Welcome to the Rotary Club of Fairfield

Fairfield Rotary At A Glance

Our focus is to encourage and foster the ideal of Service Above Self. We seek to make our communities, and our world, a better place by being people of action.

Our Philosophy and Public Service

It starts with people getting to know other people.

• Through the power of acquaintance and by being an active member within our community, we find opportunities for service.
• By maintaining high ethical standards in business, our professions, and our individual pursuits, we find opportunities to connect, do business, serve others, and give back.
• By advancing international understanding, goodwill and peace, we create a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideals of service.

These principles have been developed over the years to provide Rotarians with a strong, common purpose and direction. They serve as a foundation for our relationships with each other and the action we take in the world. Read more about how we are People of Action!

Come out May 11th to Brooklawn Country Club for Fairfield Rotary's 38th Annual Golf Tournament

Register here

Fairfield Rotary Club Hosts First Selectman’s Forum

WHAT: Public forum featuring candidates in Fairfield’s upcoming First Selectman special election.

WHO:

• Fairfield First Selectman, Christine Vitale, Democrat
• CT State Senator, Tony Hwang, Republican

WHEN:

• Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, 11:45 a.m. – 2 p.m.
• Snow date: Jan. 26, 2026

WHERE: Gaelic American Club, 74 Beach Road, Fairfield, CT

FORUM DETAILS:

• Candidates will answer pre-selected questions submitted by the public and Rotary members. Each candidate will deliver a closing statement.
• Admission is $20, which includes entry and buffet lunch.

REGISTRATION:  Registration is a two-step process. RSVP by January 8th. Pre-payment required.

1. Register and submit your questions here: Forum Registration & Questions. (via Survey Monkey portal)
2. Pre-Pay here: Forum Payment (via Square portal)

CONTACT: Mark Perlman, firstdiv@optonline.net. 

Special thank you and appreciation for Jay Tini & Bob Vossler for their work to make the Paddle Fest bigger & better this year! This's year proceeds from the event led to a $10,000 donation Clasp Homes

Come and join the "Fighting Fairfield Rotarians" on Sunday, October 26th 9:00 AM at Sherwood Island State Park, Westport, CT as we walk for the second year to raise funds and awareness to help eradicate this horrible disease.

Come bring a smile to a child's face while reading to a class of our next generation. 

Congratulations to our long-standing members of service to Rotary all with over 25 years of membership and active service: 

• John Marshall Lee (50+ years) 
• John Beckmann (50+ years)
• Bruce Carter
• Guy Hatfield            
• Peter Ambrose    
• Renato Gasparian  
• Robert Vossler
• Sheryl Shaughnessey     
• Richard Huber                     
• Peter Ventriglia    
• Kevin Lesko
• Douglas Williams          
• Timothy Russell
• Norma Peterson     
• Janet Barillari                   
• Harry French   
• Robert Price
• Thomas Walsh Jr.

Welcome to Fairfield Rotary's newest member Jennifer Jennings. A lifelong Fairfield resident, Jennifer brings both deep community ties and a broad perspective shaped by travel across the country and parts of the world. For the past 30 years, Fairfield has been home to her husband and Jennifer, where she continued to channel her passion for service, wellness, and connection.

Jennifer currently serves as the Special Events & Development Coordinator at the Norma Pfriem Breast Center, part of Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale New Haven Health, where she helps lead impactful community outreach and fundraising initiatives. Her background includes roles such as Hospitality Director for the Gathering of the Vibes music festival and General Manager of Yoga for Everybody in downtown Fairfield. She is also a certified yoga teacher, animal lover, outdoor enthusiast, and competitive table tennis player.

We look forward to Jennifer's contributions to the club and community!

For the 14th consecutive year, during the Memorial Day Parade in Fairfield on Monday, May 26th the Rotary Club will be collecting non-perishable food/canned goods and money (cash, credit card, or checks made out to “Homes for the Brave”) along the parade route to donate and support local Veterans. As is tradition local Veterans will be riding in the truck and helping collect.

Marchers will walk along the parade route collecting items including canned goods, coffee, powder creamers, twin sized sheets, towels, and any toiletries.

The Club is honored to help support Homes for the Brave, a non-profit in Bridgeport, CT whose mission is to help homeless veterans with housing and services necessary to help them return to productive and meaningful life. On any given night in the United States, there are approximately 40,000 Veterans experiencing homelessness. 

Jennifer Farrington is the founder and owner of YourMarketer LLC, a full-service marketing consulting firm based in Fairfield, CT, specializing in matching companies with industry-specific marketing experts. An award-winning marketing executive with a proven track record, Jennifer brings a wealth of experience from her executive leadership roles at Mazars US, Buck Consultants, Grant Thornton, and PwC. Across her career, she has built high-performing teams, driven strategic brand transformations, and delivered measurable business growth, including improving Net Promoter® Scores by 30 points and earning multiple prestigious marketing awards. Jennifer holds a dual B.A. in psychology and communications from Bethel College, Indiana.

Jennifer’s life is also deeply rooted in giving back to her community and supporting meaningful causes. For the past 13 years, she has contributed to fundraising efforts for K9s for Warriors. This organization rescues and trains dogs to serve as loyal companions to veterans suffering from PTSD, providing both therapeutic relief and companionship to those who have bravely served the nation. Alongside this, she is also involved with Healthwagon, an organization committed to delivering mobile healthcare to uninsured and underserved patients living in Central Appalachia. She sees the importance of bridging healthcare gaps in communities that face limited access to medical services.

Personally, Jennifer is a rose gardener, quilter, landscape artist, and an avid reader who loves to curl up with a book with her famous 11-month-old standard goldendoodle Brady – who has his own TikTok following of 8100 people! She enjoys travelling around the US and Europe with her college sweetheart of 31 years, and has an amazing niece, 14, and nephew 15, that she can talk about for hours. She is originally from St. Charles, Illinois, and moved out to Fairfield 23 years ago in 2002 when she fell in love on a visit to the town.

The club and the community look forward to your contributions!

Born in the Bronx, NY, Mary Elizabeth, or “Mea” to many of her friends, and her family moved to Fairfield, CT at age six. She attended St. Thomas Aquinas in Fairfield and Notre Dame in Bridgeport.

Mea has worked for Crystal Restoration Services in Norwalk, CT for twenty-two years, providing emergency services for water, mold, and fire remediation. Originally hired as Accounts Receivable Manager, Mea took over claims and dispatched crews and eventually focused on Marketing efforts there. In 2022 she started marketing for a&a Windshields supporting the state of Connecticut.

Within Rotary, Mea has been an active member, a member of our Grants committee and supporting events like Pillars of the Community, Shredfest, Paddlefest, our collections for veterans during the Memorial Day parade, our annual Golf tournament, as well as volunteering at the Operation Hope food pantry and Bridgeport Rescue Mission food truck. 
We thank Mea for her active participation and embodying Rotary’s mission of “service beyond self”.

The Norman K. Parsells Award,  is presented annually to honor the memory and spirit of Norm Parsells.  He was a dedicated Rotarian who served his community and Rotary, demonstrating Rotary’s ideal of “Service Above Self”. This year’s recipients of the Award will be recognized as Rotarians who personify the same spirit and dedication to their community and Rotary that Norm represented during his lifetime. Clubs in Areas 4 and 5 participate. (Bridgeport, Fairfield, Trumbull, Monroe, Stratford, Milford, Devon, Orange and Derby-Shelton).