Members in Attendance (15):  Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Pat Bailey, Murray Forth, Ray Hannan, Mary Alice Caldes, Charlie Foote, Debbie Rodriguez, Ron Annis, Monica Annis, Dick Drum, Phil Kellerman, Kevin Leyhane, Carol Heaney and Andy Leyhane.

By Zoom (1): Becky Raymond

Guests (1): Richard French

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:

Storage: Per Murray Forth, bought the boxes and items from storage. After the meeting, members went through the boxes and took home items to save.

Membership: Chris Bystroff will submit the membership fee.

Meetings: The holiday party will be held on December 12th at the Browns. If you did not sign up at the meeting tonight, please let Debbie Brown know if you are attending. The December 19th meeting will be held at the Spinney. The meeting will be catered. The price is $30 per person. Bring a drink. Afterwards, there will be cake and ice cream to celebrate Lois’s 75th birthday.

Circles of Mercy, Cate’s Kids Adopt-A-Family Program: Gifts to be delivered to Circles of Mercy December 16^th. Richard from Circles of Mercy was notified that we would adopt a family. He will have the list by Thanksgiving. Carol Heaney will coordinate.

CNY News: Member Orientation: Nov 26, Tues at 7pm, and December 17, Tues at 7pm. Town Hall, December 5^th at 7pm. Every club is encouraged to send at least one member to obtain information to bring back to them.  Information on all of this and more is posted to the website, cnyrotary.org.

Rotary Gift Giving: To be held on Tuesday, Dec 3rd. This Global Day of Generosity is an opportunity for all members to make a big impact with a gift of any size. A donation to the Annual Fund-SHARE supports projects you’re passionate about, both in your community and around the world. A gift to PolioPlus helps transport vaccines and immunize children to keep them safe.

RI Conventions: Calgary, June 21-25, 2025.  Minneapolis 2028.  Chicago 2030.

Rotary Presidential Peace Conference: To be held February 20-22, 2025, at the Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel and Conference Center in Istanbul, Turkey. Register at rotery.org/istanbul25.

Next Meeting: Thursday, December 5th 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. Gretchen will speak about the Wiskers Cat Rescue.

Entry Choices will be Rustica Salid, Lasagna and Baked Ziti.

Disaster Response

Richard French

Richard French volunteered at the DeFreetville Fire Company in East Greenbush. He served twice as Chief. He remains an active firefighter. He joined the NYS Office of Emergency Management in 1998. He served as the State Liaison Officer at the Incident Command Post and Emergency Operations Center following 911. After hurricanes Francis and Ivan in Florida, he served as the Operations Section Chief. He also served as Operations Branch Director after hurricane Dennis and as Safety Officer in Jackson County, Mississippi after hurricane Katrina. In NYS he responded to hurricanes Irene, Lee and Sandy and to the Lake Ontario flooding.

Disasters include natural hazards such as fires, floods, winter storms, earthquakes, landslides and tornados. Disasters also include technology failures such as power failures and health hazards such as pandemics. Disaster response for families starts with planning ahead. Families can build a disaster kit, be financially prepared by making copies of bank and credit card information, passports and birth certificates. They should have a plan for any pets, for shelter and for evacuation. They can also obtain safety skills such as basic first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Businesses and governments should also plan ahead. They should have impact analysis, risk assessments, mitigation, and all-hazard comprehensive plana and they should train their employees. Others, such as FEMA, Volunteer Organization Aiding in Disaster (VOAD) and faith-based organizations can help. Per Mr. French, “all disasters start and end locally.”

Happy Thanksgiving

Members in Attendance (15):  Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Pat Bailey, Murray Forth, Ray Hannan, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Debbie Rodriguez, Dick Drum, Terry Brewer, Phil Kellerman, Becky Raymond, Kevin Leyhane, Carol Heaney and Andy Leyhane.

By Zoom (0): 

Guests (4): Lisa Jackson, Schenectady Rotary; Don Kellish, Schenectady Rotary; Jen Milligan, East Greenbush School District Director of Business and Finance; and Emily Steinbach, President of the East Greenbush School District Board of Education.

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:

Membership: Roberto Martinez made the motion to vote Chris Bystroff in as a new member. Peter Brown seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved. Welcome Chris.

Storage: Per Murray Forth, he will bring the boxes and items from storage next week.

Meetings: The holiday party will be held on December 12th at the Browns. If you did not sign up at the meeting tonight, please let Debbie Brown know if you are attending. The December 19th meeting will be held at the Spinney.

Circles of Mercy, Cate’s Kids Adopt-A-Family Program: Gifts to be delivered to Circles of Mercy December 16^th. Richard from Circles of Mercy notified we would adopt a family and he thanked us and will have the list by Thanksgiving.  Need a lead from our Club.

CNY News:  Information on all of this and more is posted to  website, cnyrotary.org. Member Orientation: Nov 26, Tues at 7pm, and December 17, Tues at 7pm. Town Hall, December 5^th at 7pm.Every club is encouraged to send at least one member to get information to bring back to them. 

RI Conventions: Calgary, June 21-25, 2025.  Minneapolis 2028.  Chicago 2030.

Rotary Presidential Peace Conference: To be held February 20-22, 2025 at the Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel and Conference Center in Istanbul, Turkey. Register at rotery.org/istanbul25.

Next Meeting: Thursday, November 21st 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. Richard French will speak on Disaster Response.

Entry Choices will be Antipasto Salid, Eggplant Parmesan and Spaghetti and Meatballs.

Schenectady Rotary

Cornhole for a Cause

Lisa Jackson and Don Kellish

Lisa Jackson and Don Kellish of the Schenectady County Rotary spoke about looking for a project after Covid. The Club asked the Schenectady School District who determined that there was a need for a community room at Cain Elementary. The Club determined they had the resources for the project. They put in a kitchen and three clothes washers and three dryers along with tables to fold laundry and laundry baskets. The laundry is used almost daily, and the kitchen is used for cooking classes and parent coffees.

The project was funded by holding a cornhole tournament. Lisa and Don discussed the steps that they went through to plan and hold the tournament. Communication, clear check points, due dates and assigned responsibility are important but a good project is what sells the fundraiser. Their project resulted in community building, continued ties to the school and additional projects.

By Zoom (13): Becky Raymond, Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane, Pat Bailey, Peter Brown, Doris Calamaras, Dean Calamaras, Debbie Brown, Debbie Rodriguez, Kevin Leyhane, Murray Forth and Andy Leyhane.

Guests (0): 

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:

Website Updates: Kevin Leyhane deleted the two members who resigned. Pat Bailey updated the information for Rotary International.

Miscellaneous Notes: All members are encouraged to attend the meeting on November 14th. Phil will be missing the next meeting. Last week he flew to Wichita, KS to support Delphine Sosu from Ghana and see her soccer team play at Newman University.  Delphine is receiving financial aid from the Foundation for Language Education and Development (LEAD) of which Phil helped establish and is a current board member. Carol Heany will be out until late October. Debbie Rodriguez will be missing the October 24th, 31st and November 7th meetings. Debbie Brown will take the notes on October 24th and November 7th and Phil Kellerman will take the notes on October 31st. Becky Raymond will be speaking at the Ballston Spa Rotary in the near future.

Grant Update: Per Peter Brown, Phil Kellerman took the meeting minutes on Mondays phone call. Jennifer Grymm of the Rotary Club in Kenya is ready this week to submit the answers to Rotary Internationals questions and a bank account will be created. They were missing two of Edith Kanara’s documents, but Jennifer now has them. In another couple of weeks, they should be getting the initial approval from Rotary International start the hydro geographical survey.

East Greenbush and Social Capital: Per Peter Brown, Lisa Jackson and another member of the Schnectady Rotary Club will speak on November14th about how they developed their cornhole tournament as a fundraiser. Emily Steinback, East Greenbush School District Board Member and Jennifer from the East Greenbush School Districts Central Office will attend the meeting. The Club is proposing a cornhole tournament to raise funds for a Community Center to be established for the School District.

Gift of Life: Dean and Doris Calamaras attended the Golf Tournament in early September. The tournament raised $12,000. They are working to raise awareness of the Gift of Life in Clubs in the new CNY District.

Tax Status: Per Terry Brewer, he should have the paperwork completed by this week and ready for submission.

Membership: Membership is ongoing. There are several potential new members.

Rotary Leadership Institute ( rlinea.org ): Training will be held on Saturday, November 2nd from 7:30 am until 3:30 pm at the Universalist Unitarian Society of Albany, 405 Washington Avenue, Albany. Per Roberto Martinez, the Club will pay the $75 fee for any member who wants to attend. Roberto will be attending. Let Roberto know if you wish to attend. Register NOW for RLI NEA Seminar – Dist 7180 – Albany, NY. There is also another opportunity on October 19th in Rochester.

Speakers: Needed for this year. Contact Phil Kellerman with any speakers. Robert Conner, Journalist from Malta Rotary Club will speake on November 7th. The title of his talk will be “Post-Election Nonpartisan Special, Regardless of Results: Juneteenth as Hopeful Symbol of National Unity”, hosted by Phil.

Holiday Party: Will be hosted by Peter and Debbie Brown on December 12th at their home.

CNY Rotary Member Orientation: It will be held on zoom on the fourth Tuesday of each month, starting next Tuesday, October 22nd at 7 pm. Member Orientation will be a high-level look at the basics of Rotary, including our history, guiding principles, Areas of Focus, and more. We hope to give members the lay of the land so they can return to your club with context and an understanding of how to get involved. Sign up: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwlde2przkpG9ySIl2WXUQJX7AJwtmoALwH

RI Conventions: Calgary, June 21-25, 2025.  Minneapolis 2028.  Chicago 2030.

Rotary Presidential Peace Conference: To be held February 20-22, 2025 at the Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel and Conference Center in Istanbul, Turkey. Register at rotery.org/istanbul25.

Next Meeting: Thursday, October 24th 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. World Polio Day is on October 24th. The interview video with Martha Lepow will be shown.

Entry Choices will be Antipasto Salid, Chicken Limone and Portabella Mushroom Ravioli.

“Baron of Second Avenue”

The Archive of the Greek American League

Dean Calamaras

Years ago, Dean Calamaras was house cleaning in his parent’s basement and found a box of papers. The papers belonged to his father’s uncle Nicholas Calamaras. Dean held onto the box for many years. When he finally examined the box, he found that it contained over two hundred letters, pamphlets, legal documents and pictures about his Uncle and the Greek American League. The League advocated for the Greek community in New York City in the early 1900s. Letters includes requests for help with immigration, deportation, employment and export permits. There were also thank you letters and letters asking for political endorsements.

Dean wrote a biography of his Uncle Nicholas using these documents and stories from relatives that knew him. His uncle owned a candy shop in lower Manhattan. The documents in the box included Nicholas’ personal effects including his Deceleration of Intent to become a citizen and a picture of the ancestral home in Greece near Sparta. He also wrote about the Greek American League. These primary documents provided insight into immigrant’s adaption to a new life.

The final edits of the book went to the publisher this morning. Archives, libraries and universities have expressed interest in the book and the supporting documents. Dean indexed all of the documents and Greek names. He also scanned all the documents to make them available to others. They are planning to print over a hundred copies for the initial printing.