SRC Rotary has lots of ways to communicate with each other — website, Facebook, email, etc. But, there are those among us who love to spend time each day on Twitter, so why not make a point of looking for us there as well?

The address is easy to remember:  @SRCrotaryNY. Here’s a quick look at the most recent things we posted there. Follow us and you’ll stay in the loop on all things Rotary.

Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
June 21, 2018

Members Attending (12): Roberto Martinez, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Charlie Foote, Bill Dowd, April Dowd, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Phil Kellerman, Dick Drumm, Jim Leyhane, Ray Hannan.

Guests (1): Kassidy Berger.

Program: “A Scholarship Winner Pays a Visit”

Kassidy Berger, literally on the eve of her graduation from Maple Hill High School, was the second of three students to be presented with $1,000 SRC Scholarships checks to help finance their further education.

This morning, Jessica Williams of Columbia High School, received her check when she spoke at our monthly breakfast meeting. (Click here for details.) A third student, Autumn Brown of Rensselaer High School, also will receive a check.

Kassidy, who a year ago was one of the students SRC sponsored in the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) program, will enroll at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut in the next academic year.

She told us about her extremely busy senior year, which included being on her school’s student council, being the first non-voting student member of the district school board, interning in the region’s New Visions program that allows students to divide their time between school and real-word experience in various fields — in a law office, in her case. She did this and other public service and internship work while staying heavily involved in student life. And, she was named a top leader by Zonta International, which works to empower women of all ages.

While Kassidy will be majoring in some form of communications at Quinnipiac, she said she expects to change majors several times because she has so many varying interests. She said she sees herself working in some form of political or public communications.

Business/Announcements

OPENING: President Roberto welcomed members and student guest Kassidy Berger. He showed the website coverage of this morning’s Third Thursday breakfast meeting, the last such session until September. Click here for details.

PRESIDENTIAL CHANGEOVER: Debbie and Peter Brown will host our annual changeover dinner at 6 p.m. next Thursday (June 28). Attendance is strongly urged as Roberto will be turning over the gavel to Andy Leyhane. A catered dinner, at our standard $18 dinner price, will be served.RSVP deadline is this Sunday, with emails going to Debbie at mdbrown@nycap.rr.com.

CLYNK UPDATE: Bill Dowd asked anyone in need of more of the proper bags and bar code stickers over the summer for our Clynk beverage container refund initiative to contact him and he will see to it that they get the materials needed to participate.

CALENDAR ITEMS: District Officer Changeover brunch, 9:30 a.m. to noon Sunday, July 8, at Dunham’s Bay Resort in Lake George. Registration is available online by clicking here. … “Pool Party & Cookout I,” a family-friendly “Summer Casual” event at Jim Leyhane’s residence (co-sponsored by Andy and Kevin Leyhane and Roberto) is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, July 19. Contact Jim if you plan to attend. … Our annual field trip to Bruno Stadium for a pavilion picnic and ValleyCats baseball game is scheduled for Wednesday, July 25. Contact Terry Brewer is interested. … The musical version of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” is scheduled for 8 p.m. Thursday, August 2, at the Mac-Haydn Theatre in Chatham. Contact Debbie Brown if interested. … “Pool Party & Cookout II,” another family-friendly event, will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, August 23, at the Forth residence. Contact Murray or Maggie if interested.

YEAR IN REVIEW: Roberto led us through the discussion topics addresses and the conclusions reached at the recent Board retreat, And, he reviewed a list of highlights of the many, many initiatives and activities SRC was involved in during the current Rotary Year. He noted that we must continue to reach out to the numerous club member who rarely or never get involved if we wish to continue the torrid pace of work we have set. Too few people are doing the bulk of the club’s work, and at least our next two presidents will have full-time jobs that do not allow them to do as much as some presidents who are retired have been able to devote.

Breakfast Meeting
at the Greenbush YMCA
East Greenbush
June 21, 2018

Members Attending (7): Terry Brewer, Geoff Brewer, Jim Leyhane, Murray Forth, Shannon Romanowski, Matt Smith, Marty Mahar.

Guests (1): Jessica Williams.

Program: A Scholarship Recipient Visits

Jessica Williams, a Columbia High School student who is a recipient of one of this year’s  SRC Rotary Scholarships, made a presentation on her community service efforts.

Jessica will be attending the University at Albany in the fall, majoring in biology and pursuing an interest in the medical field.

Business/Announcements

• Marty Mahar and Jim Leyhane gave an update on the service dogs project at Bell Top Elementary School, where Marty is the principal as well as being an SRC member. They spoke to the excitement of students and staff regarding the project and the recent presentation of a $1,500 grant from SRC to help support the effort. (Click here for details.)

• A check  for $500 was presented to Shannon Romanowski, SRC member and executive director of the Greenbush YMCA, to help underwrite summer scholarships there. That initiative was funded by donations made by members and guests at the Third Thursday monthly breakfast sessions Shannon hosts at the Y. This was the final SRC breakfast meeting of the 2017-18 Rotary Year. The Third Thursday sessions will resume on September 20.

•  Attendees reviewed the schedule for the club’s “Summer Casual” activities for July and August, and signed up for programs and events. Click here to view the latest schedule updates.

• The club’s annual “Presidential Changeover” dinner and social will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 28, at the Castleton residence of Debbie and Peter Brown. Please be sure to contact Debbie via email (mdbrown@nycap.rr.com)  no later than Tuesday, June 26, if you plan to attend. All are welcome.

We haven’t made much money — yet — with the club’s new Clynk container redemption account, but we already are making a positive environmental impact.

The graphic above is supplied by Clynk to let us know what our redemption of 1,552 bottles and cans means to the real world.

If you’ve been collecting and turning in containers in the authorized bags, thank you, and please keep up the good work. If you haven’t yet picked up a supply of bags and the bar code stickers that must accompany them, please contact Bill Dowd and he will see to it that you get them.

We have just received another addition to SRC’s “Summer Casual”calendar of events for July and August that replace our usual program of weekly and monthly dinner and breakfast meetings.

Mark your calendars to save 6 p.m. Thursday, July 19, for a family-friendly — and guest-friendly — cookout and pool party hosted by SRC members Jim, Andy, and Kevin Leyhane, and Roberto Martinez.

We have only three summer dates still open. If you are interested in hosting an event (such as a pool party, BYO picnic, cookout, etc.) or coordinating a family-friendly field trip (dinner at a marina, a sail on the Hudson River, etc.), please let President Roberto Martinez or President-elect Andy Leyhane know ASAP so we can get the planning under way and on the calendar for the information and planning effort of all.

The calendar:

• June 28 — Presidential Changeover Dinner: Our annual passing of the gavel, with Roberto Martinez handing over stewardship of our club to Andy Leyhane. Beginning  at 6 p.m. at the Brown residence in Castleton, Please make your reservations ASAP with Debbie Brown.

• June 5 — Holiday week, no events scheduled.

• July 12 — Open

• July 19 — A family-friendly “Cookout By the Pool I,” 6 p.m., Leyhane residence, East Greenbush. Please make your reservations ASAP with Jim Leyhane.

• July 25 (Wednesday) — Pavilion picnic and New York-Penn League baseball game (Tri-City ValleyCats vs. Auburn Doubledays), at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium, Troy. Tickets $26. Please make your reservations ASAP with Terry Brewer.

• August 2 — “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” 8 p.m. curtain, Mac-Haydn Theatre, 1925 State Route 203, Chatham. Tickets $39.50. Please make your reservations ASAP with Debbie Brown.

• August 9 — Open

• August 16 — Open

• August 23 — A family-friendly “Cookout By the Pool II,” 6 p.m., Forth residence, East Greenbush. Please make your reservations ASAP with Murray or Maggie Forth.

• August 30 –– Leading into heavy Labor Day weekend vacation schedule, no events.

(Traditionally, we do not hold events on July 4th week or during the week leading into the long Labor Day weekend.)

This Thursday will be our final week at Quigley’s for the 2017-18 Rotary Year.

The following Thursday we’ll have our annual Presidential Changeover dinner at the Browns’ residence in Castleton (details to be divulged at this week’s meeting), then we’ll transition into “Summer Casual” events.

Our scheduled program this week will be the presentation of scholarship checks to graduating seniors from Columbia, Rensselaer, and Maple Hill high schools.

Last year’s scholarship winners

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Thursday’s menu will be roast turkey, antipasto salad, chef’s choice of side dishes, bread,  dessert, and beverages. Please be sure dinner coordinator Debbie Brown receives your email (mdbrown@nycap.rr.com) no later than this Tuesday evening so we have ample food and seating. As always, guests are welcome. (Since we did not circulate the reservation list last week, please be sure your name is on this list.)

Pat Bailey
Debbie Brown
Peter Brown
April Dowd
Bill Dowd
Dick Drumm
Murray Forth
Phil Kellerman
Jim Leyhane
Roberto Martinez
Students and other guests

Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
June 14, 2018

Members Attending (13): Roberto Martinez, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Bill Dowd, Jim Leyhane, Debbie Rodriguez, Phil Kellerman, Ray Hannan, Dick Drumm, Kevin Leyhane, A.J. Amato, Becky Raymond, Carole Spencer.

Guests (1): Alessandra Barbarossa.

ANNOUNCEMENTS/BUSINESS

OPENING — President Roberto Martinez welcomed Rotarians and student guest Alessandra Barbarossa, who made her final visit to our club before returning home to Italy after an academic year at Columbia High School. He noted that today is Flag Day, And, he showed reports on the club website about recent activities (click on titles to access separate stories):

• Star of Hope restoration project;

• Circles of Mercy awards dinner;

• Rebuilding Warriors via Bell Top School

SCHOLARSHIPS — We have received the names of graduating seniors at Rensselaer, Maple Hill, and Columbia high schools who will be recipients of this year’s $1,000 SRC Rotary Scholarships. We had planned on presenting the awards at next week’s meeting, but there is some question about the availability of the students.

RYLA UPDATE — Maple Hill High School has again expressed interest in providing juniors-to-be to participate in the 2018-19 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards training series. No word on whether there is any interest from other high schools in our area of service.

RI CONVENTION — For those not attending the Rotary International Convention on June 22-27 in Toronto, there will be a live streaming of various breakout sessions. Roberto asked webmaster Bill Dowd if he would be able to link to those on our website, and he said he would do so.

CALENDAR ITEMS — Peter and Debbie Brown again will host our annual Presidential Changeover dinner at 6 p.m. Thursday,  June 28, at their Castleton residence. Join us to see Roberto pass the gavel to President-elect Andy Leyhane for the 2018-19 Rotary Year. … The District 7190 Changeover brunch is scheduled for Sunday, July 8, at Dunham’s Bay Resort on Lake George. Reservations may be made online by clicking here. … The club will pay for any member who wishes to participate in the Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) on Saturday, October 20. See Bill Dowd if you would like information. … Next Meeting: 6:15 p.m. Thursday, June 21, at Quigley’s. Final weekly dinner meeting of the 2017-18 Rotary Year.

PROGRAM: “It’s All About Us: Part 1”

Immediate Past President Debbie Rodriguez has been digging through the musty and largely disorganized archives of our 58-year-old club, haphazardly stored in the closets, basements, and garages of several members — as well as in the dusty memories of others.

The impetus of her quest is simple.

“The club sent me to RLI (Rotary Leadership Institute) and I learned about Rotary in general. Then the club sent me to PETS (Presidents-elect Training Sessions) and I learned about the District. But, I still didn’t know enough about our club. So, I read our website information, interviewed several longtime members, and went through all the programs, records, photos, and other documents I could find.

“I still haven’t finished that process, but I thought I’d begin sharing what I found with the whole club.  So, this will end up being a multi-part report.”

Debbie found documents dealing with the chartering of the club, mini-bios of key founding members, information on activities with District 7190, membership rolls, key moments in club history, etc.

For a slideshow of Part 1 of Debbie’s presentation, click here to go to our archives.

Several members of the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club spent time today at Bell Top Elementary School as part of a celebration of efforts supporting the “Rebuilding Warriors” canine support project.

A check for $3,050 was prepared for the support of the companion animal effort for veterans in need: $1,500 came from  SRC’s recent “Bowling for Vets” event, with the remaining $1,550 coming from a combination of student fundraising and a faculty Go Fund Me effort.

Rebuilding Warriors is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization providing highly trained and socialized service/companion dogs to veterans diagnosed as amputees as well as those with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and TBI (traumatic brain injury). Most of its dogs are bred especially for this mission and have a highly sought-after demeanor. Dogs are provided to honorably discharged veterans from any branch of the U.S. armed forces or from any service era meeting its eligibility standards. (Click here to go to the Rebuilding Warriors website.)

SRC also is involved in a second, separate canine project in partnership with Bell Top. It includs helping underwrite the purchase and years-long socializing and training of a support dog for the school. It was reported that a puppy will be selected from a litter of eight born on June 9 for purposes of this effort.

We’re nearly halfway to filling our seven-date “Summer Casual” calendar, with the addition this week of a theater outing and a pool party.

If you are interested in hosting an event (pool party, BYO picnic, cookout, etc.) or coordinating a family-friendly field trip (dinner at a marina, a sail on the Hudson River, etc.), please let President Roberto Martinez or President-elect Andy Leyhane know ASAP so we can get the planning under way.

The calendar:

• July 12 — Open

• July 19 — Open

• July 25 (Wednesday) — Pavilion picnic and New York-Penn League baseball game (Tri-City ValleyCats vs. Auburn Doubledays), Joseph L. Bruno Stadium, Troy. Tickets $26. Please make your reservations with Terry Brewer.

• August 2 — “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” 8 p.m. curtain, Mac-Haydn Theatre, 1925 State Route 203, Chatham. Tickets $39.50. Please make your reservations with Debbie Brown.

• August 9 — Open

• August 16 — Open

• August 23 — A family-friendly “Cookout By the Pool,” 6 p.m., Forth residence, East Greenbush. Please make your reservations with Murray or Maggie Forth.

(Traditionally, we do not hold events on July 4th week or during the week leading into the long Labor Day weekend.)

Some “sweat equity” often means a lot more to the Rotarians and their recipients.

Just take a look at this statistic compiled by Rotary International.