Printer Friendly Version - Planning to Make a Splash with ‘Party at the Pond’

Anthony “Tony” Terry says the upcoming Party at the Pond on Saturday, Sept. 22 will celebrate 90 years of Branford Rotary Club and 50 years of the Branford Rotary Foundation. Photo by Pam Johnson/The Sound

On Saturday, Sept. 22, the Branford Rotary Foundation is set to make a splash with its first major event, Party at the Pond. Proceeds will benefit Smilow Cancer Hospital and Branford Rotary Foundation Scholarship Fund. The party will also recognize the good works of a Branford family that models a philosophy of giving back and community involvement, the Van Wilgens.

The one-of-a-kind event will unfold on a rarely viewed, scenic parcel at a pond behind Van Wilgen’s Garden Center. Imagine a posh party tent, dance floor, and live band, then blend in a pig roast and chicken BBQ, fine wines, craft beers, whimsical auction items, and fun games (like hitting golf balls at floating targets, to be fished out by a canoe-rowing, umbrella-sheltered Rotarian)—and an image of what the organizers have envisioned will start to form.

The party is also a bit of a coming out for Branford Rotary Foundation, which turned 50 in 2018, as well as a celebration of the club’s 90th anniversary, says Branford Rotarian and past foundation president Anthony “Tony” Terry.

“Rotary has a lot of community events, and the foundation is usually a participant, but never the one initiating,” says Tony. “With both anniversaries happening at the same time, we couldn’t resist doing something to recognize that, as well as to honor the Van Wilgen family, and really just to have a good time.”

Tony, an architect (AIA, LEED AP), first joined Branford Rotary Club in 1989, about the same time he founded his Branford-based firm, Terry Architecture, LLC.

“It’s been a great way to get to know people in the town and to get to know the inner workings of the town—the people that are involved in making the wheels go ‘round,” he says. “Right now, I’d say we’re possibly at our strongest. We’ve had a great influx of new members, and it’s been a very impressive influx of talent.”

Tony is proud to be involved with an organization that supports many local, grassroots needs as well as Rotary’s global projects. A group from Branford recently visited two small towns in Kenya, where residents are benefiting from a program Branford Rotary supports, Tony notes.

“There are plenty of experiences available for Rotarians, and some of them are the type of experience you wouldn’t have anywhere else. In my opinion, as a service organization, Rotary is exemplary,” says Tony.

The all-volunteer Branford Rotary Foundation oversees an investment account geared to create a perpetual endowment for foundation giving.

“We harvest from that account, such that anything contributed, in effect, always stays in the account. So if anyone wants to make a donation to the Rotary Foundation, that donation exists in perpetuity,” Tony explains. “We are trying to grow that, and our capacity has grown significantly over the past 20 years.”

In the past five years, for example, Branford Rotary Foundation Scholarship giving has increased three-fold, says Tony.

“We’ve had just extraordinary applications, and part of that [scholarship] growth has been the frustration of not being able to reward all of the applicants. So we’ve gone from funding three scholarships to six. That’s especially significant, from my perspective, [because] we’re supporting the best our community has to offer for the future,” he says. “I think it’s one of the best things we do.”

In 2018, the foundation gave six scholarships to Branford High School (BHS) students totaling $7,500; while Branford Rotary Club contributed an additional $2,500 for three more BHS scholarships.

In this community and beyond, the Van Wilgen family is one that models a “philosophy of philanthropy,” says Tony.

Long-time Rotarian Bill Van Wilgen has served as foundation treasurer for some 24 years and has helped greatly to shepherd its financial growth, says Tony. Tony also credits Bill Van Wilgen with helping to solidify the concept for the Party at the Pond by offering to hold the event on a remote parcel of the Van Wilgen Garden Center property at the Branford/North Branford town lines.

“Over the course of the years [the foundation] has occasionally had meetings out on his property at the ‘back 40’ so to speak [where] they have the pond. It’s a beautiful place spot that no one ever gets to see,” says Tony. “When I first brought up the idea for a celebration, we were discussing the possibility of having an event, and Bill said, ‘Have it at my place.’”

That type of generosity of spirit extends to the entire Van Wilgen family, including Bill’s wife Laurie, who is very active in the community and beyond, and son Ryan, who is the next generation to lead Van Wilgen’s Garden Center and also exemplifies the family’s philosophy of giving back.

Also, as many are aware, Bill Van Wilgen is a male breast cancer survivor and leukemia survivor, and the family has worked to raise awareness and funding, particularly by supporting Smilow Cancer Hospital.

Tony has been involved with planning the Party at the Pond since the idea’s inception, and has continued even after stepping off the foundation board (each member serves five years).

“I was on the board last year when we got started, and we’re overlapping into this year. Ed Vescovi is the current president of the foundation board, and he’ll be playing a role in the event. He has also personally promised it’s not going to rain. It’s something he declares at every [Rotary] event, and it always works!” says Tony.

With its unique setting and the support and imagination of Rotarians and their many connections, the Party at the Pond promises to be a night to remember.

The party gets underway at 5 p.m. on Sept. 22, beneath a huge tent set beside the property’s nine-acre pond. Tickets include pig roast, chicken barbecue, clam chowder, live music by the Muddy Rudders, fine wine, Thimble Island Brewery craft beer, locally sourced vegetables, pies from Rose’s Orchards, Ashley’s ice cream, dancing, games, and a “live and unusual auction,” as Tony describes it.

“We’re having items like a sunset-type tour on the Sea Mist, and some which are particular to the Rotary Club that offer some measure of participation in the things we do in the course of a year. We’re going to keep it on the whimsical side,” says Tony.

For example, one auction item will pull from a Rotary tradition of members riding Van Wilgen’s collection of antique tractors in the annual Branford Tree Lighting parade.

“I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but the lead tractor, which we’re calling the Honeymoon tractor, has two seats, side-by-side—perfect for a couple. So we’re auctioning off the right to lead the parade on the Honeymoon tractor. We’re going to see how much a of a donation people think that’s worth,” says Tony. “To some extent, it’s all in the spirit of donating.”

To another extent, the Party at the Pond is all in the spirit of Rotary, Tony adds.

“We’re just going to pull together, fill the tent, and have a good time. The thing we’re really doing, in a way, is also showcasing the talent of club members,” says Tony. “We’ve got people who are very good at fun and games and thinking up scenarios. Everything we’re bringing in is local, and it’s all being done through connections. That’s one of the most interesting aspects about the Rotary Club. Through the connections of the members, the club becomes a larger entity than itself.”

Branford Rotary Foundation presents the Party at the Pond on Saturday, Sept. 22, at 5 p.m. at Van Wilgen’s Garden Cetner, 51 Valley Road, North Branford. Tickets, $100, are available by registering online at BranfordRotary.org, or email Foundation@BranfordRotary.org for more information. Seating is limited. Proceeds benefit Smilow Cancer Hospital and Branford Rotary Foundation Scholarship Fund.