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06/19/2019 12:00 AMThe East Haven Rotary Club, now celebrating its 80th anniversary, has announced this year’s recipients of its annual Joseph Buonome Memorial Public Safety Awards. This year the club will recognize East Haven Firefighter Ronald Rascati and East Haven Police Officer Dave Torello. As is customary, the awards will be presented at the Rotary’s annual Installation of Officers Dinner, which this year will be held on Thursday, June 27 at Seasons Banquet Facility, 990 Foxon Road in East Haven.
Following a 6 p.m. social hour including appetizers, a buffet dinner will be presented at 7 p.m., with tickets available for $50 per person.
Current President William Richardson will be turning over the gavel to Salvatore Maltese. Also being installed are the following officers: Joan Adamczyk as president-elect; co-secretaries Ashley Lesco and Erica Santiago; co-treasurers Elizabeth Esposito and Cheryl Panzo; and Sergeant at Arms Dave Richardson.
In addition, the club will recognize the winners of two scholarships to high school students and honor them at this year’s dinner event. Each year the club provides a $1,000 scholarship in the name of former member Vincent Balletto, M.D., to a graduating East Haven High School student entering the field of medicine. The winner of this year’s Dr. Balletto Scholarship Award is Christian Deluca.
The club also awards another $1,000 scholarship given to one of last year’s Rotary students of the month. This scholarship was recently renamed by the club as the John “Jack” Leary Memorial Scholarship after longtime Rotarian Jack Leary, who passed away in 2018. Leary was instrumental in the creation of this event and the award will be presented by his wife, Lisa Leary, a former Town Clerk for East Haven. The winner of the award is Cameron Cordaway.
The club was organized on March 3, 1939 and as such is celebrating its 80th anniversary. Since that time the club has remained dedicated and committed to improving the community and citizens of East Haven. Through its annual scholarship program and Student of the Month, the club recognizes and encourages achievement of high school students. Amber Alert Identification cards, Clothe the Children, free Thanksgiving dinners and annual distribution of dictionaries to elementary school children are some of its many local volunteer activities.
The club is marking this significant milestone by the installation of a distinctive, legacy, post clock to be located in front of the Hagaman Memorial Library, which will be dedicated at a ceremony to be held in July on a date and time to be announced. The club is part of Rotary International, which was founded in 1905 and remains the largest service organization worldwide.
The clock will recognize 80 years of community service by the East Haven Rotary. To help with the substantial cost of this project, the club is asking for clock sponsors, which will be recognized on permanent bronze plaques placed on all four sides of its base. Plaque inscriptions are now available for $250 and will be strictly on a first come, first served basis, until all spots are filled.
Tickets for the installation and awards dinner may be obtained on the club’s website www.easthavenrotary.org, from any Rotarian, or by calling Carl Ruggiero at 203-469-5545.