

He recalled that the club and its members progressed through 2019 smoothly with regular weekly meetings, the club’s student of the month programs, commitments to help fund local nonprofits, and its ongoing connection and work with Dorothy Day Hospitality house.

“Then came 2020 — the COVID year. I know 2020 was a challenge. We had to pivot everything we do, from face-to-face meetings to Zoom to finding ways to raise funds for our commitment to local organizations and keeping our members engaged. Certainly not an easy task,” Freedman said. “In 2019 we funded $30,000 to local and regional nonprofits. But when 2020 hit, we recognized that we couldn’t raise funds the traditional way and made the difficult decision to cut back on our giving.

“But we still were able to provide nearly $19,000 in funding to local organizations. We established a COVID-19 utility fund to help families who were struggling to pay their utility bills; we partnered with Newtown Helping Hands and quietly delivered food to families in Newtown at the peak of the pandemic; we packaged and served nearly 400 homeless individuals at Dorothy Day House; and we donated $5,000 to continue our fight against the eradication of polio around the world.”

Delivering PPP

Newtown Rotarians and supporters also donated and delivered 3,000 medical masks to first responders across the Newtown community, and in partnership with the Rotary Club of Monroe and Woodbridge Rotary Club, protective mask donations were dispatched to several locations in India: FXB India Suraksha, High Flats Pitampura, and the Utam School for Girls in Ghaziabad.

“This year, the Connecticut Rotary distributed over a million personal protective equipment masks to Rotary clubs throughout New England,” Freedman said. “Several towns and clubs took advantage of this generosity and distributed to senior centers and schools. The towns involved in this distribution [Monroe, Newtown, and Woodbury] had more than they needed and decided to give [the] masks to the emerging COVID-19 crisis in India, paying it forward internationally.”

Picking up the conversation and looking forward, Villamil pledged that the club will continue to support its traditional initiatives.

“We will also introduce a few others that I hope will take root and become staples of what we do for our community,” he said. “Now that the threat of COVID-19 has receded, I would like to amplify our exposure in Newtown. To reach out to local businesses, organizations, and other Rotary clubs. We want to team up and create projects to benefit our communities.”

Villamil sees Rotary benefiting from becoming more involved in more of these collaborations.

“Now that Rotary International has desig­nated the environment and social justice as areas of focus, I plan on doing just that. As my wife — who is, as some of you may know, an ardent environmentalist and literally my conscience on all things dealing with the environment — says, ‘There is no planet B. We have to do what we can for this one, and we have to do our part to ensure that our children and grandchildren have a livable planet.’ I couldn’t agree more.”

Regarding potential social justice involvement, Villamil acknowledged, “We live in a divided world, so we need to set an example at least in our town. Our membership is made up of different ethnic backgrounds, genders, denominations, political parties — yet we [must] work together for the common good. At every possible opportunity, we need to project that our diversity is our strength. Our different backgrounds provide myriad solutions to solve common problems.”

Villamil believes that to set the tone as leaders in Newtown, “We need to foster this inclusiveness whenever possible. To invite like-minded people to join our ranks, and together, ensure that Newtown is truly a ‘nicer Newtown.’

“It’s been a long year. It is time to re-engage,” the incoming Rotary official concluded. “I look forward to getting us out there and doing, collaborating, and teaching by example what ‘Service above self’ is all about.”

Learn more the club’s plans at facebook.com/newtownctrotaryclub. For volunteer information, visit portal.clubrunner.ca/4876.

Associate Editor John Voket can be reached at john@thebee.com.