Carmen Colon is the President and CEO of Pacific House in Stamford, a leading organization dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness in Fairfield County. She is also an active member and Past President of the Bridgeport Rotary Club.
Carmen spent most of her professional life, over 30 years, at the Central Connecticut Coast YMCA. Her tenure as Vice President of all Bridgeport Y’s, a branch of the Central Connecticut Coast YMCA, which saw remarkable growth and included the management of a 300-unit permanent supportive housing portfolio.
Her wealth of experience in non-profit leadership and community service has led to significant and innovative contributions to the non-profit sector, particularly in the areas of housing development, running shelters, strategic planning, and community engagement.
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 - November 21
Evonne Klein
Evonne Klein, who served as the first Commissioner of Housing for the State of Connecticut, spoke to us abaut the topic of affordable housing.
Liz Wong was our Opener at the last meeting, and she shared all the things she loves about Westport Sunrise Rotary!
Mazie was amazed by the cool attic prizes Mark Mathias supplied, along with Liz's bottle of wine, for the raffle prize.
Ken Bernhard arrived just in time for his deadpan delivery of the Joke of the Day.
The Big Fall Book Sale in the Westport Library is coming up December 5 - 8, 2025, with set-up Dec. 3 and 4 and takedown on Dec. 9. They are asking Sunrise Rotary members and family and friends to please volunteer -- you can sign up here: https://signup.com/go/moftSDr
Let's have fun, celebrate the friendships, and the hard work.
Payment upon your RSVP by cash, check, or Venmo @Katie-Augustyn-2
Payment will not be accepted on site. Please pay beforehand, or the club will get charged.
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 Mark 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 Mark Mathias April 4, 2026 Joe Renzulli Yvonne Senturia May 2, 2026 Steven Chin Matt Mandell June 6, 2026 Joe Scordato Paul Keblish July 4, 2926 BBQ
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
George Masumian
December 16
Matthew Mandell
December 18
Join Date
Eric Zielinski
December 1, 2004
21 years
Dave Press
December 14, 2007
18 years
Anil Nair
December 27, 2016
9 years
Tom Ayres
December 31, 2001
24 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
