Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
March 1, 2018
Members Attending (22): Roberto Martinez, Andy Leyhane, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Debbie Rodriguez, Terry Brewer, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Jim Leyhane, Bill Dowd, April Dowd, Jennifer Felts, Carol Orvis, Phil Kellerman, Dean Calamaras, Ray Hannan, Dick Drumm, Bonnie Nasca, Charlie Foote, Stewart Wagner, Julius Frankel, Becky Raymond.
Guests (2): Rachel Stark of Next Gen Committee; Samantha Raynor of The Spinney at Pond View.
Business/Announcements
OPENING — President Roberto welcomed members as well as guests Rachel Stark of the Capital Region Rotary Club and Samantha Raynor of The Spinney at Pond View. … Thanks were extended to Dean and Doris Calamaras for hosting a dinner themed “An Evening in Greece” that was part of our “Rotary Home Cooking” series. Next up is a Saturday, March 24, social event at the Brewer residence. Terry will provide a reservation signup sheet.
CLYNK RECYCLING — Bill Dowd reported that we are starting to receive money in our club account via the Clynk bottle-and-can redemption program in cooperation with Hannaford supermarkets. A supply of recycling bags and bar code stickers, both necessary to participate in this ongoing fundraiser, will be available to members at each meeting and kept in our locked storage cabinet at Quigley’s.
BOWLING FOR VETS — We have more than 20 lane sponsors, at $100 each, for this Sunday’s annual fundraiser at the East Greenbush Bowling Center. At least five volunteers are needed to staff the registration desk over two shifts. In addition to SRC Rotarians and family members, we are expecting contingents from Rotaract and Bell Top School. We have promoted the event on the club weboite, on social media, and in ads in Our Towne and The Advertiser.
EASTER BASKET DRIVE — Our annual effort in support of Circles of Mercy’s “Easter Baskets for Kate’s Kids” program for underprivileged local children has begun. Details of the effort, plus a suggested shopping list, are available by clicking here.
ROTARACT UPDATE — Becky Raymond reported that she, John Justino, and Phil Nasca attended a meeting of the new Rotaract club at the UAlbany School of Public Health. That group is planning a fundraiser dinner event for Thursday, March 22, and have invited SRC to attend. About 15 of our members indicated their intent to do so; we will not hold our scheduled meeting on that date to allow more of our members to attend the Rotaract dinner. The fundraiser will include a silent auction. There is no charge for the dinner, although donations will, of course, be appreciated. The event will run from 5 to 7 p.m. … Becky also repeated a request to pass along copies of the latest edition of The Rotarian magazine, which is the Rotaract issue, to her for redistribution to Rotaract members. And, Rotaract again expressed interest in working with SRC on our various projects on an ongoing basis.
RONALD McDONALD HOUSE — An SRC team, with Rotaract participation, will prepare dinner at Ronald McDonald House in Albany on Sunday, April 29. Bill Dowd again will create the menu and lead the kitchen crew of 6 to 8 volunteers.
ROTARY’S GOT TALENT — Visiting Rotarian Rachel Stark, a member of the District 7190 Next Gen Committee, filled us in on the talent showcase scheduled for Thursday, May 3, at the Lucky Strike entertainment center at Crossgates Mall in Guilderland. Each three-minute act will be eligible for prizes — $500 and a traveling club trophy for first place, $250 for second place, and $100 for third. Admission will be $25 per adult, $15 for kids 7-14, and free to kids 6 and under. Further details will be posted on Next Gen’s Facebook page closer to the event.
BYLAWS CHANGES — Terry reported on upcoming changes in the RI dues structure and how it may affect us at the club level. He noted that it may require some changes in our Bylaws. Bill Dowd added that we already are working on potential changes due to the realignment of our committee structure which now does not conform to requirements, so we will create a single package of proposed changes for a member vote.
PROGRAM: “The Spinney at Pond View”
Samantha Raynor, manager of The Spinney at Pond View in Castleton, spoke about her company’s concept of creating residential communities for people 55 and older, or “55 and better” as she phrased it.
Samantha said the Spinney concept offers “cottages” as opposed to apartments and condos, with residences “sharing walls but never floors and ceilings.” She said that one-story design is more exp0ensive to build, but results in more privacy and a more house-like community, as well as allowing residents to age in place.
She explained that the recently-expanded Castleton complex is one of several owned and managed by the company that was founded by her father and a business partner and essentially is completely run by family members. It is developing an expansion plan to enter the Saratoga County market.
Click here to go to our Program Presentation Archive for more details from her PowerPoint presentation.
NEXT MEETING — 6:15 p.m. Thursday, March 8, at Quigley’s. Our own Julius Frankel will be the speaker.
Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club 