The National Weather Service predicts a 100% chance of rain on Thursday. Luckily, our weekly meeting is scheduled to be via Zoom, so you won’t have to get wet while traveling.
As always, simply go to http://SRCrotary.org/calendar and click on the link for April 14 to gain access to the session.
If you have an item to place on the agenda, please contact Prez Debbie by this evening.
MEMBERS ATTENDING (15): Debbie Rodriguez, Keven Leyhane, Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Murray Forth, Charlie Foote, Phil Kellerman, Dick Drumm, Pat Bailey, Becky Raymond, Andy Leyhane. By proxy: Carol Orvis, Dean Calamaras, Doris Calamaras, Tony Morris.
GUESTS: Joan and Emery Maddocks, Mike Stengl
SPEAKERS: Cody Bloomfield and Sean Wyse from Capital Roots
President Debbie Rodriguez called the meeting to order at Moscatiello’s Restaurant, noting the presence of a quorum.
MEETING NOTES:
ROTARACT: A ShelterBox was set up in the lobby at the School of Public Health on 4/6/22. Larry Jones, Past Rotary District Governor, spoke about ShelterBox. There was good student and staff turnout. Rotarians attending were Larry Jones, John Justino, Becky Raymond, and Debbie Rodriguez.
CIRCLES OF MERCY: Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Charlie Foote, Shannon Romanowski and Lois Hanan assisted in packing Easter baskets this afternoon. Over 40 baskets were assembled and will be delivered to Circles of Mercy tomorrow by YMCA staff. Thanks all for the assistance.
DRIVING COURSE: Jim Leyhane asked about reconvening the drivers training course which the club last sponsored three years ago. After taking the course, you will be eligible to receive a 10% discount on your auto insurance. We would probably need a quorum. There was quite a bit of interest tonight by show of hands and a final count will be taken next week.
HEALTH UPDATE: Doris is receiving rehab at home and is in better spirits.
ROTARY CARD: Debbie has purchased Rotary business card if folks are interested. They will be used during our fundraising events.
BLUE STAR MOTHERS GOLF TOURNAMENT: Debbie Rodriguez reminded us about the Blue Star Mothers benefit golf tournament. More info is on the website.
GRANT TRAINING: Four club members were in attendance and we are awaiting the MOU from District.
BOY SCOUTS: Dennis Cicchino, Scoutmaster, sent a thank-you letter to the club in appreciation of the $750 donation to the Scouts.
Capital Roots: Cody Bloomfield and Sean Wyse from Capital Roots spoke about their organization. They said food access is a right, not a privilege. Capital Roots’ mission is to cultivate and nourish communities by creating equitable access to fresh food and green spaces in support of a robust regional food system. They are a 501(c)3 non-profit serving Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer, and southern Saratoga counties. It was founded in 1975 as a community gardening program.
Capital Roots’ approach is: easy access, making it affordable, top quality, and dignity. Their 12 programs are Community Gardens, Veggie Mobile, Produce Project, Squash Hunger, Taste Good Series, Farm to School, Healthy Stores, Healthy Streets, Veggie RX, Virtual Veggie Mobile, Smart Vending and Urban Greening.
They are looking for support and volunteers and have a retail market in Troy.
NEXT MEETING — We will meet via Zoom at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 14th.
A collection of Easter baskets created from donations to SRC and the Greenbush YMCA was delivered to Circles of Mercy headquarters today.
A team of volunteers from the club and the Y finished assembling the baskets on Thursday at the Y. Thanks to all who were involved including Lois Hannan who headed up the club’s effort and Shannon Romanowski who headed up the Y’s effort.
A reminder: Thursday’s dinner meeting will feature speakers Cody Bloomfield and Sean Wyse from Capital Roots.
They will discuss the Troy-based organization’s efforts to nourish healthy communities by providing access to affordable fresh food and green spaces as well as nutrition education for the public. As usual we’ll be meeting at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant beginning at 5:30 p.m., dinner at 6.
Dinner choices are chicken Caesar salad or linguine with white clam sauce, and as always the cash bar is open and pouring.
We’re looking for volunteers to assemble donated items into finished baskets for needy kids in Circles of Mercy’s annual Easter Basket drive.
Member Shannon Romanowski informs us a basket assembly session is scheduled for this Thursday from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Greenbush YMCA. However, she needs to know ASAP how many people plan to volunteer their time. You can call her at the Y at 518-477-2570, extension 1200, or contact Debbie Rodriguez.
Shannon and Y staff plan to deliver the completed baskets to Circles of Mercy on Friday.
Even if you plan to help but don’t want to miss our dinner meeting that same day, the Y is close to Moscatiello’s so you can leave a few minutes before the end of the session and still make it to the dinner where we will have two guest speakers from the Capital Roots community garden and nutrition services organization.
Here’s an event from an organization SRC has helped financially over the years.
MEMBERS ATTENDING (17): Debbie Rodriguez, John Justino, Pat Bailey, Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane, Dick Drumm, Becky Raymond, Phil Kellerman, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Charlie Foote, Kevin Leyhane, Andy Leyhane. By proxy: Carol Orvis, Tony Morris, Dean Calamaras, Doris Calamaras.
GUESTS: None.
President Debbie Rodriguez called the meeting to order via Zoom, and noted the presence of a quorum.
MEETING NOTES:
• BOARD MEMBERS WANTED — As we look ahead to the June 1 start of the 2022-23 Rotary Year we are in need of several Board candidates. First and foremost, we need someone interested in becoming President-Elect, then moving into the club presidency in the 2023-24 Rotary Year. We also need to fill two At-Large vacancies. One will occur because Bill Dowd has informed the club he will not stand for reelection, and the other occurred when Jim Leyhane moved to Vice President upon the recent resignation of Terry Brewer. Anyone interested in any of these positions should contact Debbie Rodriguez.
• EASTER BASKET PROJECT — At last count, 38 baskets will be created from member donations for the annual Circles of Mercy effort. That’s a sharp drop-off from previous years when we donated as many as 155 baskets (126 last year, for example, despite the interference by the pandemic). Baskets will be assembled at the Greenbush YMCA. Anyone who would like to help is asked to call Shannon Romanowski at the Y for details.
• PROGRAM — Member John Justino, of the UAlbany School of Public Health, presented a program on “Complex Humanitarian Emergencies” (CHEs). They are defined as “complex multi-party intra-state conflict resulting in a humanitarian disaster which might constitute multi-dimensional risks or threats to regional and international security.”
He cited one major historical conflict such as the Liberian civil war that raged from 1990 to 2004, as well as the current carnage in Ukraine. His presentation touched on the following points:
Characteristics of CHEs:
• Long periods of time
• Often target civilians
• Food shortages
• Unhealthy living in refugee camps
Health effects of CHEs:
• Increase mortality rates as high as 10 times
• Infectious disease outbreaks
• Malnutrition and lack of water, shelter and food
• Increased mental health conditions, women more than men.
Addressing CHEs:
• Water
• vaccines
• infectious disease control
• mental health
Needs assessments:
• Personal hygiene
• 1 toilet per 20 people
• Vit A to children
• Disease control measures
• Have you ever considered what happed if you became displaced?
A Q&A and discussion followed.
NEXT MEETING — Representatives of Capital Roots, the Troy-based regional community gardens organization, will visit on Thursday, April 7, to tell us about the organization’s services and programs. We will have a social period from 5:30 p.m., dinner at 6, at Moscatiello’s Restaurant. The menu choices are linguine with white clam sauce or chicken Caesar salad. As always, a cash bar will be available.
MEMBERS ATTENDING (18): Debbie Rodriguez, Pat Bailey, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Dick Drumm, Charlie Foote, Ray Hannan, Phil Kellerman, Jim Leyhane, Andy Leyhane, Kevin Leyhane, Tony Morris, Becky Raymond. By proxy: Bill Dowd, Roberto Martinez, Carol Orvis, Dean Calamaras, Doris Calamaras.
GUESTS (3): Dennis Ciccino, Lois Hannan, Debbie Morris.
President Debbie Rodriguez called the meeting to order at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant and noted the presence of a quorum
MEETING NOTES:
• HEALTH UPDATE — Former member Stewart Wagner has undergone cardiac surgery. Jim Leyhane said he is not doing as well as hoped. Doris Calamaras, currently in rehab after a hospital stay, is expected to be discharged this weekend.
• BOY SCOUTS UPDATE — Dennis Ciccino, scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 41 for the past 30 years, visited to update us on the troop that has produced 83 Eagle Scouts since 1960. He said he currently has 10 Scouts with 10 more in the process of moving up from the Cub Scouts along with one of the Cubs adult leaders. Because the B.P.O. Elks organization has, on a national level, ceased funding Scouting because of the ongoing scandals and lawsuits against the BSA. However, the East Greenbush lodge is renting a meeting room to the troop for the token amount of $1. As a result, SRC has increased its annual support of the Troop, and a $750 check was presented to Dennis to help underwrite camping fees. Dennis said it costs $110 each for Scouts to attend camp, and $90 for each supervising adult. He said the Troop will continue fundraising activities and parents may have to pay more toward camp fees this year.
• EASTER BASKET PROJECT — Volunteer coordinator Lois Hannan collected donated items from members before the meeting for SRC’s portion of the annual Circles of Mercy project to create Easter baskets for needy kids in the community. The club is paying for baskets, artificial grass, and wrapping materials. Baskets will be assembled by the Greenbush YMCA. The last day for donations is Saturday, April 9. at the Y. There is a table set up in the lobby of the Y to accept donations.
• GRANT TRAINING — Eligibility for District Grants each year is limited to clubs that have had at least two members participate in the training program. Debbie R., Roberto Martinez, and Jim Leyhane have volunteered to attend this year, and Tony Morris may be a fourth. The training is scheduled for Saturday, April 2, at the First Reformed Church in Schenectady. Anyone else who is interested should contact Debbie.
• IMPACT COMMITTEE — Committee leader Pat Bailey reported that the group met on March 22 and decided to extend the raffle ticket sales through the end of this Rotary Year (June 30) to take advantage of the Music At the Park series held in Schodack each Tuesday in June. She said they expect to attend the “Healthy Kids” event at the Greenbush YMCA on April 30 to sell tickets, and will continue to work out the details of articles, flyers, and other communications.
• PROGRAM — Peter and Debbie Brown presented an illustrated program on “Iceland In the Off-Season,” their recent trip to the North Atlantic island nation.
• NEXT MEETING — John Justino will present a program titled “Complex Human Emergencies and Global Health.” The meeting will begin on Zoom at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 31.
Lois Hannan, who is coordinating this year’s SRC participation in the Easter basket drive by Circles of Mercy, will be accepting donated items during the pre-meeting social period this Thursday at Moscatiello’s.
The requested donation list from Circles, in addition to the traditional Easter candies, includes coloring books, color pencils, crayons, facial tissues, toothpaste, tooth brushes, dental floss, combs and brushes, age appropriate (1 to 12) small stuffed animals, toys, small games and books.
The Greenbush YMCA will be assembling baskets this year to facilitate delivery of completed baskets to Circles by the April 4 deadline.
We have scheduled an interesting mix of in-person and virtual programs for the coming weeks. Here’s an excerpt of the lineup from our website calendar page. Note the open dates, ready for you to supply a program or speaker. Just let Becky Raymond and/or Kevin Leyhane know which date you would like to reserve.
