Cliff Sporn, Team Leader - Bio

I graduated veterinary school from Michigan State University in 1982 after having received a degree in Microbiology and Public Health from MSU in 1977.  I am a small animal practitioner in a 2-veterinarian practice.  Our hospital was built in 1834 to serve as the local school for the children of the neighboring farms.  It served as a one-room schoolhouse and home for the teacher until the early 1900’s.  I have some clients and friends whose grandparents remember coming to school where I now practice.  In the late 1940’s the building became the office of a local veterinarian, Dr. Worth.  In 1961 the practice was sold to Dr. Fedorko. At that time the hospital took the name Schoolhouse Animal Hospital.  I joined the staff in 1984 and now own the practice and continue to work there with my associate, Dr. Furth.  

I joined the Rotary Club of Mount Holly, New Jersey, in 1986.  I served on the Board of Directors as Chair of each of the Avenues of Service and then as President of the club in 1999-2000.  In 2001 I was honored by being presented a Paul Harris Fellow.  I am currently chair of our scholarship committee which has been awarding approximately 24 $1000 scholarships to graduates of our local high school, Rancocas Valley Regional High School.

I have been a member of the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association since moving to New Jersey in 1984.  I was elected Treasurer in 1993 and served in that capacity until 2003 when I was elected to President 2004-2005.

I am also involved in my local church, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, where I sing in the choir and currently serve as Warden.

With my wife of 35 years, Janice, we have 2 grown children.  We play golf and enjoy traveling.

Lew's Bio

My name is Lewis Craig Lazarow—just Lew for short. I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree in English at the Pennsylvania State University, and my Master of Arts in English Literature from Rutgers University. I'm currently a member of the National Council of Teachers of English and the National Education Association, as well as a steering committee member of the New Jersey Writers' Alliance. For the past 11 years I've been an English literature and composition teacher at Moorestown High School in Moorestown, New Jersey. While I've taught a very wide range of course over that time, this year I'm teaching 12th grade College Prep English, 11th grade Advanced Placement English (Language and Composition), Service Learning, Public Speaking and Rhetoric, and Creative Writing. I love teaching medieval British Literature (especially Beowulf and the Canterbury Tales). This is also my 11th year as faculty advisor of the MHS Interact Club, helping my students develop, maintain and improve such service projects as the American Red Cross blood drives, the Powder Puff Flag Football Tournament, Soup for the Soul food bank benefit, and schoolwide Talent Show.

I've been married almost 15 years to my wife, Sharon; we met while we were both students at Penn State and brothers of Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity. We currently live in Marlton, New Jersey. We have two children—our son Jacob is biological, while we adopted our daughter Anya from Russia. Both are 12 and in 6th grade. We also have quite an animal menagerie—2 cats (one, totally deaf and blind in one eye) and 3 dogs (a springer spaniel, a cocker spaniel, and a cocker/schnauzer mix).

I am Jewish. My family attends worship services at Congregation Beth Tikvah in Marlton. My children are preparing for their b'nai mitzvah ceremony next fall.

I started playing French horn in 1981. While I've performed with a variety of concert ensembles, I think I've loved marching band the most. I marched for 4 years high school, then 5 years with the Penn State Marching Blue Band; after graduation, I spent a year as a high school drum major coach. I'm a member of the Penn State Alumni Blue Band Association, and was just elected to be a member of the Executive Board. I'm currently finishing co-authoring a book chronicling the past 10 years of the Blue Band (Into the Game: The Penn State Blue Band 1999-2009) slated for publication in the spring of 2010.

I joined the Boy Scouts of America in 1981, and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in 1987. I was awarded the Vigil Honor of the Order of the Arrow for my work as leader of my lodge's Native American Dance Team; we won 4 consecutive area championships, and competed twice at the National Conference. While at Penn State, I served as Scoutmaster for a troop comprised entirely of mentally and physically challenged Scouts. I currently serve as Assistant Scoutmaster of my son's Scout troop, and am slated to take over as Scoutmaster in June 2010; this summer, I will be attending the National Scout Jamboree as a member of the National Staff.

Timothy Robinson, a Natural Resource Conversationalist, has been with
the Burlington County Soil Conservation District for approximately
four years.  Before joining the Soil Conservation District, Tim
attended Salisbury University, Salisbury Maryland, where he earned a
degree in Environmental Health Science.  Since working with the
Burlington County Soil Conservation District, Tim has achieved many
important goals when it comes to educating the public in non-point
pollution and water quality.  Tim accomplishes his goals by working
along side construction firms, the general public, and most
importantly the county schools.  The goal of this education is to
teach everyone that we all live “downstream”.  He meets with the New
Jersey Environmental Education Coordinators to write new lesson plans
for public schools across New Jersey and is a test writer for the New
Jersey Envirothon.  He is an active member of the International
Erosion Control Association and also the New Jersey Association of
Erosion Control where he meets with the top professionals in the field
to discuss better ways to improve water quality on construction sites.

Tim also teams up with local Scout Troops to complete natural
resource projects on a local scale.  Tim is currently working with an
Eagle Scout in efforts to create a footbridge that extends over bog
turtle habitat.  To contact Tim please email him at
trobinson@bscd.org.

Welcome

Welcome to the Rotary Group Study Exchange Blog for the Exchange that will take place in March 2010 between District 7500 in New Jersey, USA and District 3830 in Manila, Philippines.