Circles of Mercy Easter Basket Drive and Next Week’s Speaker

This past month the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club partnered with the East Greenbush YMCA to connect, assemble, and deliver Easter Baskets for Circles of Mercy. A special thank you to all members who donated and Shannon Romanowski and her team for helping assemble the baskets.

Next Thursday, April 4, 2024 at 6:00pm the SRC Rotary Club will meet for their weekly meeting. Joining us as a guest presenter will be Ashley Fragomeni, the Director of Girls Inc. As usual if you are unable to attend in person you may do so remotely using the Zoom link on our calendar page.

Meeting Clipboard 3/28/24

Members in Attendance (13):  Peter Brown, Andy Leyhane, Phil Kellerman, Debbie Brown, Pat Bailey, Debbie Rodriguez, Murray Forth, Kevin Leyhane, Ray Hannan, Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Dick Drumm and John Justino.

By Zoom (0):

Guests (0): 

President Peter Brown called the meeting to order. 

Theme for the Year: “Building Community”

MEETING NOTES:

Viking Gym: Rotary, Kiwanis and Top Form members assembled the gym equipment on March 21st. The Town of Schodack’s Park Department has decided to hire a contractor to finish the installation of the Viking Gym at the Schodack Town Park. Jim Leyhane is still working on ordering the peace pole.

Easter Baskets for Circles of Mercy: Lois and Ray Hannan obtained a gift certificate to purchase candy. Shannon Romanowski and the YMCA put the 25 baskets together and delivered them to Circles of Mercy. Thank you to Lois Hannan for coordinating the collection effort and to all who donated.

Iron Giraffe Bowl-a-Thon: The bowl-a-thon will be held on Sunday April 14 from 2 pm until 4 pm. The cost will be $13 per person. Proceeds will go to the Anchor Food Pantry and to the Maple Hill water project. We will also ask participants to bring a food item for donation. Phil Kellerman contacted Christine Fowler. She has 17 students signed up to bowl. Per Phil, he has obtained gift certificates for the raffle and ran an ad again in the Our Town magazine. Bowlers are needed.

Membership: Each SRC Rotary member is asked to bring a friend to the Rotary meeting on April 11th. Terry Brewer will put a program together about Rotary, what the Club does and what we can do for individuals to interest them in Rotary. The Club will cover the costs for guests. Please let the Club know next week if you are bringing a guest so we can let the restaurant know the dinner count.

Water for Kenya: Peter Brown has a signed MOU with the Ms. Kenara and members of the Rotary Club of Enkare Naroch. He has also sent a draft of the specifications to the Enkare Naroch Club for review. The next steps will be to ask for bids based on the specifications and apply for funding for the hydrogeological survey. One of the employees who works for Kevin Bailey (Ken) was in Kenya and met with Edith Kanara about the project. Peter also received and email from Edith about the possibility of collaborating on other smaller projects. The Club will focus on the water project first.

Speakers: We still have open dates for speakers.

Rotary District: Roberto Martinez and Jim Leyhane attended the in-person PETS training held March 15th through 17th at the Double Tree in Syracuse. They will do a presentation for the Club about what they learned at the meeting.

Grants Management Training: The next training will be held via Zoom on Monday, April 1st, at 7 pm. Register for grant training at https://cnyrotary.org/.

Rotary Multi-District Conference: Will be held on Friday April 26th- Sunday April 28th at the DoubleTree in Binghamton. Standard Rooms Rate: $129/night Single or Double Occupancy, $139/night Triple Occupancy or $149/night Quad Occupancy. Deadline to book: March 26, 2024  DoubleTree Binghamton, (607) 722-7575.

Click ->District Conference Information– for more information on the event and our speakers

Click-> Register to get signed up (does not include hotel reservation)

Click-> Hotel to reserve your room under room code “ROT” 

Next Meeting: Thursday, April 4th at 6:00 pm at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant, Route 4, North Greenbush. Also, you can join the by Zoom using the link on the websites calendar page.

Entree choices will be determined.

General Assembly to update contact information on the Club’s Website.

No Service Day Tomorrow at The Schodack Town Park Viking Gym

There is no service work day scheduled for tomorrow at the Schodack Town Park to finish the installation of the Viking Gym. The Town of Schodack’s Park Department has decided to hire a contractor to finish the installation of the Viking Gym at the Schodack Town Park. Therefore members will not be needed tomorrow for a day of service. We will still be meeting at our regularly scheduled time of 6:00pm for our weekly meeting.

This Week’s Meeting, A General Club Assembly

This Thursday, March 28, 2024 at 6:00 pm the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club will have its weekly meeting at Moscatiello’s on Route 4 in North Greenbush. The agenda for the evening is discuss upcoming community events and update contact information on the Club’s Website. As usual if you are unable to meet in person you may do so remotely using the Zoom link located on the calendar page of the website.

Menu choices for the evening include Chicken Rustica Salad, Chicken Marsala, or Baked Ziti. Looking forward to seeing everyone this Thursday.

Workday At Schodack Town Park

Thank you to all the Rotary, Kiwanis and Top Form members who joined Schodack Town Park employees on a very cold day to work on the Viking Gym. Town Park employees continued post hole digging and grading while Rotary and Kiwanis members assembled the gym equipment. Coffee and cinnamon buns were provided by Top Form.

This Week, No Evening Meeting, Workday at Schodack Town Garage

This Thursday, March 21, 2024, in lieu of our regular weekly meeting, members of the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club, will be meeting at the Schodack Town Park at 1:00pm to meet Ron Annis and the staff of TopForm to start assembly on the Viking Gym. If you are available to work it is asked that you bring a 1/2 inch and a 9/16 inch socket wrench. Plan to work for a few hours and dress warm.

Installation of the Viking Gym components is tentatively scheduled for next Thursday at 1:00 pm.

We will be returning to Moscatiello’s on Thursday, March 28th for our regularly scheduled meeting.

Meeting Clipboard 3/14/24

Members in Attendance (13):  Peter Brown, Phil Kellerman, Debbie Brown, Debbie Rodriguez, Murray Forth, Ray Hannan, Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Ron Annis, Monica Annis, Charlie Foote, Dick Drumm and Becky Raymond.

By Zoom (0):

Guests (0): 

President Peter Brown called the meeting to order. 

Theme for the Year: “Building Community”

MEETING NOTES:

There will be no meeting at Moscatiello’s next Thursday. Instead, we will meet at 1 pm Thursday, March 21st at the Schodack Town Park to assemble the Viking Gym equipment.

Viking Gym: Per Ron Annis, there is a container of gym equipment at the Schodack Town Park. This Sunday, the holes will be dug. We will meet at 1 pm on Thursday, March 21st to assemble the equipment. If able, please bring a 1/2 inch and 9/16 inch socket wrench. Thanks to Dick Drum, concrete is being donated. Ron will find out early next week what the date and time will be for setting the concrete and equipment. He is trying to schedule it for Saturday, March 23rd. Help will be needed. The grand opening will probably be held sometime in May. Stay tuned. Per Jim Leyhane, the Peace Pole will not arrive in time and will have to be installed at a later date.

Iron Giraffe Bowl-a-Thon: The bowl-a-thon will be held on Sunday April 14 from 2 pm until 4 pm. The cost will be $13 per person. Proceeds will go to the Anchor Food Pantry and to the Maple Hill water project. We will also ask participants to bring a food item for donation. Phil Kellerman has been checking with Christine Fowler regarding the number of students who will attend. Pat Bailey has volunteered to staff the entry table. Bowlers are needed.

Membership: Each SRC Rotary member is asked to bring a friend to the Rotary meeting on April 11th. Terry Brewer will put a program together about Rotary, what the Club does and what we can do for individuals to interest them in Rotary. Members should be prepared to talk about why you joined Rotary. The Club will cover the costs for guests.

Water for Kenya: Peter Brown consulted with Mike Stengle (Becky Raymond’s husband) about anticipated specifications and recommendations on what is needed. Kevin Bailey, previous speaker from High Peaks Solar, is in Nairobi, Kenya now. He has offered to look at the well site. The Club voted to pay up to $300 to purchase a round-trip plane ticket for that purpose. Peter is putting together a consolidated specification list. It is complicated. He would appreciate help. Peter anticipates that the project will cost approximately $50, 000.

Easter Baskets for Circles of Mercy: Today was the last date to drop off items at Moscatiellos. Ray Hannon spoke to management at Price Chopper. He will bring a letter from Peter Brown, along with Lois and Shannon and Price Chopper will issue them a gift card to purchase candy. If you still want to donate, please drop off any items at the East Greenbush YMCA next week.

Speakers: We still have open dates for speakers.

Rotary District: The in-person PETS training will be held March 15th through 17th at the Double Tree in Syracuse. Register early to secure a hotel room. For further information go to  http://www.RotaryEmpireMDPETS.org. The majority of the meeting will be held on Saturday if you are considering attending for one day. Jim Leyhane and Roberto Martinez will attend the District PETS training.

Grants Management Training: The next training will be held via Zoom on Monday, April 1st, at 7 pm. Register for grant training at https://cnyrotary.org/. Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane and Debbie Rodriguez completed the training offered on February 7th.

Next Meeting: Thursday, March 28th at 6:00 pm at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant, Route 4, North Greenbush. Also, you can join the by Zoom using the link on the websites calendar page.

Entree choices will be determined.

CPR Refresher

Ron and Monica Annis

Top Form, Inc.

Ron and Monica Annis are fellow Rotary members. They own Top Form in Castleton. They provide personal health, fitness, performance training and rehabilitation. Top Form also provides coaching license courses and certifications in CPR, AED and first aid. All schools have AEDs. When playing school sports, students can get hit in the chest and go into ventricular fibrillation, a heart arrythmia. Coaches then need to know how to use the AED.

Ron and Monica provided a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) refresher to fellow Rotarians. The first thing you do is gently shake the person and ask if he/she is OK. If there is no response, ask someone to call 911 and get the AED (automatic external defibrillator). Next, check to see if the person is breathing, moving or making any noises. If not, start chest compressions. Compressions should be an inch to two inches and compress to the song “Staying Alive” for the rate of compressions.

Turn on the AED. The machine will tell you what to do. You will apply the pads to the upper right and lower left of the chest. The machine will analyze the heart rhythm. Do not touch the patient. The machine will tell you if you need to shock the patient. If so, push the orange button and the shock will be administered. In New York State, sixty people have been saved using AEDs. Two of these people were saved by Top Form.

If you are interested in CPR and AED training, or any other services provided by Top Form, go to https://www.topformeastgreenbush.com/. You can contact them at 518-477-2700.


This Week’s Meeting, CPR for the Club

Please join us this Thursday, March 14, 2024 at Moscatiello’s on Route 4 in North Greenbush at 6:00 pm for our weekly meeting of the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club. Joining us this week will be Ron Annis from TopForm, and Ron will be presenting a refresher course in CPR for members and guests of the club. As usual if you are unable to join us in person, you may do so remotely using the Zoom link on our website’s calendar page.

This will be our last opportunity to bring donations to the weekly meeting for our Circles of Mercy Easter Basket Drive.

Menu choices for the evening include Antipasto Salad, Lemon Chicken, or Penne Pesto. Looking forward to seeing everyone this Thursday.

Meeting Clipboard 3/7/24

Members in Attendance (8):  Peter Brown, Phil Kellerman, Debbie Brown, Debbie Rodriguez, Murray Forth, Kevin Leyhane, Ray Hannan and Pat Bailey.

By Zoom (1): Charlie Foote.

Guests (2): Courtney Russell and Jane Ladopoulos (Speakers).

President Peter Brown called the meeting to order. 

Theme for the Year: “Building Community”

MEETING NOTES:

Iron Giraffe Bowl-a-Thon: The bowl-a-thon will be held on Sunday April 14 from 2 pm until 4 pm. The cost will be $13 per person. Proceeds will go to the Anchor Food Pantry and to the Maple Hill water project. We will also ask participants to bring a food item for donation. Phil Kellerman will speak to Christine Fowler regarding the number of students who will attend. Pat Bailey has volunteered to staff the entry table. Bowlers are needed.

Membership: Each SRC Rotary member is asked to bring a friend to the Rotary meeting on April 11th. Terry Brewer will put a program together about Rotary, what the Club does and what we can do for individuals to interest them in Rotary. Members should be prepared to talk about why you joined Rotary. The Club will cover the costs for guests.

Water for Kenya: Sue Austin has reviewed the needs assessment, and it is adequate. Peter Brown has put together an initial set of specifications for bidders.

Easter Baskets for Circles of Mercy: Lois Hannan is coordinating the collection this year. Richard Zazycki, Circles of Mercy, is asking that the baskets include coloring books, color pencils, facial tissues, toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss, hair combs, hairbrushes, small stuffed animals, toys, small games, small books, and different types of wrapped candy. Next Thursday is the last date to drop off items at Moscatiellos. Ray Hannon spoke to management at Price Chopper. He will bring a letter from Peter Brown, along with Lois and Shannon and Price Chopper will issue them a gift card to purchase candy.

Viking Gym: Ron Annis is trying to see if the Club can meet at the Town garage on 3/21 so we can begin to assemble the gym equipment. Instillation is scheduled for 3/23 and we still need help from the schools. We need to plan for publicity.

Speakers: We still have open dates for speakers.

Rotary District: The in-person PETS training will be held March 15th through 17th at the Double Tree in Syracuse. Register early to secure a hotel room. For further information go to  http://www.RotaryEmpireMDPETS.org. The majority of the meeting will be held on Saturday if you are considering attending for one day. Jim Leyhane and Roberto Martinez will attend the District PETS training.

Grants Management Training: The next training will be held via Zoom on Monday, April 1st, at 7 pm. Register for grant training at https://cnyrotary.org/. Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane and Debbie Rodriguez completed the training offered on February 7th.

Next Meeting: Thursday, March 14th at 6:00 pm at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant, Route 4, North Greenbush. Also, you can join the by Zoom using the link on the websites calendar page. Our speaker will be Ron Annis conducting CPR Training.

Entree choices will be Antipasti Salid, Lemon Chicken and Penne Pesto.

The Spinney

Courtney Russell, Lifestyle Manager

and

Jane Ladopoulos, Assistant Manager

The Spinney is being rebranded as the Live Well Group. This is a second-generation company involved in developing communities and managing them. There are two Spinney Properties, the Spinney at Pondview in Castleton and the Spinney at Van Dyke in Delmar. The Pondview property has 187 cottages and 300 residents. The Van Dyke Property is still under construction. There are 102 completed cottages, 62 under construction and 60 more that will be built. These properties are designed to look like communities, with eight cottage styles, designed with different roof lines, garage colors and windows. Except for one two story unit, they are all one floor rentals. Units range from 1,400 to 1,700 square feet and have one or two bedrooms with no basement. Everything, except electric, is included in the 12-month lease and they rent from $1,700 to $2,750 per month. There are electric car charging stations on the property. They have a 100% occupancy rate and a waiting list.

Spinney communities are designed for active adults to live well. They have a Lifestyle Coordinator at each site. The Pondview site has two pools. The sites also offer community gardens. Actives include fitness and floral classes, educational programs, health clinics and community events. To find out more about life at the Spinney properties go to spvlifestyle@livingwellgroup.com or call (518) 479-0800.