The Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club is primed to enter its 59th year of public service on Sunday, July 1, when Andy Leyhane takes the office of president for the 2018-19 Rotary Year.
The transition was begun at Thursday’s Presidential Changeover Dinner, hosted by Debbie and Peter Brown, with outgoing president Roberto Martinez passing the figurative baton after an extremely busy and productive year.
Rain cleared in time for event to be held outdoors, so some visitors toured the extensive gardens while others took advantage of the pool. Rotarians and guests were welcomed by President Roberto, and he thanked the Browns for hosting. Dinner was catered by a local service — kabobs, pork, salad, breads, cheeses (a gift from Cabot), and beverages, plus a special themed Rotary cake (see above).
After dinner, Roberto commented on the fine year the club had, and thanked everyone for their efforts in helping make it so. He also recognized a number of Rotarians for their special efforts in the 2017-18 Rotary Year via support of our club’s activities, a commitment to involvement, and some giving to the Rotary Foundation.
He presented Paul Harris certificates and pins to Phil Kellerman (fundraising, the Oley Foundation, volunteering), Debbie Rodriquez (immediate past president, volunteer, Rotaract initiator and liaison), Dean Calamaras (hosting events, Foundation support), and Debbie Brown (hosting events, coordinating meals at Quigley’s). Because Ray Hannan (vice president, volunteer) donated his refunded Rotary International Conference fees to the Foundation, Roberto awarded the gap points to also make him a Paul Harris Fellow. In addition, Roberto awarded 200 Paul Harris Points for their work with the creation of the Rotaract club at UAlbany to Phil Nasca, Becky Raymond, and John Justino.
Two SRC members who already were Paul Harris Fellows were recognized as PH+1 Rotarians (additional PH level): Murray Forth (fundraising, hosting events, Foundation support, sponsor) and Bill Dowd (volunteering, web and social media support, Foundation support, sponsor).
Andy presented a gift of craft beers and a V Twin Motorcycle Engine model to Roberto with the thanks of the club for his efforts in this Rotary Year.
Roberto and Jim Leyhane gave a quick summary of the Rotary International Convention they attended this week in Toronto.
It was noted that starting at the member level and branching out, it all adds up as we really do great things in the world. Being surrounded by 18,000 other Rotarians from around the world, sharing ideas and stories was a truly great experience. When they traveled with the same shirts (see photo below), people would ask if they were brothers. Then they would see the name tags saying they both are physicians and Jim couldn’t help but say, “We are a pair of docs: i.e., paradox.” At the Host Hospitality, our SRC freezer bags of New York State craft beers, whiskies, and Death Wish Coffee were auctioned off at $100 apiece.
Some other scenes from the Presidential Changeover event
Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club 