President Andy Browne called the meeting to order. Donna Perez led us in the Pledge of Allegiance, Denise Jackson performed the 4 Way Test and Preston Centuolo gave the invocation. Alicia Fichera was our notetaker. Andy welcomed guest Nico Rizzo.
Announcements
Donna Perez did happy dollars! There were a lot of happy Rotarians!
- Andy Browne was so happy that he went to the Tedeschi Trucks Band concert on Friday (his 3rd time going)
- Josie Spinelli was just happy!
- Sherry Soutierre was happy for everyone in Rotary!
- Dave Schad was happy it’s February!
- Don Daigle was happy it’s Tuesday!
- Denise Jackson was happy to be here!
- Donna Perez was happy her son was coming home to visit and will be celebrating his 40th birthday!
- Ed Morvay was happy to be a day older. He was also happy to be sitting next to Maria LeBlanc!
Karen Bauman asked everyone if they wanted extra time? Everyone said YES. She said WELL YOU GOT IT! 24 hours extra this February! To celebrate that extra day, we will have a fellowship on Thursday, the 29th at La Vita 5:15 PM! (See information below)
Andy asked for everyone to please sell your spaghetti dinner tickets!
Josie reminded everyone of the spaghetti dinner. Please sign up to volunteer, for the fellowship and for dessert.
Josie is now is GOLF MODE!!!! She is planning our FIRST GOLF OUTING!!!! It will be at White Oaks on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. With that being said, March 12th will be Golf day at our Rotary Luncheon to get us into the spirit!! Please bring a golfer and wear golf gear! There will be fun golf-related activities that day!
Sherry reminded everyone that March 5th is Blessing Bags!
Our Program
Jay Einstein introduced our speaker, Pastor Preston Centuolo!
Preston asked us to close our eyes. He said when we open them, we will be 15 and still in high school Close your eyes in and 3…2….1….
He grew up in Barnsboro, it was one square mile. Most of his family lived in that town. He went to school in Glassboro. They found out in 6th grade that he was the only special needs child in the school. Special needs meaning, if there are noises, he will close his eyes, turn away, look down or click his fingers in his back. This is what is Occupational Therapist taught him to do in 6th grade to make his world a little bit quieter.
When he talks to students, like us currently, he has to give 110% of his focus into what he is doing so he can give his very best. It is very important that we remember… we don’t have to be the best. But we do have to give our best. No one in this room was born a winner or a loser, we were born choosers. Life is about the choices we make. The choices we make determine the life we are going to live.
Back when he was in school there was no special education services. They had a big 40 foot RV come to the school it said GLOUCESTER COUNTY SPECIAL SERVICES. They would pull up and he would go out to the RV and he would learn. He had to come to a realization…”how could I become what I want to be but yet be so different?”
Now at 52, Preston has a lot more control and an ability to silence the noises in his life because he has done it for so long. But back then, when there was noises, he would twitch and constantly fight the need to give attention to the loudest noise or the most moving thing.
When the bell would ring and he would walk to that RV, he began to learn how people would treat him. Now when he speaks to kids he discusses how we treat each other physically, verbally, socially and electronically. There was no electronically back then. He grew up playing in the dirt with yellow metal Tonka trucks!!
We can all find what’s wrong with one another… or we could find what’s right. Make the right choice to find what’s good. Kindness is the most important thing we can do for one another. When you are kind to someone, you give them your strength for a little bit. When you give them your strength you are not reminding them of their past or their mistakes. You are reminding them of how strong they are. He speaks everyday about this to students.
He would walk out to the RV and he would hear horrible words said about him… like dumb, stupid… they called it the “dumb bus”. They defined people by their disability. You are not defined by what you can’t do, you are defined by what you can do. He learned by good leaders in his life, that if you like you, other people will like you too. Just be yourself. Winston Churchill said this… “History will be kind to me because I intend to write it.” You get to write history. Things work out when you put the work in. He would go to sit at lunch and kids would move or say “someone is sitting here”. He had to learn to navigate this.
Be responsible for what you say. Even online. There are kids who will NOT be in the NFL draft because they posted something online in high school. It followed them to college and the teams say they don’t represent their values by the way you acted online. SO THINK ABOUT THAT before you hit send!!
He wanted to remind us to take care of one another. Life is hard enough without anyone else tearing you down. He learned that greatness is not something that is in front of you, it is something that is inside of you! Forgiving someone or becoming at peace with someone is a choice you make to let those people live rent free inside of you. That bullying and pushing and the words could have held him down or pushed him forward. Martin Luther King said “I choose love because hate is too great of a burden to bear.” He also said “In the end, it’s not the voices of my enemy, it’s the silence of my friends that has hurt me so bad.” There is something to be said about us being silent. When we should be taking care of one another.
All of this stuff he went through as a child…. It all came to full fruition when his 3rd child, Vito, was born with high functioning autism. He was prom king in Vineland High School. He loves everyone. He loves making friends and finding what’s best in people. Heroes don’t wear capes! They wear compassion. Being a hero isn’t something you dress up for. It is on the inside of each of us.
Vito was born with a beautiful gift. It may be looked at as an infliction by some, but it is a blessing. When he found out Vito was a child with a disability it hurt him because all he could think about was him having to walk to a bus to learn. All of his experiences came to mind. He thought he was going to have to protect him but instead he showed him what character can do.
He quit his job for a job with no benefits, no guaranteed pay…but sometimes you chase your heart and it works out. When his son was little, in the car he used to play a song and he would sing the words “You are amazing just the way you are.” He played the song for us to hear in the background. He would just sing this son to his son… because he wanted to have the loudest voice in his son’s life. So when he gets older, if someone says he can’t, he can look back and say my dad said I can. When someone tries to tear him down, he can think back and remember his dad singing telling him he can when they say he can’t.
Through his life, he is now 18, he is the one who has taught the lessons when he thought he would have to teach him. It is amazing how many times he’s looked at him and said “Dad you have to look on the bright side.” He told a story about one time they were sitting at Friendly’s in the mall eating ice cream. A girl about 27 walked by… Vito got up and walked up to her not knowing her. She looked sad to him. He doesn’t let anyone be sad, he wants everyone to be OK! He knows when someone is sad. He said to her “You have a pretty face”. She leaned over, looks at him with tears (that just flowed) and hugs him and says “That is the sweetest thing anyone has said to me in a while.” He smiled and said “I like you”. She said “You are really sweet. What makes you so sweet?” He said “When I am kind to people I give them my super powers, so they can be strong like me.” That is not something he heard, that is something he became. If he can become that, imagine what we can do.
His mom had a mental illness, he rarely felt safe at home. His mom would bang the walls at night. He would often go in the closet, starting at age 5, sit on a shoe rack and just rock. He loved going to school. Not because of the kids. But because of the amazing staff. His principal, Wellington Watts
made school a special place. Every day he would visit his principal and vice principal. In the top drawer was pickup stix, he would play it in the morning. It was a place he felt safe. Every marking period they would have family night where all the families would come with food, everyone would share and eat together. He had a huge family but his dad worked all the time and his mom was bedridden. His teachers and principals and aides would say “Hey Preston, don’t forget we have family night tonight, we got a spot for ya!” Jack Anderson would take him to Carvel after family night. This meant, once a marking period, four times a year for one hour, he belonged to something. He sat safely, ate dinner and did not worry.
When someone pours into you….you need to pour into others. That is his message. Take care of one another. That is most important. Events happen, but what happens at events, relationships that’s what counts. You can’t change your past, but you can change your future.
To come here and play this song for you that I played for my son. YOU ARE AMAZING THE WAY YOU ARE. If you are somewhere that is dark, or you feel hopeless, or you are in a situation. Greatness is not in front of you, it is inside of you. What he tells the teens….Keep showing up, when others quit. That will be your ability to have success. Small people talk about people, big people talk about ideas. Big people talk about dreams. Don’t stop when you are tired, stop when you are done. Because when you are done, you will be able to look back and say I did my very best.
He isn’t trying to prove anyone wrong. He is trying to prove Wellington Watts right, Jack Anderson that he was right about him. He can’t change how he got here but he can change how he goes out. That is what he is doing.
Close your eyes… 1,2,3 you are back to your original age.
Everyone not only clapped but they stood up for Preston.
Pastor Preston has been doing this for 31 years!!!! He goes into public schools, K-12. They host a family night. Now you know why.
He was a youth pastor for Donna Perez’s son, she said he did an amazing job. He has 3 kids, 21, 20 and 18. 2 dogs, and 2 ferrets.
He ended with a story… They had one night with a few hundred kids at church… and the pastor’s wife got hit in the head with a football. A guy in the church started ripping him apart because they were playing football. But the 90 year old lady stands up throws the football at him and says “I am just glad you are here to hit me with the football.”
Many Rotarians asked to hug Preston after his speech.
Happy Hour Fellowship on Thursday 2/29 at LaVita's Restaurant 301 N. Main Road. Meet at 5:15 pm. We will gather in the bar area where there are small tables and chairs for our gathering.
Don't miss it!
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CCTEC Interact Club is having a Diaper Drive -
Let's Help Out!!
The CCTEC Interact club members are conducting a Diaper Drive to benefit the Happy Cheeks Diaper Bank. Any size, any amount will be accepted. There is a specific need for size 5 and 6 diapers. The drive will run from March 1 to 14. Please bring diaper donations to any Rotary meeting (March 1-14) and Sandy Hearing will see that they delivered to the school. Let’s help the CCTEC Interact club have a successful fundraiser!
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RCSJ Rotaract Club Needs Your Help with its
Cheer Box Project!
Rotaract members at the Rowan College of South Jersey campus are working on their Cheer Box Project. Students are collecting empty shoe boxes then filling each with necessary supplies needed for oncology patients. If you have empty shoe boxes to spare, please bring them to a Rotary meeting between now and mid April. Sandy Hearing will see that they are delivered to the college.
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Would you like to make a lasting impact in communities around the world without leaving home?
Rotary and Rotaract members are eligible to serve in Peace Corps’ Virtual Service Pilot. Participants donate 5-15 hours per week for 3 to 6 months to support organizations abroad with their community-level projects related to education, health, agriculture, youth development, and entrepreneurship. Apply your professional skills, language skills, and interest in both global friendships and cultural exchange to build capacity and sustainability through a short-term, virtual engagement.
SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATIONS NOW FOR THE 2023-2024 ANNUAL DISTRICT
VOCATIONAL SERVICE AWARD
Nominate a worthy Rotarian for this prestigious award.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: APRIL 2, 2024
The award will be announced and presented by our District Governor at the upcoming annual District Conference on Saturday, May 4, 2024, to a Rotarian who through projects or actions in the past two Rotary years (2022-2024) has best exemplified the Rotary precepts of Vocational Service.
A worthy nominee could be someone who:
Mentors others, especially younger people or those in need
Helps train or teach skills that are useful to the individual, to the community, or to society generally.
Donates time and skills in his/her field to help serve those in need.
Designs, manages or is actively involved in service projects that further education or training or any project that in an innovative and sustainable way puts members’ vocational or professional skills to use in a way that shares and promotes them in others.
Gear up for the Madness! As the season opens up, enter today for a chance to be at the Final Four in Arizona! All donations will benefit FGCU Men’s Basketball. The winner of this sweepstakes will receive the following:
2 Tickets to the 2024 NCAA Final Four in Phoenix, AZ on April 6-8, 2024
2 Nights in a Hotel for 2 People
Round-trip Airfare to and from Phoenix for 2 People*
*The flight to Phoenix must originate within the continental US
Entry Deadline: 11:59pm 3/10/2024
Winner Selected: 10:00am 3/11/2024
Click the link below to get started! Select Rotary Club of Vineland
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arnsboro, it was one square mile. Most of his family lived in that town. He went to school in Glassboro. They found out in 6th grade that he was the only special needs child in the school. Special needs meaning, if there are noises, he will close his eyes, turn away, look down or click his fingers in his back. This is what is Occupational Therapist taught him to do in 6th grade to make his world a little bit quieter.
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