This new section of our website includes news and details of past events this year. Of course if you really want stay up to speed with all the inside stuff, you need to come to the monthly membership meetings!
If it’s the second Tuesday, well… Membership Meetings are always the second Tuesday of each month, 8PM at the Pinerock Firehouse 722 Longhill Ave. So far this year we’ve had 7 new members join our ranks. Welcome new members: Mason, Tara, Melissa, Scott, Gary, Erin, and Kevin. Monthly meetings are a great way to touch base with new friends and old. Upcoming project reports run about 20 to 30 minutes. Shooting the bull runs about another 15 to 20 minutes after that. Later we usually head out to a nearby pub or restaurant. Guests and prospective members are always welcome!
Relay for Life walkathon to benefit the American Cancer Society was June 7th - 8th at Riverwalk Park. New member Melissa and her team The Unknown Warriors coordinated a tidal wave of fundraisers building up to this event. Our team of a dozen members raised close to two thousand dollars to help the fight against cancer. Our booth was decorated as a polynesian warrior villa where we sold beads and leis along with pictures with Chip & Dip (life size cardboard cut out of surfer guy & hula gal). Several team members spent the night logging in countless miles around the track while other lazy and proud of it members played cards and told lies! Our team participated in the Miss Relay contest as well as the Cart Race. (We were robbed in both!) Photos posted in web site gallery.
The Shelton Jaycees Children’s Show was Saturday June 7th at the Community Center. This annual event brings a free high quality children’s show with a professional performance artist to our community. Tickets are given away through an elementary school social worker as well as to others who have made a donations to the Shelton Jaycees through the Community Help Line. This year featured The Rainbow Circus performed by Ms. Liz a performance artist who has worked for some of the largest circus acts in the country. The show is produced with help from Community Dynamics Ltd. of Milford and even though we were forced to find an alternative location due to the school budget conflict, nearly forty people attended the show.
Our 44th Annual Arts & Crafts Fair on the Huntington Green was Sunday June 1st. Always the first Sunday in June, this event has become a well established community tradition heralding in the summer season. This year we maxed out the green with exhibitors! 87 in total even after raising the prices on vendor space. We had a great turn out of both new and old members and we even had some help from perspective members! Cindi McGuire won First Prize in the Crafts division, and Kim Kohler won First Prize in the Arts division. Thanks go out to everyone who helped this year! Photos posted in web site gallery.
Relay For Life Team Fundraising at Shaw’s Super Market was Saturday morning May 24th. We gave away purple balloons (the official ACS Relay For Life color) to kids young and old. Six team members collected over $125 at the store exits on this warm Saturday morning. Not bad for a 3 hour start to finish fundraiser!
Relay For Life Team Fundraising at Hula Hank’s Bar in New Haven was Saturday May 17th. 10 team members came out between 9pm and 1am to collect donations at this popular New Haven night club. We gave away leis and bead necklaces to each person who donated. Good times had by all! Total collected to help the fight against cancer was $154. Photos posted in web site gallery.
The CT Jaycees Quarterly Convention and the CT Statesman Award Banquet was May 9th and 10th. Our chapter won the CT Chapter of the Month Award for March and Ranked 5th in Parade of Chapters statewide. At the Saturday banquet our own Matt Bunnel, a past chapter president received the CT Statesman Award. Later at the Saturday night hospitality rooms several members gave away jello shots and bead necklaces in exchange for Relay for Life donations. Along with the jello shots our hospitality room featured pictures with a life sized cardboard cut out of a surfer guy and hula girl where Matt inspired their name’s “Chip & Dip”. (You had to be there.) Total collected to help the fight against cancer was $64. Photos posted in web site gallery.
The Mothers Day Flower Sale was May 2-4 & 9-11 at Pinerock Firehouse. This has become a very successful annual fundraiser. The first weekend had terrible sales thanks to 3 straight days of rain. We rallied on the second weekend moving over a thousand dollars worth of plants out the firehouse doors! $200 was donated to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life fundraiser and $350 was allocated for the Pinerock Volunteer Fire Dept. Photos posted in web site gallery.
The Housatonic River Clean Up was Saturday May 3rd in Shelton Stratford & Milford. The site we helped run was based at the public boat ramp behind Sunnyside School. We worked again this year with non-profit Clean Sound Inc. to clean up a half mile plus stretch of the Housatonic River along with several islands down stream. A ton of garbage washes up along these areas of shoreline each year and we made a serious impact with this annual clean-up. In addition to manpower the Shelton Jaycees also donated $200 towards the volunteer T-shirts given out to participants. Photos posted in web site gallery.
Our Setback (aka Pitch) Card Game Social was Saturday April 19th at Panera Bread on Bridgeport Ave. Eight members attended. We had a couple of guests from the Milford Jaycees visit and join us for a few hands. No competition attended from the Greater Hartford chapter. We’re not saying they were scared, we’re sure they just had a scheduling conflict 
The International Pot Luck Supper was Tuesday March 18th at the Pinerock Firehouse. This international dinner night was unlike any we’ve held before. Entrees and appetizers were delivered from several new restaurants in town. Japanese, Thai, & Chinese food filled the tables. No one left the firehouse hungry!
We bowled a few strikes against domestic violence at the 20th Annual Bowl to Benefit the Umbrella on Saturday March 8th. The event took place at Valley Bowl in Derby. We had 4 teams including the CT Jaycees JCI Senate. This is a bowling fundraiser to benefit the Birmingham Foundations Umbrella Program for victims of domestic violence. The event raised over $85,700, making it the largest and most successful Bowl-To-Benefit to date. Photos posted in web site gallery.
Our Best Pizza in Shelton Membership Night was Wednesday February 20th at the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce. Gioves Pizza won Best Cheese Pizza. Basils Pizza won Best Pepperoni Pizza and Pappa’s Pizza won Best Sausage Pizza. 21 people attended including 7 prospective members. After attending, Gary Waters joined our club in March. Photos posted in web site gallery.
The On-line Networking Seminar for ‘old people 20 or 30 something’ was Monday February 4th at the Valley Regional Adult Ed computer lab. New member, Tara, trained several members including our State President on how to pimp out their My -Space and FaceBook accounts. The training was outstanding even though the CT public school’s computer network tried to block access to certain sites!
The CT Jaycees Year End Convention and Awards Banquet was January 25th & 26th at the Cromwell Marriott. Our chapter ranked 8th in Parade of Chapters statewide and several chapter members received awards of Excellents and Honor for their work in 2007. Photos posted in web site gallery.
Our Chairman’s Planning Guide Training was Thursday January 24th at the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce. The training was provided by a past chapter president, state management vice president, 3 time national awards judge, and past state president. We learned how to use the Chairman’s Planning Guide as a leadership tool and a meeting agenda for effective committee meetings. We even planned a new project for later this year!
January 8th was our first meeting of 2008 and featured our Installation Ceremony for this year’s chapter officers. The event was held at Casa Nova Restaurant’s banquet room and a fantastic dinner was provided. Chairman of the Board Michael Sheehan swore in incoming president Kate Jager after which she swore in the 2008 Board of Directors. Several past members and State Officers attended along with Kate’s family and friends. Chapter golf shirts were given out to members, along with gavels presented to past chapter presidents. If you missed it, you missed another great party! Photos posted in web site gallery.