After a night of accolades at the Academy Awards Show, you will attend the A-list after-party hosted by millionaire Vanity Affair. While socializing and schmoozing with Hollywood's elite, careers will be made, secrets will be revealed, scandals will be broken and a homicide will happen.  With a V.I.P. victim and the celebrities all suspect, you will be called upon to find the criminal by cracking this red carpet caper.  Will it be an aspiring actress, tired of living in the shadows? A livid lover who has been pushed too far? Or possibly the teen starlet trying to attract a more mature audience?  As the night unfolds, so will a web of lies and scandals, intricately woven to point you to a killer. It is up to you to uncover the clues or the culprit will remain concealed.  Come walk the blood-red carpet for a night of secrets, celebrities, and scandal.

 

The Murder Mystery Dinner is a fundraiser hosted by the Rotary Club of New Berlin and the Education Foundation of New Berlin. This is the 15th year of this annual event. The proceeds remain in the community and allow us to lend support to the New Berlin Food Pantry, our local schools, New Berlin Police youth activities, and scholarships.

A challenging year gave way to a promising new one this week. Outgoing president David Grzesk passed the gavel to our new president, Olivia Kelley, during the Changing of the Guard, held June 22 at Cleveland Pub & Grill in New Berlin.

“It was a tough year, but I’m thankful we could stay together,” Grzesk says. A few club meetings took place at ProHealth Care Park in New Berlin. But – like most of the world – the club turned to technology when the pandemic made in-person meetings impossible. “Zoom allowed us to talk with each other and with like-minded folks,” Grzesk points out.

A regular attendee of PTA meetings, Grzesk met many people who shared a desire to help their community. “Perhaps [we could] tap into some of that passion to raise money for school projects and the like,” he thought at the time. Unfortunately, that was not to be. Yet he continued to hold regular meetings and maintained the club’s online presence.

Grzesk is glad for the opportunity to serve our club as president. Members present thanked him for his determined effort during that very challenging time.

Noting that Rotary International’s theme for the new year is “Everyone Bring One,” Kelley says members should take that effort to heart. “If everyone at the table made it a goal to bring in one person” she says, ”we’d double the size of the club.”

Kelley, who also served as president for the 2012-2013 term, has a simple wish as well: “Try to get back to normal.” A good place to start is with in-person meetings. The club discussed the possibility of meeting again at the park, weather permitting.

Kelley is interested in reaching out to the City of New Berlin and to other clubs to assess what their needs are. And she’d like to partner with other Rotary Clubs on various projects.

Fundraising is very important for the Rotary Club of New Berlin. One possibility is a calendar sale. To encourage sales, there would be daily drawings for one month of the year. Cash prizes would be awarded to the lucky winners.

We also touched briefly on the murder mystery event, the club’s most popular and successful fundraising endeavor. That discussion will continue; stay in touch with the club for more details.

For now, please join us in welcoming Olivia Kelley as the new president of the Rotary Club of New Berlin.