Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
June 14, 2018

Members Attending (13): Roberto Martinez, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Bill Dowd, Jim Leyhane, Debbie Rodriguez, Phil Kellerman, Ray Hannan, Dick Drumm, Kevin Leyhane, A.J. Amato, Becky Raymond, Carole Spencer.

Guests (1): Alessandra Barbarossa.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS/BUSINESS

OPENING — President Roberto Martinez welcomed Rotarians and student guest Alessandra Barbarossa, who made her final visit to our club before returning home to Italy after an academic year at Columbia High School. He noted that today is Flag Day, And, he showed reports on the club website about recent activities (click on titles to access separate stories):

• Star of Hope restoration project;

• Circles of Mercy awards dinner;

• Rebuilding Warriors via Bell Top School

SCHOLARSHIPS — We have received the names of graduating seniors at Rensselaer, Maple Hill, and Columbia high schools who will be recipients of this year’s $1,000 SRC Rotary Scholarships. We had planned on presenting the awards at next week’s meeting, but there is some question about the availability of the students.

RYLA UPDATE — Maple Hill High School has again expressed interest in providing juniors-to-be to participate in the 2018-19 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards training series. No word on whether there is any interest from other high schools in our area of service.

RI CONVENTION — For those not attending the Rotary International Convention on June 22-27 in Toronto, there will be a live streaming of various breakout sessions. Roberto asked webmaster Bill Dowd if he would be able to link to those on our website, and he said he would do so.

CALENDAR ITEMS — Peter and Debbie Brown again will host our annual Presidential Changeover dinner at 6 p.m. Thursday,  June 28, at their Castleton residence. Join us to see Roberto pass the gavel to President-elect Andy Leyhane for the 2018-19 Rotary Year. … The District 7190 Changeover brunch is scheduled for Sunday, July 8, at Dunham’s Bay Resort on Lake George. Reservations may be made online by clicking here. … The club will pay for any member who wishes to participate in the Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) on Saturday, October 20. See Bill Dowd if you would like information. … Next Meeting: 6:15 p.m. Thursday, June 21, at Quigley’s. Final weekly dinner meeting of the 2017-18 Rotary Year.

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PROGRAM: “It’s All About Us: Part 1”

Immediate Past President Debbie Rodriguez has been digging through the musty and largely disorganized archives of our 58-year-old club, haphazardly stored in the closets, basements, and garages of several members — as well as in the dusty memories of others.

The impetus of her quest is simple.

“The club sent me to RLI (Rotary Leadership Institute) and I learned about Rotary in general. Then the club sent me to PETS (Presidents-elect Training Sessions) and I learned about the District. But, I still didn’t know enough about our club. So, I read our website information, interviewed several longtime members, and went through all the programs, records, photos, and other documents I could find.

“I still haven’t finished that process, but I thought I’d begin sharing what I found with the whole club.  So, this will end up being a multi-part report.”

Debbie found documents dealing with the chartering of the club, mini-bios of key founding members, information on activities with District 7190, membership rolls, key moments in club history, etc.

For a slideshow of Part 1 of Debbie’s presentation, click here to go to our archives.

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