Carla Becerra Sabrera and Thomas Okubo, Yale Rotaract Club
Carla is a senior at Yale studying biology and global health. She is from Virginia and serves as President of Yale Rotaract.
Thomas is a sophomore at Yale majoring in either biology or biomedical engineering. He is from Michigan and serves as the Treasurer of Yale Rotaract.
Carla and Thomas will speak to us about the Rotary Global Grant project to strengthen maternal and neonatal care in Cajamarca, Perú. The project will equip the Simón Bolívar Hospital—which serves over 350,000 residents but has only five neonatal beds—with vital-signs monitors and CPAP systems for newborns at risk from preventable complications.
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 - January 9
Susan Filan
Susan Filan gave us an engaging talk about the wake-up call she received (being run over by a car and having a near-death experience) being the catalyst to change her life for the better. She is now a coach who helps others transform their lives and speaks to groups.
Steve Violette was our Opener and talked about how important it is to let our loved ones know what we would like to happen after our deaths.
Not only did our speaker pick the winning raffle ticket, she won the raffle! Susan was very excited about all the fun attic prizes from the Mathias family!
Kick off the new year with inspiration, great ideas, and a few “aha!” moments at our District Assembly on January 24, 2026, from 7:45 AM to 2:15 PM at the Albert Schweitzer Institute at Quinnipiac University.
This annual gathering brings together club leaders, new members, and anyone excited to make good things happen. Come ready to learn, connect, swap bright ideas, and leave feeling energized for the year ahead. Networking, teamwork, and plenty of Rotary spirit included—no extra charge for the smiles.
There will be a session specifically for newer members, given by the District Governor Nominee, Julia Kushigian-Secor.
WSR Members Serving Dinner at the Gillespie Center on January 3, 2026
Alma Sarelli and Stan Plominski enjoyed their turn serving dinner at the Gillespie Center!
New Rotary Book Club starting in February
Yvonne Senturia and Eileen Lavigne are reconstituting the Rotary Book Club--please join us!
Here are the details of our first meeting: The book is All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall, the Westport Reads 2026 selection. Monday, February 16th, 5:30pm. Light dinner followed by discussion. Yvonne and Ron’s home—17 Blue Ribbon Drive, Westport Rotary members and spouses/significant others welcome (Rotary member does not need to be present!) The Library has plenty of copies of the book in print and electronic format available to check out. The author is speaking about the book at the Library 3 days later, on February 19th. Click here for more info on that. RSVP to Eileen at elavigne@gmail.com We hope to see you there!
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.
Meal Servers Schedule February 7, 2026 Joe Watson Yvonne Senturia March 7, 2926 Rachelle Norzelus TBD 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
January 9 Violette
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
January Jaffe; Appleby
February Masumian; Jean-Baptiste
March Fritz; Zdanowicz
April Mandell; Violette
May Monroy-Smith; Zielinski
June Wetmore; Summers
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
April
3: NO MEETING - GOOD FRIDAY/PASSOVER
10: Horizons Academy
17: Samantha Sarelli, Ms. Globe USA 2005, social activist
