By Dan Gilbert

Last Saturday (November 23, 2024), Weston’s Kiwanis Club and the Weston High School Key Club members reached out to customers at Lily’s Weston Market and the Weston Pharmacy to stock the Weston Food Pantry with nutritious and hearty shelf-stable food and personal care products. Weston residents were very generous.  It was wonderful seeing parents and their children donating food and personal care products to help their Weston neighbors.

Anne Bigin, the Food Pantry president, noted, “This past weekend’s food drive brought in over 65 bags of shelf-stable foods and toiletries. In addition to the items purchased or dropped off, we $454 outside of Lily’s, and an additional $340 was donated through Venmo for a total of $794! The food and toiletries drive helps over 70 Weston families with food insecurity. It’s important and necessary to help our neighbors in need, and the Weston Food Pantry appreciates all that Kiwanis does to help our town.”

A good many wonderful volunteers made the drive happen.  Reed Ameden provided the Kiwanis certificate of insurance to Weston Shopping Center Manager Josh Tolk.  Harry Falber submitted information regarding the drive to Ted Craft (Weston Today) and First Selectman Samantha Nestor.  The publicity the drive received was superb.  Anne Bigin brought food bins, a cash jar, lists of needed food and personal care products, and a food drive sign.  Key Club Advisor Dawn Egan coordinated with the Weston High School Key Club for volunteer support.  Allison Lisbon recruited two student volunteers.  Reed Ameden, Dave Burns, and Tom Failla set up and took down Kiwanis branding material (tent, feather flag, food drive sign). 

The Kiwanis volunteers who interacted with shoppers were Karen Chrisley, Bill Flanagan, Dallas Kersey, Carl Urbania, Dave Burns, Tom Failla, Harvey Luft, and Judy Stripp.  Steve Thomas provided invaluable guidance. Allison Lisbon’s son Justin and his friend Skyler Cole moved the food and personal care products to the pantry’s storage area. 

Pictured in the Kiwanis group photograph by Dan Gilbert, left to right: Bill Flanagan, Reed Ameden, Dallas Kersey, Carl Urbania Anne Bigin (President Weston Food Pantry), Annabel Gill, Emily Kreger, India Kreger, Lily Fournier, Paige Macnicki, Antonina Chmiel, Clarice Braun, Grant Mattinson, and Liam Rothlein.

Click or touch the button below to see over twenty pictures of the food drive from Dan Gilbert, Jim McMorris, and Reed Ameden.

Kristin Holden, governor of the Kiwanis New England and Bermuda District, visited the Kiwanis Club of Weston at the club meeting on Saturday, November 9, 2024. Accompanying Kristin to the meeting were the Kiwanis Foundation of New England (KFNE) president and her husband Chris Holden and Ned, the plush New England lobster she’s holding in the nearby photograph.

Kiwanis photograph by Jim McMorris.

Paul Piorek, a New York Emmy award-winning television and radio meteorologist is the guest speaker at the Kiwanis Club of Weston meeting this coming Saturday, November 16, 2024 at 8:30 a.m..

Mr. Piorek is the chief meteorologist at WICC 600 AM and 95.9 FM seven days a week.

Mr. Piorek is the former longtime 25-year morning meteorologist at News 12 Connecticut, where he won four Connecticut Associated Press Broadcasters’ Association awards for “Best Television Weathercast,” five Emmy nominations, and two Communicator Awards of Distinction.

Mr. Piorek is a Fairfield Earth Science and Mathematics teacher and a former Connecticut Teacher of the Year.

Mr. Piorek resides in Fairfield and has two sons, one of whom is a United States Marine.

The public is welcome to attend the weekly meetings of the Kiwanis Club of Weston at Norfield Congregational Church parish hall, 64 Norfield Road, in Weston, Connecticut. All full breakfast is available for $10 and is free for persons expressing an interest in membership on their first visit.

The Kiwanis Club of Weston, Connecticut is an eclectic mix of ages, genders, occupations, backgrounds, and interests. We are all passionate about making Weston and the world a better place for children so they can thrive. We have been serving the children of Weston, Fairfield County, across Connecticut, the country, and worldwide through unique and innovative service projects and fundraising initiatives since 1974. For more information, see our website at westonkiwanis.org.

The photograph is by Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media and appears in the Fairfield Citizen online.

Governor Kristin presented the club with the New England and Bermuda District of Kiwanis International 2024 District Publication Award at the club meeting on Saturday, November 9, 2024.

Kiwaniscope, the club’s (now) award-winning weekly newsletter, was judged on 15 criteria in three categories: general appearance, content, and distribution.

Governor Kristin is pictured with Bob Uzenoff, who accepted the award on behalf of the club.

Kiwanis photographs by Jim McMorris.

Governor Kristin recognized Assistant Secretary Dan Gilbert on behalf of the Kiwanis New England and Bermuda District with the Governor’s Exemplary Club Assistant Secretary Award at the club’s meeting on Saturday, November 9, 2024. Dan earned the award for consistently completing monthly club reports, an important behind-the-scenes report that allows us and Kiwanis International to quantify the good work that we do. That’s how we know that last year, Kiwanians completed more than 7.7 million hours of service and conducted more than 1.3 million projects.

Dan is an involved and active contributing member in many ways but you may not have known about this aspect of his service. Congratulations and well-deserved, Dan!

Kiwanis photograph by Jim McMorris.

By Harvey Luft

On Saturday afternoon, Weston Kiwanis members Harvey Luft and Bob Uzenoff kicked off a season of collaboration with the Weston Women’s League. The WWL’s Trunk or Treat event was a fantastic Halloween celebration held in the parking lot of Weston Intermediate School. Schoolchildren from our town and their parents attended, enjoying fun activities and plenty of candy.

The Weston Women’s League expressed their gratitude for our assistance, as reflected in the email from co-presidents Christine DeCampos Paglierani and Veronica Chavez Lancin that we received, below:

Photographs by Christine DeCampos Paglierani