Our annual “Rotary Home Cooking” series, a member-hosted set of dinners/social events, is ready to roll out from March through June. And, we have our first two events already spoken for.
• Maggie and Murray Forth will host a roast beef dinner at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 16, at their East Greenbush residence. Seating, as it is for all such events, is limited. Please contact the Forths ASAP if you would like to attend. First-come, first-serfved.
• Dean and Doris Calamaras will host a Hungarian dinner at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 13, with a Hungarian Beef, Miskolcz style, entree and all the trimmings. (If you can’t imagine what they are, the Calamarases will provide details closer to the time for reservations to be made. We guarantee they’ll be tasty!) Contact Dean or Doris ASAP to make your reservation.
For those of you unfamiliar with the “Rotary Home Cooking” series details, here are the essentials:
Members volunteer to host and create themed dinners with a limited number of seats available. The hosts supply the food and beverages as their contribution, and they set the price per-person, using a restaurant approximation (usually in the $25 to $35 range). All money raised by attendees’ donations goes to the club’s general treasury to support our many community service efforts.
We now are looking for hosts for May, and June, with dates to be selected by the hosts. We can, of course, have more than one event per month which means we can take more in March and April. If you’re interested, please contact Bill Dowd or Andy Leyhane ASAP.
In the past, themes have spanned a wide range, from “A Greek Evening” to “A Plaza Hotel Recreation” to “Surf & Turf” to “A Beer & Wine Tasting” to “A Taste of New Orleans” to “A Rotary Cocktail Party” to “A French Bistro Event” and more.
In its inaugural year it was called “Rotary’s Got Talent.” That name didn’t lie, with entertainment ranged from dancing gymnasts to bowling ball freaks to a spoken rendition of iconic rocker Meatloaf’s “Paradise By the Dashboard Light,” and the event was a great night out with friends.
Our monthly Third Thursday Breakfast meetings have been put on hiatus until further notice. Dwindling attendance is the culprit, but the Board will revisit the effort if we get enough requests from members.
Held at Quigley’s Restaurant
MEETING NOTES: It was announced that the Board has authorized two financial grants — $500 to the Colonie-Guilderland Club’s Global Grant initiative to support a clean water project in Haiti; and, $2,500 in seed money for our SRC Rotary 5K/10K Trail Run event to be held in October. … For the Run, lead organizer Jim Leyhane reported he is trying to contact Tom Curran, mayor of the village of Chatham, to discuss participation. Earlier, Jim had reported that the Columbia County Fairgrounds in Chatham is the leading prospect to host the event. …
We’re looking for people interested in hosting events in our annual Rotary Home Cooking series of social fundraisers. If you’d like to reserve a date and/or get more information on how the series works, contact Andy Leyhane or Bill Dowd … Today is the final day to submit sponsorships ($100) to Jim Leyhane for our 3rd annual Community Recognition Awards dinner to be held on Tuesday, March 5, at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant. Tickets are $35. Among the honorees will be Murray Forth as the “breakout Rotarian” for his efforts remodeling our meeting room at Quigleys. Most recently, he replaced all the ceiling tiles, removed the ceiling fans, and wired a microphone. …
Phil Kellerman is putting together a live music evening as a fundraiser at our May 9 dinner meeting. Proceeds will go to the Oley Foundation. Save the date, and stay tuned for details and updates from Phil. … As announced last week, our Danes Rotaract group will hold a social fundraiser — a happy hour at Wolff’s Biergarten on Broadway in Albany — from 7 to 9 p.m. this coming Monday; $1 from the purchase of each non-alcoholic or alcoholic drink will go to the Freedom From Fistula Foundation. … We’re still waiting for information on what next Thursday’s program will be.
MEETING NOTES: Jim Leyhane reported on changes in planning for the SRC Rotary 5K/10K Trail Run. It had been scheduled for Schodack Island State Park, but park administration recently rescinded permission because of the projected large size of the event and suggested other venues. We have considered Grafton Lakes State Park, RPI Tech Park, Taconic State Park, John Boyd Thatcher State Park, and the Columbia County Fair Grounds in Chatham. The Chatham venue appears to be the best bet now, and the date would be changed from October 19 to Saturday, October 12, on the Columbus Day Weekend. … Terry Brewer reported on plans for our 3rd annual Community Recognition Awards dinner. It will be held on Tuesday, March 5, at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant. Tickets are $35. After expenses, proceeds will go to the club treasury to support scholarships and youth services. We hope to raise $4,000 through ticket sales and event sponsorships at $100 each. Anyone wishing to donate a business, organization, or individual sponsorship should contact Terry or Murray Forth no later than Friday, February 15. …
… Attendees voted to cover RI payments for members of our Danes Rotaract club. Debbie Rodriguez reported that the students have two activities coming up. They will be hosting their first “Happy Hour” of the spring semester from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, February 18, at Wolff’s Biergarten on Broadway in Albany. As always, $1 from every drink (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) purchased will be donated to the Freedom From Fistula Foundation. Then, from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, February 23, they will be volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House in Albany, making baked goods for the house residents. They are looking for Rotary volunteers but are limited to four slots, so Rotaractors will be given first preference. Signup can be done by 
Next week the world ushers in the Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year as it is known in some areas.
Bill Dowd is in the process of finalizing a flyer for the inaugural SRC Rotary 5K/10K Trail Run. Jim Leyhane and Roberto Martinez are working on lining up vendors and race sponsors, plus event management details with the Albany Running Exchange for the October 19 event to be held at Schodack Island State Park. The Blue Star Mothers organization, who led tonight’s program, said they would like to help during the race and with setup. …
Chinese New Year will be the theme for next Thursday’s 6:15 p.m. dinner meeting at Quigley’s, with a special Asian themed menu and a brief fun quiz put together by Bill Dowd dealing with the holiday and the surrounding Asian culture.
