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10/11/2017 08:30 AMIn 2013, Kerry Haynes joined Branford Rotary and a great group of people fulfilling Rotary’s motto of “Service Above Self.”
As a Branford native, Kerry well remembers growing up with the presence of Rotarians and Branford Rotary events and programs supporting this town, just as Branford Rotary continues to do today. That’s why Kerry highly recommends Rotary as a great group to join—and there’s no time like the present. On Wednesday, Oct. 25, Branford Rotary hosts a night for potential new members to learn more while enjoying an evening of camaraderie and appetizers at Thimble Island Brewery. The event takes place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the brewery, 16 Business Park Drive.
“It’s a great way to feel out what Rotary has to offer. If people come and ask questions, they’re bound to find something that they can connect to, and the bigger the club, the more diverse the membership, the more things that we’re going to be able to contribute to. That’s why we’re really excited to be able to host this membership drive,” says Kerry, now in her second year serving on Branford Rotary’s Board of Directors.
“I think people know Branford Rotary because you always see Rotary at everything! Whether it’s Week of the Young Child or the annual Holiday Senior Dinner, you see that Rotary symbol,” says Kerry.
Branford Rotary pitches in to help support the Branford Early Childhood Collaborative (BECC) annual Week of the Young Child’s One Book, One Town initiative each spring. Each December, Rotarians don blue aprons with the gold Rotary symbol to serve up a festive holiday dinner members make for Branford’s senior citizens, who arrive early and fill First Congregational Church’s Pilgrim Hall.
Members also put the aprons on to cook and serve a special meal to area military veterans at Rotary’s annual Veterans’ Day Luncheon, and wear them when ringing for donations at Salvation Army red kettles around town each holiday season.
Rotarians ride the fleet of antique tractors in Branford’s Holiday Parade and sponsor events including the annual Branford Rotary/Soundview YMCA 5K (held on Thanksgiving Day at Walsh Intermediate School). They cook and serve for local causes including Take a Vet Fishing and Patricia C. Andriole Family Day, and raise funds at Rotary’s popular food tent at the Branford Festival.
There’s even more to the list, says Kerry, such as Rotary’s annual Classic Car Show each August and the annual golf tournament in September.
“I started to write a list, just off the top of my head, of all the events and organizations we work with on a local level, and the list just keeps going,” she says. “The volunteer work of Rotary raises money for so many local causes. We also support Rotary’s international [efforts], like the campaign to eradicate polio, which is a huge Rotary initiative on the international level.”
More than 80 members strong and growing, Branford Rotary was founded on Oct. 15, 1928 and will celebrate its 90th anniversary in 2018 Branford Rotarians gather for a monthly breakfast meeting on Wednesdays, 7:15 to 8:30 a.m. at The Parthenon Diner), and Kerry says she leaves each meeting energized and ready to help Rotary continue its goods works.
“It’s a tremendous group of people,” says Kerry. “There’s something about when you leave a Rotary meeting; you feel like, ‘I’m going to do something great today.’ We’re a great mix of individuals, and we all bring something to the table. It just amazes me—we’ll find something that needs to be done, and we’ll find a way to do it.”
That can-do attitude is part of Rotary’s brand of “leadership, integrity, and fellowship,” says Kerry.
“There is a level of commitment; Rotary is group of do-ers,” says Kerry. “It really is about ‘Service Above Self.’”
The all-volunteer organization is composed of local business and professional leaders, many of whom live and/or work in Branford. Kerry started off with Rotary during her 17 years working at BHcare (she’s now going back to graduate school to complete her master’s degree in social work). She now works as part of the Town of North Branford Parks & Recreation Department, which she joined more than a year and a half ago to serve as part-time Senior Center program coordinator.
“Interestingly, I work with the North Branford Rotary through North Branford [Seniors], on events like the town Tree Lighting ceremony and our Senior Picnic we have in North Branford. The North Branford Rotarians are just a great group of people,” says Kerry. “When I shifted jobs to North Branford, North Branford Rotary just kind of adopted me in North Branford.”
Kerry grew up in Branford (she’s a member of the Branford High School Class of ’95) and settled here with her husband, Jeff, to raise their family. In addition to her volunteer work with Rotary, Kerry has volunteered with the Community Dining Room for 25 years and is board member for Feed Branford Kids (Kerry notes the board also includes two other Rotarians, Patricia Andriole and Carol Stewart).
She’s thrilled to be a part of Branford Rotary so that her children, Hanna, 6, and Jeffrey, almost 4, can share in Rotary events and programs and experience the community spirit Rotarians bring to this town.
“I love this community,” says Kerry. “I love the town that I have grown up in; I love the town that I continue to live in, and that I can continue to help as a member of Branford Rotary.”
To learn more about Branford Rotary, visit www.branfordrotary.org. If interested in joining, attend Branford Rotary’s Membership Event on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at Thimble Island Brewery, 16 Business Park Drive, Branford, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. For more information, email Traci Knapp at tlknapp@comcast.net or Milt Baisley at mjbaisley@aol.com.