This is the official flyer for the upcoming “World Polio Day” we will he hosting on October 24. Please feel free to help distribute it in any way you can — printed out and posted on a business, school or other bulletin board; via any social media accounts, etc. Thank you.
(If you would like to download a PDF version of the flyer, simply click here.)
After winding along their destructive routes through the Caribbean, a series of devastating Category 5 hurricanes finally has relented. In their aftermath, flooding and destructive storm surges have laid waste to virtually every island.
While President Trump’s visit today to Puerto Rico is garnering virtually all the news media attention in the region because U.S. aid efforts are concentrated on PR and the American Virgin Islands (St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John), relief efforts quietly but effectively continue throughout the Caribbean.
According to ShelterBox officials, for example, hundreds of sets of tents and ShelterKits have been distributed from an operations base on Antigua to the islands of St. Kitts, St. Barts, Barbuda, Dominica, St. Martin, the Dominican Republic, the British Virgin Islands, and elsewhere.
“We have a variety of aid in the Caribbean, so we can tailor our response to best support different communities,” ShelterBox says. “On some islands, there will be the natural resources available to quickly rebuild homes with the help of a ShelterKit. Elsewhere, our tents will be the best option, creating a warm, safe home while the long clean-up process takes place.
“But, it’s not just the Caribbean that has been affected by extreme weather. Torrential flooding in places like Bangladesh, and quakes, high winds and other natural disasters in various parts of Africa, Asia, and elsewhere, have left communities in urgent need of aid.
“Our teams are on the ground in both countries now, but the need is overwhelming. We’re impatient to respond wherever we’re needed in the world, but we need your help.”
Any members of the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club who are interested in donating to ShelterBox’s general fund to support its disaster relief work is asked to contact Bill Dowd, the club’s ShelterBox Liaison Officer, for details on how to do so.
We will gather at Quigley’s as usual on Thursday for a 6:15 p.m. meal, this time featuring turkey and appropriate sides (maybe some cranberries, too).
Following dinner and our business meeting, a program about the Junior Achievement organization will be presented by Tovah Lisky.
If you plan to attend, and your name is not on the list below, please be sure you email dinner coordinator Debbie Brown at mdbrown@nycap.rr.com no later than Tuesday (and please let her know if you’re bringing guests) so we have sufficient seats at the table and food on the buffet table.
The following have so far indicated their intent to attend on Thursday:
Bailey, Pat
Bennett, Mike
Brewer, Terry
Brown, Debbie
Brown, Peter
Butterworth, Jim
Drumm, Dick
Forth, Murray
Frankel, Julius
Hannan, Ray
Kellerman, Phil
Leyhane, Jim
Leyhane, Kevin
Martinez, Roberto
Raymond, Becky
(guest) Lisky, Tovah
Russ Edberg, an honorary member of the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club and one of the club’s longest serving members, died Saturday morning.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend his funeral 11 a.m. Wednesday, October 11, from Wm. J. Rockefeller Funeral Home Inc. 165 Columbia Turnpike, Rensselaer.
For the benefit of new members who may not have been acquainted with him, Russ was an active SRC member for 45 years until recent years when his health prevented him from participating in Rotary activities. He also was a Paul Harris Fellow.
Russ had moved to the Evergreen Commons retirement facility in East Greenbush in 2013, about four years after Dorothie Ann “Dottie” Edberg, his wife and a longtime Rotary supporter, passed away.
Click here to read the obituary Russ’s family created.
Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
September 28, 2017
Members Attending (19): Roberto Martinez, Pat Bailey, Murray Forth, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Dick Drumm, Dean Calamaras, Jim Leyhane, Andy Leyhane, Maggie Forth, Ray Hannan, Charlie Foote, Debbie Rodriguez, Terry Brewer, Phil Kellerman, Julius Frankel, Jim Butterworth, Ron Annis, Carole Spencer.
Guests (2): Jeff Simons, Jeremy Forth.
PROGRAM: ‘Becoming a Lighthouse District’
Terry Brewer introduced Jeff Simons, who has been the superintendent of the East Greenbush School District for slightly over a year, and is a prospective Rotarian.
Jeff last addressed our club during the run-up to a vote on a capital budget for the district. It was passed by a wide margin, and the first phase will begin being implemented next summer.
Jeff covered the high academic achievements, excellence in classroom teaching, supportive safety nets, and positive parental and community support. He said there is a 92% graduation rate at Columbia High School, and the system overall is ranked sixth in the Capital Region. Student achievement has been above average (58% ELA), and the Regents Exams Mastery level is above 85%.
He also discussed “Where Are We Going?,” including; the curriculum, measuring success, 21st Century learning technologies, rigorous college-level AP, Arts, Humanities and CTE coursework and workplace learning and mentoring.
In addition, he discussed mentorships and community-based learning. Even with high levels of literacy, he noted, there remains a need for strategic partnerships and high levels of numeracy and technological skills.
He said employers need graduates with both “hard” and “soft” skills such as solving problems, verbal skills, the ability to plan and organize and prioritize, to obtain and process information, analyze data, and have a proficiency with computer software programs.
Jeff said we will get there by having strategic partnerships, collaborative planning and communication, prioritization of goals and objectives, cyclical reviews and a climate of trust.
His full presentation can be accessed on this website’s “Program Presentation Archive” page by clicking here.
Announcements/Business
THANK YOUs — The club received a thank-you note from Phil Nasca for the floral arrangement sent to him. And, we received a note of thanks from The Anchor food pantry for our recent donations.
EXCHANGE STUDENT UPDATE — President Roberto informed the club that we will not have anyone participating in the Rotary Youth Exchange program this year.
EMERGENCY TRAINING — Dean Calamaras, who participated in Rensselaer County’s “Bystanders to Upstanders” training symposium, reported that 150 people participated in the training of volunteers who will first responders assist in cases of emergency.
SHELTERBOX — Bill Dowd delivered the club’s donation of $7,050 to local SB representative Jack Faddegon, who also is our Assistant District Governor. The donation was made in support of SB’s Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund.
THE ANCHOR — Terry Brewer reported on Columbia High School students supporting The Anchor Food Pantry with food and other supplies. A definite date is needed for delivery of items collected.
T-SHIRTS — A few “Humanity” T-shirts are left. In two weeks, we will begin giving away the remainder.
RECOGNITION DINNER — Terry reported that planning for the 2nd annual Community Recognition Dinner has begun.
RECYCLING DAY — Murray Forth said all planning has been finalized fot our next “Recyling & Shredding Day,” set for Saturday, October 14, at the Wainschaf Associates warehouse in Rensselaer.
ALSO ON THE CALENDAR — A hurricane relief fundraiser is set for October 20 at Columbia High School. … The annual Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) workshop will be held on Saturday, October 21, at the UAlbany Health Sciences Campus in Rensselaer. Members are encouraged to sign up; the club will pay the fee. … The Capital Region Nordic Alliance fundraising luncheon will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, October 22, at the Albany Country Club. … The annual District 7190 Foundation Dinner, this year themed “People of Action,” will be held on Thursday, November 16, at the 90 State Street event space in Albany. Click here to find the form for reservations.
NEXT MEETING — 6:15 p.m. Thursday, October 5, at Quigley’s. The speaker will be Tovah Lisky of Junior Achievement.
Feel free to copy this flyer and share it as widely as possible. Such sessions are becoming an important part of fundraising that helps support our community service efforts.
The road to eradicating polio has been a long and difficult one, with Rotary leading the fight since 1985. Going from nearly 350,000 cases in 1988 to just 10 so far this year has required time, money, dedication, and innovation from thousands of people who are working to end the disease.
Here are five things you may not know about the fight to end polio:
1. Ice cream factories in Syria are helping by freezing the ice packs that health workers use to keep the polio vaccine cold during immunization campaigns.
2. Celebrities have become ambassadors in our fight to end the disease. They include WWE wrestling superstar John Cena, actress Kristen Bell, action-movie star Jackie Chan, golf legend Jack Nicklaus, Grammy Award-winning singers Angelique Kidjo and Ziggy Marley, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu, anthropologist Dr. Jane Goodall, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates, and world-renowned violinist and polio survivor Itzhak Perlman.
3. Health workers and Rotary volunteers have climbed mountains, crossed deserts, and sailed to remote islands, risking their lives to vaccinate children against this disease. Rotary has funded more than 1,500 motorbikes and 6,700 other vehicles, as well as 17 boats, to make those journeys. Vaccinators have even traveled on the backs of elephants, donkeys, and camels to immunize children in remote areas.
4. In Pakistan, the polio program emphasizes hiring local female vaccinators and monitors. More than 21,000 vaccinators, 83% of whom are women, are achieving the highest immunization coverage rates in the country’s history.
5. Thanks to the efforts of Rotary and its partners, more than 16 million people who otherwise might have been paralyzed are walking today. In all, more than 2.5 billion children have been vaccinated since 1988.
We’ll be marking the arrival of autumn with a hearty meal of baked ziti and meatballs, antipasto salad, a veggie side, bread, dessert, and beverages when we gather at 6:15 p.m. this Thursday at Quigley’s.
Not signed up yet? Bringing a guest to meet-and-greet, and to hear speaker Jeff Simon, East Greenbush school superintendent (and prospective new Rotarian)?
Please be sure you email your RSVP to dinner coordinator Debbie Brown at mdbrown@nycap.rr.com no later than Tuesday so she can give the Quigley’s kitchen staff an accurate headcount.
P.S. If you plan to donate toothpaste and shampoo to The Anchor food pantry, please bring the items to this meeting and give them to Debbie who will handle the delivery.
P.P.S. Reminder to all Board members. We will be meeting immediately after the conclusion of the dinner meeting.
Here’s who we have signed up so far for dinner:
Bailey, Pat
Brewer, Terry
Brown, Debbie
Brown, Peter
Dowd, Bill
Hannan, Ray
Kellerman, Phil
Leyhane, Jim
Leyhane, Kevin
Martinez, Roberto
Raymond, Becky
Rodriguez, Debbie
Simon, Jeff
The latest major donation to ShelterBox from the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club was hand-delivered today.
Assistant District Governor Jack Faddegon accepted individual SRC members’ checks amounting to $7,050 from Bill Dowd, ShelterBox liaison officer. The amount far exceeded the original $5,000 goal set for the two-week push. All money will go to ShelterBox’s special “Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund” to aid victims in Texas and Louisiana.
SRC has been honored several times at the national and local levels for its support of the ShelterBox emergency relief program. Last year, it was awarded the first District 7190 ShelterBox “Hero” pennant. This latest donation is separate from an annual SRC donation to the ShelterBox general treasury, which will be made later in the Rotary Year.
“Your club is just incredible,” Faddegon said. “Year after year you keep helping, and it is so appreciated.”
Faddegon said he has visited several clubs in his ShelterBox capacity, and he projects total contributions from throughout District 7190 may hit $20,000.
For details on the ShelterBox program, click here,
Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
September 21, 2017
Members Attending (14): Roberto Martinez, Pat Bailey, Murray Forth, Terry Brfewer, Bill Dowd, Jim Leyhane, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Dick Drumm, Dean Calamaras, Maggie Forth, Debbie Rodriguez, Phil Kellerman, Carol Orvis.
Guests (1): Jeremy Forth.
PROGRAM: ‘A Look at DACA’
Club member Phil Kellerman spoke on the federal DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program now being debated in Congress.
He used the case of an undocumented Florida woman he worked with through a Florida foundation who, now age 25, was brought to the U.S. by her parents — both undocumented aliens — at age 9.
Phil talked about the current lack of paths to citizenship for such people, and the uncertainty that hangs over those who fear deportation to countries they do not know and, in some cases, whose language they do not speak. He explained the fee system ($485) for obtaining a DACA permit, which allows undocumented immigrants to work legally, to obtain a driver’s license, and to go to school.
The DACA program was created by a controversial executive order from President Barack Obama whose legality has been challenged. President Trump recently issued his own executive order that would nullify DACA in six months unless Congress acts to craft and pass legislation that would give the program the force of law. Trump has said he will sign such a bill.
Announcements & Business
RYLA — President Roberto Martinez announced that the club is sponsoring five members of t
he Maple Hill High School junior class in this year’s Rotary Youth Leadership Awards program — Erik Burns, Evan Fink, Kendall Jenkins, Olivia Sterantino, and Abby Utter. No other local high schools expressed an interest in being sponsored.
SHELTERBOX UPDATE — Bill Dowd, the club’s ShelterBox liaison, reported on the activities ShelterBox has undertaken in the U.S. and the Caribbean in response to the devastating series of hurricanes. He said we have raised $7,050 in contributions from club members for the special ShelterBox Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund. He will deliver the money on Friday to Assistant District Governor Jack Faddegon, who is the ShelterBox coordinator for District 7190.
ANCHOR FOOD PANTRY UPDATE — Debbie Brown said she delivered the last batch of toilet paper requested by the Castleton pantry, and thanked members for donating. She now is collecting toothpaste and shampoo for The Anchor and will deliver it when she amasses a sufficient supply. … In response to a question about other contributions, Bill Dowd said our practice for the past few years has been to hold a food drive in January, a time when food pantries’ stocks usually are depleted by the demands of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays,
GIFT OF LIFE — Jim Leyhane said GOL’s annual golf tournament, held this year at Pinehaven Country Club in Guilderland rather than its longtime Amsterdam venue, was the largest ever with about 120 golfers. SRC entered two foursomes. Jim said the event is expected to have raised about $20,000. The child from Mongolia who was brought to Albany Medical Center for cardiac surgery by GOL was in attendance at the event, and looked very fit.
WORLD POLIO DAY — The event, to be held at the UAlbany Health Campus in Rensselaer, is set for Tuesday, October 24. It will include a live feed from RI, as well as a showing of the “History of Polio” video created by SRC, CASDA, UAlbany, and the District.,
DISTRICT MEMBERSHIP — Terry Brewer, chairman of the District 7190 Membership Committee, and club Vice President Ray Hannan attended the September 19 membership seminar at which Terry spoke before a crowd of about 50 people representing numerous clubs. Terry said clubs in 7190 vary in size from 6 or 8 to 40 or more members. The district committee is working with clubs to determine what is right for each, rather than use a one-size-fits-all approach to member recruitment and retention. Among goals are to achieve a 10% increase in membership each year, and to create a two-year plan of action.
ROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGE — A.J. Amato, the club ‘s Youth Exchange Officer, has reported interest by at least one student in joining the program. The possibility is being evaluated, although we are not sure if them timing will make it possible.
ON THE CALENDAR — A board meeting will follow the conclusion of next Thursday’s dinner meeting. … The next recycling and shredding day is October 14 at Wainschaf Associates in Rensselaer. … A hurricane relief fundraiser still is being worked on by John Sawchuk at Columbia High School for October 20. … The Capital Region Nordic Alliance fundraiser luncheon is set for October 22. … The District’s “Persons of Action” dinner is planned for November 19. … The annual Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) workshop will be held Saturday, October 21, at the UAlbany Health Campus in Rensselaer. We have a sizeable contingent planning on participating; the club will pay for each registration fee.
NEXT MEETING — 6:15 p.m. Thursday, September 28, at Quigley’s. Jeff Simon, superintendent of the East Greenbush Central School District, will be the speaker.
Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club 