Dear Members:

Hello again.  

This Thursday, February 12, 2026, at 6:00pm we are going to have a very unique and interesting talk by Steve Trimm.

Steve has been a tour guide and program presenter at Grant Cottage State Historic Site for 18 years. The Cottage is 10 miles north of Saratoga. It’s the place where Civil War hero and ex-President Ulysses S. Grant died in 1885. After his death, a series of live-in caretakers kept the Cottage open to the public for a century. His talk will be about the last caretaker, an immigrant from Japan named Suye Narita.

At our meeting on February 26 I want to hold a club assembly without a speaker.  At the recent board meeting, the board discussed the possibility of distributing small grant funds to other 501c3s.  Let’s discuss this.

A very special benefit will be held for us and the Joan Prince Home for end-of-life.

Sunday, March 1 at Nine Pin Cider Works at 929 Broadway in Albany from noon-3 pm. No cover charge. Raffle items and a silent auction will be held to raise funds.

On behalf of the benefit, I am seeking rattle and auctions times to raise funds. Gift baskets, crafts, quilts, wine bottles, gift cards, gift certificates, collectibles are such items. Financial donations are also appreciated.

Mark your calendar for April 26, Sunday, from noon to 2 pm for our annual bowl-a-thon to support the Anchor Food Bank.

All are invited to attend this year’s District Learning Assembly (DLA), Saturday, March 7th at Johnson City High School. This afternoon of learning follows a half-day Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) in the morning and each have their own separate registration  For more information go to cynrotary.org.

Let’s consider this again. CNY Rotary’s Public Image Committee is thrilled to announce that Public Image Grants are back—and now even better! Clubs can once again apply for matching grants (now up to $300) to support evergreen projects that boost Rotary’s visibility in their communities. These funds can help purchase materials and tools that promote your club for years to come.

SRC Rotary Notes

January 22, 2026

Members: Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Phil, Roberto, James, Kevin, Charlie, Laurie,

Pat, Dick and Carole

Guests: Theresa Mayhew, speaker on NYS Federation of Lake Associations

Mary Bobersky from Circles of Mercy

Business:

Meeting Schedule: The meeting schedule is the 2^nd and 4^th Thursday of the month so our next meeting will not be until Feb 12^th.  Please mark your calendars accordingly.

District Grant 25-26: Laurie gave an update of the recent meeting with East Greenbush. She has also prepared the interim report and got an ok to submit. Funding for the grant in going well.

Football Pool: Another pool is being put together for Super Bowl Sunday. Please contact Kevin if you are interested in participating. Tickets are $20 and proceeds will go the Club Activities and Backpack support.

Global Grant: Peter gave an update. There were questions on expanded Club responsibilities, and they will be discussed at the next Board meeting which will be set up. The Global grant continues to proceed and some of the documents including bids will be submitted.

Nassau Library: Pat announced a breakfast fundraiser at the Elks on Satiurday, Feb. 21.

Happy Dollars, Phil: The first half of the year the funds went to Anchor Food Pantry.  The second half of the year will see funds going to Circles of Mercy. Richard Zazycki had officially retired.

Sunday March first, Nine Pine Cider on Broadway in Albany is donating space for a music benefit from noon-3 pm to support our club and the Joan Prince Home. Guitarist Mario Sevayega and the band Enjoyous will perform. There will be no cover charge, but raffles and a silent auction will help to raise money.  If you have a raffle item or item to donate to the silent auction, please let Phil know.

East Greenbush Bowling Lanes and another annual bowl-a-thon to support the Anchor Food Bank. Phil is coordinating dates.  Will need sponsors and there was discussion on how wide an audience we try to recruit.

Speaker:

Theresa Mayhew, speaker on NYS Federation of Lake Associations spoke on the state and condition of lakes in New York. She is on the Board. They receive no government funding, so funds come from donations and dues. They do have some paid employees. It was funded in 1983 and is a non-for-profit coalition of lake associations, individuals, and corporate members dedicated to protecting and managing NY lakes.

Volunteers do the testing and the frequency is based on size of the lake.  They check for water temperature, clarity, nitrogen, pH for example. More than 500 volunteers collect the samples of more than 200 lakes across New York. This is their flagship program. They also promote scholarships promoting environmental studies.

Dear Members:

I hope you are all well after our huge snowstorm.

Our next Rotary meeting will be Thursday Feb. 12.  We still need a speaker.  

In the meantime, there have been lots of ongoing activities.

Peter has been communicating with our Kenya counterparts about the water project.  More information will be shared at our next meeting. Thank you Peter for all your hard work.

On Feb. 5 a board meeting will be held at Murray’s house at 6 pm.

Sunday Feb. 8 is the Super Bowl and Kevin will be selling fund raising squares for $20. If interested reach out to Kevin at (518)441-5620 (cell-text is fine)

On Feb. 21 a breakfast will held to support the Nassau Free Library.  Contact Pat for more information. Thank you Pat for your involvement with the library.

On Sunday March 1st at Nine Pine Cider Works at 929 Broadway in Albany, a benefit will be held to raise funds for our club and the Joan Prince Home.  From 12-3, the benefit will feature the band Enjoyous. Opening will be guitarist Mario Sevayega.  Raffles and a silent auction will be held.  Please consider donating items for raffles and/or the auction. Please contact me for more information.

Mark down Sunday April 26th from noon-2pm for our annual bowl-a-thon at the East Greenbush Bowling Lanes to support the Anchor Food.  Sponsorships for the event are $50. Donated food will be brought to the Food Bank.

Sincerely,

Phil Kellerman

Dear Members:

For our meeting on Thursday Jan 22, our guest speaker will be Theresa Mayhew, board member of the New York State Federation of Lakes Association. She will be speaking on the state (and condition) of lakes in New York.

I have communicated with the East Greenbush Bowling Lanes about having another annual bowl-a-thon to support the Anchor Food Bank.  At our meeting, we will discuss possible dates in April or May. 

Sunday March first, Nine Pine Cider on Broadway in Albany is donating space for a music benefit from noon-3 pm to support our club and the Joan Prince Home. Guitarist Mario Sevayega and the band Enjoyous will perform. There will be no cover charge but raffles and a silent auction will help to raise money.  If you have a raffle item or item to donate to the silent auction, please let me know.

Thank you.

Phil Kellerman, President

Dear Members:

For our meeting on Thursday Jan 22, our guest speaker will be Theresa Mayhew, board member of the New York State Federation of Lakes Association. She will be speaking on the state (and condition) of lakes in New York.

I have communicated with the East Greenbush Bowling Lanes about having another annual bowl-a-thon to support the Anchor Food Bank.  April is our preferred month and I will get back to you with more information.

Sunday March first, Nine Pine Cider on Broadway in Albany is donating space for a music benefit from noon-3 pm to support our club and the Joan Prince Home. Guitarist Mario Sevayega and the band Enjoyous will perform. There will be no cover charge but raffles and a silent auction will help to raise money.  If you have a raffle item or item to donate to the silent auction, please let me know.

Thank you.

Phil Kellerman, President

Dear Members:

Happy New Year!

Our first meeting of the new year will be Thursday January 8th, at Moscatiello’s at 6:00pm. After several years of keeping our dinner price the same, Moscatiello’s has raised the cost of dinner to $34 starting this week.   Peter will host our featured speaker, Sam Schick, who will speak on Artificial Intelligence. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend as I have an evening engagement to attend concerning Circles of Mercy.

Thanks to Kevin for running another successful football fund-raiser for the club.

Talking fund-raisers, please note on Sunday March first from noon-3 pm a joint fundraiser with the Joan Prince Home will be held at Nine Pin Cider in Albany.  The band Enjoyous will play and there will be raffles and silent auctions.  More details to follow.

Dean and Doris Calamares have agreed to host another dinner at their home to raise funds. More details to follow.

We could use scheduling of future speakers so please think of others to invite to speak.

Phil Kellerman, President

Dear Members:

I look forward to seeing you at our holiday party tomorrow night at 6 pm -Thursday the 18th at the Forth Home at 280 Hays Road in East Greenbush.  Please bring items for our silent auction to raise more funds for our club.  
Kevin is starting up another football fund-raiser. He will be at the party to give more details.

Thank you to all of you who donated to our Adopt-A-Family at Circles of Mercy.  Many gifts were donated and I am sure the family of six will benefit from the generous donations.
Thank you to Laurie, Carole and Peter for attending recent meetings concerning the EGSD Food Backpack Program, and for moving the program forward.

Carole and I recently met to begin initial plans for a talent show fund-raise. Yours truly also met with the event coordinator for the Nine Pin Cider establishment to plan a fund-raiser on Sunday March 1st.  More details to follow.

Phil Kellerman, President 

Dear Members:

Thank you to Kevin for a recent great fundraiser!

We will do another fundraiser for the Christmas Day football games. More information to follow.

Please let me know if you have gifts for our Adopt a Family via Circles of Mercy. I will be at the office at 11 Washington Street in Rensselaer today, the 9th and tomorrow the 10th from 10 am – 2 pm. And next week from M-Wed.  If you cannot make it down, contact me for pickup.

Don’t forget our holiday party on the 18th at Murray’s home at 6pm. Please donate a gift basket for the silent auction to raise more funds.

Stay warm!

Phil Kellerman, President