MEMBERS ATTENDING (11): Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Dick Drumm, Kevin Leyhane, Debbie Rodriguez and Phil Kellerman. Via Zoom: Charlie Foote.

GUESTS (1) MC Moran.

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

Circles of Mercy Easter Basket Program: They are asking for cellophane wrapped Easter baskets include the following items: coloring books, crayons, color pencils, facial tissues, toothpaste and tooth brushes, dental floss, hair combs and brushes, age appropriate (1 to 12 years old) small stuffed animals, toys, small games, or reading books, and of course various different types of traditional candy. Circles of Mercy would like delivery by March 31. The last collection day will be on Thursday March 30, 2023. Circles of Mercy will also take monetary donations which they will use towards this project. Roberto Martinez will check with Shannon Romanowski to determine if the YMCA is interested in participating in this project.

Rotary Bowling Event:  Per Phil Kellerman, the event will be held on April 2nd (Sunday) from 2 pm until 4 pm. The cost is $16 per individual bowler or $50 for a family or student group of 4 with shoes included. Proceeds from the event will be used to support the Anchor Food Pantry of Castleton-on-Hudson and the Water for South Sudan Project, organized by 7th grade students from the Maple Hill junior/Senior School.

There will be a raffle for a $50 gift certificate. Those who bring food donate to the Anchor Food Pantry will get a free raffle ticket. Requested food items include cereal, toiletries, instant mashed potato boxes, peanut butter, jelly, snack packages of crackers, and canned chicken.

To date, Phil has commitments for 15 sponsorships at $50 a lane. He asks that all sponsors bring in their checks to next week’s meeting. Murray Forth will make the sponsorship signs. Pat Bailey and Ray Hannan are helping Phil plan this event. Information about the event has also been posted on the website.  Ads have been published in “Our Town” and “The Advertiser” newspapers.

New Member: Tom King was voted in as a new member of SRC Rotary. Welcome Tom!

East Greenbush Global Education Committee:  The entire East Greenbush School District is continuing to read the book “The Elephant in the Room” by Holly Goldberg Sloan. Velda, a large stuffed elephant, is making appearances at several local businesses.  Rumor has it that Velda will be present during the Rotary Bowling event on April 2nd. Linda Wegner, Director of Business and Finance for the East Greenbush School District, sent a thank you letter for the donation the Club made. The donation was accepted at the Board of Education meeting on March 8th.

PETS Training: Roberto Martinez and Jim Lehayne will attend this year. PETS training will be held in Syracuse on March 17th through March 19th.

District Training Assembly and Grants Managment Seminar: The Assembly and Grants Training will be held on April 1st. You can register for the Training Assembly, the Grants Management Seminar or both. You can attend in person in Schenectady or participate via Zoom. The District Training Assembly will start at 8:30 am and conclude at 12:30 pm. The Grants Management Seminar will start at 1:00 pm and conclude at 3:15 pm. Debbie Rodriguez has signed up for the Assembly and Grants Management. The Club needs at least one other member to attend the Grants Management Seminar.

Drop the Puck for Polio: The District event has been rescheduled. It will be held in the Insuring Arena in Glen Falls on Fridy, April 7 at 7 pm. The Adirondack Thunder will take on the Mariners. Tickets are $21 per person. You can contact Doug Ford, District Polio Chairperson, at 518-365-4958.

Viking Gym: Debbie Rodriguez will check with Ron Anis about providing an update on the project at one of the upcoming meetings.

Tri-City Valley Cats: The game the Club was to attend last year was canceled due to weather. The new date tentatively is July 27th. If you had not signed up last year and are interested in attending a baseball game and picnic this year, please contact Debbie Rodriguez. Further information will be forthcoming.

Next Meeting: Thursday, March 23, dinner 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 Joe Carr, retired Superintendent.

Entree choices will be Rustics Salad, Chicken Marsella and Baked Ziti.

MEMBERS ATTENDING (16): Jim Leyhane, Andy Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Dick Drumm, Jeff Simon, Kevin Leyhane, Debbie Rodriguez, Phil Kellerman, Ray Hannan, Charlie Foote, Becky Raymond, and John Justino.

GUESTS (29)

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: Due to the length of the presentation, Club business was tabled until next week.

Next Meeting:  The next meeting will be Thursday, March 16, 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 Julie Ritchie of Bees Knees Bakery.

The buffet choices will be Chicken Ceasar Salad, Spaghetti with Meatballs and Cheese Ravioli.

A Canal in Albany

An Albany Riverway Project

Len Tantillo and B.J. Costello

B.J. Costello is in Government Relations and the Education Department of Hinman and Straub, Attorneys at Law. He is also Chair of the Albany Waterways, Inc. He was founder of the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association in 1971 and the Council of Albany Neighborhood Association (CANA) a few years later. He is also Chair of the USS Slater which draws 20,000 visitors per year to Albany.

Len Tantillo is a noted historical artist. He makes his paintings of Albany based on old maps. While doing so, he noticed the maps all had an arc shoreline for the Hudson River in Albany. The shape of the shoreline was altered in the 1950s when the City of Albany began filling in the River. The highway was built limiting access to the waterfront. Projects were proposed over the ensuing years to improve Albany and access to the Hudson River. However, if implemented many of these projects deteriorated over time.

Mr. Tantillo conceptualized the Albany Waterway Project in 1995.  “Instead of bringing the city to the water” he envisioned “bringing the water to the city.” The Times Union promoted the idea in 1996 resulting in $15,000 from Mayor Jennings to develop a concept brochure. He worked with his friends Pat Mahony, a city engineer, Bruce Hiser, a landscape architect and Tiogg Thyagarajam, a city planner. They had two objectives. They did not want to interfere with the highway, and they did not want to tear down any buildings. They came up with the plan to bring the water in through the existing underpass to the South, then up Broadway with a marina in front of SUNY Central and back to the Hudson River near the Central Warehouse to the North.

Nothing was done over the last 25 years. However, now is the time to revisit the project. A canal was built in Providence, Rhode Island. San Antonio developed it’s River Walk. The City of Buffalo developed their waterfront, and the Bricktown Canal was developed in Oklahoma City. All of these projects have helped revitalize these cities. A canal in Albany can create jobs, drive economic development, provide flood remediation and make Albany a destination city.

There are four proposed options. The first is the original proposal. The second is to bring the river in on just the North end by the Central Warehouse and build a marina in the central basin. The area can support commercial structures and pavilions and can host farmers markets and craft fairs. The third is to focus on the area around SUNY Central with a marina and the fourth is to excavate and restore Lock 1 of the Erie Canal. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th options allow for the project to be done in phases.

Pat Fahey, NY State Assembly, had provided funding for an Engineering Feasibility Study. The study should start shortly. Hopefully, Albany Waterways will be included in the process. They need support from City, State and Federal Governments. To find out more and to support Albany Waterways by friending them please go to www.albanywaterway.org. Special thanks to Stewert Wagner and Peter Brown for their efforts in making this presentation possible.

MEMBERS ATTENDING (10): Jim Leyhane, Andy Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Kevin Leyhane, Debbie Rodriguez, Phil Kellerman, Dick Drumm, Ray Hannan, Becky Raymond. Via Zoom: Charlie Foote.

GUESTS (0)

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

Our Club:  Thursday marks the 63rd Birthday of the Southern Rensselaer Rotary Club. Kudos to Dick Drumm, a charter member.

Rotary Bowling Event:  Per Phil Kellerman, the event will be held on April 2nd (Sunday) from 2 pm until 4 pm. The cost is $16 per individual bowler or $50 for a family or student group of 4 with shoes included. Proceeds from the event will be used to support the Anchor Food Pantry of Castleton-on-Hudson and the Water for South Sudan Project, organized by 7th grade students from the Maple Hill junior/Senior School.

There will be a raffle for a $50 gift certificate. Those who bring food donate to the Anchor Food Pantry will get a free raffle ticket. Requested food items include cereal, toiletries, instant mashed potato boxes, peanut butter, jelly, snack packages of crackers, and canned chicken.

To date, Phil has commitments for 16 sponsorships at $50 a lane. He asks that all sponsors bring in their checks to next week’s meeting. Murray Forth will make the sponsorship signs. Pat Bailey and Ray Hannan are helping Phil plan this event. Information about the event has also been posted on the website.  Ads have been published in “Our Town” and “The Advertiser” newspapers.

East Greenbush Global Education Committee:  The entire East Greenbush School District is reading the book “The Elephant in the Room” by Holly Goldberg Sloan. The project kicked off on yesterday.  Can you name the three species of elephants? Velda, a large stuffed elephant, will be making an appearance at several businesses. The District invites community involvement. Further information can be found at https://egcsd.org/onebook/. If you are interested in participating and/or signing up as a guest reader, please fill out the Interest Form found on the website.

Circles of Mercy: Thank you cards were received from the Richard and the families that the SRC Rotary adopted for the holidays.

Gift of Life Donation Boxes:  Kevin Leyhane spoke with Tom Burdick about the box in Schodack Plaza. Mr. Burdick spoke with the Schodack Plaza management. The donation box will remain in Schodack Plaza. Items dumped at the site will be cleaned up. Signs will be posted and camaras will be installed to monitor the site to ensure that it is used for donations.

Albany Water Project Presentation: Len Tantillo, noted historical artist, and B.J. Costello will speak on March 9th about the proposed waterway in downtown Albany. Attendance is limited and capacity has been met. Anyone else interested in the presentation is invited to join via Zoom. The Zoom link is available on the Calendar page of our website. Those with reservations, please arrive at 5:45 pm. A buffet will be served. The cost is $25 per person. The buffet choices will be Penne with Marinera Sauce, Chicken Lemone and Sausage and Meatball with Cannoli for dessert and coffee.

PETS Training: PETS training will be held in Syracuse on March 17th through March 19th. Information is available on the District website. The last day to sign up is this Friday. Roberto Martinez and Jim Lehayne will attend this year.

Rotaract: Becky Raymond provided an update of Rotaract activities. Rotaract met last week with 6 members in attendance. Rotaract sponsored activities include having Cathy Stone and her Therapy dogs on Campus in early March. Ann Williams will speak to the students about the Peace Corps at the end of March.

Saratoga Springs Rotary Clubs Home Show: Becky Raymond will help staff the Shelter Box table at the Home Show on Saturday, March 3rd.

DAF Committee: Phil Kellerman will organize a meeting of the Committee. The Club will consider the future direction of DAF.

Next Meeting:  The next meeting will be Thursday, March 9, by reservation only, at 5:45 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.

The buffet choices will be Penne with Marinera Sauce, Chicken Lemone and Sausage and Meatball.

MEMBERS ATTENDING (13): Jim Leyhane, Andy Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Kevin Leyhane, Debbie Rodriguez, Phil Kellerman, Peter Brown, Dick Drumm, Ray Hannan, Terry Brewer and Pat Bailey. Via Zoom: Becky Raymond and Charlie Foote.

GUESTS (2): Maria Coady and Dina Sevayega.

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

Club Email and Phone Number: The new Club email is SRCRotary1960@Gmail.com. The email and the Club’s phone number have been updated on website.  If you notice any information that needs to be updated on the Club’s website, please notify Kevin Leyhane. Roberto Martinez also suggested that the Club appoint Peter Brown as the Membership Chair so that he may make edits in My Rotary.

One District One Book: Jeff Simons, Superintendent of the East Greenbush Central School District, sent a letter on behalf of their Global Education Committee thanking the Club for our $1000 donation to purchase copies of the book “The Elephant in the Room.” The Committee is sponsoring a Project to have the entire District read the book by Holly Goldberg Sloan. The start date has not yet been determined because of delays in obtaining the books.

Iron Giraffe Project: Students from the Maple Hill International Club spoke last week about their fundraiser for Water for South Sudan.  The Club will donate fifty percent of the proceeds from the Rotary Bowling Event to the Maple Hill International Club for their fundraiser. In addition, the Club will also donate another $500 for the fundraiser.

Rotary Bowling Event:  Per Phil Kellerman, the event will be held on April 2nd (Sunday) from 2 pm until 4 pm. Phil will also check to see if the event can be held from 1 pm until 3 pm. To date, Phil has commitments for 12 sponsorships at $50 a lane. He would like 16. He proposed a raffle for a $50 gift certificate. It was suggested that participants who bought food to donate to the Anchor Food Pantry will get a free ticket. Phil contacted the Pantry. The Pantry suggested donations of peanut butter and jelly, toiletries, instant mashed potatoes and cereal. Please let Phil Kellerman know if you are planning to attend. Pat Bailey and Ray Hannan are helping Phil plan this event.

Rotary Plaque for Moscatiello’s: Moscatiello’s management approved the plaque and will place it by one of the doors.

Albany Water Project Presentation: Len Tantillo, noted historical artist, and B.J. Costello will speak on March 9th about the proposed waterway in downtown Albany. Attendance is limited to 50 people. A buffet will be served. The cost is $25 per person. The buffet choices will be Penne with Marinera Sauce, Chicken Lemone and Sausage and Meatball with Cannoli for dessert and coffee. Capacity has been met, anyone else interested in the presentation is invited to join via Zoom.

Pre-PETS Schedule: Roberto Martinez joined the February 15 meeting on Club Finances and Insurance. They discussed taxes, budgets and membership counts. The new District will consist of 100 Clubs with 3,000 members. PETS training will be held in Syracuse. Let Kevin Leyhane know if you are interested in attending.

Next Meeting: Note that there is no meeting next week. The next meeting will be Thursday, March 2, dinner 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.

Entree choices for March 2 will be Penne Ala Vodka, Rustica Salid and Baked Sausage and Peppers.

Dr. Maria Coady joined via Zoom to speak about LEAD (The Foundation for Language Education and Training).

Dr. Coady is Professor of Multilingual Education and is the Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Educational Equity at North Carolina State University. She holds a Ph.D. in Bilingual, Multicultural and Social Foundations of Education from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She has been a teacher, teacher-educator and advocate for English language learners in the US and abroad for over 30 years. She also provides educational professional development in the US, Ukraine, China and the United Arab Emirates. She was awarded the American Educational Research Association “Exemplary Contributions for Practice-Engaged Research” in 2020 for her work with rural, multilingual communities.

There are over 5 million multilingual learners (ML) students in grades K through 12 in the US who are learning English as an additional language. Seventy-five percent of these students are Spanish speaking. In North Carolina, 80 percent of the counties are rural and have population growths attributed to Spanish speaking families. North Carolina has 1.4 million students in grades K through 12. Of these, there are 270,000 students who speak a language other than Englis with Spanish is being the most widely used. The rural districts have found an increase in the number of students from Haiti. Only 50% of rural districts offer English as a second language (ESL) compared to city districts where 89% offer ESL Bilingual education is more effective than ESL.

Dr. Coady did a Talking Tour, speaking with ML educators about problems they have encountered. There are issues with teacher retention, teacher to student ratios that vary significantly, no access to bilingual social workers and psychologists, no native language assessment materials and ML family engagement.

The LEAD Foundation was incorporated in 2013. They provide scholarships for high achieving students whether they are documented or undocumented, migrant or ML. Students submit applications, their GPA and usually an essay about what they want to study. Their submissions are reviewed. The applicants are interviewed by Phil Kellerman regarding what obstacles and challenges they have overcome, their goals and plans as to how they will finance the remainder of their education after the $1000 per semester scholarship is awarded. These students contribute back to their communities. To learn more about LEAD, go to http://www.languageeducate.org.