Dinner Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
March 16, 2017

Members Attending (12): Debbie Rodriguez, Roberto Martinez, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Becky Raymond, Dean Calamaras, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Dick Drumm, Julius Frankel, Stewart Wagner, Jim Leyhane.

Guests (4): Sarah Stangl, Mike Stangl, Medora Jones, John Justino.

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PROGRAM: “The Modern American Dream – The Refugee Resettlement Experience”

Becky Raymond introduced her daughter Sarah Stangl, a case manager with the Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island.

Sarah often works with as many at 70 refugees. She displayed a map of where current refugees are coming from — about half from Syria, but other places elsewhere in the Middle East and Europe as well. She said the numbers have been seriously reduced since January, and spoke about how extensive the vetting process is, showing  a list of 20 different items including background checks, interviews with Homeland Security, and interviews with the State Department.

She noted that a few people have waited as long as 20 years for clearance. She cited as an example a man named Burkan, a Sunni and a radiologist in the Iraqi Army who fled the country in 2011. He spent three years in Jordan then a year completing security and background checks. He and his family finally arrived in Rhode Island in November 2014.

Refugee resettlement is overseen by the State Department, and there are 10 VOLAGs — thr acronym for voluntary agencies — that take on the responsibility of resettlement. Among them are Church World Service, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, the Lutheran Immigration & Refuge Service, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Dorcas International Institute first receives a “travel notice” that a family is coming and must then prepare an apartment, doctors’ appointments, cultural orientation, education and job search. Dorcas staffers and other members of the community welcome the immigrants at the airport.

She said refugee immigrants receive $925 per family the first month they are here to cover rent and food. Families with young children receive additional funds —  $554 per month for a family of three, or $635 for a family of four. They are required to quickly become employed, which, Sarah said, may leave little time to learn English or become acclimated, so Dorcas offers additional services such as ESL (English as a second language) classes, employment services, case management services, public school advocacy, and legal referrals. They continue to monitor families over the next few months and some even for years. Anyone 2ishing to contact Sarah for additional information can email her at  sstangl@diir.org.

[Sarah’s presentation can be viewed on our website’s Program Presentation Archives page. Click here to access it]

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Announcements & Businesss

NOTE: Scroll down for the minutes of today’s breakfast meeting that contain updates on:

• Ronald McDonald House cooking dates

• The polio video project

• Two club social events

• Results of the indoor golf fundraiser

GRANT SEMINAR: Debbie Rodriguez and Becky Raymond have registered for the District Grants Training session scheduled for April 1. Clubs are required to have at least two attendees to be able to apply for grants in the following Rotary Year.

DISTRICT CONFERENCE: Several SRC members are planning to participate in the annual District Conference scheduled for Friday-Sunday, May 5-7, in Lake George. You can get registration details online by clicking here.

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NEXT DINNER MEETING: 6:15 p.m. Thursday, March 23, at Quigley’s. The speaker will be Josephine Reeder, YMCA Director of Health and Wellness, on the topic of “YMCA Global Immersion Program: Vietnam.”

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Breakfast Meeting at Greenbush YMCA
20 Community Way
East Greenbush, NY
March 16, 2017

Members Attending (8): Murray Forth, Jim Leyhane, Andy Leyhane, Shannon Romanowski, John Sawchuk, Roberto Martinez, Mike Dewey, Matt Smith.

Guests (1):  Jeff Simons.

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Announcements/Business

INDOOR GOLF: The Indoor Golf Simulator Tournament at Burden Lake Country Club last Saturday was a success, raising about $800 for funds for both community service projects and the  Ronald McDonald House. The winners of the two raffles d0nated their winnings back to the club.

RMH BREAKFAST/DINNER: The club approved a Saturday, April 22, date for preparing breakfast at the Ronald McDonald House in Albany. Anyone wishing to be on the kitchen crew is asked to contact Terry Brewer. Earlier, the club approved a Wednesday, May 31, date for preparing dinner at RMH. Three of the six kitchen crew slots for that effort have been spoken for. Anyone who wishes to volunteer is asked to contact Bill Dowd.

ROTARY HOME COOKING SERIES: Terry and Geoff Brewer are co-hosting “A Rotary Cocktail Party” with drinks and hors d’oeuvres at their residence from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 25. Cost is $10 per person. Family and friends are welcome, but please be sure you contact Terry if you haven’t already done so to allow him to have an accurate headcount. … Then, at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 8, April and Bill Dowd will host a guided tasting of high-end tequilas, served with Mexican -inspired tapas. Cost is $35 per person. Just four seats remain. … Proceeds from both events will go to the club treasury to help support our community service efforts.

POLIO VIDEO PROJECT: Shooting and editing continue today. The goal is to have a finished product depicting the history of polio and Rotary’s support of work against the disease video ready for presentation at the District 7190 Conference in Lake George in May.  This is a group effort among SRC Rotary, CASDA, the District, and the UAlbany School of Public Health.

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Speaker

Jeff Simons, in his first year as superintendent of the East Greenbush School District, was in attendance.

Prior to his current position, Jeff had been superintendent of the Rome (NY) City School District for nine years. He gained significant community support there for three capital referendums totaling $92 million.

He now is working on  gathering support here for a proposed $39.7 million capital project, which he outlined at breakfast today. Details of the proposal are publicly available  online at egcsd.org/CapitalProject.

Jeff will speak on the same topic at our dinner meeting on March 30.

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NEXT BREAKFAST MEETING: 7 a.m. Thursday, April 20, at the Greenbush YMCA, 20 Community Way, East Greenbush.

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Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
March 9, 2017

Members Attending (21): Debbie Rodriguez, Roberto Martinez, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Bill Dowd, Jim Leyhane, Andy Leyhane, Ron Annis, April Dowd, Julius Frankel, Phil Kellerman, Dick Drumm, Terry Brewer, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Carol Orvis, Charlie Foote, Ray Hannan, Monika Annis, Doris Calamaras, Dean Calamaras.

Guests: None.

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PROGRAM:  “A Ride Into History on a B-29”

Club member Jim Leyhane, who had a ride on a B-29 aircraft bomber on his “bucket list,” presented a talk and slideshow on a round-trip flight he took from Albany  International Airport that fulfilled that wish.

Jim had a very personal reason for wanting the trip. His father was a cadet trainee as a B-29 crew member in the waning days of World War II and did not get to fly in action. But, when the Korean War broke out he was recalled to the military and served in the role he had been training for some years earlier — as a flight engineer on the crew of a B-29 its crew named “Fifi” — the very plane Jim flew on.

“Fifi” is owned and operated by the Commemorative Air Force, a volunteer organization chartered on September 6, 1961, as a nonprofit Texas corporation dedicated to the restoration and preservation of World War II-era combat aircraft. “Fifi” is one of only two of the approximately 3,900 B-29’s manufactured that still is flying. The planes were designed in 1939 and put into action in 1942, at a cost of $639,000 each.

Jim described the emotions of the flight that looped from the airport in Colonie across western Massachusetts, southern Vermont and Lake George then back to Colonie. And, he said the flight changed his preconceptions that it would be very noisy,  bumpy, and uncomfortable. Conversely, he said, it was relatively smooth at 200 mph and 2,000 feet of elevation. He said only the front and rear of the plane are pressurized because the bomb storage and bomb bays are in the middle.

During World War II, the bulk of the B-29’s were based in the Mariana Islands southeast of Japan. (Today, the Marianas are divided into the U.S. territory of Guam and the U.S. Commonwealth of Northern Marianas.) They flew numerous missions to bomb the Japanese mainland, usually escorted by P-58 Mustang fighter planes. For most of each mission they could fly higher than the Japanese planes were capable of doing, but had to descend to drop their bombs. Losses were heavy, but more planes went down from fires and mechanical problems than from enemy weapons.

Although “Fifi” now has newer Pratt & Whitney engines, it retains much of the original equipment to lend authenticity. In a nod to modern technology, rather than a cumbersome navigational system the “Fifi” crew uses an iPhone and Google that serve just as well or better. In another technological change, Jim pointed out that today’s cameras are so fast that in the videos and still shots used in his presentation the propellers do not appear to  be moving.

In a nice touch to the adventure, Jim said that he paid $1,200 for the flight but later was informed that $990 was tax deductible which, he said, “let me pay for something else on my bucket list.”

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Business & Announcements

RONALD McDONALD HOUSE MEALS — Roberto Martinez has scheduled the club to cook a dinner at Ronald McDonald House on Wednesday, May 31. A crew of six is needed for the effort, and we already have three. Anyone who can commit is asked to contact Bill or April Dowd. Roberto said he hopes to bring up at next week’s Third Thursday Breakfast Meeting the possibility of also cooking breakfast at RMH. Terry Brewer already has volunteered to chair such an effort.

SIMULATOR GOLF EVENT — Our Indoor Simulator Golf Tournament is scheduled for this Saturday at Burden Lake Country Club. Two team slots remain available. Anyone interested is asked to contact Murray Forth or Terry Brewer ASAP.

AREA 8 PROJECT — Jack Faddegon, Assistant District Governor for Area 8 of which SRC is a member, is putting together a joint work project for Sunday, May 20, at the Shaker Heritage Society near Albany International Airport. Potential chores include creating a stone fence, installing a new sign, plating flowers, cutting weeds, etc. A picnic lunch would be provided. Debbie Rodriguez said the thought is that six members from each club — SRC, Cohoes, Colonie-Guilderland and Lansingburgh — would create a sufficient group. She said she will share details as they are received so we can ascertain whether we will participate and, if so, line up our volunteers.

EASTER BASKET PROJECT —Today was the first dropoff date for donations to our Circles 0f Mercy Easter basket project. Remaining dropoff dates are next week’s (March 16) breakfast and dinner meetings and the dinner meetings of March 23 and 30. A shopping list of needed items was emailed earlier to all members and also is available on the club website. Columbia High School is running a parallel effort and has been provided with 20 baskets plus clear wrap and plastic grass materials. Len Leonidas’ Scouts will use the club’s donations to assemble and deliver a separate collection of baskets to Circles of Mercy.

POLIO DOCUMENTARY VIDEO —Roberto reported on the progress of the polio education video that began shooting this week. Click here for details.

SAVE THE DATES — Our second recycling/shredding day will be held at Wainschaf Associates on Saturday, April 29. … The District Conference will be held in Lake George on Friday, May 5, through Sunday, May 7. Registration details are available on the District website.

ROTARY HOME COOKING — Terry Brewer has asked for a headcount ASAP for everyone who plans to attend “A Rotary Cocktail Party” at his residence from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 25. Rotarians and family are welcome. Drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served. Cost is $10 per person. … “An Agave Experience,” a guided tasting of tequilas and Mexican-inspired tapas, will be hosted by the Dowds at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 8, at $35 per person. They currently have four seats remaining.

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TWO MEETINGS NEXT WEEK: Jeff Simons, the new superintendent of the East Greenbush Central School District, will speak on the upcoming capital budget referendum at the 7 a.m. Third Thursday breakfast meeting at the Greenbush YMCA. Then, at the 6:15 p.m. dinner meeting at Quigley’s, Sarah Stangl of the Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island will speak on refugee resettlement in the U.S.

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Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
March 2, 2017

UPDATED THROUGHOUT

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Today marked the 57th  birthday of our club, chartered on March 2, 1960. Hooray for us!

Members Attending (14): Debbie Rodriguez, Bill Dowd, Jim Leyhane, Becky Raymond, Phil Kellerman, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Ray Hannan, Carol Orvis, Carole Spencer, Dean Calamaras, Roberto Martinez, Dick Drumm, Stewart Wagner.

Guests (2): Steve Williams, Barbara O’Connor.

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PROGRAM: “Bangladesh Pediatric Cataract Surgery”

President Debbie Rodriguez introduced Steve Williams, a member of the Granville Rotary Club in Washington County.

Steve, a retired chemical engineer whose career took him to postings not only in the U.S., but the UK, Canada, and the Netherlands, is working on obtaining a Rotary Global Grant in support of the “Bangladesh Pediatric Cataract Surgery” project.

It is the third international project Steve has worked on since joining Rotary. Previously, he worked on a clean water project for Honduras, then an eye health project to benefit Bangladesh, the smallest and poorest country on the Indian subcontinent.

To obtain a Global Grant, there must be partnerships between one or more Rotary clubs in the country benefiting and one or more clubs elsewhere, and the nature of the project must be sustainable  (i.e., demonstrating an immediate impact, providing specialized training to help the beneficiary area continue the work, and some form of ongoing financial support).

Steve described the workings of the Islamia Eye Hospital in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, a country with large numbers of persons suffering from vision maladies that he last visited in 2011. The previous project, carried out in conjuncti0n with the Dhaka West Rotary Club and the Burnt Hills-Ballston Spa Rotary Club in 2010, supported an extensive screening program that resulted in 560 cataract operations being performed.

If the current effort is successful, the Global Grant will support the purchase of a state-of-the-art optical cataract instrument for the eye hospital to replace the current outmoded sonar imaging technology; cataract surgeries on at least 150 children, and the training of eye specialists in the new technology to be able to continue the program.

Steve said that although much of the $50,000 needed to obtain the grant has been raised,  an additional $6,500 still is needed and District clubs are being solicited for aid. The SRC Board of Directors will discuss the matter at its meeting following the regular dinner meeting on March 9.

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BUSINESS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

COMMUNITY CELEBRATION — Our inaugural event honoring students and adults involved in community service in various segments of the community (education, Scouting, first responders, business, etc.) held at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant in North Greenbush this week drew more than 150 people. Thanks to numerous sponsorships purchased by club members and local businesses, we expect to clear in excess of $5,000 for the club  treasury to support our community service work. A special thank-you was endorsed by the meeting attendees  for club Vice President John Sawchuk for conceiving the event, with strong support from Murray Forth, Terry Brewer and Jim Leyhane. It is projected that we will hold a similar event next year, although perhaps at a larger venue because of demand for seating.

RONALD McDONALD COOKING — For the second consecutive year, we are planning to provide both a dinner and a breakfast for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Albany while a family member is receiving  treatment nearby at the Albany Medical Center Hospital. Bill Dowd again will coordinate a dinner effort beginning at 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 31. A breakfast date, again to be coordinated by Terry Brewer, is to be selected.

POLIO FILM — Roberto Martinez reported that shooting will begin next week on the polio educational video our club is preparing for a debut at the District Conference in May in Lake Placid. At the behest of Terry Brewer and Jim Butterworth, the video will be shot and edited by the CASDA production team at no cost to the club. It will be narrated by District Governor John Mucha.

EASTER BASKETS — The club again is working with the Circles of Mercy family aid organization to provide Easter baskets for needy children ages 1 through 12. Bill Dowd, who is coordinating the effort, said he has received agreement from both Len Leonidas and John Sawchuck that, respectively, the Tiger Scouts and Columbia High School will participate in making our effort a robust one. Bill said he will email all SRC members with a preferred shopping list, since the baskets will contain more than candies — personal hygiene item, school supplies, etc. — and a schedule for donations and deliveries.

FOUNDATION T-SHIRT FUNDRAISER — Dawn Vavala, our purveyor of Rotary-embossed clothing and other items, reports that $5,100 was raised through the sale of  special “Rotary Serves Humanity” T-shirts for the Rotary Foundation, and that the SRC club was the District’s No. 1 purchaser of shirts, thanks to a core group of club members who purchased 46 shirts.

COCKTAIL PARTY — Please let host Terry Brewer know ASAP if you plan to attend “A Rotary Cocktail Party” at his residence from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 25. Drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served. Cost is $10, and guests are both welcome and encouraged to this event conceived to let longtime and newer Rotarians get to know each other better.

ROTARY HOME COOKING — The Dowds will host “An Agave Experience” at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 8. It will include a guided tasting of upscale tequilas and mezcals not usually available in this country, accompanied by Mexican-inspired tapas. Reservations ($35) are limited to 12 guests on a first come-first served basis. Please contact Bill or April ASAP if interested in participating. Proceeds will go to the club treasury to support community service projects.

INDOOR GOLF EVENT — Registration for this Saturday’s indoor simulator golf tournament at Burden Lake Country Club organized by Murray Forth and Terry Brewer is nearly full. Anyone interested in last-minute reservations should check the club website for details.

FFFF INITIATIVE — Becky Raymond announced that the club  has received an invitation to attend a reception at the British Consulate in New York City honoring the Freedom From  Fistula Foundation (FFFF) on Monday, March 20. Our club’s efforts to obtain  funding for the Foundation was the reason for the invitation. While Becky, who with Debbie Rodriguez is spearheading our effort, cannot attend, she asked that anyone wishing to represent the club contact her ASAP.

GIFT OF LIFE UPDATE — Jim Leyhane reported that CDPHP has pledged $10,000 toward the cost of a mid-April cardiac surgery procedure at Albany Medical Center Hospital for a child from Bolivia. The sponsoring Gift of Life will supply the other $10,000. That means GOL will have enabled such surgeries this year at AMCH, Columbia Presbyterian in New York City, at the Portland (ME) Medical Center, and in Boston.

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NEXT MEETING — 6:15 p.m. Thursday, March 9, at Quigley’s. Jim Leyhane will speak on “A Flight Into History On a B-29.”

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Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
February 23, 2017

Members Attending (16+): Debbie Rodriguez, Roberto Martinez, Murray Forth, Bill Dowd, Jim Leyhane, Andy Leyhane, A.J. Amato, Carole Spencer, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, April Dowd, Charlie Foote, Ray Hannan, Dick Drumm, Stewart Wagner, Phil Kellerman. (Plus cameo appearances by Ron Annis and Carol Orvis.)

Guests: None.

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PROGRAM: “The Role of Process Chemistry In Drug Development”

Andy Leyhane, a member of our club’s Board of Directors, presented a talk on “The Role of Process Chemistry In Drug Development,” subtitled “A Little About What I Do At Work.”

Andy, who holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Union College and a doctorate in organic chemistry from Boston College, is a process chemist with AMRI, formerly known as Albany Molecular Research Institute.

AMRI is a 3,500-employee company headquartered in Albany with locations throughout the U.S. as well as in India, the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Essentially, it helps other companies develop pharmaceuticals and, once those companies have completed clinical trials and received Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approval, rejoins the process to manufacture the drugs.

Andy’s work involves taking drugs from a small-scale experimental level and shepherding them through the process until turning them over to the company’s manufacturing plant in Rensselaer.

He also touched on a number of other elements in the research, trials, and manufacturing process. Among them:

• Only about 1 in 10 drugs that enter into clinical trials make it to market.

• The average cost 0f developing a new drug is in the $2 billion range.

• The lifetime of a drug patent is 20 years. During that time the company holding the patent has to recoup its investment and turn a profit.  Because companies sometimes begin exercising their rights early to protect their research, the effective life 0f the patent once the drug actually is on the market can become less than 20 years.

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Business & Announcements

A SPECIAL THANK YOU — On this, the 112th birthday of Rotary International, President Debbie Rodriguez greeted attendees and called the meeting to order. She asked April Dowd to read a note she and Bill received from the Rensselaer woman whose family our club adopted for Christmas through the Circles of Mercy family aid organization. The woman said she has been raising her three great-grandchildren all their lives and, despite the fact she now is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, she said because of the generosity of our club this was the best Christmas the family has had “and probably ever will have.”

COMMUNITY CELEBRATION DINNER — The buffet dinner to be held at 5:30 p.m. next Tuesday at Moscatiello’s Restaurant in North Greenbush to honor people from  various parts of the community for their “Service Above Self” is sold out. Intended honorees have been informed of their selection. We also have sold numerous $100 sponsorships, a number of them to club members. All profits from the event will go toward supporting our club’s community service projects.

SIMULATOR GOLF — Reservations are coming in strong for our winter Indoor Simulator Golf Tournament, scheduled for Saturday, March 11, at Burden Lake Country Club. We have room for just two more foursomes. Anyone interested in playing should contact Murray Forth ASAP.

EVENT REMINDERS — Two “Rotary Home Cooking” events are on the schedule: a cocktail party mixer at the Brewer residence on  Saturday, March 25, for club members and guests; “An Agave Experience” of Mexican-inspired tapas and a guided tasting of upscale tequilas and mezcals at the Dowd residence on Saturday, April 8. … Our  next electronics-and-paper recycling event is set for Saturday, April 29, again at the Wainschaf Associates warehouse in Rensselaer.

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NEXT MEETING: 6:15 p.m. Thursday, March 2, at Quigley’s. The scheduled speaker is Rotarian Steven Miller who will offer a presentation on the “Bangladesh Pediatric Cataract Surgery Project.”

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Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
February 16, 2017

Members Attending (16): Debbie Rodriguez, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Terry Brewer, Bill Dowd, April Dowd, Jim Leyhane, Dick Drumm, Charlie Foote, Becky Raymond, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Ray Hannan, Ron Annis, Monika Annis, Carol Orvis.

Guests (2): Matt Sloane, Davell Banks.

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PROGRAM : “The new Questar III BOCES school”

Carol Orvis introduced Matt Sloane, deputy superintendent of the Questar III BOCES educational organization that serves 23 school districts in Rensselaer, Columbia and Greene counties.

Matt, a native of Long Island where he was in a BOCES  music program as a high school student, spoke on the intent and details of the new 60,000-square-foot Questar school being built off Route 150 in Schodack to replace two outdated facilities in Troy and Hudson. It is targeted for a September 2018 opening.

The school, and indeed the curricula and philosophy of BOCES, has evolved over the years to become an entity educating and training students for the current job market as well as a place to educate students with special needs.

Students are exposed to both theoretical and practical applications of the skills needed in such fields as HVAC, automotive, hospitality industry, certified nursing assistant roles, emerging technologies and so on. In addition, they are trained in the management of businesses to complement the hands-on training.

Matt cited numerous examples of local professionals helping design the new school and some of the educational programs. He said Questar is welcoming to local professionals who may feel they have something to offer, and invited us to participate.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS/BUSINESS

MEMBERSHIP — President Debbie Rodriguez announced that we have two new members in line — Jennifer Felts, sponsored by Pat Bailey, and Bob DeBennedetti, sponsored by Murray Forth. Under our new membership process, each must attend one breakfast meeting and one dinner meeting before their applications and fees are processed for formal membership.

MARKETING INFORMATION — Davell Banks of Advertising In Motion, a marketing company currently dealing with the East Greenbush Diner, spoke briefly about marketing business and organizational methods. He showed a sample size (seen here) of a laminated restaurant tabletop displaying ads for local businesses. He explained that non-profit organizations can sometimes get free advertising in conjunction with business paying the way. As an example, our club will be getting a 30-month free ad on displays at the East Greenbush Diner.

ROTARY HOME COOKING — The second event of the winter series of member-hosted home events, “A French Bistro Dinner” hosted by Debbie and Peter Brown, raised $315 for the club treasury. Next up is “A Rotary Cocktail Party,”  a social  mixer to be hosted by the Brewers on Saturday, March 25. It will be open to all members and their guests. Then, on Saturday, April 8, the Dowds will host “An Agave Experience,” a guided tasting of Mexican-inspired tapas and high-end tequilas and mezcals, some of which are not sold in this country. That event is limited to 12 guests, and only 8 seats remain. Contact the hosts ASAP.

SIMULATOR GOLF — Our next indoor simulator golf event at Burden Lake Country Club is scheduled for Saturday, March 11. The deadline for signing up (by email to SRCrotary@gmail.com or mmforth51@gmail.com) is March 8. Registration is $240 per four-person team. We also will conduct two raffles — one to benefit the Ronald McDonald House, the other to support our club treasury.

SWEDISH CONNECTION — Our club is establishing a sister-club  connection with the Rotary Club of Gefle, Sweden. Go here for the details.

DISTRICT CONVENTION — The District 7190 Convention is scheduled for Friday-Sunday, May 5-7. Go here for details and a link to the reservation site.

RI BIRTHDAY PARTY — This year marks the 112th anniversary of Rotary International and the 100th anniversary of the Rotary Foundation. Those milestones will be celebrated with a birthday party from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, February 24, at the Brookside Museum, 6 Charlton Street, Ballston  Spa. Admission is $20 per person. Details are available by clicking here.

GIFT OF LIFE UPDATE — Jim Leyhane reported that two children whose cardiac surgery at a medical center in Portland, ME, was sponsored by the District 7190 Gift of Life are returning home to Panama this week after successful treatment. He said the cost of each surgery was $6,000. Albany Medical Center, where most of our GOL kids are treated, continues to impose a very high cost on such medical care. It has agreed to operate on a child this spring for $20,000. Jim will keep us updated on fund raising for that effort.

COMMUNITY AWARDS CELEBRATION — A recognition dinner, created by John Sawchuk to honor the accomplishments of people in many endeavors throughout the community, is set for Tuesday, February 28, at Moscatiello’s Restaurant in North Greenbush. John and Murray Forth are soliciting $100 sponsorships from individuals and organizations. Reservations for the dinner are $35 each.

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NEXT MEETING: 6:15 p.m. Thursday, February 23, at Quigley’s. The speaker will be club member Andy Leyhane, Ph.D, on “The Role of Process Chemistry On Drug Development, or, A Little Bit About What I Do At Work.”

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Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
January 26, 2017

Members Attending (12): Terry Brewer, Murray Forth, Bill Dowd, Jim Leyhane, Dick Drumm, Julius Frankel, Andy Leyhane, Marco Koshykar, Becky Raymond, Carole Spencer, Ray Hannan, A.J. Amato.

Guests: None.

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PROGRAM: “Law & Order”

Club member Marco Koshykar, a partner with the Albany law firm of Nolan & Heller, spoke on “Law & Order,” or common legal topics many of us have faced, or will face.

Marco, a Columbia High School graduate who studied law at Syracuse University and deals primarily in commercial law, addressed buying and selling real estate; wills (living wills, last will and testament, health care proxy); dealing with traffic tickets, and waivers or liability releases.

While he spoke in some depth on each category, a few of the more salient points were:

• Handwritten wills or changes made by handwritten notations on them are unenforceable, with certain exceptions such as military personnel hand writing a will while in combat.

• Legal forms from the Internet may seem OK as general guidelines, but people make use of them at their own peril.

• Generally, if you pay an admission or use fee at a facility, any waiver of responsibility it asks you to sign is unenforceable. A prominent exception is a paid instructional activity.

• Most lawyers will offer a free initial consultation. Two good sources to find lawyers, besides word-of-mouth referrals, are the websites of the New York State Bar Association and the Martindale Hubbell Law Directory.

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Business/Announcements

PRESIDING OFFICER — Immediate Past President Terry Brewer presided in the absence of President Debbie Rodriguez. He noted that one of our two scheduled speakers, Jacqueline Lynch of the American Cancer Society, had to cancel her appearance due to illness.

WEBSITE UPDATE — Terry mentioned that club webmaster Bill Dowd last week presented a hands-on workshop on improving members’ use of the website and its many facets. He suggested members follow up on Bill’s suggestion to sign up to “follow” the site, which means an email message would be sent to them each time the site is updated.

RECYCLING EFFORTS — Strong, positive public response to our recent recycling day prompted setting an April 22 date for a second such event. Because member A.J. Amato has paid for a paper recycling day each year via his company, the thought was to combine the days rather than to compete. A.J. usually does only paper recycling while the SRC effort handled both paper and electronics. The April event would combine the two, with site and details to be determined. Discussion was held about getting exchange students involved since some of the proceeds would go to that program.

CAMP ROTARY — Bill Dowd noted that more than 100 Boy Scouts from Rensselaer and Columbia counties spent last Saturday at Camp Rotary participating in team-building group activities. He said he posted a photo on the website with links to a slideshow on The Record newspaper’s website.

ROTARY HOME COOKING — The winter-spring member-hosted series of casual home dinners begins this Friday with Dean and Doris Calamaras holding a Greek dinner. Debbie and Peter Brown will host on February 11, Terry and Geoff Brewer in March, April and Bill Dowd in April, and Murray and Maggie Forth in May. Closer to each event, the hosts will announce details, seating capacity, and price.

“CANSTRUCTION” FOOD DRIVE — Several clubs in District 7190 are organizing a food drive for The Food Pantries of the Capital Region under the umbrella name of “Rotary Clubs of the Capital Region.” There has been some confusion on dates and deadlines plus erratic communication. Bill Dowd volunteered to get the correct data and report back to the club so we could ascertain whether to be involved.

COMMUNITY RECOGNITION DINNER — Terry passed along information from John Sawchuk who would like to organize a fundraiser dinner through Columbia High School with SRC as the sponsor. It would recognize people of achievement among students and the business community. Dinner would be held at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant, priced at $35 per person, $10 or more of which would come back to the club. John was asked to firm up the details and get back to us for consideration.

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NEXT MEETING — 6:15 p.m. Thursday, February 3, at Quigley’s. Jennifer Felts, publisher of Our Towne magazine, will be the speaker.

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 Dinner Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
January 19, 2017

Members Attending (15): Debbie Rodriguez, Roberto Martinez, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Bill Dowd, Jim Leyhane, Terry Brewer, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Dick Drumm, Dean Calamaras, Julius Frankel, Carole Spencer, Stewart Wagner, Charlie Foote,

Guests (1): Jean Marie Niederhoffer.

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Program: “Our Website, Social Media & You”

Our webmaster, Bill Dowd, presented a discussion of our methods of communication in the past and what still works today, as an introduction to a hands-on workshop on use of our website and social media accounts.

As he compared them, he noted, for example, that many newspapers have lost more than 50% of their circulation in the past decade; that mail has largely been supplanted by email because of its low cost, speed of delivery and ease of use; landline phones, which many families have done away with, have given way to cellphone usage that is portable, has no long-distance surcharges or expensive calling-hour periods; telegrams have virtually disappeared — he said telegrams still exist, but the message is communicated simply by a service calling you on the phone and reading the message to you; there are so many cable TV and live streaming services that traditional commercial TV has a fragmented audience.

He explained a set of research slides showing the sharp increase in social media use in the past decade, that usage is about even between the sexes, that the more educated people are the more they use such communications; that race and age really do not make a difference in usage.

Bill then walked us through the club website (SRCrotary.org) he created and maintains. It combines a blog and 21 interior pages, as well as links to the club’s Facebook and Twitter accounts and to numerous offsite resources. He described the blog content as a mix of announcements, event coverage, meeting minutes, local and global Rotary news, and other pertinent content.

He also suggested members sing up on the website to “follow” it, meaning they will get email notifications anytime the site is updated so they can link directly to it.

The PowerPoint portion of Bill’s program is available on our Program Presentation Archive website page.

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Announcements/Business

RECYCLING REPORT — Treasurer Murray Forth reported a profit of $2,245 from Saturday’s paper and electronics recycling day, and noted that many members of the public asked if we plan to repeat the event. We will do so in the spring.  President Debbie Rodriguez thanked Mike Dewey, Matt Smith, Josh Wainman, Terry Brewer and Murray for their particular efforts in putting together the event, as well as all other members and friends who volunteered to staff it; 22 Rotarians were involved in the project.

GOLF EVENT CANCELLED — The planned January 21 indoor simulator golf tournament at Burden Lake Country Club has been cancelled due to insufficient registration numbers.

ROTARY HOME COOKING SERIES — Dean Calamaras said five seats remain for the January 27 Greek dinner he and Doris are hosting. Please contact them directly if interested in participating. The next dinner after that is scheduled for February 11, hosted by Debbie and Peter Brown. A few seats remain open for that event. Contact either of the Browns if interested.

ROTARY BIRTHDAY PARTY — Members are asked to save February 24 to attend the annual Rotary Birthday Party, this year to be held in Ballston Spa. Details will be shared closer to the date.

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NEXT DINNER MEETING: 6:15 p.m. Thursday, January 26. A “2fer” evening, with club member Marco Koshykar, an attorney, speaking on “The Law Today,” and a representative of the American Cancer Society speaking on the Rensselaer County Relay for Life event.

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Breakfast Meeting at Greenbush YMCA
2 Community Way
East Greenbush, NY
January 19, 2017

Members Attending (13): Shannon Romanowski, Terry Brewer. Jim Butterworth, Jim Leyhane, Andy Leyhane, Matt Smith, John Sawchuk, Murray Forth, Melissa Bill, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Ron Annis, Roberto Martinez.

Club member Jim Butterworth, executive director of CASDA (Capital Area School Development Association), spoke about the organization’s work in developing programs for a wide variety of schools and school districts throughout the state.

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NEXT THIRD THURSDAY MEETING: 7 a.m. February 16 at the Greenbush YMCA.

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Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
January 12, 2017

Members Attending (14): Debbie Rodriguez, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Jim Leyhane, A.J. Amato, Roberto Martinez, Dick Drumm, Terry Brewer, Phil Kellerman, Becky Raymond, Julius Frankel, Charlie Foote.

Guests (2): James Arrington, Jean Marie Niederhoffer.

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Program: “Health Care Benefits for Veterans”

Charlie Foote introduced James Arrington, senior program manager at the Albany Stratton VA Medical Center.

James explained his role as being responsible for health care benefits at the VA Center. His presentation covered: “Who is a Veteran?” and “The Basic Veteran Statuses.”

A key is establishing eligibility with form 10-10EZ, which is available online, The enrollment system is broken into groups of priorities depending on needs. Other questions addressed included  “What am I eligible for?”,  and preventive care services that can include even eyeglasses and hearing aids.

A common question, obviously, is “What do I have to pay?” James said there are limits to benefits, and a means test is part of a financial assessment. He explained  that the Veterans Administration now can offer payment for services provided outside the VA facility. It also will provide non-VA emergency Care under certain circumstances.

James also addressed a number of questions from then audience, including those on tele-medicine, the high suicide rate among veterans, and reimbursements to outside suppliers.

Note: More details of his presentation are available on our Program Presentation Archive website page.

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Announcements/Business

RECYCLING DAY — Terry Brewer reported that we are set for Saturday’s “Resolved To Recycle” fundraising effort, with a good number of volunteers for three shifts to staff the paper- and electronics-recycling event at Wainschaf Construction. And, several members have stepped up to contribute money toward the cost of the shredding machine rental.

SIMULATOR GOLF — Murray Forth said a signup sheet for volunteers to staff the January 21 event at Burden Lake Country Club will be circulated next week. Also, we now can accept Visa and MasterCard credit cards.

ROTARY HOME COOKING — Four seats remain for a “French Bistro” dinner to be hosted by Dean and Doris Calamaras on January 27, the first in this year’s series of member-hosted home dinners. Anyone else wishing to attend is asked to contact Dean directly.

COMMITTEE FOLLOWUP — At last week’s meeting, members broke up into their committees to discuss their efforts. Tonight they reported.

Jim Leyhane spoke about Ronald McDonald House and Easter baskets by the Boy Scouts; CPR usually is handled by Ron and Monika Annis of Top Form; no strong need was seen for raffles; no interest in participating in fairs; we may wish to support Blue Star Mothers in sending packages overseas to troops.

Murray spoke about fundraising possibilities, and said there is no interest in resuming the Rotary Run; we should consider an information event with vendors and local craftspeople, maybe at the Goff School parking lot and consider charging a fee to the vendors.

Debbie Brown reported lots of good discussion on youth efforts, especially spreading the knowledge of Rotary to students. Student foreign exchange program and scholarship program was discussed; possibility of holding a youth leadership program at CASDA; we should require recipients of our leadership programs to report back to the club as a way for us to find and mentor students. Terry said A.J. has done an excellent job with not much support with Maple Hill. We cannot fund more than $3,000 in annual scholarship funds, so if we wish to include Averill Park High School we may need additional fundraising efforts or decrease the amount of each scholarship.

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2 MEETINGS NEXT WEEK: Third Thursday breakfast meeting at 7 a.m. at the Greenbush YMCA. Executive Director  Jim Butterworth will speak on his work with CASDA — the Capital District School Development Association. Then, at 6:15 p.m. at Quigley’s, webmaster Bill Dowd will take us on a tour of our website and social media resources, and is asking everyone to bring a cellphone, laptop or tablet so this can be a hands-on experience.

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Dinner Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
January 5, 2017

Members Attending (14): Debbie Rodriguez, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Jim Leyhane, Terry Brewer, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Geoff Brewer, Julius Frankel, Dick Drumm, Ray Hannan, Becky Raymond, Phil Kellerman, Charlie Foote.

Guests (4): Russ Myer of Capital Region Nordic Alliance, Donna and Gerry of Blue Star Mothers, and Guests (1): Jean Marie Niederhoffer.

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BUSINESS/ANNOUNCEMENTS

VETERAN AWARDS — President Debbie Rodriguez presented checks of $1,450 each to representatives of the Capital Region Nordic Alliance (top photo) and Blue Star Mothers (bottom photo) veterans assistance organizations. She also presented several no-sew blankets made by the club to the Blue Star group, and Phil Kellerman’s coffee sales effort raised additional funds for the Nordic Alliance. Russ Myer of the Alliance reported that he had just returned from a two-day event with veterans, and spoke about introducing them to various snow events. Five more events are scheduled.

BASKET REVENUE — President Debbie welcomed our guests, wished all a good New Year, and thanked Murray and Maggie Forth for hosting our holiday party in December. Treasurer Murray reported that  $535 was raised by the gift basket silent auction to go toward support of our community service projects.

BYLAWS CHANGES — Changes in the Club Bylaws regarding the new-member process, additions to the types of membership categories, and changes in the dues structure were offered for member approval. Terry Brewer moved acceptance of the changes, Murray seconded the motion, and the motion was approved without discussion and without dissent. As a result, annual dues will be reduced to a cap of $150 beginning with the 2017-18 Rotary Year, “Corporate” and “Family” categories will be added to the member categories, and the process will be streamlined for proposing and accepting new members. (Updated version of the Bylaws, with specific new language, available by clicking here.)

ROTARY HOME COOKING — The first member-hosted dinner of the annual winter series will be hosted by Dean and Doris Calamaras on Friday, January 27. They have just four seats remaining, and anyone interested in attending is asked to contact them ASAP. As always, all reservations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

RECYCLING PROJECT — Terry Brewer circulated a signup sheet for volunteers willing to work the “Resolve to Recycle” day on Saturday, January 14. There will be three shifts of two hours each, and four or five people will be needed for each shift. In addition to widespread social media notices, an article has been published in The Advertiser about the project.

INDOOR GOLF — Plans are proceeding to host the first of two Indoor Simulator Golf Tournaments at the Burden Lake Country Club, set for Saturday, January 21. Volunteers are needed to staff the event, and anyone interested is asked to contact Murray ASAP.

COMMITTEE ACTIVITY — Debbie explained that the focus of the evening’s Club Assembly will be on Youth, Scholarship, Fundraising, and Community Service committees. Members were asked to pick a group and choose someone to take notes and be able to report back next week.

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NEXT MEETING: 6:15 p.m. Thursday, January 12, at Quigley’s. A representative of the Stratton VA Medical Center will offer a presentation on services to veterans.

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