Held at Quigley’s Restaurant
573 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY 12061

Members Attending (16): Phil Kellerman, Murray Forth, Dick Drumm, Bill Dowd, Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Kevin Leyhane, Terry Brewer, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Pat Bailey, Andy Leyhane, Wells Packard, Charlie Foote, Julius Frankel, Carol Orvis.

Guests (1): Paige Johnson.

MEETING NOTES: President Phil presided, welcoming members and visiting Rotarian Paige Johnson. … Reminder to all Board members that we will be meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 22, in the rear conference room of Community Care Physicians, 35 Empire State Boulevard, off Miller Road, Castleton. Sandwiches and beverages will be provided.

… We will be making a go/no-go decision on the proposed 2020 Rotary Run for Good by next week. Peter Brown remarked that he thought that, with proper planning, we could achieve a goal of recruiting at least 60 volunteers to staff the event, one of the major potential stumbling blocks mentioned in last week’s discussion. Wells Packard said he knew in the past the District might provide some matching funds for events that involve more than one Rotary club. Since our preliminary planning mentioned the possibility of including one or two Columbia County clubs, he suggested Dick Drumm check on such funding when he attends the Rotary Leadership Institute this Saturday. (It should be noted, however, that Columbia County is not part of our District 7190, so involvement from there may not be of interest to 7190.)

… Phil said he once again plans to sell gourmet coffees for the holiday season ($15 each, two for $25), with $5 from the purchase price of each package to go toward the club’s ShelterBox contribution. This would help supplement the ShelterBox funds we are raising through the ongoing Clynk container redemption effort. … Next Thursday’s dinner meeting will include a panel discussion for World Polio Day, with polio treatment pioneer Dr. Martha Lepow and Center for Global Health director John Justino. An 8 p.m. live-streaming event will begin at 8 p.m. for those who wish to stay.

PROGRAM: Paige Johnson, a visiting Rotarian from Vermont who is spending time marketing her family’s local business, presented a brief look at the operation — from its founding by her great-grandparents Fred and Jessie Lemka on June 1, 1910, as the Glenwood Fruit Farm to its present existence as the iconic Kristy’s Barn and Farm, a century farm owned by her parents, Ken and Kristine Johnson.

Glenwood morphed into Appleland and sold its produce on Routes 9 and 20 until the Johnsons moved the sales farm stand to the farm proper and changed the name to Kristy’s. The farm itself covers 250 acres, much of it wooded or wetlands but with about 100 acres under cultivation.

Paige, a onetime Rotary Exchange Student who SRC sponsored for a year in Finland, explained some of the plusses and minuses of modern  farming — location and logistics of marketing in a region where the Hudson River looms as a mental barrier between communities; installation of solar panels; education efforts; labor recruitment — although on the latter topic she said some seasonal workers have been coming  to Kristy’s for 25 years and seem like part of the family; and, the question of what the fourth generation — Paige, her brother, and their sister — will or will not do as far as ownership of the farm. She said her parents are on “the retirement track, looking down the road five or six years or so.”

Held at Quigley’s Restaurant
573 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY 12061

Members Attending (17): Phil Kellerman, Murray Forth, Dick Drumm, Bill Dowd, Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Dean Calamaras, Doris Calamaras, Kevin Leyhane, Debbie Rodriguez, Terry Brewer, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Pat Bailey, Becky Raymond, Andy Leyhane, Wells Packard.

Guests: None.

MEETING NOTES: Phil Kellerman presided, welcoming members and new member Wells Packard who is returning to Rotary membership. … Doris Calamaras will be handling thank-you followup notes to outside speakers who make presentations to the club. … Members are reminded that there is a supply of official recycling bags and bar code stickers being kept on hand at Quigley’s to facilitate participation in the Clynk container recycling project, an ongoing fundraiser for ShelterBox. Members also are reminded to donate used clothing and other items to the blue dumpsters bearing the Gift of Life logo. Check the website for a list of the locations of such boxes.

… The program calendar for the remainder of October: 17th, “What’s New at Kristy’s Barn?” with Paige Johnson, marketing manager; 24th, “World Polio Day” with a panel discussion followed at 8 p.m. by a live streaming program; 31st, an official visit by District Governor Larry Jones.

PROGRAM: Jim Leyhane and Roberto Martinez, on behalf of the multi-member planning committee, presented an update and analysis about the “Rotary Run for Good,” proposed for October 10, 2020, at the Columbia County Fairgrounds in Chatham.

The presentation dealt with event specifics, potential income and expenses, human resource possibilities to work the event, and governmental necessities such as police assistance, permits, etc. Members posed numerous questions throughout the presentation.

The bottom line was this question: “Does the club want to do this signature event?” The biggest obstacle appeared to be a lack of confidence that we could recruit a sufficient number of volunteers to help prepare and staff the 5K/10K event. Members agreed to give consideration to the details of the presentation and let their views be known by the October 24 meeting. At that, point, we will have to make a final “go” or “no go” decision.

NOTE: A meeting of the SRC Board followed the regular meeting. Further discussion was held on the pros and cons of the Rotary Run project, as well as several other topics.

Held at Quigley’s Restaurant
573 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY 12061

Members Attending (14): Phil Kellerman, Murray Forth, Dick Drumm, Bill Dowd, Charlie Foote, Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Dean Calamaras, Doris Calamaras, Kevin Leyhane, Carol Orvis, Debbie Rodriguez, Terry Brewer, Julius Frankel.

Guests (2): Paige Johnson, Justin DiVirgilio.

MEETING NOTES: Phil Kellerman presided, welcoming members and one guest. … Phil read a thank-you note from a friend in Georgia who thanked the club for its $150 grant to purchase workbooks to help her instruct students learning English. … He also followed up Bill Dowd’s request of last week for members to participate in the Clynk container recycling effort to raise funds for ShelterBox. … Also as part of SRC’s environmental responsibility initiatives, Murray Forth has agreed to spearhead a recycling-and-shredding day in the spring, with a date to be determined.

… Dean Calamaras, a board member of the District 7190 Gift of Life, said about $10,000 will be realized from the recent GOL Golf Tournament at Pinehaven Country Club in Guilderland. He also reported that GOL’s next third-world patient to arrive here, from Bolivia, for cardiac surgery at Albany Med will land at Albany International Airport on November 4. He urged anyone who can make it to join the welcoming committee at the airport. Details to be provided.

… Members were reminded that the annual Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) session is scheduled for Saturday, October 19, in Schenectady. The club will pay the registration fee for any members of SRC and Danes Rotaract who wish to participate. Such people should contact Bill Dowd, who will handle their registration, no later than Tuesday, October 8. Anyone wishing to register after that is on their own to do so. … Our speaker next week will be Jim Leyhane with an update on next fall’s Rotary Trail Run at the Columbia County Fairgrounds.

PROGRAM: Justin DiVirgilio of Hartgen Archaeological Associates presented a program titled “Beyond the North Gate,” an archaeological dig unearthing a Dutch colonial-era distillery in what now is part of downtown Albany.

His company specializes in studying specific plots of land to be developed to comply with state and local laws and regulations that ensure nothing of archaeological significance is harmed. His presentation discussed the history of rum distilling in Albany, the intricacies of the dig itself, an analysis of what was found, and the resulting work needed to preserve artifacts and the site itself before it was reburied.

The Albany dig uncovered remnants of several colonial distilleries that used the same footprint, and revealed how excavations and new infrastructure over the years changed the site. Several rudimentary stills were extricated and now are part of a New York State Museum exhibit titled “Beneath the City: An Archaeological Perspective of Albany.”

Held at Quigley’s Restaurant
573 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY 12061

Members Attending (14): Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Dick Drumm, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Bill Dowd, Ray Hannan, Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Dean Calamaras, Doris Calamaras, Andy Leyhane, Carol Orvis, Debbie Rodriguez.

Guests (2): Kevin Drumm, Paige Johnson.

MEETING NOTES: President-elect Dick Drumm presided in Phil Kellerman’s absence, greeting SRC members and our guests. … Bill Dowd reminded attendees that a supply of bags and bar code stickers will be maintained at Quigley’s for use by members participating in our Clynk container recycling effort to raise funds for ShelterBox. … Visiting Rotarian Paige Johnson announced that Kristy’s Barn, where she is the marketing manager, would welcome SRC to have a table at the farmstand on weekends through Columbus Day if we wish to use it for fundraising or public information purposes.

... Members were urged to sign up for this year’s Rotary Leadership Institute session, to be held October 19 in Schenectady. As always, the club will pay the registration fee for anyone interested in attending. Bill Dowd will handle the registration for anyone who contacts him no later than October 8. After that date, you’re on your own to register. … Bill also reminded members of the clothing drop boxes around the area that accept discarded items as a fundraiser for Gift of Life. He periodically posts on the website location a list of GOL dropoff boxes. (Click here for the latest.) … The speaker for our October 3 meeting will be Justin DeVirgilio of Hartgen Archaeological Associates.

PROGRAM: Dick Drumm, DVM, ably assisted by son Kevin, discussed Dick’s long career in veterinary medicine and the many changes in the field.

Dick, who graduated from the Cornell University School of Veterinary Medicine 68 years ago, has gone from that to being  the owner of Capital Vets, a company with four animal hospitals in the Capital Region — Schodack, Latham, Brunswick, and Catskill. Over the years, he has grown from a three-person staff to 75 employees.

Dick noted that there were no women in his graduating class, only one in the class preceding his, and two in the succeeding class. Today, there are more female vets nationally than males, and 80% of veterinary medicine students across the country are female.

More specialization has changed the dynamic of the field, as shown by the number of transplants, oncology treatments, and specialized surgeries. In addition, the field has been “corporatized,” with more and more practices becoming part of large corporations. That consolidation of business has provided more money for state-of-the-art equipment and a rise in the number of vet specialty hospitals, which mirrors the changes in human medicine.