Held at Quigley’s Restaurant
573 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY 12061

Members Attending (14): Phil Kellerman, Murray Forth, Terry Brewer, Debbie Rodriguez, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Pat Bailey, Becky Raymond, Wells Packard, Ray Hannan, Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane, Dick Drumm, Andy Leyhane.

Guests: None.

MEETING NOTES: President Phil Kellerman presided. He brought packages of fair trade coffees to sell as a fundraiser for ShelterBox, with $5 from the sale of each package going to the international aid agency. … Murray Forth, who with wife Maggie will be hosting our annual Holiday Party & Themed Baskets Silent Auction at 6 p.m. Thursday, December 19, gave an update on the event. He also encouraged members to bring gift baskets to be auctioned for charitable causes. (Some suggested themes have been posted on the website.) … Phil reminded members that the “spare change jar” proceeds this year will go to the Capital Region Nordic Alliance (CRNA), which provides adaptive sports activities for disabled vets.

… Debbie Rodriguez gave a brief update on the Adopt-a-Family holiday project. Many gifts were brought to the meeting. The deadline for giving Debbie the donated gifts — gift-wrapped and tagged with the recipients’ names — is next Thursday, December 12, in time for delivery to Circles of Mercy for distribution. PLEASE BE SURE  to gift wrap each item and label it with the recipient’s name. … Becky Raymond gave an update on the Danes Rotaract’s plans to raise funds for the Freedom From Fistula Foundation (FFFF). The club’s goal is to help raise $750. She said the idea of a bowl-a-thon proposed by Terry Brewer would help toward this effort. Terry then proposed that the club host a dual-purpose bowl-a-thon to raise funds for FFFF and the Oley Foundation. He will speak to the bowling center management about a tentative March date. Phil said Oley has many members locally who most likely would participate, and Becky said the Rotaract students could participate as well. Attendees expressed their approval for the event and willingness to help out. … Next Thursday’s after-dinner speaker will be Jodi Sullivan, Maple Hill High School assistant principal.

PROGRAM: SRC Fundraising

Phil led a discussion on current fundraising efforts by the club, and the development of future fundraisers to support our community service projects. Some outcomes:

• Murray said another recycling/shredding event will be organized for mid-April 2020.

• Terry said he is uncomfortable with the fact that some members donate so much of their personal money to support the club’s charitable activities. He thought the club should be distributing some funds from the current treasury balance. As an example, he suggested giving $500 to Circles of Mercy to enable the family aid organization to purchase hygiene kits for those in need. Debbie Brown made a motion to do so, Ray Hannan seconded it, and it was approved overwhelmingly.

• This led to a discussion about the amount of funds in the club’s treasury. Phil agreed the club should distribute some additional money to charitable causes, but that the club needs to consider investing some of the remaining balance to earn interest that can support grants while protecting the principal. The club’s Financial Committee will follow up.

• Since two past Cafe Capricio fundraiser dinners were financially successful through sales of raffle tickets, Andy Leyhane agreed to follow up with the Albany restaurant about setting up another such event.

• It was mentioned that resuming the “Rotary Home Cooking” series of member-hosted dinner parties or other social events could be helpful in raising funds and promoting social interaction.