Pledge, Prayer, 4-Way Test: President Jan Perruccio
Sergeants Report: Mary Polchaninoff
Guest: Cary Wallach (just retired last week)
Card Game Winner: Nathan Wise
Raffle Winners: Marty D, Joan M, Kathy N
Happy Bucks: Everyone together today, John had to miss the meeting because he's in Florida in the not-so-warm weather, happy for the nice day, clear streets, our guests, Alan Poirier's induction today, the snow, 3 Alans at the meeting, our guest speaker
Induction of Alan Poirier
We were happy to welcome Alan as our newest member. Jan did the honors by stating the ideals of Rotary and its high standards exemplified in the 4-way test. Alan said a few words happy to join our organization. Joan was excited to welcome Alan.
Program: Alan Davidson, Executive Director, KenSAP (Kenya Scholar Access Program)
Alan Davidson was introduced by Cheryl Nadzam.
Alan has been with the KenSAP team since 2016. He is a lawyer by training and before KenSAP, he handled legal matters for early-stage American technology companies. He holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and a Bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of Michigan.
KenSAP was established in 2004.Their mission is to provide educational opportunities for gifted, high achieving students who, for many reasons, do not have the means to further their education beyond high school. These students are brilliant - the 1% who have emerged from a large pool of candidates from national testing. Alan works with a team to help prepare them for life in the US at leading colleges and universities including ivy league schools like Princeton, Brown, Amherst, Yale, Middlebury, Harvard and more. KenSAP pays all expenses for the first year and mentors the students academically and outside the classroom. The Kenyan students are not prepared for life in the United States. There are many cultural adjustments to make. English and Swahili are the main spoken languages in Kenya. In 2025, all applicants were accepted early decision which is unusual. That helps free up time for Alan and his team to prepare the students for their new challenges that await them. Students receive grants for projects in their home communities and do 3-4 month long internships. Last year over $108 million dollars in available financial aid was unlocked. Students are followed and assisted without time limit as long as necessary. KenSAP Alumni is an important source of help as they give back with their time and talents to help new students. They work for companies like Google, Goldman Sachs, Novastar and more. KenSAP has a track record of successfully placing students and helping them succeed. US universities trust KenSAP as a proven model consisting of a small team with a low budget. There is a base of diverse donors with KenSAP alumni providing 15-20% of its operating budget. KenSAP is looking to increase its partnerships to grow and scale to other countries in Africa including Uganda, Sudan and more. Currently the ratio of male to female is 50-50 although that wasn't always the case. Entry by girls was difficult in the beginning because the Kenyan culture prioritized males. Many but not all alumni return to Kenya. The government of Kenya is relatively stable but has not been a major source of funding.
For more information go to www.kensap.org.
Elections: Pete Zucco
Incoming President Pete Zucco presided over the election of the slate of new officers for 2026-2027 who take over June 24. They are:
Peter Zucco, President
John Aforismo, President-Elect
David Condren, Secretary
Michael Millerick, Treasurer
Marty Palmieri and Jan Perruccio, Co-Sgt. of Arms
By hand vote, the slate was unaminously approved with no abstentions.
Wine & Beer Tasting and Silent Auction, April 10
Marty reported that on Tuesday, he, Jan and Pete met with Jessica Esquelin from Saybrook Point Resort & Marina (location host of event) to go over the general operation, and review of last year's event looking for things to improve from last year. The event layout worked out well with increased seating and improved traffic flow and will remain the same as last year. We are advertising the event in print and social media so it's time to work on sponsors and auction items and generate momentum. Marty sent out an email asking for Rotarians to pick up some of the donors who aren't covered. Also, try to think of new potential donors and sponsors. The spreadsheets of past donors and sponsors have been updated on the website in the Member Directory section accessible to club members only.
Jessica Pilcher is working on a video with the theme "Why did you join Rotary?". This promises to be a great PR piece so get ready if Jessica asks you on camera!
