Giampietro Rampini, Master Ceramicist and the president of Rotary Gubbio, will visit Simpatico, Italy’s Finest in St. Michaels on Saturday, February 8th, after exhibiting at the NYNOW International Gift Show in New York. While visiting, he will attend and speak at a Rotary fundraiser dinner in St. Michaels Saturday evening at 6:30 PM with customers and fellow Rotary members at the new Community Room at the St. Michaels Housing Authority offices, 221 Dodson St. Rampini is designing pizza plates that will be given to each attendee to the dinner as a thank you for their support.
The Rotary Club of St. Michaels is very excited to work with the Rotary Club of Gubbio, Umbria, Italy on an international project to aid citizens of a rural town in Albania achieve agricultural self-sufficiency.
Rampini is a world class Ceramicist and is represented for US distribution by Simpatico, Italy’s Finest in St. Michaels. Rampini will be returning for his 4th visit to Simpatico to demonstrate his painting techniques and meet with customers who have collected his beautiful ceramic dinnerware and tableware over the years through the shop.
Bobbi Parlett, Simpatico’s owner, notified the St. Michaels Rotary about the Rotary Gubbio project and they enthusiastically agreed to partner with Rotary Gubbio. The February 8th dinner includes a four course dinner of antipasti, salad, pizza and dessert accompanied by Italian wines. The cost of the dinner which includes the pizza plate gift is $65 per person. Proceeds from the fundraiser will support Rotary Gubbio’s project in Albania. The goal of the project is to empower impoverished Albanian women to have better access to sell chickens, eggs and cheese at their markets. This effort will increase their family’s income and helping to support their families and their community both nutritionally and economically.
Other local businesses are supporting this event and include: Ava’s Pizzeria and Wine Bar will donate Pizzas, Simpatico will donate antipasti and the funds for Rotary to purchase the wine. In addition, DBS Jewelers of St. Michaels will underwrite the sale of 25 additional pizza plates. Aida Leisure, DBS Jewelers owner and St. Michaels Rotary member, will donate the proceeds to the Albanian project.
The Rotary Club of St. Michaels was chartered in May of 1939. Dr. Garrett Jones and Gene Rude along with thirty one charter members were present at this first meeting in the auditorium of St. Michaels High School. Today the club has nearly fifty members. The club meets every Tuesday morning at the Miles River Yacht Club.
The real strength of the club has been its service to the community. Starting with the charter members’ project of building playground equipment through participating in major civic projects and more recently working with Camp Fairlee-Easter Seals camp, the Talbot County Relay for Life, the Little League, supporting the St. Michaels Community Center Community Garden, sponsoring the building of The Nature Trail, and providing scholarships for St. Michaels High School Graduates, club members have endeavoured to put service above self for nearly seventy five years.
Simpatico, Italy’s Finest, will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2014 of promoting the finest Made in Italy products, including ceramics, specialty food products and wines. New offerings and events in 2014 include expansion of the Italian food products, weekly Italian lessons, a 10th anniversary celebration over Memorial Day weekend, and the 5th Annual Columbus Day Celebration October 11th. For more information call 410-745-0345 or visit www.simpaticostmichaels.com.
The St. Michaels Housing Authority has supported the community for over twenty years. Their new offices at 221 Dodson St. include a commercial kitchen, a community room and a training room with state-of-the-art technology for meetings and training. For more information call Perry Barvir at 410-745-5112.
Please call DBS Jewelers 410-745-2626 to make a reservation or for more information. Payment by check is preferred. Checks should be made out to “St. Michaels Rotary Club Foundation” and mailed to St. Michaels Rotary, PO Box 394, St. Michaels, MD 21663. Payment by cash or credit card can be made at the door.
Jennifer Martella, Martella Associates
410-253-1100
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