By Katherine Kelton
Three Village Rotary Club held a fundraiser at the Reboli Center for Art & History Wednesday, April 10, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. All proceeds went directly to the Reboli Center to fund maintenance on the building.
The fundraiser was the first event the club held since its name change from Stony Brook Rotary Club. A name update was important to President Marios Patatinis, as “there’s not just one little ZIP code — everyone works together in the community,” he said.
Rotarian Chris Sokol spearheaded the event with local businesses catering the event: Elaine’s Restaurant and Bar provided refreshments; The Bench provided a plentiful food spread; The Jazz Loft provided music; Chocology provided chocolates and several other businesses also contributed.
“It’s just a nice opportunity to get everyone in the Three Village community together to support this gem in a time of need,” Sokol said of the event’s importance.
People entered through the gallery doors of the Reboli Center and walked through the building to the outdoors. The spring weather aided in creating an atmospheric space, with music in the background.
In addition to the many people flooding the space as the night went on, Suffolk County Legislator Steve Englebright (D-Setauket) was also there. He has a long history with both the Rotary Club and the Reboli Center. Accounting professor Daniel Kerr and Brookhaven Town Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) shared remarks regarding the legislator’s support for the center.
Many of the people in attendance consisted of current and aspiring Rotary Club members. Rotary Clubs, which have long screening processes before admittance, attract people with different careers.
Patatinis charmingly referred to Three Village as “our backyard” and said, “People care about Three Village, they want to come back to our backyard.”
Some goals of the Rotary Club include creating an “ecosystem” between local businesses and residents, as Sokol described it. The Rotary also wants to just bring more members of the community together at events.
Kornreich admitted he is not one to sugarcoat things as he shared the importance of the Reboli Center as a “pillar of our community,” which made it the perfect place to host this Three Village Rotary event.
President of the Reboli Center, Lois Reboli, was also in attendance. With the proceeds she hopes to supervise much needed updates on the building, including the awning, parking lot and beautifying the space.
She is the widow of Joseph Reboli, to whom the gallery is dedicated and that houses his work. The president shared her husband’s community involvement: “He was on the board of Gallery North and he was also on the board of The Ward Melville Heritage Organization. He was always giving back and he was always going to meetings. And I would say, ‘Why would you want to go to all these meetings?’ to which he said, ‘I love the community and I want to give back.’”
With excited members and a rebrand, the Three Village Rotary Club is hoping to expand its influence on the community and bring people together with more events.
