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Floral Tribute
from our club |
On
November 22, President Jim Leder called
the Annual Kiwanis Club of Bethesda and Rotary
Club of Bethesda-Chevy Chase luncheon to order
at Tragara Ristorante. 73 attendees were
present. Following
the pledge to our flag and patriotic song,
Reverend John Walker delivered the
invocation. President Leder spoke briefly
about the Washington Nationals Miracle Field and
the successful opening and playing of several
games through the fall months. The field
is built but funds are still needed. We
hope members of various civic organizations will
assist us in this ongoing project and help make
this "Field of Dreams" a success for years to
come. Anyone interested should contact Dr.
Leder at 301-983-1774 or visit the website at
www.miracleleaguemontcomd.com.
Rotary
Club President Jack Alexander welcomed
members from his club as well as from Metro
Bethesda Rotary. BCC Rotary Club was
chartered in 1933 and was the first service club
in the Bethesda area. (Kiwanis Club of
Bethesda was founded in 1945) and there is no
doubt that these two civic organizations work
hard on community service to the Bethesda area.
One of the primary fundraisers is the annual
Turkey Chase on Thanksgiving morning.
This
year is the 29th year for a 10K Run, 2 Mile Fun
Run/Walk and 50 Meter Tot Trot. Turkeys
paraded through the audience and Carla
Larrick, Executive Director of the YMCA
Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rotary urged participation
by all. Turkey
Run T shirts were given to Dr. James Leder
and our guest speaker, Dr. Joshua Starr. |
Dr. Joshua P.
Starr, Montgomery County Superintendent of
Schools, Dr. James J. Leder, Kiwanis President,
and Barton Goldenberg, Rotary Club, Program
Chair. |
Speaker:
Program Chair Jeanne Smith
introduced Brian K. Edwards, Chief of Staff of the
Office of the Superintendent of Schools. Brian then
introduced our speaker, Dr. Joshua P. Starr. Dr.
Starr came to Montgomery County as the new superintendent on
July 1, 2011, after having been the superintendent in Stamford,
Connecticut since 2005. Dr. Starr began his career as a
special education teacher in the New York City Public Schools,
and then he went on to administrative roles in Plainfield, New
Jersey and Freeport, New York, and the New York City schools. With a wife and three
children, he hopes to set down roots. One of his
challenges is to manage dramatic enrollment growth at a time of
shrinking budgets. Did you know Montgomery County has more
poor children than DC public schools has children in its system?
Dr. Starr is focused on building on the great successes MCPS has
experienced and is committed to ensuring that the staff has the
best possible professional development to help every child
thrive. He wants to continue to see MCPS set the pace for
the nation in student achievement. He believes student
achievement, test scores and college success will continue to
rise if MCPS has a laser-like focus on good teaching and
learning in every classroom. He stressed the
importance of strong community support for schools and students
so that our students come back here and become productive
members of our community. Questions and answers
were fielded and we were very appreciative that he could spend
the time with us.
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