By RICH GRIESCHE
7190 District Governor 2020-21

July begins our new Rotary year. It is like no other we have had. As a new District Governor reflecting over the past few months, Rotary has been the constant for me during the COVID-19 pandemic. Globally the figures today are staggering — 8.99 million confirmed cases, 4.46 million recovered, and, sadly, 469,000  deaths.

So, why “A Million Dreams”? Last year, I was listening to the song “A Million Dreams,” from the movie “The Greatest Showman,” and thought, “I need to use this during my District Governor year.” Little did I know at that time what we would be facing as we began 2020.

The lyrics spoke to me about Rotary. There are more than 1 million Rotarians, going through doors where no one gone before. This ties into Rotary International President Holger Knaack’s theme, “Rotary Opens Opportunities,” and the three open doors.

I think of what the world could be, a vision of the one I see. “A million dreams is all it’s gonna take, a million dreams for the world we’re gonna make.”

As Rotarians, we all have dreams and visions. Share your dreams with me. I am using this song during my year to help guide us as Rotarians so we can have that dream of the world we want to see.

Rotarians everywhere strive to make the world a better place. I believe these trying times will make us all better citizens of the world. We have been witness recently to severe unrest, protesting, and peaceful demonstrations. Rotary is the largest peace-building organization in the world. We should be proud of that. We are approaching the concept of peace with greater cohesion and inclusivity, broadening the scope of what we mean by peace-building, and finding more ways for people to get involved.

Rotary creates environments in which peace can happen. Rotarians all are peace builders, which our world needs. Rotary has vibrant programs for students and youth that can change the lives of those who participate. Through these programs, young people can earn scholarships, travel on cultural exchanges, or help a community through a service project –- all things resulting in greater world peace.

I would like to thank Immediate Past District Governor Larry Jones and his team for the leadership and guidance that got us through the past few months. During Larry’s year we formed an aggressive membership initiative we still are working on. Looking ahead, Rotary’s vision statement are words to live by: Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change -– across the globe, in our communities, and in our ourselves. Contact me to learn how you can join us in our projects.

---

 

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.

---

Attention SRC Members:

We’re doing something a bit different to begin the new Rotary Year.

Normally, we have a busy “Summer Casual” schedule of social events and field trips during July and August. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, we have nothing scheduled — yet. (Two of our traditional outings, for example — a baseball game and a picnic at Bruno Stadium and dinner out followed by a play at the Mac-Haydn Theatre — have been scratched because both the ValleyCats’ season and the Chatham playhouse’s lineup have been cancelled.)

Instead, new president Dick Drumm will preside over a virtual meeting via Zoom at 6 p.m. this Thursday. His agenda was sent to all members some time ago. If you have additional items to be considered, please email them to Dick right away at RMdrumm176@aol.com.

One of the things we will be discussing is how to create both social and fundraising events for the summer. The latter is of particular importance since we missed several usually-strong fundraisers (bowl-a-thon, recycling day, Rotary Home Cooking, etc.) during the winter and spring because of the pandemic.

All members have been emailed the links and password for the Zoom meeting. If for some reason you missed it, please contact Peter Brown ASAP  at pbrown34@nycap.rr.com.

---

 

• From military.com

On July 4, 1776, the 13 colonies claimed their independence from England, an event which eventually led to the formation of the United States. Each year on the fourth of July, also known as Independence Day, Americans celebrate this historic event.

Conflict between the colonies and England was already a year old when the colonies convened a Continental Congress in Philadelphia in the summer of 1776. In a June 7 session in the Pennsylvania State House (later renamed Independence Hall), Richard Henry Lee of Virginia presented a resolution with the famous words: “Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”

Lee’s words were the impetus for the drafting of a formal Declaration of Independence, although the resolution was not followed up on immediately. On June 11, consideration of the resolution was postponed by a vote of seven colonies to five, with New York abstaining. However, a Committee of Five was appointed to draft a statement presenting to the world the colonies’ case for independence.

Members of the Committee included John Adams of Massachusetts; Roger Sherman of Connecticut; Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania; Robert R. Livingston of New York; and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. The task of drafting the actual document fell on Jefferson.

On July 1, 1776, the Continental Congress reconvened, and on the following day, the Lee Resolution for independence was adopted by 12 of the 13 colonies, New York not voting.

Discussions of Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence resulted in some minor changes, but the spirit of the document was unchanged. The process of revision continued through all of July 3 and into the late afternoon of July 4, when the Declaration was officially adopted. Of the 13 colonies, nine voted in favor of the Declaration, two — Pennsylvania and South Carolina — voted No, Delaware was undecided and New York abstained.

John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence. It is said that John Hancock’s signed his name “with a great flourish” so England’s “King George can read that without spectacles!”

Today, the original copy of the Declaration is housed in the National Archives in Washington, DC, and July 4 has been designated a national holiday to commemorate the day the United States laid down its claim to be a free and independent nation.

---

 

One of the simplest and most direct ways to raise funds for SRC Rotary’s ShelterBox effort is through the CLYNK recycling project.

In conjunction with Hannaford Supermarkets and its fellow New Hampshire-based CLYNK company, SRC has been able to ever-so-slowly but ever-so-steadily raise funds through the diversion to our treasury of redemption of deposits on glass, plastic, and metal beverage containers.

What do you have to do to participate? Not much. Simply purchase the appropriate bags (and contact CLYNK coordinator Bill Dowd to obtain the appropriate bar-code stickers to apply to them). Then, scan the stickers when you drop off the bags at any Hannaford market. No need to separate or rinse them. Just bag ’em and drop ’em off. Can it get any easier? We doubt it.

Please bear in mind that in addition to raising funds for SRC, you are helping the environment through dedicated recycling of those containers.

---