Garrett Capobianco To Serve as District Governor for the Rotary

Garrett CapobiancoThe history of The Rotary Club, a civil service club, was founded in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century (1905). The name “rotary” was used as a reference to the rotating weekly meetings held at the varied business offices of the original members who gathered to organize and plan service projects for their community. Today, the Rotary Club has expanded from the original three members in the first club in Chicago, to a global network of 1.4 million with 35,000 local clubs in over 200 countries. The Scarsdale local chapter of The Rotary Club still continues this mission with the same purpose and describes itself as “a club of neighbors, friends, leaders and problem solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change…in our communities, and in ourselves”. They focus their voluntary service projects around the original seven broad areas; “promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, saving mother and children through accessible health care and other services, supporting basic education and literacy, growing local economies and protecting the environment.” The original Scarsdale chapter of The Rotary Club founded in 1923 had 16 members. At the 25th anniversary of the club in 1948, the chapter grew to 67 members and is still going strong today.

It was just recently announced that past Scarsdale Rotary Club President, Mr. Garrett Capobianco was selected by the District Nominating Committee to be the next District Governor for District 7230 for the Rotary Year 2025-26. Current District Governor Marty Schulman who announced his successor, describes this leadership position as the following: “the district governor appoints assistant governors from among the Rotarians of the district to assist in the management of Rotary activity and multi-club projects in the district. Rotary District 7230 (which includes The Scarsdale Rotary Club), home to the United Nations in New York, is the governing organization of 50 Rotary Clubs, 6 Rotaract Clubs, and 21 Interact Clubs spanning the New York Metro area (Manhattan, The Bronx, Staten Island, Westchester) and Bermuda.”

What makes this such a remarkable appointment is that Mr. Capobianco is not only a current resident of Scarsdale but also a Scarsdale High School grad, class of 1984. He grew up in Fox Meadow/Heathcote neighborhoods and lives in Greenacres now as he continues to give back to the community. It is the first time a Scarsdale resident has been named to this position and a very great honor. Dr. Elizabeth Frost, a Scarsdale Rotary Club member, describes Mr. Capobianco’s new position, “He is travelling all over now to take the word of our projects, getting more support and generally putting Scarsdale even more on the map. Last year, we were able to finance and thus create the first physician anesthesiologist in the entire county of Liberia.”

Local Scarsdale Rotary Club work occurred just this past Wednesday evening (May 7th) at the Scarsdale High School Awards Night. Each year the Scarsdale Rotary Club presents $1500 scholarship awards to Scarsdale High School seniors who emulate the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self.” Student candidates are selected by the high school administration and interviewed by a committee of Scarsdale Rotary Club members who determine the recipients.

The committee explained that this year’s “six candidates were all outstanding selections who represented SHS admirably and instilled confidence in the committee that our society will be in the good hands of such future leaders”. The first of three recipients of the Scarsdale Rotary Club scholarship awards for 2025, Avery Dickstein, is an avid student environmentalist who is co-president of the Project Green Club where she is working to reduce the use of plastic in local eateries. The next recipient, Kamila El Moselhy is a co-founder of the SHS Muslim Club and after October 7th she reached out to her peers in the Jewish Culture Club to brainstorm ideas to bring their communities together, demonstrate unity, and help civilians affected by the war. Lastly, Amelia Fader serves as a Public Relations/Recruitment Officer of the SHS Innocence Club which helps spread awareness about unjust incarceration practices and advocates for criminal and social justice reform. She is also the Programming Officer of the SHS UNICEF Club which advocates for the wellness and human rights of children around the world. The District Governor elect of Rotary, Garrett Capobianco, attended the SHS Awards Assembly on May 7th and presented the awards to each student.

A celebration marking Mr. Capobianco’s appointment as District Governor, will be held at the Scarsdale Women’s Club on May 31st starting at 6:30pm. Scarsdale Rotary is celebrating its 102nd year serving local, national, and international needs through projects and fundraising. More information can be found on its website: scarsdalerotary.org New members are always welcome. The club meets weekly on Tuesdays either by ZOOM or in person.