Members in Attendance (13): Pat Bailey, Debbie Rodriguez, Phil Kellerman, Ray Hannan, Murray Forth, Dick Drumm, Laurie Pferr, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Terry Brewer, Jeff Brewer, Chris Bystroff and Carol Heaney.

By Zoom (0): 

Guests (0):

President Elect Phil Kellerman called the meeting to order.

Theme for the year: Grow membership, do good in the world, leverage social capital, & have fun!

Meeting Notes:

A celebration of Barbara Foote’s life will be held from 4-6 PM, Tuesday, April 29, 2025 at the Raymond E. Bond Funeral Home, Valatie, NY. They request that any remembrances that anyone wishes to make be given to The Community Hospice or to an animal rescue organization of their choice.

Treasurer Update: Per Phil Kellerman, he contacted the government again. The paperwork was lost. They confirm payment and the issue now resides with the Forensic Department. Thank you to Phil Kellerman and Terry Brewer for persevering.

Bowl-A-Thon: Per Phil Kellerman, he sent thank you notes to donors. The Sponsor page on the website has been updated.

Benefit Concert: Per Phil Kellerman, the band have been rehearsing. They plan to do 10 songs. During intermission, representatives from the SRC Rotary Club, the Malta Rotary Club and the St. Paul Center will speak. Phil has seltzer. They are planning on a snack table. Please bring snacks. They are asking for a $15 donation for concert attendance.

Publicizing:  Our Town did a great write up on the concert. Please join the SRC Rotary Facebook page. Carol Heaney mentioned adding Instagram and reestablishing the social media group. Thank you to all who got the Facebook page up and running.

Image Grants:  Per Carole Heaney, reimbursement for the retractable banner was approved.

Global Grant: Per Peter Brown, drillers went back to the site and drilled down 200 additional meters to increase the water flow. Pump tests will go on.

Defensive Driving: The AAA course will be held on May 17th at the Nassau Library from 9 am until 3:30 pm. We need a minimum of 25 people to sign up. If you are a member of AAA, the cost is $22. If you are a non-member, the cost is $27. Depending on your insurance, you can save 10% to 15% off the cost of your insurance and it should be good for 3 years. Contact Pat Bailey if you wish to attend. Nine people have signed up.

Community Project: The next meeting for the backpack project is scheduled for 4/22 at 1:30 pm. So far, Roberto, Jim, Terry, Peter, Phil and Kevin are attending. Let Roberto know if you wish to attend. Per Peter we should determine what the schools need and where the money will be going.

Fun Run: The Field Day Fun Run to benefit the backpack program will be held on Friday, June 13 from 11:30 am until 2:00 pm.

Star of Hope: Per Terry Brewer, another meeting with Jeff Simon, his management team, the architect, landscape architect and Turner Construction. will be scheduled for after the school break.

Scholarships: Terry Brewer sent out the letters to the Schodack, East Greenbush and Rensselaer School Districts asking them to select one student each to receive a $1000 scholarship. Students selected should meet the Rotary goal of service. May 29th has been set aside for the scholarship presentation.

Peace Pole: Carol Heaney called the Town of Schodack about the Peace Pole and left messages for a call back.

Foundation Grants Management Training: Laurie Pferr attended the April 14th session.

Valley Cats: The game was rained out last year. The Club tickets rolled over to this year. Debbie Rodriguez dropped off the contract for this year to the box office. The Club would like to attend the August 7th game. If you did not sign up last year but wish to go this year, let Debbie know. She will pick up the tickets in July.

Member Engagement: The book “The Baron of Second Avenue” written by Dean Calamaras is available on Amazon and select bookstores. This paperback book is most economically purchased on the author’s website: http://www.calamarasbooks.com for $34.95 plus $6.70 shipping.

CNY News: Information on all of the following and more is posted to the website, cnyrotary.org.

CNY Member Orientation is held every 4th Tuesday of each month. The next will be held on April 22nd at 7pm. Registration is required.

CNY Epic Day of Service: Hold the date and more to come 05/17/25.

RI News

2026 Rotary Peace Fellowships Applications are open until May 15, 2025.

RI Conventions: Calgary, June 21-25, 2025. Carole Heaney will be attending.

Next Meeting: The next meeting is Thursday, April 24 at 6:00 pm at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant, Route 4, North Greenbush. Also, you can join by Zoom using the link on the websites calendar page. The speaker will be Sara Owens.

Entry Choices are Rustica Salad, Veal Parm and Baked Ziti.

Club Assembly on Membership

Membership is ongoing and is everyone’s responsibility. The annual membership meeting is scheduled for May 1st. Carol Heaney and Terry Brewer are working on it. Zoom will not be available for this meeting.

Carol and Terry offered tonight’s program to learn more about the SRC Club’s opportunities and challenges with membership. People are motivated to join because Rotary keeps people connected and engaged with the community. Rotary has evolved over time to become more humanitarian and inclusive. There is an epidemic of loneliness and isolation. Rotary keeps people engaged through charitable work while having fun. Rotary also provides people opportunities for growth in capabilities. People want to do good and give back to the community.

Challenges to membership include the existing Rotary structure which is time and cost prohibitive. Also, current members are aging out, experiencing changes in abilities and dying. In recruiting younger members, Rotary must take into account the differences in generational culture. In order to engage younger members and keep them engaged, we must decrease cost and balance time commitments. Membership is a continuous conversation. Invite a guest to dinner on May 1st.