Held via Zoom video conference

Members Attending (13): Phil Kellerman, Dick Drumm, Bill Dowd, Dean Calamaras, Doris Calamaras, Jim Leyhane, Kevin Leyhane, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Ray Hannan, Charlie Foote, Mike Harkin, Roberto Martinez.

Guests Attending (1): Lindsey Conboy.

MEETING NOTES — President Dick Drumm called the meeting to order via Zoom video conferencing. He welcomed Lindsey Conboy, who just graduated from Columbia High School, one of the winners of a $1,000 SRC Scholarship. Lindsey said she will be attending Cornell University in the fall, enrolling in both the agriculture and life sciences college and the engineering college to study environmental engineering. At Columbia, she was heavily involved in numerous activities, including tennis, community photography, student council, library volunteers, chamber singing, and the Science Olympiad. Our other two scholarship winners — Shannon Tacy of Rensselaer High School and Mackenzie Brown of Maple Hill High School — joined us via Zoom at our June 18 meeting. …

We will return to Quigley’s restaurant for a “trial meeting” on Thursday, August 20. Owner John Walsh wants to get a feel for the proper layout to accomplish the necessary social distancing protocols, and this will be our first opportunity since meetings there were halted in mid-March. … It was decided to establish a different sort of “Summer Casual” schedule for July and August. We will alternate brief Zoom meetings with social picnics. That will maintain club continuity of activity through the summer. The scheduled Zoom meeting dates also will serve as potential rain dates for social events or, if additional hosts come forward, dates from which they can choose. …

Bill Dowd reported on a conversation he had with Murray Forth about potentially holding our next recycling/shredding day in late summer or early fall because such activities have a good chance of proper social distancing. Some discussion pointed out that members who do the unloading of recycled equipment tend to work physically close together, and that with the recent Chinese pullback on buying recycled materials from the U.S. the number of vendors we can partner with might be smaller than usual. We’ll consider all those factors, although we are in need of fundraising activities since the pandemic cancelled such major money activities as the bowl-a-thon, recycling day, and the Rotary Home Cooking series. Bill mentioned that, thanks to the generosity of Dick and Mary Drumm underwriting our recent outdoor picnic at their home, we raised $680 for the club  treasury.

Here is the “Summer Casual” schedule as agreed upon at this meeting. It will be modified as needed:

• Thursday, July 16, 6 p.m. — Zoom video conference meeting.
• Thursday, July 23, 6 p.m. — Catered outdoor picnic, residence of Debbie and Peter Brown.
• Thursday, July 30, 6 p.m. — Zoom video conference meeting.
• Thursday, August 6, 6 p.m. — Picnic at either Jim Leyhane’s or Roberto Martinez’s residence.
• Thursday, August 13, 6 p.m. — Zoom video conference meeting.
• Thursday, August 20, 6 p.m. — Dinner meeting, Quigley’s, East Greenbush.

NOTE: Please check the website CALENDAR page regularity for updates.