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April 2025

Volume 25 Issue 4

Satellite Club Meets April 9th

Satellite Club is moving forward with a meeting on Wednesday, April 9 at 5:30pm to meet all new prospects, complete applications and make the next move. If we register at least 8 members we can charter the club with RI. The meeting space is Epiphany Lutheran Church, 1400 Horsepen Road in the back room called the Lodge. 

End Polio Now Baseball Game at the Diamond

Batter up! May 1, 2025, is the End Polio Now Baseball Game at the Diamond. The Flying Squirrels play Somerset at 6:35 pm. This is a family friendly fundraiser to end Polio. $2 from each ticket goes to End Polio Now. Travis Bjorklund will be heading this up, stay tuned to order your tickets!

Crab Festival

Craving a beautiful fall day, The Crab Festival is set for September 13, 2025 at the fabulous ChildSavers on lookout point, same place as last year. The Rotary Club of Richmond will have the Wybros play (William Cabell's dad's band). More information to come this spring!

SERVICE ABOVE SELF

Project Warm

Please keep an eye out for wood ready to be brought and split at the wood lot to prepare when the weather turns really cold weather and we deliver wood to individuals who depend on wood only for their heat source.

Contact Joe Kelleher via email with questions or if you know of a good lead!

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

Amy Strite, President/CEO. The Span Center/Area Agency on Aging for Central Virginia

“Services for Richmond’s older adults, persons with disabilities, and caregivers”

Amy Strite, MSW, LCSW is the President/CEO of The Capital Area Agency on Aging, doing business as The Span Center. She brings to her work a dedication to system-level change, with an emphasis on sustainability, equity, and person-centered, trauma-informed care.

Amy has 30 plus years of progressively responsible non-profit leadership. She is mission and values driven in directing organizations in their long-term strategies and daily operations. Amy effectively builds and sustains trusting relationships with boards, staff, funders, community partners and other stakeholders. She has experience with change management, building employee engagement, and resource development. Amy has a strong commitment to leading organizations to embrace the importance of social justice, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

Prior to her work with The Span Center, Amy served as the CEO of Voices for Virginia’s Children and President & CEO of Family Lifeline. Amy held roles with Greater Richmond SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now), Sacred Heart Center and Richmond AIDS Ministry.

Amy serves on the boards of Richmond Memorial Health Foundation, Virginia Association of Area Agencies on Aging, The Capital Region Workforce Partnership, and Legal Services Corporation of Virginia. Amy holds a Bachelor of Social Work degree from West Virginia University and a Master of Social Work degree from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

DJ Stadtler, Executive Director, Virginia Passenger Rail Authority

"Transforming Rail in Virginia"

DJ Stadtler was appointed Executive Director of VPRA in April 2021 and is accountable for all strategy, policy development, and operations of the Authority.

Mr. Stadtler came to VPRA from Amtrak where he spent 12 years serving in three different Executive Vice President roles as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Administrative Officer. His 28 years of experience in the railroad industry also includes time at the Federal Railroad Administration where he served as Deputy Chief Financial Officer, overseeing budget, accounting, procurement, and real estate.

Mr. Stadtler is a two-time graduate of Northeastern University and resides in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Victor Branch, Richmond Market President, Bank of America

"The Road Ahead for Community Banking"

Victor Branch serves as the Market President of Bank of America for the Richmond, VA Market. He connects businesses, families and individuals to the banking and investment teams that will help improve their financial lives. He also leads the work to deploy Bank of America’s resources across the market and the region to address social and economic concerns and build strong communities.

Branch has also served as the Market Executive for Richmond since 2003. In this role, he has worked with local Bank of America leaders since to shape strategy for delivering one company in the Richmond market. Branch has been active in civic and community affairs throughout his career at Bank of America. 

He served on the Board of Visitors for William & Mary from 2018-2022. He is a trustee of several foundations, including Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges, VA Museum of History & Culture, Chamber RVA and Venture Richmond. Branch is also a founding trustee of the Virginia Funders Network. He was appointed to the Virginia State University Board of Visitors in July 2022. Lastly, he is a trustee on The Community Foundation of Richmond board where he serves on the Executive Committee.

Branch is a native of Dinwiddie County where he attended public school. He graduated from Richard Bland College in 1982 with an Associate Arts Degree in Sociology. He matriculated to William & Mary where he graduated in 1984 with a BA in Sociology.  

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Brent Schneider, CEO, First Tees - Greater Richmond.

"Building Character through the Game of Golf."

Brent Schneider has led First Tee – Greater Richmond as its CEO for nearly 15 years.

During Brent’s tenure, First Tee – Greater Richmond has grown the organization’s footprint as the reimagined and renovated Belmont was reopened in 2021, joining The Tattersall Youth Development Center and the Elson Redmond Memorial Driving Range in the organization’s portfolio of first-class public golf facilities.

Upon arriving at First Tee – Greater Richmond in July 2008, Brent arrived in a small start-up environment, and through best practices, attention to the little things, an entrepreneurial spirit led the organization’s growth and development.

Before joining First Tee – Greater Richmond, Brent was Assistant Director of Athletics at the University of Richmond where he was responsible for overseeing athletic fundraising. He served as the point person for the $25 million on-campus stadium fundraising project and was responsible for creating an overall development strategy for the athletics department.

Brent received a bachelor’s degree from Hampden-Sydney College in 1996 where he was a member of the varsity basketball team that advanced to two NCAA Division III tournaments (1994, 1995). Brent is married to his wife, Tracy, and they have one daughter.

Outside of work, Brent is an avid reader and enthusiastic chef who remains committed to fitness and enjoys outdoor activities with his friends and family.

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Colleen Curran, Food Editor, Richmond Times Dispatch.

"The Secrets of a Restaurant Reviewer"

Colleen Curran is an award-winning writer and the Features Editor for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the primary daily newspaper for the area and the newspaper of record for the state.

She covers food & dining news in the Richmond area, exploring many of the challenges facing local restaurants post-pandemic such as rising inflation, increased labor costs, changing dining habits and the meals tax fiasco. She launched the new Dining section in the paper and will be publishing a new special section in the spring called The RTD 100: The Best Restaurants in Richmond. She also publishes a video series called Where Richmond Eats.

Previously, she was a staff writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch where she covered the childcare crisis, working women being pushed out of the work force and the first positive documented COVID case in the city. She also covered arts and entertainment for the paper for over 15 years. She was the editor of Richmond.com, an independent website, before its purchase by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Colleen lives in Bon Air with her husband and two sons, Henry and Gus.

WELCOME

Welcome to our newest furry members, Libbie and Lucie!

We also are thrilled to welcome to our newest Rotarians: John Goodale, Shane Townsend, Rebecca Von Meister, David Stephens, Kyle Morrissey, Eva Posner and Jackie Ford!

Give them all a warm welcome next time you see them. 

Thank you to Ben Rothrock, Chief Operating Officer & General Manager, The Flying Squirrels,

for speaking to The Rotary Club of Richmond!

Our thanks to Peter Goodman, M.D., for addressing The Rotary Club of Richmond.

Our appreciation to John Newby, J.D., CEO, Virginia Bio, for presenting to The Rotary Club of Richmond.

Whether you are relatively new to the club or a long-serving member, the Rotary Club of Richmond has been serving Richmond for more than a century; do you have your copy of this history? Copies are now available; $20 soft copies; $30 hard copies.

Let's wish our fellow Rotarians Happy Birthday and congratulations on their Rotary Anniversary!