Members in Attendance (12): Dick Drumm, Kevin Leyhane, Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Pat Bailey, Murray Forth, Phil Kellerman, Ray Hannan, Becky Raymond, Debbie Rodriguez, Doris Calamaras and Dean Calamaras.

By Zoom (1):  Charlie Foote.

Guests (1): Carole Heaney.

President Kevin Leyhane called the meeting to order.

Theme for the Year: “Growing Fellowship and Service Locally and Globally.” 

Hybrid Meeting:  Please let Kevin Leyhane, Jim Leyhane or Roberto Martinez know if you plan to join the weekly meeting via Zoom.

Proxy Votes:  If unable to attend please submit your proxy votes to President Kevin Leyhane or any board member who will be attending the meeting. Proxy votes can also be submitted using the Remind App. Text to the number 81010.

MEETING NOTES

Gift Of Life 25th Annual Golf Tournament: Thursday September 14, 2023.  The brochure and the link to register is on the website.

Summer Nights in the park:  The Club will focus on Movies in the Park on Friday nights. There are still volunteer spaces available. There can be more than two people per event. Please contact Pat Bailey if you are able to participate.

Membership: New members emails have been added as website subscribers and should be receiving emails of the postings.

Technology Training: Kevin Leyhane is forming a technology committee to train everyone on the website postings, zoom set-up, etc. Training will take place in the fall. He will also look at the price to upgrade WordPress so that the website posts are automatically pushed out to Facebook.

Board Meeting: The next Board meeting will be held on July 5th at 6:30 pm at Peter Brown’s home.

Dues:  Per Murray Forth, two members have outstanding dues.

Rotaract: Rotary members are invited to join Rotaract members and students from UAlbany Center for Global Health for World Refugee Day at the Westhill Refugee Center at 104 Ontario Street, Albany for general community clean up on Saturday, July 24th, from 10 am until 1:30 pm.

Increase in Fraud: Murray Forth advised everyone to be careful when mailing checks to not-for-profit organizations. Thieves are intercepting the mail and washing the check they find to write over it with a new amount and recipient or they are reproducing the check to write checks off the original account.

Presidential Changeover: Will be held on July 6th at Peter and Debbie Brown’s home. The pool is open! If you have not already done so, please let Peter or Debbie know that you will attend.

Summer Events: If you have not done so, please let Debbie Rodriguez know if you want to attend the Valley Cats game on July 27th by Wednesday, June 28th. She will be picking up the tickets next Thursday. Also, please call or e-mail Roberto or Jim and let them know you will be attending the pool party at Jim Leyhane’s home on July 20th. The cost is $20 for the Rotarian. If bringing a guest or guests, the max is $25.

Next Meeting: Thursday, June 29th, dinner at 6:00 pm at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant, Route 4, North Greenbush. This is our last meeting at Moscatellos until the fall. Also, you can join the by Zoom using the link on the websites calendar page. Dr. John Morley will speak about the rising costs of health care.

Entree choices will be Antipasto Salid, Portobello Ravioli or Spaghetti with Meatballs or Sausage.

Dean Calamaras introduced Carole Heaney. She is a retired hospice nurse. Her focus now is on advocacy for death awareness. She is a death doula, grief companion and guide. Doulas and grief companions support and work alongside people. Her business is called In the Spirit of Healing. She also has written a children’s book The Cardinal’s Gift-A True Story of Finding Hope in Grief. The book helps to facilitate conversations with adults about what happens when someone dies.

According to Carole, before the 1890s, death and funerals took place in homes. People were familiar with the end of life. Things changed with the rise of public hospitals, new surgical procedures and drugs. The focus was on fixing people. Death was viewed as a failure. Now, 25% of individuals die at home. The remaining die in hospitals, nursing homes and institutions. We now treat death as an option. There is fear when talking about death.

In addition to having a living will (advanced directive), durable power of attorney and a health care proxy, Carole advises people to talk about what they want to happen at the end of their lives. Carole says, “if you talk about death, it will not kill you. People should map their wishes. These include physical, emotional, mental and spiritual wishes incorporating one’s religious practices and belief about life. Make a theme of your life story indicating how you would like to be remembered. Mend relationships and address regrets. This will allow your wishes to become real. “Fear becomes knowing and knowing changes how you live and die.”