Members in Attendance (12):  Peter Brown, Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Kevin Leyhane, Phil Kellerman, Andy Leyhane, Ray Hannan, Debbie Rodriguez, Murray Forth, Dick Drumm, Becky Raymond and Charlie Foote.

By Zoom (2): Pat Bailey and John Justino.

Guests (1): Mike Stangl and Kevin Bailey (Speaker).

President Peter Brown called the meeting to order. 

Theme for the Year: “Building Community”

MEETING NOTES:

Iron Giraffe Bowl-a-Thon: The bowl-a-thon will be held on Sunday April 14 from 2 pm until 4 pm. The cost will be $13 per person. Per Phil Kellerman, sponsorships are $50. Phil has collected $650 so far in sponsorships. Proceeds will go to the Anchor Food Pantry and to the Maple Hill water project. Phil will pick up some gift cards for the raffle. He will also ask participants to bring a food item for donation. He also spoke to Christine Fowler regarding student participation. Pat Bailey has volunteered to staff the entry table. More volunteers are needed.

Membership: Each SRC Rotary member is asked to bring a friend to the Rotary meeting on April 11th. Terry Brewer will put a program together about Rotary, what the Club does and what we can do for individuals to interest them in Rotary. Members should be prepared to talk about why you joined Rotary. The Club will cover the costs for guests.

Water for Kenya: Ms. Kenara and members of the Rotary Club of Enkare Naroch visited the Full Gospel Church in North Central Kenya on February 7th. They reported that it was an excellent meeting and all are excited about the community project. They are discussing a small charge for water in order to generate funds to maintain the well. The next step is the needs assessment. Phil Kellerman and Debbie Rodriguez have started the Rotary International Global Grant training.

Exchange Program: Peter Brown recontacted both the Schodack and East Greenbush School Districts. Both are considering how to proceed. Becky Raymond suggested getting one of previously sponsored students to speak at an assembly about their experience as an exchange student. Per Peter Brown, this had been suggested to both schools.

Grants Management Training: The next training will be held via Zoom on Monday, April 1st, at 7 pm. Register for grant training at https://cnyrotary.org/. Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane and Debbie Rodriguez completed the training offered on February 7th. In the new CNY Rotary District 7190, there are more than 100 clubs and greater than 3,000 Rotarians. There were 87 participants in the training. There are three categories of grants, District, District Scholarship and Regional. There is $60,000 available for grants this year. Applications are due by June 1.

PETS Training: The next free virtual pre-PETS trainings will be held on Wednesday, February 21st at 7 pm and Thursday, February 29th at 7 pm.

Rotary District: The in-person PETS training will be held March 15th through 17th at the Double Tree in Syracuse. Register early to secure a hotel room. For further information go to  http://www.RotaryEmpireMDPETS.org. The majority of the meeting will be held on Saturday if you are considering attending for one day. Jim Leyhane and Roberto Martinez will attend the District PETS training.

Rotary Leadership Institute Northeast America: The Institute is holding a graduate class on succession planning on Saturday, March 2nd, at Johnson City High School in Johnson City, New York. The class will start at 7:30 am and end at 3:30 pm. The course includes suggestions on how to develop leaders. You must have completed the Rotary Leadership parts I, II and III to take the graduate course. Register at RLINEA.org.

Easter Baskets for Circles of Mercy: Lois Hannan is coordinating the collection this year. Roberto and Jim Leyhane purchased 25 baskets and delivered them to the YMCA. Richard Zazycki, Circles of Mercy, is asking that the baskets include coloring books, color pencils, facial tissues, toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss, hair combs, hairbrushes, small stuffed animals, toys, small games, small books, and different types of wrapped candy. Items can be dropped off every Thursday at Moscatiellos. Shannon needs the items for the baskets by March 18th so she can get the baskets to Richard by March 22nd. Easter is on March 31st this year.

Viking Gym: Jim Leyhane is looking at the possibility of placing a Rotary Peace Pole at the site.

Rotary Birthday Party: The Party is February 23rd from 5 pm until 8 pm at the Parting Glass located at 40 Lake Avenue in Saratoga Springs. Appetizers will be provided, and a cash bar will be open. the cost is $5. Register here https://www.crsadmin.com/eventportal/Registrations/PublicFill/EventPublicFill.aspx?evtid=9c633b5f-9f0c-44ab-a378-ca8b39759110.

Opportunity for Service: The Colonie-Guilderland Rotary Club sent information on helping the immigrant IRC with help for asylum seekers. Phil Kellerman researched the request and reported back to the Club with his recommendation.

Member Lists: The meeting of March 28th will be a General Assembly. The membership lists will be updated so Keven Leyhane and Debbie Rodriguez can update the website.

Gift of Life: Per Leyhane, 5,000 children around the world received heart surgery. If every Rotarian contributed $50 to Gift of Life, another child could receive a transplant. To donate go to https://www.giftoflife.org/contrib#makecontribtoday.

Social Capital: Debbie Rodriguez suggested that the Club look into the Rotary Community Corps where non-Rotarian Community members work in partnership with Rotary to improve their community. Peter Brown will check with our Rotary District about existing Corps or how to establish a Corp.

Next Meeting: Thursday, February 22nd at 6:00 pm at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant, Route 4, North Greenbush. Also, you can join the by Zoom using the link on the websites calendar page. Our speaker will be Suzanne Gazinski from the Epilepsy Foundation.

Entree choices will be Antipasto Salid, Chicken Marsala and Eggplant Parmesan.

Kevin Bailey majored in international political science in college. He graduated and went on to establish High Peaks Solar, a solar installation service located in Wynantskill. He also founded the 501c not-for-profit The Sky is Not Limited. While working the Home Show at the Pepsi Arena in 2006 he met Jean Dobbs the CEO of the African Reflection Foundation. In partnership with the Foundation, The Sky is Not Limited has provided 15 wells combined with solar power to areas in Tanzania. They have also provided for a well in Haiti.

When Mr. Bailey went to Africa ten to twelve years ago; he witnessed poverty and saw how long it took to get water. A woman in her seventies walked one and a half miles each way every day to get a gallon of water. Having a well is life changing.

The African Reflection Foundation sites the wells, provides logistics and funding. The Sky is Not Limited, installs the wells, storage tanks and solar panels. Solar panels are used to power the well pump. Each well had cost $15,000 but due to inflation, the cost is now $17,000. Many of the wells were located at schools. The equipment is donated to the schools and become school property. Students and their families obtain water for free while there was a small charge for others. The solar panels last for forty to fifty years. However, the pump controls are electronic and need protection from the sun. Cell phones are used for monitoring.

The Sky is Not Limited is looking at developing solar cooking projects. Many people cook with charcoal and/or wood. Deforestation is becoming a problem. For further information or to donate to their projects go to https://theskyisnotlimited.org/.