Lifelong buddies donate birthday proceeds to Rotary

Submitted A birthday bash was held in honor of the birthdays of Gene Doria, left, and Don Yoder with donations from the event benefiting the Belle Vernon Rotary.

For the MVI
Gene Doria and Don Yoder celebrated 150 years of life recently — 80 and 70, respectively — and decided to throw a birthday bash to honor their milestones with family and friends.
Gene turned 80 on July 11 and Don turned 70 on Sept. 23.
Gene and Don’s friendship of nearly 50 years also includes their mutual membership in the Rotary Club; Don since 1979 and Gene since 1984.
The party resulted in a highly attended event at Vinoski Winery on Sept. 23, and the invitation requested that there be no presents, however “if you must,” guests were asked to make a monetary donation to the Belle Vernon Rotary.
That request benefited the club in a big way — $3,000 in donations were collected in birthday cards from the 300 people in attendance. Of those, $2,000 was forwarded to Florida Rotary District 6960 for relief to Hurricane Ian victims, and $1,000 will be used for the club’s projects in the local area.

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