We are delighted to welcome Debbie Elcock as the newest member of the Rotary Club of Avon-Canton. She was introduced by membership chair Peter Vignati and officially received by President Sue Budde on January 9, 2026.
Debbie was born in Avon, CT and after graduating from Avon High School, attended Connecticut College in New London, where she received her BA in Mathematics and the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College where she received her MBA.
After Dartmouth, Debbie accepted a position with the MITRE Corporation in McLean, VA, where she conducted environmental policy analysis for the next several years. In 1980, she took a leave of absence to join three friends and set sail on a 41-foot sloop for a 10-month adventure starting on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal, and — after spending time in the Galapagos, Marquesas, Society Islands, Samoa, and Fiji — finishing in New Zealand. There, she and one of the friends hitchhiked for seven weeks, meeting the most delightful people — providing her with an appreciation for the country that surpassed its beauty.
Following her tenure at MITRE, Debbie ventured into the realm of commercial real estate. After five years in that arena, and wanting to return to the environmental field, she joined Argonne National Laboratory (one of 17 US Department of Energy National Laboratories that perform scientific and technological research) in Washington, DC. While at Argonne, more than 40 of her peer-reviewed journal articles and technical reports were published, and she often presented her work in various locations across the globe. Frequently, she spent additional time in these locales, building a love for travel that has culminated in visits to more than 50 countries.
During a 1980s cross country ski trip, Debbie met her future husband, Sy Bloom. Together they have traveled extensively, with adventures ranging from riding a repurposed NATO rocket launcher in Iceland, to hiking through the clouds to Machu Picchu, to being mesmerized by the Dalai Lamas’ Potala Palace in Tibet.
Until Debbie retired, and a shoulder injury forced Sy to sell his dental practice, they remained in DC. Finally, fed up with the traffic, congestion, and hassles endemic to the area, and no longer needing to be there, they relocated to Avon — moving back in to Debbie’s childhood home.
Besides travel, Debbie enjoys reading, gardening, and trying to stay fit. Debbie looks forward to volunteering, reaching out to those in need, and “being active in the community working with fellow Rotarians."
We are delighted to welcome Debbie Elcock, an enthusiastic fellow Rotarian and a new member of the Rotary Club of Avon-Canton.