District 7190 Rotarians will host a “Peace Summit for Youth” in Mechanicville on Sunday, November 12.
For more than 110 years, Rotary members have been addressing challenges around the world and acting as ambassadors for peace. In today’s global climate, our youth are anxious about international relations, terrorism, America’s position in the world, their personal futurea, and how they fit in.
The “Peace Summit for Youth” will provide a forum to express their concerns and work collaboratively to consider pathways to peace –- peace in their schools, on their streets, and in the world.
The event, organized using the World Café Model, will encourage our youth to explore deeper thought and awareness regarding the issues affecting peace worldwide. The objective is to create an environment in which the youth generate all the content and develop the relevant outcomes for the day.
Our keynote speaker will be Anne Kjaer Riechert, a Rotary Peace Scholar from Germany who is the owner and managing director of an IT training school for Syrian refuges in Berlin.
The summit is open to high school students throughout the Greater Capital Region, including our nine Interact clubs, Youth Exchange, and Rotary Youth Leadership. Then effort will reach into every high school in our community where there is a Rotary club. This not only provides students the ability to participate through Rotary sponsorship, it also affords a learning opportunity about Rotary.
Funds are being raised and volunteers are being recruited. If you are interested in knowing more, please contact District Governor Fred Daniels via email at dgfred2017@gmail.com.
PANTRY SPECIAL DONATION REQUEST
Southern Rensselaer County Rotary’s 4th annual “School Supplies Drive” for students in the Rensselaer City School District was a major success this summer.
Breakfast Meeting at Greenbush YMCA
MEETING TRANSITION — Responsibility for the monthly breakfast meetings, which have been shared by Terry Brewer and Shannon Romanowski, director of the YMCA where meetings are held, has been moved to Presidents-elect Jim Butterworth and Ron Annis, along with Shannon. Their “ownership” will begin with the September 21 meeting, at which Terry will speak on the topic of emergency preparedness. The club extends its gratitude to Terry for his efforts in establishing and nurturing the monthly meeting series for the past two years and its role in helping recruit new members.
MEMBERSHIP UPDATE — Kevin Leyhane, who has submitted an application for Rotary membership, was welcomed by President Roberto Martinez. Also, Roberto has been in contact with Adam Roberts, an East Greenbush resident who was unable to come to this meeting but says he hopes to attend soon. He, too, has submitted an application. … Terry provided an update on the District 7190 Membership Committee on which he sits and noted the possibility of seeing some districts merged if membership drops too far. … On the club membership front, we still are looking to get some of the school district superintendents to join our club, perhaps under corporate membership. We have several other potential applicants in the pipeline. We did lose one short-term member, Bob DeBenedetti, who did not renew for 2017-18. Current paid membership is a strong 48, not counting two people with applications pending.
Anyone in need of a few — well, OK, a LOT — of laughs would be well advised to attend a performance of the rollicking musical comedy “Monty Python’s Spamalot” at the Mac-Haydn Theatre in Columbia County. That was the latest event on SRC’s “Summer Casual Schedule.”
Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club 