Seniors gather for annual Wooster Rotary Club Holiday Dinner
The Wooster High School Commons was filled to capacity as friends shared a bite to eat and animated conversation about the news of the day.
But these weren’t students sharing their daily lunch hour at the high school.
They were the hundreds of area seniors who gathered Dec. 5 for an afternoon of entertainment and a festive holiday meal during the 46th annual Rotary Club of Wooster Holiday Dinner.
Undertaken in cooperation with the Wooster Parks and Recreation Department and organized by Rotarians Anita Jorney-Gifford, Jayne Churchmack and Robb Hyde, with assistance from Susan Kelley and Shirley Beckler of the Wooster Parks and Recreation Department, the annual holiday party has grown into one of the community’s favorite Christmastime traditions. Tickets to the event are so sought after that they are often gone within hours of when they are made available to the public.
Before sitting down to dinner, the over 400 seniors were treated to 90 minutes of musical entertainment.
As the holiday program got underway in the Performing Arts Center, Lynn Moomaw, Rotary president, welcomed the guests and reflected on the 91-year-old organization’s many community service efforts, including the upcoming Rotary auction, which to date “has generated over $1.2 million which funds community projects like the $10,000 in scholarships awarded to Wooster High School students every year.”
Moomaw then asked for a show of hands of those who were among the 1,600 subscribers to the Rotary’s Parade of Flags project or who had attended the Sharon B. Althoff Memorial Rotary Invitational Speech and Debate Tournament held each January at Wooster High School.
Rotary also sponsors the annual Al Van Wie Basketball Classic at The College of Wooster, which this year alone “generated $8,000 and 23,000 food items that all went to People to People Ministries,” and is a co-sponsor of the Great Decisions Forum at The College of Wooster and the annual Arts Jazz Fest held each September, Moomaw stated.
Each year Rotarians also fill 100 two-hour Salvation Army bell ringer spots and present dictionaries to all Wooster City Schools third graders.
“We make generous donations annually to United Way and the Crippled Children’s Fund and to our Rotary International Foundation, which is most well known for the fight to end polio,” Moomaw said.
Moomaw noted that the organization’s latest gift to the community is the Rotary Pavilion at the newly constructed Oak Hill Park.
“Do you know what is our longest running community service project? You’re it,” joked Moomaw, noting that 2011 marks the 46th year for the annual senior holiday dinner.
“I hope you can see that we believe and live our motto of service above self,” Moomaw added.
Kicking off the performance was the Wooster High School Chorus, under the direction of Amy Gilbert. The chorus performed a broad repertoire of music, ranging from familiar holiday favorites to the Alleluia Chorus.
Following the chorus was the 65-piece Wooster High School Orchestra, under the direction of Dan Adams, performing such varied pieces as Ennio Morricone’s hauntingly beautiful Gabriel’s Oboe and a sing-along of Christmas carols.
Also taking the stage were Upriver’s Teresa Morrison and Dan Moorefield, who presented traditional and modern Christmas music with their signature Celtic and Appalachian flair, and Ted Crawford, who led a Christmas carol sing-along with the audience.
After the performance the seniors took their seats in the Commons, where they were served dinner by members of the Wooster Rotary Club and the Wooster High School Interact Club.
For more information on the Rotary Club of Wooster, visit http://www.woosterrotary.org.
But these weren’t students sharing their daily lunch hour at the high school.
They were the hundreds of area seniors who gathered Dec. 5 for an afternoon of entertainment and a festive holiday meal during the 46th annual Rotary Club of Wooster Holiday Dinner.
Undertaken in cooperation with the Wooster Parks and Recreation Department and organized by Rotarians Anita Jorney-Gifford, Jayne Churchmack and Robb Hyde, with assistance from Susan Kelley and Shirley Beckler of the Wooster Parks and Recreation Department, the annual holiday party has grown into one of the community’s favorite Christmastime traditions. Tickets to the event are so sought after that they are often gone within hours of when they are made available to the public.
Before sitting down to dinner, the over 400 seniors were treated to 90 minutes of musical entertainment.
As the holiday program got underway in the Performing Arts Center, Lynn Moomaw, Rotary president, welcomed the guests and reflected on the 91-year-old organization’s many community service efforts, including the upcoming Rotary auction, which to date “has generated over $1.2 million which funds community projects like the $10,000 in scholarships awarded to Wooster High School students every year.”
Moomaw then asked for a show of hands of those who were among the 1,600 subscribers to the Rotary’s Parade of Flags project or who had attended the Sharon B. Althoff Memorial Rotary Invitational Speech and Debate Tournament held each January at Wooster High School.
Rotary also sponsors the annual Al Van Wie Basketball Classic at The College of Wooster, which this year alone “generated $8,000 and 23,000 food items that all went to People to People Ministries,” and is a co-sponsor of the Great Decisions Forum at The College of Wooster and the annual Arts Jazz Fest held each September, Moomaw stated.
Each year Rotarians also fill 100 two-hour Salvation Army bell ringer spots and present dictionaries to all Wooster City Schools third graders.
“We make generous donations annually to United Way and the Crippled Children’s Fund and to our Rotary International Foundation, which is most well known for the fight to end polio,” Moomaw said.
Moomaw noted that the organization’s latest gift to the community is the Rotary Pavilion at the newly constructed Oak Hill Park.
“Do you know what is our longest running community service project? You’re it,” joked Moomaw, noting that 2011 marks the 46th year for the annual senior holiday dinner.
“I hope you can see that we believe and live our motto of service above self,” Moomaw added.
Kicking off the performance was the Wooster High School Chorus, under the direction of Amy Gilbert. The chorus performed a broad repertoire of music, ranging from familiar holiday favorites to the Alleluia Chorus.
Following the chorus was the 65-piece Wooster High School Orchestra, under the direction of Dan Adams, performing such varied pieces as Ennio Morricone’s hauntingly beautiful Gabriel’s Oboe and a sing-along of Christmas carols.
Also taking the stage were Upriver’s Teresa Morrison and Dan Moorefield, who presented traditional and modern Christmas music with their signature Celtic and Appalachian flair, and Ted Crawford, who led a Christmas carol sing-along with the audience.
After the performance the seniors took their seats in the Commons, where they were served dinner by members of the Wooster Rotary Club and the Wooster High School Interact Club.
For more information on the Rotary Club of Wooster, visit http://www.woosterrotary.org.
Published: December 8, 2011
