Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
December 14, 2017

Members Attending (15): Jim Leyhane, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Debbie Rodriguez, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Bill Dowd, April Dowd, Dick Drumm, Phil Kellerman, Ray Hannan, Terry Brewer, Charlie Foote, Kevin Leyhane, Marco Koshykar.

Guests (1): Dawn Vavala, Twin Bridges Rotary and Nite Owl Marketing.

Announcements/Business

OPENING — Jim Leyhane presided in place of President Roberto Martinez who was on vacation. He opened the meeting and gave the invocation.

CLUB OFFICER SUCCESSION — We are in immediate need of people interested in becoming President-elect or Vice President since current co-Presidents-elect Ron Annis and Jim Butterworth and VP Ray Hannan all are bowing out of the administration line of succession. We need to fill the President-elect slot as soon as possible because the annual PETS (President-Elect Training Session) workshops are scheduled to begin on January 25. In the process of juggling, it is possible we also will have one opening as an at-large Board member. Anyone interested in any of these slots is asked to contact President Roberto ASAP (rrmtz@aol.com, 518-396-7250).

BRANDED MERCHANDISE — Jim described the “insulated bag” project we are undertaking — purchasing club-branded carry-all bags with the help of a District public relations financial grant. We will give each guest speaker a bag, and sell the remainder to club members and friends at $10 each. Once the initial order of 100 bags is dispersed, the club should realize a profit of $250 as well as having yet another way to display the Rotary/SRC image publicly. … Dawn Vavala, a charter member of the Twin Bridges Rotary Club and owner of Nite Owl Marketing who has supplied branded items to numerous club members in the past, was in attendance to display and explain various items that can be branded with Rotary/SRC logos through her company — caps, shirts, fleeces, messenger bags, vests, pajama pants, etc. Many items also are available in children’s sizes. More can be seen on her company website.

ROTARY HOME COOKING — We have hosts lined up for five months of dinners and/or cocktail parties — all themes to be determined — as part of this series of events in 2018 intended to raise funds for the general treasury as well as strengthen social ties among club members. The first will be hosted on Saturday, January 20, by Debbie and Peter Brown, followed by events by Dean and Doris Calamaras in February, Terry and Geoff Brewer in March, Murray and Maggie Forth in April, and Jim Leyhane and Roberto Martinez in May.  The March and May events probably will be cocktails-and-hors d’oeuvres events. February through May dates to be determined.

EAGLE SCOUT INDUCTION — Several SRC members attended last Sunday’s Court of Honor at which Troop 41, which we help sponsor, inducted Leonardo Gonzales into Eagle rank, Scouting’s highest. His Eagle project, required along with earning 21 merit badges, was creation of the Viking Gym rustic outdoor installation at Schodack Town Park. Jim Leyhane said inquiries have come from several other communities in our area about having a similar project done on their grounds.

ADOPT-A-FAMILY DRIVE — Event coordinators April and Bill Dowd will deliver a huge carload of donated gifts from SRC members and several friends to Circles of Mercy this Friday. The annual drive this year was for a needy family with eight children, ages ranging from 18 years to 18 months. This is the fourth year SRC has adopted a family via Circles, a non-governmental local family services agency headquartered in Rensselaer but serving much of the same area our club serves.

STOCKING STUFFERS / YEAR-END DONATIONS — We still have books of Hoffman’s Car Wash tickets available from Murray (with 50% of the proceeds going to the club). … Jim reminded attendees that this is a good time of year to make tax-deductible donations to various Rotary programs such as ShelterBox, PolioPlus, Gift of Life, and the Rotary Foundation. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation continues to offer a 2-for-1 match for every dollar donated via Rotary to PolioPlus.

ROTARACT UPDATE — Club liaison Debbie Rodriguez reported that as many as 16 graduate students at the UAlbany School of Public Health have expressed interest in being part of the charter group of a new Rotaract club (ages 18 to 30 eligible) being created at the school. She said she still is awaiting word of final approval by the school to be the host. John Justino, who is in the process of joining SRC, will be the club’s faculty advisor.

HOLIDAY PARTY & BASKET AUCTION — Any last-minute reservations for the annual “Holiday Party & Themed Gift Basket Silent Auction” should be made with Murray and Maggie Forth (mmforth51@gmail.com, 518-477-7433) by this Sunday. The party will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, December 21, at their residence in East Greenbush. Attendees are asked to bring a small appetizer for six people. The Talk of the Town catering service will provide the remainder of the dinner ($25). A reminder: The themed baskets are a major part of this social event, and all winning bids go to the club treasury to help support our many public outreach initiatives. We suggest baskets in the $15 to $45 range. And, of course, the more variety the better. Anyone needing an imagination jump start may want to revisit the suggestions we’ve posted in recent weeks on the club website. Check here, here, and here for some examples.

COFFEE SALES — Phil Kellerman reminded members he again is taking orders for 12-ounce packages of specialty coffees, with $5 from each sale going to the Capital Region Nordic Alliance (CRNA) adaptive sports organization on behalf of SRC.

NEXT MEETING — The monthly breakfast meeting is scheduled for 7 to 8 a.m. next Thursday, December 21, at the Greenbush YMCA. Please let Shannon Romanowski know if you plan to attend (Sromanowski@cdymca.org, 518-477-2570 extension 1200). That evening, the holiday party will be held in place of the weekly dinner meeting.

Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
December 7, 2017

Members Attending (20): Roberto Martinez, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Debbie Rodriguez, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Bill Dowd, April Dowd, Maggie Forth, Dick Drumm, Jim Leyhane, Ray Hannan, Terry Brewer, Carol Orvis, Jim McHugh, Jeff Simons, Dean Calamaras, Julius Frankel, Becky Raymond, Kevin Leyhane.

Guests (3): Michael Harkin, Columbia High School principal; Joe Corr, North Colonie Schools superintendent; Jeremy Forth.

Announcements / Business

ROTARACT UPDATE — Debbie Rodriguez reported that John Justino of the UAlbany School of Public Health is checking with his administration about formal requirements for creating a Rotaract chapter there. She asked the club, as the Rotaract sponsor, to cover the $50 application fee and provide up to $200 in seed money for the startup, which may or may not be needed in full. President Roberto Martinez asked for the consensus of the club and, when given it, authorized such money. Debbie said plans are for the new club to begin meeting in January.

NEW COMMITTEES — Roberto said he still is working on the makeup of new committees and will release that information once the committee leads have accepted appointment.

COFFEE SALES — A reminder that Phil Kellerman will be selling specialty coffees at next week’s meeting, with profits from the sales going to help club support of the Capital Region Nordic Alliance (CRNA) which offers adaptive sports for disabled veterans and others.

COMMUNITY RECOGNITION AWARDS DINNER — Murray Forth and Terry Brewer reported that we had a sellout crowd for the second such dinner, held on Tuesday at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant. About 40 awards were presented to students, alums, educators, business people, military, and first responders. Our own John Sawchuk, who will be moving out of the area in the next few weeks, was one of the honorees for his work as an educator and Rotarian, and A.J. Amato was honored for his work on reviving our Rotary Youth Exchange student initiative. The club will realize $3,000 or more from the event, with the final tally to be reported at an upcoming meeting. The full list of honorees plus photos of the event are available on our website.

ROTARY HOME COOKING — Our annual winter-spring series of  monthly theme dinners will begin on January 20, 2018, at the residence of Debbie and Peter Brown. (Theme to be announced.) We have openings on any date in February, March, April, and May. The procedure is for a member or members to host a dinner (that is their financial contribution) and accept a limited number of guests on a first-come, first-accepted at a set price, with all proceeds going to the club treasury. Anyone interested in hosting such an event is asked to contact Roberto ASAP.

OTHER CLUBS’ ACTIVITIES — The Hudson Shores club is working with the Salvation Army on its annual bell-ringing fund, collecting in Troy (shopping strip opposite Hudson Valley Community College) and notified us to be sure it was not infringing on anything we are doing in the area. … The Cohoes club will host a bowling event at the Cohoes Bowling Center on December 16 and 17 to raise money for victims of the recent devastating fire in downtown Cohoes. … The district-wide “Drop the Puck On Polio” pro hockey game and fundraiser for polio programs is set for this Saturday in Glens Falls. Details are contained in the event flyer on our website.

ADOPT-A-FAMILY — April Dowd reported that pledges are going well for the eight-child family we have adopted this Christmas through the Circles of Mercy family services agency. Everyone is asked to double-check the wishlist spreadsheet on the club website and bring their donations — wrapped and tagged with the recipients’ names — to next Thursday’s dinner meeting at Quigley’s. That is the deadline for all donations.

HOLIDAY PARTY — Our annual dinner and silent auction of themed gift baskets (proceeds go to the club treasury) is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, December 21, at the Forth residence. Anyone wishing to attend who has not yet signed up is asked to call or contact Maggie and Murray at mmforth51@gmail.com as soon as possible. Please be sure to let them know how many will be in your party, including guests and kids. The dinner, at $25 each, will be catered by club member Jim Mendrysa’s Talk of the Town catering service. Maggie has asked that guests bring a small, and she stressed “small,” plate of appetizers. Everything else will be provided. Please make every effort to come up with a themed basket of some sort. The auction is a big part of the festivities. We have lots of theme ideas. Click here to begin.

NEXT MEETING — The monthly breakfast meeting is scheduled for 7 a.m. Thursday, December 21, at the Greenbush YMCA. No dinner meeting that day because of the holiday party.

PROGRAM: “Visions for Columbia High School”

Club member Jim McHugh, assistant superintendent of the East Greenbush Central School District, introduced Michael Harkin, the incoming principal at Columbia High School.

Mike spoke briefly about his background — he presently is principal of the Knickerback Middle School in Lansingburgh — and his hopes for his tenure as successor to John Sawchuk at Columbia.

Jim then spoke about advances being made in research and implementation of programs and services to better prepare EGCSD students for college and careers. They are using “Clear Gov” for surveys of grads’ activities for up to five years out, and are experiencing a strong  62% response rate.

Jim cited examples of innovative efforts to get students in danger of dropping out to buy into career path training to supplement their regular classroom work; using companies in the community such as Gray Castle and the Center for Gravity as resources for broadening the possibilities of college, work study, and emerging career fields.

He noted that prospective employers have said many students lack the “soft skills” needed to succeed in careers — inability to communicate, weak teamwork skills, lack of understanding the responsibilities of being an employee, etc. He said EGCSD is working to improve such skills as part of the regular curriculum.