News of this New York State club that practices "Service Above Self"
Author: SRCrotary
A volunteer service club located in Rensselaer County, NY, that is part of Rotary International, the 1.23 million-member international organization of men and women serving their community and their world.
If you fancy a 180-mile drive to Scranton, PA, for an in-person session at Lackawanna College that is being hosted by District 7410 on Saturday, October 16, you’ll need to register no later than next Wednesday, October 6, to avoid a $10 late fee.
However, if you prefer participation in the virtual RLI session emanating from Rochester on October 16, you have a longer registration window The deadline is Thursday, October 14, and anyone from any District is eligible to attend.
Still doesn’t fit into your busy schedule? Well, you’re in luck, Two other virtual possibilities are on the calendar — Saturday, October 23, out of Harrisburg, PA, and Saturday, November 6, out of Schenectady.
All levels — I, II, III and Graduate (for those who have completed the first three levels) will be offered if enough people are registered — minimum of eight for Levels I, II and III, and six for Graduate Level. To register for any of these sessions, just go online. Then, please remember to download your workshop materials from that site. Please pay in advance, and SRC will reimburse members for all charges.
You will come out of a Rotary Leadership Institute session armed with new tools you can use to enhance your own Rotary experience, your club’s activities, and your District’s performance. And, RLI’s team-building and consensus exercises also can come in handy for your business and recreational pursuits outside Rotary.
District 7190 is selling shirts as a fundraiser for the Rotary Foundation.
If you’d like to make a purchase, simply download and fill out the form below. You then can turn in your form at the October 14 dinner meeting at Moscatiello’s or, if you do not plan to attend, you can email it to President Debbie Rodriguez.
President Debbie Rodriguez receives RI pennant from District Governor Bruce McConnelee. (photos by Roberto Martinez)
Members Attending (12): Debbie Rodriguez, Kevin Leyhane, Terry Brewer, Pat Bailey, Jim Leyhane, Andy Leyhane, Dick Drumm, Dean Calamaras, Roberto Martinez, Phil Kellerman, Charlie Foote, Becky Raymond.
Guests (4): District Governor Bruce McConnelee, District Governor-elect Denise DiNoto, Mary Drumm, Lorraine McConnelee.
• President Debbie Rodriguez presided. Jim Leyhane requested a moment of silence in remembrance of former member Bill Wyld (see obituary).
• District Governor Bruce McConnelee presented the club with a 2021-22 Rotary pennant. He said this year’s motto is “Serve To Change Lives.” He also touched on a variety of topics such as the upcoming Foundation Dinner and its “Roaring Twenties” theme; Ballston Spa club is selling shirts as a Foundation fundraiser at prices ranging from $25-40 depending on style (see order form here); new clubs within Rotary include a Veterans Club in Glenville focused on military veterans and an international, online Heartbeat Club; the annual RI convention, scheduled for Houston in 2022 after two years of virtual events due to the pandemic; a Membership Diversity Team, headed by Ken Baxter, now has 10 members.
• Bruce distributed new Rotary pins to those in attendance. Anyone still in need of one can pick one up at the October 14 meeting.
• Club treasurer Murray Forth is hospitalized after having a knee replacement removed. He will undergo rehab and extended treatments.
• Dean Calamaras reported that 120 people participated in the Gift of Life Golf Tournament at Pine Haven Country Club in Guilderland. SRC had three foursomes. Final financial report is pending.
• Jim Leyhane revived discussion that we began in 2019 (see report here) on a potential school bus camera program. The aim is to help enforce the state prohibition on passing a stopped school bus, which problem that seems to be on the rise in recent years. The cost is about $1,000 per camera. Jim said he knows of two school districts that would be interested and said this could be a self-sustaining initiative if properly drawn up and implemented. The matter will be brought up for additional discussion.
• Next Meetings: We will meet virtually at 7 p.m. next Thursday, October 7, via Zoom. As always, members can access the meeting via the club website calendar page. The following Thursday, October 14, we will return to Moscatiello’s (5:30 social time, 6:15 dinner meeting).
Interment with military honors will be held on Saturday, October 9, in Memory Gardens for Charles W. “Bill” Wyld Jr., 90, a longtime member of the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club until moving to Florida in his retirement.
Bill, who until recent years always made a point of visiting SRC when he was in town, died in February 2020 at Tidewell Hospice House in Port Charlotte, FL.
He was a native of Averill Park. He was a chief warrant officer four in the U.S. Navy. He retired to Florida after 38 years of service with the U.S. Navy and Reserves aboard 32 ships, and after 41 years of service at the New York Telephone Co. He was an avid golfer, and held various offices and chairmanships with the Masonic Lodge, Rotary, the Military Officers Association, DESA, and the United Methodist Church. He volunteered with Tidewell Hospice, conducting veterans pinning ceremonies for the veteran patients.
Bill is survived by his wife Nancy; a son, William, and daughters Linda, Deborah, and Sue; eight grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wives, Miriam (Mim) and Linda. Interment and military honors will be held at noon on October 9 in Memory Gardens, 983 Watervliet Shaker Road (Route 155), Albany. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: USS Slater DE 766, the Destroyer Escort Historical Museum, P.O. Box 1926, Albany, NY, 12201.
Each year, District 7190 holds its Foundation Dinner as a fundraiser for the Rotary Foundation. This year, the Roaring Twenties-themed gala is scheduled for …
Wait a minute! The flyer below, just emailed to Rotarians throughout the District, provides some reservation information but omitted key bits of data.
Well, here they are: The dinner will be held on Thursday, November 18, at the Glen Sanders Mansion in Scotia. Now, you can take it from there to select which level of reservation you’d like to make.
MEMBERS ATTENDING (8, no quorum): Kevin Leyhane, Bill Dowd, Ray Hannan, Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane, Charlie Foote, Phil Kellerman, Dick Drumm.
GUESTS: None.
President-elect Kevin Leyhane presided in the absence of President Debbie Rodriguez.
Most of the Zoom session was devoted to sharing of members’ impressions of the initial dinner meeting at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant in North Greenbush. While largely positive, several members noted that the $25 per person charge was high, considering the menu prices for the two entrees available was much lower than that. Conversely, it was noted that Moscatiello’s was not charging an extra fee for the private room, and overall food prices have risen sharply in recent months as inflation continues to hit more parts of the economy.
For the foreseeable future, we will alternate in-person meetings at Moscatiello’s with virtual meetings via Zoom. As always, the schedule and access links will be available on the club website calendar page.
Next Thursday, September 30, we will be hosting District Governor Bruce McConnelee and District Governor-elect Denise DiNoto. The club is encouraging members to bring their spouses or significant others to the dinner to insure a strong turnout.
The menu entree choices: Chicken Limone (chicken breast sauteéd in white wine with garlic, lemon, capers, olives, mushrooms, served over spinach); spaghetti and meatballs, and penne a la vodka. No need for RSVPs, just tell our waitperson when you arrive which of the three entrees you prefer. A cash bar also is available.
Every year, the Rotary International president mounts some effort to improve membership, yet worldwide Rotary’s total membership has been stuck at 1.2 million for many years. This means the same number of folks leave Rotary each year as join a club. Rotary is growing rapidly in many parts of the world, but here in North America, Rotary is shrinking, and our district is no different from many throughout the states.
RI President Shektar Mehta has asked us to “Be One, Bring One.” Be a good Rotarian, in all the ways we know and love; and also bring a good Rotarian. Just one, each of us.
When analyzed superficially, my strong suit, this means our district would double in one year — minus the folks who move, pass away, and are otherwise incorrigible or prefer a different service organization.
Yet it seems truly difficult for many of us to “bring just one.” For some, they may feel they’ve already asked their friends, or don’t want to burden their friends with the prospect of saying no. I get this, and if I had any friends I could even relate.
You may know a Rotarian because you are colleagues at work; congregants at the same church, fellow board members on other not-for-profits; neighbors down the street. You know they’re involved with Rotary because it comes up in casual conversation. You know it’s a good thing they’re doing, and there’s a good chance you are respecting and maybe even admiring the fact they’ve made a commitment to this world.
Which comes to a perspective I believe has far more potential than the straightforward, out-and-out “ask:” Rather than get people into Rotary, get Rotary into the people!
All Rotary clubs should “allow” friends and neighbors to participate in your service projects. Is there any reason a club’s service project has to be Tuesday at noon, or Wednesday night, rather than Saturday morning or some other non-working time? If you don’t know the answer to this, ask your current leadership.
For most of us it’s much easier to get Rotary into the people if we invite them to participate, and join with them to make our community better. And, it’s a much easier ask if someone might like to help out with a project. And, quite honestly, if the answer is no, then Rotary may not be for them, which is OK, too.
Our district is working on many flexible models and new clubs that will meet the needs of today’s Rotarian prospect –- different meeting times, cause-based and affinity clubs, clubs with lower expenses. And, we will roll these out in the coming months. Clubs for moms, clubs for vets and those who support vets, clubs that have one primary cause-based focus like the environment, etc.
But, it still all starts with you. Will you “Be One, Bring One”? We can no longer wait for “the other guy” to do it. If the “Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as the basis of worthy enterprise” — and we know that we could do more with more Rotarians — then it stands to reason that our worthy enterprise in the Capital Region will be greater, deeper, and more impactful. And, more fun.
SRC volunteers cleaning out club memorabilia at the former Quigley’s restaurant.And, the cupboards are bare.
The former Quigley’s restaurant in East Greenbush, closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, has been sold and no longer is available as SRC’s dinner meeting venue.
As a result, we had to remove our collection of memorabilia from the cabinetry installed by the club several years ago and put it in storage. Thanks to everyone who was able to help the effort on Saturday despite short notice. The task was accomplished in less than an hour.
SRC thanks former Quigley’s owner John Walsh for his support over the years.
As members have been informed, we now are alternating our weekly gatherings between 7 p.m. virtual meetings via Zoom, and 6:15 p.m. dinner meetings at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant in East Greenbush. The schedule is always available on the club website’s calendar page.
Members Attending (15): Debbie Rodriguez, Kevin Leyhane, Dick Drumm, Terry Brewer, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Pat Bailey, Phil Kellerman, Charlie Foote, Becky Raymond, Jim Leyhane, Murray Forth, Roberto Martinez, Andy Leyhane (plus Bill Dowd proxy submitted).
Guests: None.
President Debbie Rodriguez presided over our first meeting at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant in North Greenbush.
• Murray Forth reported that Quigley’s has been sold, but no longer is a meeting-venue option for us despite earlier reports. We need to remove our memorabilia from the meeting room and put it in storage space Murray will secure. He will need help on Saturday to attend to that chore and will advise members of the time. All who can volunteer to assist are asked to please do so.
• Three SRC-sponsored foursomes will be participating in Monday’s Gift of Life Golf Tournament at Pinehaven Country Club in Guilderland.
• The NYSCR Danes Rotaract (the initials are for “New York State Capital Region”) we sponsor at UAlbany is working on several fall projects. Information on the efforts will be shared as they are firmed up.
• For the foreseeable future, we will be alternating dinner meetings at Moscatiello’s with Zoom meetings. Thus, next Thursday we will meet virtually from 7 to 7:30 p.m. (the Zoom access link will be available as usual on the club website calendar page), and the following week (September 30) we will be at Moscatiello’s with District Governor Bruce McConnelee as our guest (5:30 social period, 6:15 p.m. dinner meeting).
District 7190 will host its annual Foundation Dinner on Thursday, November 18, at the Glen Sanders Mansion in Scotia.
The theme this year is “Roaring Through the ’20s.” Reservations for event, which includes hors d’oeuvres, dinner, a cash bar, and live entertainment, are $100 each.
More details will be shared as plans are firmed up.
Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club 