Rachel Precious has called Westport home since 1994. After graduating from Staples High School in 2006, she went on to earn a degree in Conservation Biology from UMass Amherst. Her career path has always centered on protecting the environment and building stronger communities, from seasonal conservation work to her current role as a small business owner in sustainable aquaculture.
Rachel spent five years farming oysters around southwestern Connecticut, including in Westport's Mill Pond. Today, she runs her own oyster catering business and is in the process of building her very own oyster restaurant. She also serves as the volunteer Chair of the Connecticut chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, sits on Senator Chris Murphy’s Long Island Sound Advisory Council, and leads an adaptive climbing club at her local rock climbing gym, making outdoor recreation more accessible to all.
The Club Calendar is at the end of this newsletter. Please refer to it to see the meeting schedule, social events and more. It will be updated when speakers and events are added.
The updated Greeters and Openers schedule is also near the end of the newsletter, so please check to see if you are on there!
Friday Meeting - December 12
Kevin Decker, Ocean Aero
Kevin Decker spoke to us via Zoom about his company, Ocean Aero. What they do:
“We bring the ocean and its data to you, with novel hardware and software that is revolutionizing maritime exploration. Ocean Aero has created the world’s first and only environmentally powered Autonomous Underwater and Surface Vehicle (AUSV), the TRITON, that collects data both above and below the ocean’s surface and relays it to you from anywhere, at anytime.”
Here is a shot of the TRITON doing its job.
Paul Keblish was our Opener on Friday, December 12.
Alma Sarelli was the raffle winner and she was very pleased by the variety of the Mathias attic prizes!
Alma even shared one of her attic prizes with Steven Chin - nothing personal of course!
We had great attendance last Friday, and here we are saying the Pledge of Allegiance to start the meeting.
GUESTS LAST MEETING:
Kevin Decker, Speaker on Zoom
Kensley Laguerre, guest of Mark Mathias
Steven Savides, guest of Mark Mathias
David Keeton, guest of Katie Augustyn
GILLESPIE CENTER COOKING / SERVING SCHEDULE
One of our club’s ongoing and rewarding commitments to community service is our commitment to serving dinner meals on the first Saturday of each month at the Gillespie Center here in Westport.
We are back to serving meals at the newly renovated Gillespie Center. We have the option to drop off prepared meals at 4:30 PM or to bring meals to serve in person at 4:40 PM (allow extra time if the meals need to be reheated). Meal service should include a main dish, side dish, vegetable, and dessert (no nuts or shellfish please). The number of meals to provide, currently 25, will be confirmed to you to in advance when it is your turn to serve.
If you choose to drop off prepared meals at 4:30 PM you have the option to prepare homemade meals, purchase prepared meals at the store/restaurant of your choice, or you can contact Fresh Market on the Post Road in Westport where you can purchase prepared meals (protein, two sides and cookies for $7 - $10 per meal). If you choose the Fresh Market option call Tory at 203 227-2910 on the Monday prior to your meal service to place your order. You can pay for the meals when you pick them up.
If you are unable to work on your assigned Saturday you will be responsible to call other Rotarians on the list to switch dates.
January 3, 2026 Alma Sarelli Stan Plominski February 7, 2026 Joe Watson Mazie Zdanowicz March 7, 2926 Rachelle Norzelus Yvonne Senturia April 4, 2026 Joe Renzulli Mark Mathias May 2, 2026 Steven Chin Matt Mandell June 6, 2026 Joe Scordato Paul Keblish July 4, 2926 BBQ
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Join Date
Anil Nair
May 1, 2009
17 years
Ron Holtz
May 1, 1991
35 years
Mark Mathias
May 3, 2003
23 years
Paris Looney
May 3, 2019
7 years
Liz Wong
May 4, 2012
14 years
MEETING OPENERS SCHEDULE
December 5 Holtz
12 Keblish
19 Wetmore
January 9 Mullen
16 Nair
23 Sarelli
February 6 Press
13 Fritz
20 Watson
March 6 Senturia
13 Bernhard
20 Renzulli
27 Klein
April 10 Summers
17 Augustyn
GREETERS SCHEDULE
December Augustyn; Ezzes
January Jaffe; Appleby
February Masumian; Jean-Baptiste
March Fritz; Zdanowicz
April Mandell; Violette
May Monroy-Smith; Zielinski
June Wetmore; Summers
2025
December
5: Carmen Colon, CEO and President, Pacific House
10: Holiday Party
12: Kevin Decker, CEO, Ocean Aero
19: Rachel Precious, Precious Oysters
26: NO MEETING
2026
January
2: NO MEETING
9: Susan Filan, Motivational Speaker
16: Carla Bercerra Sabrera, Yale Rotaract Club
23: Netta Levy, Lifecare Concierge
30: NO MEETING
February
6: Lexi Shereshewsky, The Azraq Education Fund
1: Laurence A. Caso, The Klein Memorial Auditorium, Bridgeport
20: Ceci Maher, State Senator
27: NO MEETING
March
6: Gavin MacMahon, FassForward 13: Ckiff Sirlin, Buy Build Fund 20: Bill Harmer, Westport Library Common Ground 27: Sharon Walker Epps, Rowan Center
