MEMBERS ATTENDING (17): Debbie Rodriguez, Pat Bailey, Terry Brewer, Bill Dowd, Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Phil Kellerman, Andy Leyhane, Murray Forth (remote), Maggie Forth (remote), Dean Calamaras (by proxy), Doris Calamaras (by proxy), Carol Orvis (by proxy), Dick Drumm (by proxy), Ray Hannan (by proxy).

GUESTS: None.

President Debbie Rodriguez presided at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant. This was our first meeting with members attending via Zoom, and we also had five attending and voting by proxy.

MEETING NOTES:

• A check for $150 has been sent to the Children’s Hospital at Albany Medical Center in memory of Dr. Martha Lepow, as authorized at the October 21 meeting.

• Attendees voted to authorize supporting two families for the annual Circles of Mercy “Adopt-a-Family” holiday effort. Bill Dowd volunteered to again coordinate the club’s effort. All gifts, actual and monetary, must be delivered to Circles no later than December 15. Bill will contact Circles to assign the families to us, and will provide a shopping list, donation drop-off dates, and other details.

• Potential fundraisers were discussed, and approved by consensus: Hoffman Car Wash ticket sales; holiday gift basket raffle at the December 16 holiday party at Moscatiello’s; the ongoing Clynk container recycling effort in support of ShelterBox; member designated donations. We have a draft letter on the latter effort that is being vetted by Debbie R. before distribution to members.

• The club Zoom account had been upgraded to do away with the time and participant limits. Several members contributed $25 each to pay for the first year’s fee.

• Debbie R. reported that a hygiene kit assembling session by the NYSCR Danes Rotaract that we sponsor and the Graduate Student Organization at UAlbany drew a sizeable crowd of students from across the spectrum at the school, with Debbie and Becky Raymond representing SRC. The event was designed as a service event and a Rotaract recruiting effort.

Scharlette Wilkins represented Unity House of Troy at the session held to support Unity House’s domestic violence service program. The hygiene kits were needed for domestic violence survivors staying at the Sojourner Place operated by Unity House, the only licensed domestic violence shelter in Rensselaer County.

Some photos from the session:

NEXT MEETING: 7 p.m. Thursday, November 4, via Zoom.