Members in Attendance (14): Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane, Terry Brewer, Laurie Pferr Chris Bystroff, Debbie Rodriguez, Phil Kellerman, Ray Hannan, Murray Forth, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Carol Heaney, Kevin Flanigan and Kevin Leyhane.

By Zoom (0): 

Guests (4): Chris Mallison, Mark Armstrong, Mike Dewey, and Audra Dibacco.

President Roberto Martinez called the meeting to order.

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

Meeting Notes:

Peace Pole: Carol Heaney reported that the Town will put up the Peace Pole when the new basketball court is done.

Benefit Concert: The concert co-sponsored with the Malta Rotary Club was held last Saturday at the First United Methodist Church at 1 Gilligan Road in East Greenbush. Featuring the band Enjoyous, the concert raised $600 for the St. Paul Center. Phil Kellerman reported that he attended the Malta Rotary Club to thank them. They want to do a fundraiser concert to benefit Wellspring. Also, the Malta Club has an upcoming BBQ to raise funds for their back pack program. Also, a thank you to the Church for letting us use their space and to Phil for planning and coordinating everything.

Global Grant: Peter Brown explained that the Rotary Foundation provided $20,000, the District provided $25,000 and the Club provided $5,000 for the water supply project in Kenya. The project started in October 2023 and is ongoing.

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: Thenext meeting for the backpack project will be on 5/15 at 1:30 pm.

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 at Goff Middle School. There will be a quarter of a mile, half a mile, and mile and a half runs. Per Kevin, they are seeking donations, and the entry fee is projected to be $15. The kids will get a free t-shirt.

Star of Hope: Terry Brewer contacted Jeff Simon to set up another meeting with his management team, the architect, landscape architect and Turner Construction and to identify the new site.

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.

Donation Jar: Donations from the jar will go to the Haiti eye clinic this year.

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.

Change-Over Dinner: It was suggested that the change-over be held on June 19th. Debbie and Peter Brown have offered to host the dinner.

Summer Social Events: The Valley Cat’s game is August 7th. We are also looking at going to S&S Brewery and touring the Mohawk -Hudson Animal Center.

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

CNY has several excellent webinars coming up that will inform and inspire, and we hope you will add to your calendars. Below is a quick summary, but visit cnyrotary.org/events to get all the details and zoom links.

New Member Orientation. Laurie Pfeff attended the last orientation.

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

Next Meeting: The next meeting is Thursday, May 8 at 6:00 pm at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant, Route 4, North Greenbush. Mark Yukiw will speak on “the Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine.”

Entry Choices to be determined.

Terry Brewer and Carole Heaney, co-chairs of membership, provided a program on what Rotary is and Rotarians are. Per Terry, Rotary was founded 117 years ago. The organization is structured as International, National, District and local clubs. Worldwide there are 33,000 clubs with 1.4 million Rotarians located in 200 countries. Rotary’s mission is to “serve others, promote integrity and advance world understanding, goodwill and peace.” Projects include fresh water, health (Polio eradication and Gift of Life) and disaster relief (Shelter Box) initiatives. Our Rotary District, 7180 CNY (Central New York) District) has 113 clubs with 28,000 members.

The Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club was started in 1960. Since inception, this Club has donated over $1,000,000. Various members said that they joined Rotary to have the ability to become engaged and energized and to have the opportunity to give back to the community. Also, through the Club they made friendships and professional connections. They were able to learn leadership skills and participate in international service. Through our “focus on peace, equity and humanity” and service. We, as Rotarians, make positive changes and a real difference. Carole asked, “Are you a person who could become a Rotarian?” “Join Rotary and Change the World!”