A belated and sincere thank you to everyone that came to the recent Oktoberfest that benefited the Rotary of The Palisade’s fundraiser of providing weekend snack packs for eligible children in the Leonia and Edgewater schools. Although the final accounting has not yet been confirmed, we raised somewhere in the neighborhood of $8000. Oktoberfest’s success would not have been possible without the help and support of so many people and organizations and all of us at Rotary are deeply grateful. We also thank the community that came out in the 100’s to support a worthy cause, meet neighbors and have a good time.

Our guest speaker is Leonia Mayor Judah Zeigler who will talk about economic development and other topics of interest. Dinner is fixed price at $30 per member or guest. Rotary meetings are open to all.
Mayor Judah Zeigler began his term of office on January 1, 2016. He is a lifelong Leonia resident and graduate of Leonia’s public schools. Mayor Zeigler previously served a term as Mayor of Leonia, from 1996 to 2000, and served one term as a Borough Councilman, from 1993 – 1996.
In addition to being a volunteer elected official, the Mayor volunteers in numerous other town organizations. He is the Regional Referee Administrator and referee instructor for Region 1089 of the American Youth Soccer Organization, where he leads and mentors a team of 40+ volunteer youth and adult soccer referees. He is also the Treasurer of the Leonia Soccer Association, and is also a coach for LSA. He also coaches baseball for the Leonia Sports Boosters and Leonia Recreation.
Mayor Zeigler is also a Certified Clinician for the Rutgers S.A.F.E.T.Y Clinic, and volunteers his time to conduct training classes for Leonians who wish to volunteer their time as a coach in any of Leonia’s sports programs.
The Mayor has also spent many years advocating for those with special needs, especially for individuals with autism. He worked with Senator Weinberg to write and obtain passage of a law that funds autism research across New Jersey.
Mayor Zeigler is the Director of eCommerce for Samsung Electronics America, where he started and leads the direct-to-consumer eCommerce business for Samsung’s North America subsidiary. He has spent his career in a variety of leadership positions in product marketing, marketing services, marketing communications, and planning, working for several of the world’s largest consumer electronics manufacturers.
According to Mayor Zeigler, “My highest priority is to ensure that all Leonians feel engaged and involved in the process of government within Leonia. Only by working together and leveraging the skills of all of our residents will we be able to overcome the challenges we face, which include redevelopment and revitalization initiatives, enhancing our Borough’s facilities, and restoring an atmosphere of respect and collaboration with our Borough volunteers. We will be working hard to leverage technology to deliver information to our town’s citizens through a wide variety of methods; it is my most fervent hope that Leonians will respond by getting involved, asking questions, and offering their expertise to help their volunteer elected officials address the important matters which lie before us.”
***Above information was copied from http://www.leonianj.gov/content/Mayor.aspx
Rotary Club of The Palisades, NJ meets most Friday mornings at 7:30 at the Gotham City Diner, 550 Bergen Boulevard, Ridgefield, and the first Tuesday of each month at Dante’s Place, 373 Broad Ave., Leonia. Meetings last one hour. All participants buy their own meal. Evening dinners are $30 and BYOB . Contact Philip Wilson with questions at WilsonPhilipE@Gmail.com or at 201-956-8509.
Final prep for OKTOBERFEST!!!! Hope to see everyone TODAY – RAIN or SHINE
Legion Hall Broad Avenue 4pm-11pm
Mongolia
Michael Seymour shares his Mongolian trip with Rotary of the Palisades

Mike is a retired high school math and physics teacher at Frisch High School in Paramus.
Mike says he’ll tell us about a fantastic trip last summer to Mongolia and Siberia on the Trans Siberian railroad:
“I’ll talk about my experiences visiting two families (with a private guide) who live in the wide open spaces of Ulan Bataar (Mongolia) and eating foods I had never seen, before enjoying the Nadam Festival, which celebrates Mongolian independence from China. I’ll also talk about the several Siberian cities I toured as well as my experiences on the Trans Siberian railroad itself. The talk will be accompanied by photos which I took on the trip.”
13 days until Leonia Oktoberfest!!
Please consider a contribution of any amount to our local school’s Weekend Snack Pack Program (WSPP) to help keep this program going.
Rotary of the Palisades annual Oktoberfest is the major fundraising event for WSPP:
https://www.gofundme.com/RotaryOktoberfest
Barbara Mitrani, president of Sculpture for Leonia, speaking about the history and operational aspects of the work of the organization, which had its 10th anniversary this year. Sculpture for Leonia is committed to enhancing the historically rich art and cultural environment of Leonia via the display of outdoor sculpture. The talk included photos of various sculptures, a discussion of how the sculptures are chosen and stories of the artists.
Max Wang is our speaker this Tuesday at our monthly Tuesday evening meeting. Max is entering his senior year at Leonia High School. A top student, Max is a member of the LHS Science Academy. Palisades Rotary selected Max to be its representative at the Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA) held at New Jersey City University in June.
Max will be sharing his experience at RYLA with us on Tuesday evening.
In addition to his academic success, Max is passionate about art and music. He is a talented percussionist. His art portfolio is quite impressive. He possesses a keen interest in the intersection of art and science reflecting Max’s creativity which is vividly displayed in his own art works.
Remember Oktoberfest is October 1 from 4 PM to 11 PM. Oktoberfest fundraising is for the Weekend Snack Pack Program. Would you like to volunteer? Please be in contact with me.
Go to our new Go Fund Me site for Oktoberfest. Leonians have contributed $680 – more than 20% of our goal – to the Weekend Snack Pack Program for our local children: https://www.gofundme.com/RotaryOktoberfest
Check out Palisades Rotary blog post at: https://rotaryclubofthepalisades.wordpress.com/
Rotary Club of The Palisades, NJ meets most Friday mornings at 7:30 at the Gotham City Diner, 550 Bergen Boulevard, Ridgefield, and the first Tuesday of each month at Dante’s Place, 373 Broad Ave., Leonia. Meetings last one hour. All participants buy their own meal. Evening dinners are BYOB. Contact Philip Wilson with questions at WilsonPhilipE@Gmail.com or at 201-956-8509.