At the annual dinner of the Guilford Rotary Club, Dr. Bill Stableford stepped down as president and handed the gavel to Lou Federici, who will lead the club for the year 2016-’17.

Federici has been an active member of Guilford Rotary since May 2011, serving on the membership and Frosty 5-K committees, as LobsterFest publicity coordinator and newsletter editor, and participating in all the club’s fundraisers.

Federici has been a member of the Guilford Board of Finance for six years and has volunteered with several local nonprofit organizations. His goal as president of Guilford Rotary is to increase public awareness of the good that Rotary does for the community and around the world, and to challenge Rotary members and volunteers to approach public service through Rotary with a fresh perspective.

A native of Philadelphia, Federici graduated from Drexel University in 1983 with a degree in history and political science; he obtained his law degree from Villanova University. Upon moving to Connecticut, Federici worked as a legal research clerk for the Connecticut Superior Court and is now a principal with the law firm of Parrett, Porto, Parese & Colwell, P.C. with a practice primarily in litigation. He has led many seminars and webinar discussions on worker’s compensation and employment matters. He is a member of the New Haven County and Connecticut Bar Associations and the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association.

Stableford, outgoing Rotary president, came to Guilford in 1983 to establish a clinical psychology practice associated with Guilford Pediatrics. He joined Rotary the same year and has chaired the Program, Membership, and Rotary Foundation committees; led the Shoreline Raise the Roof/Habitat for Humanity, Columbus House, and Orchard House projects; co-founded the GHS InterAct club; and served as InterAct advisor for 21 years. He traveled twice as a Rotary volunteer to Haiti with the Haitian Health Foundation.

The club has honored Stableford with a Paul Harris Fellowship, the highest Rotary honor, for his leadership, dedication, and service. In addition to his Rotary activities, Stableford has served as president or chaired four different nonprofit agencies in Madison and Guilford.

Rotary International is a service organization that promotes peace and good will and advances opportunity for service. Guilford Rotary, with 34,000 other clubs world wide, is under the umbrella of Rotary International. In the last year Guilford members served at the Community Dining Room, collected furniture for IRIS (Integrated Refugee & Immigration Service), mentored Guilford school students, shopped with low-income families to provide warm clothing for their children, provided and served free of charge a holiday luncheon for more than 200 Guilford seniors, and collected food for holiday food baskets for the needy. With their annual Rose Sale, FrostyFive Road Race, and LobsterFest fundraisers, the Guilford Rotarians raised more than $50,000, which they donated to local, regional, and international causes.

The Guilford Rotary Club meets weekly at 12:15 p.m. at the Maritime Grill in Guilford for lunch and new members are always welcome. For more information, visit www.guilfordctrotary.org.