Rotary Club of Acton-Boxborough

Our Annual Awards Dinner & Installation of Officers: Saturday, June 22, 2024, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., Boxborough Regency Hotel & Conference Center

Learn More! RSVP Now!

CLUB NEWS: 2020-2021

Remembrance: Bob Erickson, long-time leader of our Club, District

Robert "Bob Erickson, a longtime member of our club - as well as long-time leader of both our club and our district - passed away at the age 93 on June 23 in Windham, NH. He exemplified the Rotary motto: Service Above Self. He lived every day by Rotary's Four-Way Test, and was a Paul Harris Fellow.

Formerly of Arlington and Acton, Bob was the husband of the late Joyce Erickson. They are survived by their children: Peter Erickson and wife Jeanne Erickson, of Acton, MA; David Erickson and wife Jill Erickson, of Hudson, NH; Elaine Erickson, of Sandown, NH; and Steven Erickson and wife Lauren Erickson, of Hudson, NH. Bob is also survived by nine grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and a great-great grandchild.

Born in Boston and raised in Arlington, Bob was the only child of John and Ellen Erickson, graduated in 1946 from Arlington High School, and enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving at the end of World War Two as a mine planter and until his honorable discharge, in 1949. A Boston University graduate, he was a self-employed CPA, moving from Arlington to Acton in 1955, where he was in business for 56 years before retiring.

Bob joined our club in 1963 - one year after it was chartered - and had perfect attendance for 50 years. He participated at all levels of the club, including secretary, treasurer and vice president as well as president for the 1971-1972 Rotary year.

Bob took on the leadership and duties as district governor of Rotary District 7910, which serves Central Massachusetts and Metrowest, for the 1979-1980 Rotary year. He was also a delegate to Rotary International's Council on Legislation during Rotary rear 1986-1989.

In the late 1960s to early 1970s, Bob was the statistician for Boston radio station WBZ 1030's broadcasts of Boston Bruins home games. He also had a great love of his lighthouses collection, reading, big-band sound, birds, and crossword puzzles.

Visiting hours were held on Monday, June 28 at Acton Funeral Home. A funeral service will take be held on Tuesday, June 29 at 11:00 a.m. at the funeral home, located at 470 Massachusetts Ave. in Acton. Graveside services with military honors will immediately follow in Mt. Hope Cemetery, located on Central Street in West Acton.

Those who wish, may make memorial contributions to the Pat Brody Shelter for Cats, PO Box 142, Lunenburg, MA 01462.

To plant trees in memory of Bob, visit Legacy.com's Sympathy Store by clicking here.

Check out our Club online!

Learn more about Rotary District 7910, which covers more than 50 clubs in MetroWest and Central Massachusetts with a total of more than 1,200 members.

Learn more about Rotary International, which serves more than 46,000 clubs worldwide with a total of more than 1.4 million members.

Our Club does food-packaging to benefit Rise Against Hunger

A Food Packaging event to benefit Rise Against Hunger took place on May 15 at Littleton High School.

The organizers set a goal to package at least 20,000 meals in two hours. The group actually packaged 23,500 meals over several hours, due to generous fundraising and lots of overtime work from volunteers.

The main sponsors were the Rotary Club of Nashoba Valley, Nashoba High School's Interact Club, and Littleton High School's Humanitarian Club.

In addition to our Rotary Club of Acton-Boxborough, this event was co-sponsored by the Rotary Club of Hudson, the Rotary Club of Littleton, and Workers Credit Union.

To view event photos, click here.

Check out our Club online!

Learn more about Rotary District 7910, which covers more than 50 clubs in central and eastern Massachusetts with a total of more than 1,200 members.

Learn more about Rotary International, which serves more than 46,000 clubs worldwide with a total of more than 1.4 million members.

District '20-'21 Unsung Hero: Anne Hentz, Acton-Boxborough

Anne Hentz, a relatively new member of our club, is a person who does far more than might be expected. She doesn’t care who gets the credit and - finds a way to get the job done.

Anne sought out and joined the our club in February 2020, attracted by Rotary’s philosophy as expressed in Rotary's Four-Way Test. She didn’t know a lot about how Rotary works, but she was also ready to learn - and ready to work.

Although Anne was very new to the Acton-Boxborough club and - because of COVID-19 pandemic - hadn’t even met all of her fellow club members in person, she agreed to chair her club's first-ever online auction. And, while she was just learning about her club, she agreed to present the idea of an online fundraiser at one of the first monthly Open Doors with DG Diana online sessions, hosted by District Governor Diana Nestorova.

Once planning for the virtual silent auction, Bid for Brighter Futures, was underway, all of the committee members worked hard at the various aspects that the project demanded. When push came to shove, though, it was Anne who, behind the scenes, saw to it that all of the tasks got done. When time grew short, she saw to it that the final-day Gala Presentation's multi-part video, produced by Acton TV, was a clear motivation for people to donate to the auction, to support the Acton Food Pantry and the Domestic Violence Services Network.

To read more, click here.

Check out our Club online!

Learn more about Rotary District 7910, which covers more than 50 clubs in central and eastern Massachusetts with a total of more than 1,200 members.

Learn more about Rotary International, which serves more than 46,000 clubs worldwide with a total of more than 1.4 million members.

Our own Bud Flannery honored with RI's 'Service Above Self' Award

Congratulations to our one and only Bud Flannery (top right), who was the founder of our club nearly 60 years ago, in 1962. On April 21, his fellow club members (second from top) honored Bud with the Rotary International's Service above Self Award (third from top) - RI's highest award - for his many years of service to both Rotary and his community.

District Governor Diana Nestorova (top left) a past president and present member of our club, presented the award to Bud. She then gave a wonderful tribute to this Rotary legend:

"To 'Mister Rotarian,' as we fondly call Bud. With great respect, big admiration and sheer gratitude to Bud for all he has done for his Rotary club, the Rotarians, his district, his community, for Rotary - here and abroad. To the man, to the myth, to the legend: Bud Flannery. You will leave a legacy of love and passion for Service above Self.'"

To watch a 19-minute video of Bud's award-presentation ceremony, click here.

To watch a 2016 video of Bud addressing a club meeting, click here. He talked about the joys and challenges of growing up and shared wonderful stories. And, regaled the members present with stories from his childhood and at work in his family's construction business in Concord and Acton. He kept us spellbound for a good half-hour.

For more information, contact Diana Nestorova at diana_nestorova@hotmail.com, and our club's president Marianne Fleckner, at mfleckner@actonma.gov.

Check out our Club online!

Learn more about Rotary District 7910, which covers more than 50 clubs in central and eastern Massachusetts with a total of more than 1,200 members.

Learn more about Rotary International, which serves more than 46,000 clubs worldwide with a total of more than 1.4 million members.

Thanks for Supporting 'Bid for Brighter Futures' to Aid Two Worthy Local Causes

We thank you for supporting our Bid for Brighter Futures virtual silent auction, which ended on April 30 with a Gala Presentation. All net proceeds - to be announced soon - will benefit these worthy local causes: the Acton Food Pantry and Domestic Violence Services Network.

For many years, these two organizations have for years provided essential help to people in need. This year, they need assistance more than ever.

For nearly four decades, the Acton Food Pantry has provided nutritious food to clients from Acton and Boxborough. This year, it has opened its doors to any needy family and has seen its needs soar.

The Domestic Violence Services Network works with local courts and human-service agencies in 12 communities, to end the cycle of domestic violence by providing support, advocacy, and resources to victims. The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 crisis have added to the need.

Our Key Sponsor was Vibalogics, a privately owned contract development and manufacturing organization, based in Germany with operations in Boxborough. Vibalogics offers process development, manufacturing, testing, and fill-finish services to innovators developing revolutionary virotherapy products.

Our Main Sponsors were, alphabetically:

To view - and visit - all of our proud Sponsors, click here.

To watch our 30-second public service announcement, which aired on Acton TV, click here.

To hear a 15-minute Travis & Sherman Morning Kommute interview, on WPKZ-AM-FM, on our club and this Bid for Brighter Futures fundraiser, click here.

To watch a 15-minute "Acton in Focus" interview on both our Acton-Boxborough club and our Bid for Brighter Futures event, which also aired on Acton TV, click here.

To learn more on this Event, click here.

For more information, contact Acton-Boxborough Rotarian Anne Hentz, who chairs Bid For Brighter Futures, at anne@annehentz.com or 617-834-1615.

Check out our Club online!

Learn more about Rotary District 7910, which covers more than 50 clubs in central and eastern Massachusetts with a total of more than 1,200 members.

Learn more about Rotary International, which serves more than 46,000 clubs worldwide with a total of more than 1.4 million members.

Guest Speaker: Lorne Bell, of Assabet Co-op Market

On March 3, Lorne Bell, director of outreach and communications for the Assabet Co-Op Market, addressed our weekly club meeting via Zoom.

The Co-op plans to open a locally sourced, community-owned grocery store in the Maynard area.

With more than 1,600 owners on board, the Co-op is searching for a site for the market.

To read more - and watch the 23-minute video of Lorne's presentation - click here.

Rotary is People Of Action in Service Above Self.

Check out our Club online!

Learn more about Rotary District 7910, which covers more than 50 clubs in central and eastern Massachusetts with a total of more than 1,200 members.

Learn more about Rotary International, which serves more than 46,000 clubs worldwide with a total of more than 1.4 million members.

Keynote Speaker: Katerina Bisbas exemplifies community service

On January 13, Katrina Bisbas, a native of Greece and an Acton resident, addressed our Zoom club meeting. She has lived in Acton for 15 years, has a career as an accountant and bookkeeper, and has been involved with service groups.

Check out our Club online!

Learn more about Rotary District 7910, which covers more than 50 clubs in central and eastern Massachusetts with a total of more than 1,200 members.

Learn more about Rotary International, which serves more than 46,000 clubs worldwide with a total of more than 1.4 million members.

We mask up to support Mt. Calvary's Community Supper

On January 6, the Mt. Calvary Community Supper was hosted by the Naidoo family with the support of our club. Club member Humsha Naidoo invited friends, family, and fellow club members Mike Gowing Marc Duci, Claude Miquel, Ann Sorvari, and Johan Sorvari to help cook, package, and distribute nearly 200 meals. We were honored to participate in this much-needed service project.

Back row, left to right: Rotarians Ann and Johan Sorvari; Sumana and Sajit Bhat; Rotarian Humsha Naidoo; Davendra Naidoo; and Satish Bhat.

Front row, left to right: Rotarians Marc Duci and Mike Gowing.

To view more photos, click here.

Check out our Club online!

Learn more about Rotary District 7910, which covers more than 50 clubs in central and eastern Massachusetts with a total of more than 1,200 members.

Learn more about Rotary International, which serves more than 46,000 clubs worldwide with a total of more than 1.4 million members.

Acton Boy Scouts remove holiday trees to raise funds

For many years, Acton Boy Scouts of America Troop 284 has picked up holiday trees as a fundraiser to support local troop activities. This year, Troop 284 is joining forces with Troop 1, also from Acton, to expand the fundraiser to better support scouting in Acton and our community. This event allows the scouts to give back to the community by helping families with holiday-tree removal.

To read more of this Wicked Local Beacon story, click here.

Shown, left to right, in this Troop 284 photo are Acton Boy Scouts Griffin Bobiak, Will Haines, Jason Fitzgerald and Michael Guditz participating in Troop 284's January 2020 holiday-tree fundraiser.

Check out our Club online!

Learn more about Rotary District 7910, which covers more than 50 clubs in central and eastern Massachusetts with a total of more than 1,200 members.

Learn more about Rotary International, which serves more than 46,000 clubs worldwide with a total of more than 1.4 million members.

We collect food donations for Acton Food Pantry

The Rotary Club of Acton-Boxborough has collected 361 pounds of food for the Acton Food Pantry. Contributors shown are, left to right: Claude Miquel, Ann Sorvari, Diana Nestorova, Maureen Masciola, Johan Sorvari, and Padma Jonnavithula.

Contributors not shown are, alphabetically by last name: Kate Bergquist, Marianne Fleckner, Mike Gowing, Anne Hentz, Steve Jones-D'Agostino, Joan Labrosse, Karen Rivero, and Frank Widmayer.

The Acton Food Pantry has served clients from Acton, Boxborough, and surrounding towns for 25 years. Because of the COVID-19 crisis, food insecurity in Eastern Massachusetts is expected to rise to 59 percent, and the Food Pantry has opened its doors to anyone in need. Your support will help the organization distribute weekly groceries to families throughout the region, including meats, produce, staples, and even diapers.

To learn about the Acton-Boxborough club's upcoming Bid For Brighter Futures virtual silent auction - including sponsorship opportunities - to benefit the Acton Food Pantry and the Domestic Violence Services Network, click here.

For more information, contact Ann Sorvari, president of the Rotary Club of Acton-Boxborough, at ann@sorvari.net.

Check out our Club online!

Learn more about Rotary District 7910, which covers more than 50 clubs in central and eastern Massachusetts with a total of more than 1,200 members.

Learn more about Rotary International, which serves more than 46,000 clubs worldwide with a total of more than 1.4 million members.

Gifts of Hope helps people struggling for most-basic needs

Gifts Of Hope Unlimited, a Metrowest/Boston-based organization, collaborates with town social workers, Voices Against Violence, and other domestic-violence shelters who identify families struggling to meet their most basic needs.

As a charitable, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, Gifts of Hope provides financial assistance, home resources, and community-focused initiatives as a step toward a safe and empowered future.

To read more, click here.

Check out our Club online!

Learn more about Rotary District 7910, which covers more than 50 clubs in central and eastern Massachusetts with a total of more than 1,200 members.

Learn more about Rotary International, which serves more than 46,000 clubs worldwide with a total of more than 1.4 million members.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse