The Northville Rotary Club’s annual woodworking and crafts show is a tremendous fundraiser and draws large crowds to the Great Sacandaga Lake community. Among the visitors this year were our own Geoff Brewer and Terry Brewer, shown here flanking former SRC member Chas Owens who, with wife Sue, co-chairs the event.
By Fred Daniels
Welcome to a new Rotary year, friends! Many District 7190 clubs have been busy in the past few weeks celebrating a great year with their “retiring” presidents and welcoming their new presidents to the podium. Congratulations, one and all.
And, congratulations to District Governor John Mucha and his team. John has been a remarkable leader for our District over the past 12 months, and we are grateful for his forward looking leadership and vision.
As your newly minted DG, I have been blessed to attend a number of changeover events in the past few weeks, including the District’s event at the River Stone Manor on June 25, and I’ve been struck by the same thing each time. Invariably the outgoing president references a substantial list of achievements that have been successfully undertaken in the past year. He or she then thanks the members of the club, saying in no uncertain terms that without their commitment and engagement nothing would have happened.
Just as invariably, the incoming president speaks about his or her vision, trusting that the members of the club will rally to give service above self and support the cause. He or she then thanks the members in advance, saying in no uncertain terms that nothing will happen without their commitment and engagement.
This is the rhythm of leadership in Rotary. Each year, throughout the world, the entire leadership of Rotary changes from top to bottom. But, whether you’re going out or coming in, one thing remains the same. Rotary is about the members. Rotary leaders are there to support and inspire the members. The members make it all happen, and without the members very little can happen.
And so, at this time of the year we are reminded that it is the core values each of us holds — the values intrinsically expressed by the concept of Service Above Self — which makes Rotary unique and exciting. There is nowhere better we can go that can inspire us to action, charge up our batteries, and encourage us to find the best version of ourselves than to a meeting each week at Rotary.
Good luck and blessings to us all, as we embark on another great year in Rotary. Thanks for all you do.
• John Mucha will finish out his year as District 7190 Governor at the end of this month. Here, he shares a few notes.
It’s been a great year and has gone by very quickly. The clubs and the District accomplished a great deal, and we have wonderful leadership chosen for the next three years with DGE Fred Daniels, DGN Tammy Heckenberg, and DGND Larry Jones.
Please remember to send in your PolioPlus and Rotary Foundation donations. We have a way to go to meet our goals, and traditionally many clubs wait until June to send in their dollars. Please try to do so by June 15 at the latest so your contributions will be counted against your current goals. It’s the Rotary Foundation’s Ccntennial year. Let’s do our best to make it special.
Please continue to work on membership for your club between now and the end of this Rotary year. Every club can use new members with enthusiasm and dedication to the great work they do. Many clubs have held membership events over the past few weeks. Now is the time to follow up with those prospects and, if they are interested, add them as members.
The Rotary International Convention in Atlanta is shaping up to be a great event with speakers like Bill Gates and Jack Nicklaus. For those attending, we will be having a district social event there on Monday, June 12, from 5 to 7 p.m. We have almost 50 Rotarians and guests registered. We hope to see many of you then.
And, remember the District Changeover that will be hekd at River Stone Manor in Scotia on Sunday, June 25, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Time to change the guard and start a new Rotary year.
It has truly been a privilege to serve you and your Rotary club. I wish you all a peaceful and relaxing summer and a great 2017-18 Rotary Year. As always, thanks for all you do for Rotary.
We’ve lined up a very busy final few weeks for the 2016-17 Rotary Year, and a variety of “Summer Casual” events for July and August. The image below gives you a taste — and we’ll be adding others.
To stay up to date so you don’t miss out on any opportunities, simply make it a habit to visit the club’s Facebook page (click here to do so and then bookmark it) and under the “More” link click on “Events.”)
The Colonie-Guilderland Rotary Club will hold its 13th annual Golf Outing on Friday, June 9. Rotarians from all clubs as well as friends of Rotary are invited to participate.
The venue is the Whispering Pines Golf Club, located at 2200 Helderberg Avenue in Rotterdam.
Proceeds from the outing will support the host club’s activities in Colonie and Guilderland as well as the Ronald McDonald House in Albany. Hole prizes and a raffle worth thousands of dollars will be included,
You can get further details and register on the Colonie-Guilderland club’s website. Directions to the course are available on the golf club’s website.
The much-anticipated polio history video spearheaded by the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club made its debut Saturday at the District 7190 Annual Conference in Lake George.
The informational video is a cooperative venture involving the SRC; technical staff production work from the Capital Area School Development Association (CASDA), also known as the Center for School Improvement at the UAlbany School of Education; the UAlbany School of Public Health, and District 7190.
The project was an outgrowth of discussion held after a “World Polio Day” live-streaming event hosted by the School of Public Health. District Governor John Mucha, in introducing the video to a full house attending the session, said, “SRC Rotary was really the striving force behind this.”
Because many people, younger ones in particular, have not lived through polio epidemics and scares that once were commonplace until Rotary International stepped in to help lead the global effort to eradicate the disease, it was felt that an educational video would help explain the ongoing need for vigilance and funding of the effort since polio cannot be cured but can be prevented.
Dr. Martha J. Lepow of Albany Medical Center, who has had a lengthy practice in pediatric infectious diseases, had volunteered to talk about polio with Rotary club audiences, but it was thought that a video presentation that could be widely disseminated would be more efficient. SRC;s Dr. Jim Leyhane interviewed her on-camera as part of the video.
After the video was shown, our club member, Martha and the School of Public Heath were given “District Governor Emmys,” and Jim posed for the statue. Martha also was award a Paul Harris Fellows certificate, and given an “End Polio Now” fleece jacket. Jim and Dr. Roberto Martinez accepted the club’s award.
Also attending the conference were SRC President Debbie Rodriguez and Secretary Pat Bailey, as well as Ella Leal Cancio, our Rotary Youth Exchange student from Brazil who was recognized along with other exchange students from throughout the District,
Displays and discussion topics also included ShelterBox, Gift of Life, and PolioPlus. Keynote speaker Mitty Chang’s topic was “Attracting the Future of Rotary.”
Thanks to Roberto Martinez for providing these notes and the following images:
Do you keep up with all the activities of our club and District 7190? It’s easy to do. Just go to our Facebook page and click on “events.” You’ll see something like this each time you do, although of course the events themselves will change. Then, click on the headline to get the details.
The District 7190 Training Assembly and Grant Management Seminar was held today (April 1) at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, and drew participants from throughout the far-flung district.
As Roberto Martinez, one of the day’s faculty members along with Jim Leyhane, explained before the event, “Jim and I will rotate to three different classrooms with three different classes of Rotarians and discuss best practices in membership. Each time there will be a facilitator present to draw out participation with the class and work with them tom achieve our goal.”
In addition, Debbie Rodriguez, Becky Raymond and Ron Annis participated in the afternoon’s grants seminar, thereby fulfilling the requirement for a minimum of two members attending from any club that may wish to apply for a Rotary grant.
You can stay abreast with the schedule of events for our club and our district by checking the “EVENTS” listing on our Facebook page. Here’s a look at the ever-changing lineup.
Rotary International President-Elect Ian H.S. Riseley spoke at today’s multi-district Presidents-Elect Training Sessions (PETS) event in Syracuse.
Riseley, who lives in Sandringham, Victoria, Australia, will become RI president on July 1. While in Syracuse, he shared his vision for the 2017-18 year with the theme “year on Rotary Making a Difference.”
Riseley is a practicing accountant and principal of Ian Riseley and Co., which specializes in advising local and international businesses, and has a strong interest in international affairs.
He received the AusAID Peacebuilder Award from the Australian government in 2002 in recognition of his work in Timor-Leste. He also received the Order of Australia medal in 2006 for service to the Australian community.
“Governments see Rotary as positive representatives of a civil society,” he says. “We should work with them to advocate for peace and conflict resolution, just as we are advocating for polio eradication.”
Riseley, a Rotarian since 1978, has served Rotary as treasurer, director, trustee, RI Board Executive Committee member, task force member, committee member and chair, and district governor.
He also is a former member of the Australian Polio Eradication Private Sector Campaign and a recipient of The Rotary Foundation’s Service Award for a Polio-Free World.
Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club 