Press Release

For Immediate Release
For more information contact:
Gretchen Marvin: 537-1868

Submariner talks to Rotary Club

                       The Rotary Club of Colchester was recently visited by Petty Officer Roy Fenstermaker, from the U.S.S. Toledo, a fast attack, nuclear submarine, which returned from a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf.

             Petty Officer Fenstermaker, who is a propulsion specialist with the U.S. Navy, accepted an invitation to visit the Rotary Club and tell of his experience in the Navy, in a war theater and life about a submarine for six-months at a stretch. 

            “Leaving life behind for months at a time is tough on everyone involved”, Fenstermaker said, “We leave and that one sub becomes it’s own small city”. Speaking about life on board the sub, “We make our own oxygen, water and take care of every other essential you can think of. Our only limitation is the amount of food we can store, as we cannot produce food on board”.

             The USS TOLEDO is one of the LOS ANGELES class nuclear powered attack submarines. Homeported in Groton, CT, she is part of the Atlantic Fleet. The contract to build SSN 769 was awarded on 06/10/1988 and her keel was laid on 05/06/1991. She was launched on 08/28/1993 and she was commissioned on 02/24/1995. Toledo honors the major port city of Ohio. One previous ship has borne this name, a heavy cruiser (CA 133), which served in the Pacific from 1946 to 1969, and earned five battle stars in the Korean War. Toledo is the 58th of 62 Los Angeles Class submarines authorized for construction by Congress. 

            The sub carries an armament of: Harpoon and Tomahawk missiles from VLS-tubes, four 533 mm torpedo tubes for Mk-48 torpedoes and the ability to lay mines. The sub displaces approximately 6,000 tons, surfaced and speed ranged from 15 knots surfaced to 32 knots submerged.

 Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. In more than 160 countries worldwide, approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 30,000 Rotary clubs.

             Colchester Rotarians are your neighbors, friends and workmates, who donate their time to give back to their community through the many activities Rotary supports. The Rotary Club of Colchester gives back to the community through scholarships, donations to the Cragin Memorial Library, fundraisers for schools, scholarships, and many others.

             For more information on how you can learn more about Rotary and help your community, please see www.colchesterrotary.org and join us for a meeting. Please call Fred Brown at 860-608-6223 to reserve your seat.

Press Release

For Immediate Release
For more information contact:
Gretchen Marvin: 537-1868

 Local group gives back

                       The Rotary Club of Colchester recently delivered seventy-four Thanksgiving Baskets to deserving families throughout the Colchester area.

             Hub Ford owner Jim Kennedy, his son Robert Kennedy (a recent new Rotarian) and their crew of volunteers purchases the individual items, transports the items to Hub Ford & assembles the baskets. Colchester Rotarians then gather on the Monday evening before Thanksgiving and using their own vehicles, deliver the baskets to families identified through Colchester Social Services. Some Rotarians visit ten or more homes throughout the evening.

             Colchester Rotarian Fred Brown said “Doing this allows me the opportunity to get out and actually do something, not simply write a check. We meet the people in the community”.

             Family Pizza provided the refreshments for this crew of Rotarians as well as the students from Bacon Academy, who assisted in the preparation and delivery of baskets.

               Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. In more than 160 countries worldwide, approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 30,000 Rotary clubs.

             Colchester Rotarians are your neighbors, friends and workmates, who donate their time to give back to their community through the many activities Rotary supports. The Rotary Club of Colchester gives back to the community through scholarships, donations to the Cragin Memorial Library, fundraisers for schools, scholarships, and many others.

             For more information on how you can learn more about Rotary and help your community, please see www.colchesterrotary.org and join us for a meeting. Please call Fred Brown at 860-608-6223 to reserve your seat.