Meeting Clipboard  10/24/24:
Present: (8) Pat Bailey, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Dick Drumm, Murray Forth, Ray Hannan, Jim Leyhane, Andy Leyhane
Guests:  Tom and Cindy Leonard
On Zoom: (5)  Dean and Doris Calamaras, Charlie Foote, Carole Heaney, Roberto Martinez

President Roberto Martinez called the meeting to order
Theme for the year: Grow membership, do good in the world, leverage social capital and have fun!

Program:  October 24 is World Polio Day.    To commemorate Rotary’s efforts to eradicate polio, a video of an interview with Dr. Martha Lepow (now deceased) hosted by Dr. James Leyhane was resurrected from our archives and shown.    Dr. Lepow was part of the group developing appropriate methodologies to mass produce the Salk Polio vaccine.  By the spring of 1954 vaccines were available to all school aged children in the US (with parental consent)  In 1988 the effort to eradicate polio world wide became Potary International’s signature effort.  Additional partners included World Health Organization, UNICEF, Centers for Disease Control..  The Gates Foundation joined this effort in 2013.  We are “this” close!!

Meeting Notes:  

Moving things out of storage:  Murray will empty the unit to avoid November rent and will bring contents to the next meeting for distribution to anyone who wants any of it.  Remaining  contents will be disposed.

Global Grant update:  Peter reports the only “missing piece” is the establishment of the bank account to which funds will be deposited.  All other questions have been satisfactorily answered

Tax status: no update

Membership:  a new process is outlined  at Rotary.org/join to make it easier to contact interested potential members

Albany Waterway updates:  Peter announced that the DOT study published recommendations regarding I-787 do not include the Albany Waterway project.   Letters to DOT regarding this glaring omission are encouraged.  

Speakers for the upcoming year are needed;   contact Phil with your potential speaker suggections;

Oct 31:  NO MEETING….Halloween
Nov 7: Post-Election Nonpartisan Special, Robert Conner, guest of Phil
Nov 14:  School and Community Literacy and Heath Wellness Center, Lisa Jackson from Schenectary Club will outline their project.  Representatives from East Greenbush BOE and Administration will also attend
Nov 21: Richard French on disaster response, guest of Ron Annis
Nov. 28  THANKSGIVING  no meeting
Ded 5:  Phil arranging for a speaker
Dec 12:  HOLIDAY party and silent auction at the Brown’s 


RLI NEA Seminar District 7180 November 2 from 7:30-3:30 at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, 405 Washington Avenue, Albany.  Club will cover $70 cost.

CNY News:  CNY Rotary conference April 4-6 in Albany.  The district is hoping to have 50-60 Exchange Students attend and are asking clubs to donate $500 to support this effort (respond by end of November)

FundRaisers:
Cornhole Tournament…..info from our November 14^th program will help shape this event
Café Cappriccio:  Andy and Jim… hoping to involve Columbia HS support as this will help fund the Community Room
Soap….ongoing…See Jim L 

Benefit Concert moved to the spring