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Flags for Heroes Ceremony

On Sunday, the anniversary of D-Day, the Arlington Rotary Club held their Annual Flags for Heroes dedication. This year the club dedicated the ceremony to Elaine Shea, a very active Arlington citizen who died in March. In addition 160 flags fly for the people who have made a difference in the lives of other. The funds raised through this fundraiser helps support our scholarship program.

Flags for Heroes - 2021

We're moving our annual Flags for Heroes event from the Fall to the Spring this year. The flags will be raised in Park Circle before Memorial Day in May, and remain up until Flag Day in June.

People sponsor flags in memory of the men and women who are serving or have served as members of the Military, Police Officers, Firefighters, First Responders, Parents, Teachers, Coaches, Mentors, Community Leaders, and anyone else who has made a difference in their lives.

Visit our Flags for Heroes website to sponsor one or more flags.

Hybrid Meeting

As of June 2, 2021 Arlington Rotary Club will host a hybrid meeting. If you would like to attend in person we meet at 8am every Wednesday. or join us online at https://zoom.us/j/797774837 with password 7930-02474. Guests are welcome to attend all meetings.

Our meetings are held at The Arlington American Legion Post 39 located at 370 Mass Ave. Arlington, MA 02474. Please use the back door.

Breakfast is served at 7:45am.

Recent Events / Activities

2021 Polar Dunk

The Rotary Club of Arlington held a "Polar Dunk" on March 13, 2021 to help Rotary International eradicate polio. Club members plunged themselves in a dunk tank filled with cold water to raise money for Rotary International's End Polio Now campaign, which provides the polio vaccine to children around the world.

The donation web site will remain open until 3/26/2021. As of 3/13, we've raised $4,600 -- enough to immunize thousands of children.

Donate here

Providing PPE / Cleaning Materials to local schools

Our club is engaged in a project to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) and cleaning materials to two local schools that serve autistic students: Melmark New England, and Nashoba Learning Group.

Earlier this year, the club applied for and was awarded a District grant for this project. As of 3/21/2021, the supplies have been delivered to the schools.

The Million Mask Project

The Rotary Club of Arlington participated in distributing masks as part of the Million Mask Challenge to provide 2,000 medical-grade face masks to local groups, including:

Arlington EATS - Arlington
The Beech Street Center / Council on Aging - Belmont
The Belmont Food Pantry - Belmont
Visiting Nurse and Community Care - Arlington
Central Food Ministry - Lowell
Our Lady of the Assumption School - Lynnfield

2020 Scholarship Recipients Meeting

The Rotary Club of Arlington honored and celebrated its three 2020 college scholarship recipients at the last meeting of 2020, on December 30, at 7:00pm, via zoom.

It was great to meet them and their families, and hear about their experiences during their first semester. We hope to meet them all face-to-face when the pandemic is over!

Flags for Heros 2020

The Flags for Heroes event took place from October 25th through November 11, with a dedication ceremony on Sunday, November 8th, at 1:00pm, at Park Circle.

We'll be doing another Flags for Heroes event in May. Check back for information about how to dedicate a flag to your heroes!

Books/DVDs/CDs and Sweatpants for the Bedford VA

Our club and the Arlington Knights of Columbus joined forces to gather books, CDs, and DVDs for the patients at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Bedford. At their request, we also donated a few dozen sweatpants, which are more comfortable than their ordinary pajamas. We delivered these to the Bedford VA in August, 2020.

2020 Paul Harris & Community Person of the Year Dinner

Due to COVID-19 The Rotary Club of Arlington annual Paul Harris Award & Community Person of the Year Dinner was cancelled.

Daniel Dunn will be honored with a Paul Harris Fellowship, and Edward Woods will be honored as Community Person of the Year at our 2021 Dinner, which is currently planned to take place some time in the autumn of 2021.

2020 Polar Plunge

The Rotary Club of Arlington once again participated in the Rotary District 7930 Polar Plunge on 2/29/2020 at Long Beach in Gloucester.

Rotary District 7930, which includes eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, hosted its 10th Annual Polar Plunge to Eradicate Polio.

To pledge support for one of the Arlington plungers, visit the following page and then click on the "Fundraisers" tab at the bottom of the page.

Arlington fundraising page

Your support will make a difference!

All Polar Plunge donations will be matched 2:1 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Help us make history! To learn more about Rotary’s fight to eradicate Polio, visit www.endpolio.org.

2019 December Holiday Party

Our 2019 Holiday Party and meeting took place during the evening of December 11, at the Menotomy Grill.

2019 Flags for Heroes

The Flags for Heroes were on display in front of the Arlington High School (869 Massachusetts Avenue) until November 11.

2019 Paul Harris Award & Community Person of the Year dinner

The Rotary Club of Arlington hosted our annual Paul Harris Award & Community Person of the Year Dinner on Tuesday, 6/4/2019 at the Woburn Country Club.

Clarissa Rowe was awarded an honorary Paul Harris Fellowship, and Alan Tosti was honored as the Community Person of the Year.

2019 Rotary District 7930 Polar Plunge

Rotary District 7930 (eastern Massachusetts & southern New Hampshire) held its 9th Annual Polar Plunge to Eradicate Polio on February 9, 2019. We plunged into the frigid waters of the Atlantic Ocean at Long Beach in Gloucester at 11am.

All Polar Plunge donations were matched 2:1 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

To learn more about Rotary’s fight to eradicate Polio, visit to www.endpolio.org.

Rotary honors local unsung heroes

In November, 2018, the Rotary Club Of Arlington participated in the Unsung Hero Event held in honor of Rotary Foundation Month. Twenty-four Unsung Heroes were honored by their clubs and the district as honorary Paul Harris Fellows for their commitment and service to their communities. The evening was filled with accolades, tears of joy, and amazing stories of these heroes’ commitment to Service Above Self.

Marie Krepelka was honored as Arlington's Unsung Hero.

Marie is the oldest and longest serving employee in the Town of Arlington. She started working for the town in 1959, and has worked for the town since then, with the exception of 8 years she took off to raise her two sons. She has worked for/with all six Town Managers of Arlington. Currently, she is the Administrator to the Executive Branch of the town the Select Board. She is the liaison to every town department on behalf of the five-member Board of Selectmen. She and her staff run all elections, run Town Day, provide all licenses and permits, oversees parking and communicates all policies as established by the Select Board. Marie is knowledgeable about town government and is a center of influence. Still working in the Select Board's Office, she is strong, competent, dedicated and very deserving of the title Unsung Hero.