As you gaze around at all the mounds of freshly-plowed snow, a Lake George spring getaway sounds pretty good right about now, doesn’t it?

You can assure yourself of that possibility by making your reservation to attend the Rotary 7190 District Conference, scheduled for Friday-Sunday, May 5-7, at the Lake George Courtyard by Marriott hotel.

As has become the norm in recent years, day-of-service projects will fill up the first day, capped by a Cinco de Mayo party that Friday night. Saturday sessions will be time to share ideas to inspire innovation in Rotary, with free time Saturday afternoon in Lake George Village, then in the evening cocktails on the lake shore, and a gala banquet at the historic Inn at Erlowest on Saturday night. A closing memorial and awards session will finish the weekend on Sunday morning.

Rooms will be available at $129, plus tax, per night. Reservations may be made online.

• This message from District Governor John Mucha, who will make his first official DG visit to our club this Thursday, was just released to everyone who attended last year’s Rotary Foundation Dinner (Bill and April Dowd and Jim Leyhane represented our club at that event), but is applicable to all in Rotary:

Dear Rotarians and Friends,

Last year you attended our wonderful Foundation Dinner at Stratton National Guard Air Base, honoring our Rotary veterans.

This year we will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Rotary Foundation at our annual Foundation Dinner on Thursday evening, November 17, at Saratoga National Golf Club in Saratoga Springs. We most cordially invite you to join us for fellowship, a wonderful dinner at a special place, and a chance to salute our great Foundation.

We hope you will become a member of the Honorary Committee for this special Centennial dinner. I have attached a letter with more information and a form to complete to join this important group. There will only be one chance to celebrate 100 years of the Rotary Foundation. Please join us in this important effort.

Yours in Rotary service,

John Mucha, District Governor 2016-17

The “Next Generation Rotary Summit” is as important as its title suggests. The event will “consider the Next Generation of Rotary -— the generation of young professionals who will move Rotary forward for the next 30 years.”

As organizer Fred Daniels puts it, “What do they believe? What do they think about ‘Service Above Self? How will they impact Rotary? What are their needs? What kinds of service projects excite them? How can Rotary attract and retain them? Can young professionals help answer the other 257 questions we have about the future of Rotary?”

The summit is one of just 19 being held in the U.S.

The event will be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, September 24, at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs. It is being organized by current young Rotarians from throughout District 7190 with support from a grant provided by Rotary International.

The summit is one of just 19 being held in the U.S. Each will reports its findings and ideas to RI as part of a comprehensive strategy to ensure the future of Rotary worldwide. Although it will be open to all Rotarians, its organizers note that it is “perfect for presidents, presidents-elect, membership chairs, membership committee members, and young “or younger thinking” Rotarians.

Summit details — including speakers, breakout session topics, and resources that clubs will be able to use as part of their membership and community efforts — will be announced as soon as they are finalized. And, registration will open soon. Meanwhile, save the date on your busy calendars.

Members of the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club got to meet incoming District Governor John Mucha (pronounced moo-haw) several months ago when he and his wife visited during one of our blanket-making evenings for Blue Star Mothers.

Now, John has returned from the Rotary International Convention in South Korea and taken office. Here’s the news release sent out this week by the District Public Relations Committee (Bill Dowd is a member) to media throughout the district’s nine-county area introducing John and explaining Rotary to those unfamiliar with it.

ROTARY INTERNATIONAL, DISTRICT 7190
Covering the New York State counties of Albany, Saratoga, Warren, Rensselaer, Washington, Schenectady, Montgomery, Fulton, and Schoharie

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Additional information: Melissa Ward, 518-369-0407)

John Mucha, a Queensbury resident who has been a Rotarian for 29 years, has become the district governor of the service organization’s District 7190. That area covers 41 local clubs, comprised of more than 1,200 men and women. He will serve through June 2017.

Rotary, founded in 1905 by Chicago businessman Paul Harris, has grown to become a global organization of 1.23 million members in more than 34,500 clubs in 213 countries that takes on the needs of communities and nations large and small.

Among its international efforts are a program to eradicate polio, a disease once endemic worldwide but now limited to just two nations, Afghanistan and Pakistan; ShelterBox, a disaster relief program that provides first-response shelter and survival equipment for victims of earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, and other natural disasters; and, programs providing many other things such as clean water, basic education, conflict resolution, health care, and leadership training.

In District 7190, individual clubs support those global efforts but also create local initiatives such as academic scholarships, food pantry drives, clothing and cleanup assistance for disaster victims, family services, literacy, youth leadership training, CPR, school supplies drives, adopting families and children for holidays, and literally dozens of other efforts, each decided at the club level.

As district governor, Mucha will oversee coordination and support of such efforts in a region covering Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Saratoga, Warren, Washington, Montgomery, Fulton, and Schoharie counties, as well as an e-club.

Mucha began his Rotary service in 1987 with the Binghamton Rotary Club, transferred to the Glens Falls club in 1994, and became president of that club in the 2007-08 Rotary Year. He went on to serve in various district-wide roles such as treasurer and assistant governor.

Mucha, speaking about his new role, said, “It is a great honor and privilege to be selected as District Governor for our nine-county region. In 2017, we will mark the 100th anniversary of the Rotary Foundation that funds many of our efforts, and it may well be the year the scourge of polio is eradicated from the planet, an effort Rotary has been making since 1985. The 2016-17 Rotary Year will be a very special one, and I thank my fellow Rotarians for selecting me for this critical leadership role.”

(Information on Rotary clubs in District 7190 is available online at http://www.rotary7190.org)

If you’re up for a drive this weekend to the Great Sacandaga Lake, our friends at the Northville Rotary Club have their annual extravaganza all set for you. This poster provides the details. Click here to go to our original story that lists many of the participating artisans.