President's Dinner June 17, 2016

Paul Harris Awards

Club members Len Dunstan and Thor Cheyne received community service-based Paull Harris Awards at the June 17th President's Dinner. Joanne Santiago, the Club's Rotary Foundation Committee Chair, called it a "special night" to give out two Paul Harris Fellows.

(Left to Right -  President Gary Miller, Outgoing District Governor Kyong Wilson and new Paul Harris Fellow Len Dunstan)

Len Dunstan was introduced by Peter Vignati who cited Len's class, devotion to family and integrity.  A trusted jeweler in the community for 44 years, Len opened his own store in 1986. He is a Past President of the Connecticut Jewelers Association where he worked on developing technical education programs for his fellow jewelers. He was also involved in establishing an industry code of ethics.

Len is an active member in the Avon Chamber of Commerce and a past board member. He was given the Small Business of the Year Award in 2011. Len's charity work includes "Soldiers to Soldiers," a group that assists veterans. He regularly assists Gifts of Love with their food drives. He is also a Deacon at the West Avon Congregational Church.

Len lives in Canton. He has three children and three grandchildren.

Peter summarized by saying Len "truly lives his life by our four way test."

(Left to Right - Len Dunstan, President Gary Miller, DG Kyong Wilson, Thor Cheyne and Josh Gillooly)

Thor Cheyne was introduced by Josh Gillooly. Thor believes "excellent health, a loving family, financial freedom and good will are pursuits of good men." He adds "hopefully these pursuits are blessed by a higher being."

Thor is President of Medallion Wealth Advisors in Farmington. He has generated proprietary methodologies in the critical area of investment planning portfolio construction, risk controls, asset allocation and investment suitability.

An active coach in youth sports for many years, Thor also served on the Board of the American Red Cross of Farmington for six years. He supports many local charities. He joined the Avon-Canton Rotary in 2012 and served as Golf Tournament Committee Chair for three years.

Thor values his Rotary friendships and says he will continue to strive to meet the Four Way test.

Presidential Citations for Service

President Gary Miller awarded citations to Diana Boorjian, Chuck Joseph, Paul Mikkelson, Linda Pendergast and Steve Roberto.

Nancy Nation Award - Lifetime of Service Above Self

(Left to Right - President Gary Miller and PDG Tom Voorhees)

Tom Voorhees received the second annual Nancy Nation Award. Tom is a long time member of the Avon-Canton Rotary, and he is a Past District Governor of District 7890. Tom has been active in virtually every initiative the Club has undertaken. President Gary particularly pointed out Tom's dedication to the Club's Amber Alert program and stated there would be no Amber Alert without him. President Gary also detailed that Tom's extensive knowledge of Rotary protocols and his extensive work at the District level make him a "tremendous resource" to each and every Club President. Tom's record for Consecutive Years With Perfect Attendance is the Rotary equivalent of Joe DiMaggio's 56 Game Hitting Streak.

Perfect Attendance - '15-'16

(Left to Right - President Gary Miller, Robin DiNicola, Gary Hyde, Dale Bronson, Don Bonner, Craig Buhrendorf, Ann Clark, Tom Voorhees and Phil Worley. Also winning Perfect Attention Recognition were Salin Low, Michael Mezheritskiy, Paul Mikkelson and Les Zinner)

Membership Milestones

(Left to Right - President Gary Miller and Steve Harris receiving his 35 Year Recognition Plaque)

5 Years - Diana Boorjian, Evan Cooper, Capri Frank and Jolly Lux

10 Years - Josh Gillooly, Edgardo Queirolo

15 Years - Larry Haber, Kim Murphy

25 Years - Ike Eickenhorst

35 Years - Steve Harris

Installation of Officers

(Incoming President Don Bonner and family)

District Governor Frank Wargo presided over the swearing-in of the '16-'17 Club Officers.  Governor Frank asserted that "Rotary creates smiles. Smiles can change the world. That is the magic of Rotary."

The new '16-'17 officers are:

President: Don Bonner

President-Elect: Robin DiNicola

Secretary: Mike Mezheritskiy

Treasurer: Gary Hyde

Sergeant-at-Arms: Heather Pantano

The two At Large Board Members will be Craig Buhrendorf and Peter Vignati.

The meeting concluded with a short speech by Don Bonner in which he outlined his goals for the year. President Don stated this will be the year that the Club identifies and moves forward with a "big project." It will be known as the "Rotary Initiative." The Club will also become more active in RYLA, and an Interact Club involving both Avon and Canton will become a reality. Don will also push established members to go out and find new, younger Club members.

Don is "honored to be the Club President." He added that he will "not take the responsibility lightly." He vowed "to grow the impact of Rotary in our community."