Date: Fri 05-Jul-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Rotary-Osterman-district

Full Text:

Rotary Installs Ed Osterman As District Governor

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

During a recent telephone conversation, Newtown's Ed Osterman put the caller

on hold to answer another call.

"That was Rotary, of course," he joked as he clicked back over.

For the past 10 years, Mr Osterman has dedicated much of his life to the

causes of Rotary International, known both locally and worldwide for its

philanthropy and service.

At the Fireside Inn Monday night, the Webster Place resident assumed the

position of District 7980's district governor for 1996-97 term with a "Passing

of the Torch" ceremony.

Mr Osterman, Newtown Rotary Club's first ever district governor, replaced last

year's district governor, John "Mac" Leask of Fairfield.

Last month, Mr Osterman was among 515 district governors worldwide who were

confirmed by International Governor Herb Brown of Clearwater, Florida at the

International Rotary Convention in Calgary. It was the largest convention in

the Canadian city since the 1988 Winter Olympics.

At Monday's ceremony, Gov Osterman was honored by several Rotarians, including

Newtown Rotary Club president Paul Dohrenwend, who termed it "a unique

occurrence," in that Newtown has never been the home site of a district

governor.

Past District Governor Leask was on hand to pin Mr Osterman. He wore his

governor's blazer, with a patch that read "Build the Future with Action and

Vision" - the presidential theme during Mr Osterman's term.

As Mr Osterman points out, the future is not tomorrow, it is today's planning,

so his goal will be to emphasize preparing the youth to be tomorrow's leaders.

"The future lies in the new generation, and it is up to us to train them," Gov

Osterman said during his first/inaugural address Monday evening. "We have

programs to train the next generation."

Mr Osterman said his biggest job will be to motivate people.

Referring to the words of Rotary International President Giay, Mr Osterman

pressed his associates to "continue to strive, but reach a little extra

further... I know we can do it... We can do it together. That's what we're

looking for."

Mr Osterman, who thanked his co-members of the Rotary Club of Newtown, said

the job of district governor would be impossible without the help of his wife,

Marguerite. He pointed out that Mrs Osterman does more work for the club than

do many members, even though she is not a member herself.

"No one climbs a mountain without any help," Mr Osterman said, while looking

towards his wife, who was seated at the head table. "And I have had a lot of

help."

Mr Osterman was nominated to the district governor post more than a year ago

and has been working toward assuming the position ever since. It has been a

very busy time for Ed and Marguerite.

"I used to get Saturdays and Sundays off, but not any more," he noted. "It's

like a full-time job."

The next three months will be especially busy for the Mr Osterman. He will be

visiting all 61 clubs in the district, a requirement of all district

governors. He expects to put 30,000 Rotary miles on his car within the next

year.

Twenty-two Rotary clubs were represented at the ceremony, with one noticeable

absence: Danbury. Present were representatives from Newtown, Ansonia,

Bridgeport, Brookfield, Byron/Cos Cob, Darien, Devon, Fairfield, Greenwich,

Hamden, Madison, Milford, Monroe, Naugatuck, New Haven, North Haven,

Ridgefield, Stamford, Tribury (Middlebury, Southbury and Woodbury),

Wallingford, Westport and Woodbridge.

The evening's events, all of which led to the moment Gov Osterman was named

the new district governor, also included cocktails and dinner, Rotary singing,

an invocation, announcements and a short business meeting.

Mr Osterman, a Rotarian for the past 10 years, has been active in every

organization he's ever been a part of, so his work in Rotary comes as no

surprise. After serving as the president of the Newtown club in 1991-92, he

went on to serve on several boards at the district level.

Mr Osterman's district is comprised of the four lower counties of Connecticut,

including 61 clubs and 3,200 Rotarians. The district runs from Greenwich to

Mystic.

Mr Osterman is retired from Uniroyal where he spent 40 years traveling around

the world as a sales representative.

The Ostermans have lived in Newtown for 25 years.

"We just made our last mortgage payment," he noted with a laugh.

Active in local Boy Scouts for more than 30 years, Mr Osterman currently

serves as president of the Newtown Housing for the Elderly, is an active

member of the Newtown Winterset Ski Club and has served on several boards at

St Rose.

The Ostermans have two sons, David who lives in Salt Lake City, and Tom, who

lives in Danbury.

Rotary International's ongoing motto is "Service Above Self." Ed Osterman fits

that to a "T."

Shannon Hicks contributed to this story.