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Rotary Foundation
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Welcome to our Club!
Service Above Self
We meet In Person
Wednesdays at 12:15 p.m.
The Sea Star
431 East Main Street
Riverhead, NY 11901
United States of America
Riverhead, NY 11901
United States of America
Our club was treated to some extraordinary guests at our meeting Wednesday, December 7. Members of the Town of Riverhead's America 250 Committee presented the plans for our town's celebrations marking our nation's semiquincentennial anniversary, beginning with the Red White and Blue Ball on January 23.
Club president Randy Morreale is joined above by Town Chief-of-Staff Debi Burkowsky, Councilwoman Joann Waski, member-at-large Meaghan Howard, Councilwoman Denise Merrifield and the President of East End Tourism Alliance Bryan DeLuca. Plans not only include festive gatherings, parade and fireworks, but also banners and stars to adorn our Town. We've been asked to spread the word and share the excitement...and to consider some sponsorships of our own!
The Rotary Club of Riverhead is again pleased to be able to offer
graduating high school students who live within the Riverhead Central School District
the opportunity to be awarded a scholarship for their college education.
graduating high school students who live within the Riverhead Central School District
the opportunity to be awarded a scholarship for their college education.
Application deadline is MARCH 20, 2026 - no exceptions
Scholarships Available
Bruce Stark Memorial Scholarship ~amount varies each year; last year was $25,000 paid out over 4 years. A or B average, varsity sports participation, community activities, business or financial per year for four years: Outstanding academic record, community service, extracurricular activities, and financial need.
Riverhead Rotary Scholarship ~ $8,000 award paid $2,000 per year. Outstanding academic achievement, community service, extracurricular activities, and financial need.
Tara J. Malanga Memorial Scholarship ~ $4,000 paid $1,000 per year for 4 years varsity sports participation (special emphasis on basketball or lacrosse) community service, A or B average, financial need.
Hallock Luce III Memorial Scholarship ~ $2,500 paid in first year. Outstanding academic record, community service, extracurricular activities, and financial need
Robert K. Boden Memorial Scholarship ~$1,000 paid in first year. Varsity sports participant, strong leadership skills, minimum B average.
Judge Allen Smith Memorial Scholarship ~ $1,000 paid in first year. Majoring in Law or Political Science.
Sheila Morreale Memorial Scholarship ~ $1,000 paid in first year. Community service oriented. Special aptitude and interest in the veterinary field or artistic endeavors.
Maureen Sanok Memorial Scholarship ~ $2,000 paid in first year. Community service oriented Given to students attending community college. Preference to students majoring in Education.
May all your winter celebrations be filled
with love and laughter,
and your New Year long remain bright
with hope and good cheer.
with love and laughter,
and your New Year long remain bright
with hope and good cheer.
After helping out with our Holiday Food Baskets, Riverhead's Interact Club delivered holiday cards and socks to the residents of Acadia Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, Dec. 19
Our club was honored and delighted to be a part of the historic signing of the bill of sale of the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall on December 16, 2025. As part of the ceremony Rotary Club members Beth Hanlon, Sean Murray and Dariia Protsiuk presented the Jazz Loft President Thomas Manuel with a ceremonial check representing our club's $25,000 donation and extended a prayer of blessing on the endeavor.
Our club members also posed with the Jazz Loft players, Board of Directors, Town officials and top donors who have championed the venture.
Wonderful outing! Big THANKS to Sherry for a superb job of organizing the trip. Plus, there were two added delights in the day. It was our Club President's birthday (perhaps you heard). There was some singing to him that was done -- well, okay, a lot of singing to him, and even some cake with the song:
And the BIG NEWS of the night was Diane and John's engagement! For real. Even done the right way:
This year, Riverhead Rotarians assisted the Town of Riverhead Veterans Advisory Committee with the annual removal and storage of the veteran banners. From Memorial Day through Veterans Day, the banners are on display on Main Street, Peconic Ave., Roanoke Ave., McDermott Ave. and Town Square.
Nice work, folks!
At a special Veterans Day celebration Nov. 11, the vets at Acadia Center of Nursing and Rehabilitation were presented gift bags of new socks, donated and collected by Riverhead Rotarians.
Rotarians Kimberly Judd and Randy Morreale joined the commander and veterans from the VFW, our Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard, and Councilwoman Denise Merrifield for the celebration.
Thank you for your generosity!
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As presented by President Randy, congratulations went out to Chrisand Castella who picked up her first Paul Harris award, to Kurt Van de Wetering and to Sean Murray who received their third blue, and to Tom Lennon who picked up his third red (!).
The evening gathering made for a great time with delicious eats. Thanks also go out to the folks at the Grill for the complimentary beverages and fine service.
SUPREMELY WELL-DONE SCHOLARSHIPS!
Our Scholarship Committee, headed by the exceptionally capable and dedicated Annmarie Zilnicki, presented life-changing gifts to Riverhead students this year. Flanked by Riverhead Rotary President Randy Morreale on the left and Immediate Past President George Dupree on the right, with AnnMarie in the middle, eight of the bright and talented recipients are shown here along with Brian Stark whose generous donations did much to augment the blessings.
Here's how the Riverhead News-Review reported it:
The Rotary Club of Riverhead awarded a total of $105,500 in college scholarships to 15 students at their annual Scholarship Luncheon Wednesday, July 9, at the Hyatt’s Sea Star Ballroom. Annmarie Zilnicki, chair of the group’s scholarship committee, opened and closed the awards and introduced the recipients.
The winning students were selected from a pool of 42 applicants. The two Riverhead Rotary Scholarship award amounts increased from $4,000 to $8,000 this year. One recipient, Stephanie Cardona, received two awards — the Rotary scholarship and the INTERACT scholarship.
“Look at the courses that these kids are taking, the activities that they’re involved with, the internships they might do. It’s just amazing, and I don’t know how they can get it all done and still play sports or be in the orchestra or whatever it might be,” said Ms. Zilnicki in her opening remarks. “It’s very, very impressive. My hat’s off to all of you.”
The largest award category was the three W. Bruce Stark Memorial Scholarship at $25,000 each. Brian Stark, the son of a long-time Rotarian and a former member of the rotary himself, praised the recipients’ dedication to service.
“It’s always nice to see kids like this, who get it. They all have the grades, they all play sports, but when they write the essays, they show that they’ve bought into doing the extra stuff,” said Mr. Stark. “It’s easy to get caught up in our social media corridors, right? Everybody goes online and they listen to a lot of people like themselves. But these kids get it that you have to go out into the community and do things.”
He went on to challenge the students to continue their good works of service.
“Get out there and give back, because that’s what we all do here, and that’s very important. So, thank you for being good scholarship winners and keep giving back,” Mr. Stark said.
“I am very proud of the work Riverhead Rotary does with our scholarship program as well as all of the programs Rotary funds throughout the year in our Riverhead community,” said Ms. Zilnicki in a follow-up email. “Our long-term hope for this year’s scholarship winners is for them to return to Riverhead during their careers and one day become Rotarians themselves.”
The scholarship awardees were Lorena Correa, Annabelle Dunn, Adrianna Mosca, Jaidin Hansen, Stephanie Cardona, Sara Maas, Gianna Viola, Renata De Paz Abreu, Logan Pilon, Camden Wallace, Dean Redmond, Alice Ries, Hunter Thompson, and Kimoralynn Bland. Each recipient gave a short speech detailing their future plans.
Since 2013, the Rotary has given $705,000 in scholarship funds.
[Amanda Olsen, 07.10.2025 NEWS]
[Amanda Olsen, 07.10.2025 NEWS]
Congratulations one and all!
No Meeting due to Strawberries
Feb 11, 2026
See you for Valentine's Day Strawberries: Friday Feb. 13
No Meeting because of Uncorked!
Jun 24, 2026
Uncorked is Thursday June 25 -- after Father's Day this year
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Strawberry Dipping 2026
Our Redeemer Lutheran ChurchFeb. 12, 2026
6:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. -
St. Paddy's Shamrocked - Irish I Had a Beer Party
Twin Forks Beer CoMar. 13, 2026
6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.