We’re soon entering the autumn/holiday part of the year when local food pantries will be asking for donations for their busiest time.

Since SRC members and families have a history of generosity toward those service organizations, here’s an idea from April Dowd on how to make such generosity very affordable.

Price Chopper/Market 32/Market Bistro this week has a lot of 10-for-$10 sale offers of non-perishable items (see flyer above). If you afford just $10, or if you can afford more, now would be a great time to stock up on such items and store them until we are called upon to donate to such food pantries as The Anchor, Doors of Hope, etc. Just browse the aisles to find the bargains.

Please bear in mind that while the pantries can use virtually any kinds of non-perishable food items (boxed, canned, jarred, etc.), they frequently also have a strong demand for personal hygiene items for their clients as well. Some of those are part of the sale offer.

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Those of you who regularly access the meeting minutes on this website will notice a change in the format since we resumed weekly meetings this month. Because our club secretary no longer is keeping minutes of the proceedings, we’ve switched to this format, written primarily in less-detailed note form, so we still will have a record for the club archive.

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Members Attending (14, quorum achieved): Andy Leyhane, Pat Bailey, Terry Brewer, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Dean Calamaras, Doris Calamaras, Dick Drumm, Murray Forth, Phil Kellerman, Debbie Rodriguez, Carole Spencer, Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane.

Guests (5): Courtney Moore, Dave Hennel, Sylvia Kaminsky, Louis Singer, Peter Slavin.

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We currently have 200 tickets in circulation for the raffle offering dinner for 12 at Cafe Capriccio in Albany (scroll down to see the event flyer for details). To date, 90 tickets have been sold at $20 each, or $1,800 worth. We need members to make a major push in advance of the October 4 drawing. … The annual Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) workshop is scheduled for Saturday, October 20, at  the UAlbany School of Public Health. The club will pay the registration fee for any members interested in participating, and will pay the discounted rate for up to 10 Rotaract members. Click here for details of the program, and see Bill Dowd if you are interested; he is handling registration for the club. … Auggie, the therapy dog at Bell Top Elementary School who SRC has helped finance, has his own blog. Click here to keep up with Auggie and his school friends. …

… Our International Committee (Jim Leyhane, Bill Dowd, Roberto Martinez, Peter Brown, Dick Drumm) is working on creation of the Rotary Trail 10K, a running event and festival to be held October 19, 2019, at Schodack Island State Park. They met this week with staff from the Albany Running Exchange, an event management organization, to rough out plans, and previously met with park management. The event will be a major fundraiser for ShelterBox and Gift of Life. … Our next recycling day has been scheduled for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, November 3, at the Wainschaf Associates warehouse and offices in Rensselaer. Volunteers will be needed to staff the event in shifts. …

… RC had two foursomes entered in the recent Gift of Life Golf Tournament, and also sponsored the happy hour. … The 2018-19 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) training series will begin on Friday with “Introducing Leadership,” at The Edge Climbing Gym, 1544 Route 9, Clifton Park. … The program for the Thursday, September 27, dinner meeting at Quigley’s will be Dean and Doris Calamaras sharing “Adventures In Greece,” a pictorial travelogue.

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How is the SRC website doing as far as visitors? As the chart above shows, quite well since we resumed our regular schedule after the summer doldrums, aflow that follows our performance history.

In addition to hosting visitors from throughout District 7190 and many other states, we have visitors from such diverse parts of the globe as Canada, Mexico, Ireland, England, Namibia, Myanmar, Ecuador, and Italy.

Please remember to share our SRCrotary.org address on your social media accounts. That’s how we build followings and spread the word about Rotary in general and SRC specifically.

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There actually is a reason we try to get our club members involved in at least some aspect of what we do as a service organization — fundraisers, program assignments, committee work, member recruitment, etc. — rather than limiting themselves to thinking of Rotary only as a weekly dinner or monthly breakfast club.

These Chinese characters —

不闻不若闻之，闻之不若见之；见之不若知之，知之不若行之；学至于行而止矣。

— translate from the writings of the Confucian philosopher Xun Zi (circa 312–230 B.C.) to say:

Tell me and I will forget.

Show me and I may remember.

Involve me and I will understand.

That is why we ask you to “Be a Rotarian,” not just “a member of Rotary.”

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SRC member Phil Kellerman poses with Cindy Amell, president of the Rotary Club of Glen Falls, after exchanging club pennants. Phil was that club’s guest today to speak about immigration issues.

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SRC Third Thursday Breakfast Meeting
Greenbush YMCA
20 Community Way, East Greenbush

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Members Attending (5, no quorum): Andy Leyhane, Murray Forth, John Justino, Marty Mahar, Jim Leyhane.

Guests (1): Lindsey Ribach, acting president of the Danes Rotaract club.

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Program:

• President Andy Leyhane presented information on SRC’s upcoming club activities for 2018-19.

• We are urging SRC and Rotaract members to sign up for the Saturday, October 20, Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) workshop at the UAlbany School of Public Health, 1 University Place, Rensselaer (just off Columbia Turnpike). The club will pay for all SRC members who wish to participate, and has arranged to pay for discounted registration for up to 10 Rotaractors.

• Member Marty Mahar gave a short presentation on Auggie, the Bell Top Elementary School therapy dog that partially is funded by our club. Next month we will hear from Jamie who is Auggie’s owner and blogmaster. If you would like to check in on Augie’s blog from time to time, simply click here (and don’t forget to save the link).

• The next breakfast meeting is scheduled for 7 a.m. Thursday, October 18, at the Greenbush YMCA.

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So, how is our latest Gift of Life child doing?

This photo shows Taivnaa, who is from Mongolia, 10 days after her cardiac surgery at Albany Medical Center.

In addition to being generally more active, Taivnaa was able to visit Rotarians and friends who were participating in this week’s annual Gift of Life Golf Tournament, where the photo was taken.

As always, thanks to all who donate money and/or participate in GOL fundraisers that make this ongoing service possible.

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We often hear about public service projects Rotarians around the world are planning to get  involved in, but we don’t always get enough updates on their impact or how we can help.

That’s what makes this Thursday’s dinner meeting special. Courtney Moore, a member of the Schenectady Rotary Club, will be speaking about Rotary’s “Clean Water for Haiti” project, a humanitarian effort that involves numerous districts and individual clubs.

The dinner menu includes Quigley’s popular ziti and meatballs, antipasto salad, chef’s choice of side dishes, bread, dessert, and beverages. And, of course, the cash bar is available.

As always, we need to know who is planning to participate. Please let dinner coordinator Debbie Brown know via email (mdbrown@nycap.rr.com) no later than tonight if you will attend and if you are bringing guests.

Signed up so far:

• Pat Bailey
• Terry Brewer
• Debbie Brown
• Peter Brown
• Browns’ guest
• Bill Dowd
• Dick Drumm
• Phil Kellerman
• Andy Leyhane
• Jim Leyhane
• Roberto Martinez
• Courtney Moore (speaker)
• Debbie Rodriguez

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NOTE: Those of you who regularly access the meeting minutes on this website will notice a change in the format since we resumed weekly meetings this month. Because our club secretary no longer is keeping minutes of the proceedings, we’ve switched to this format, written primarily in note form, so we still will have a record for the club archive.

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Members Attending (14; quorum achieved): Andy Leyhane, Pat Bailey, Peter Brown, Debbie Rodriguez, Terry Brewer, Jim McHugh, Phil Kellerman, Dick Drumm, Julius Frankel, Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane, Ray Hannan, Dean Calamaras, Kevin Leyhane.

Guests (1): Tina Lee.

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Program: The issue of mental health touches on all aspects of our society, all too frequently being front-and-center in the news when it comes to such darker topics as suicide, bullying, and drug abuse.

Tina Lee, the Community Education and Outreach Manager for The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) New York State, has begun speaking to Rotary clubs in District 7190 on the overall topic of “Raising Mental Health and Awareness in our Communities.” On Thursday, she visited SRC for a presentation on that topic.

Formerly executive director of NAMI’s Mid-Hudson Region, among her efforts since moving up to a statewide role, she has been working with the East Greenbush Central School District on such issues as  suicide prevention and the opioid epidemic.

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MEETING NOTES:

The annual Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) is scheduled for Saturday, October 20, at the SUNY School of Public Health in Rensselaer. So far, SRC members Andy Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, and Jim Leyhane have indicated interest in participating. The club, which historically has had a strong participation in the program, will pay registration fees for all who wish to enroll, as well as up to 10 members of the Rotaract Club at the School of Public Health that we sponsor. Bill Dowd, a graduate of the three-year RLI program, is available to provide details of what the curriculum entails, and will handle enrollment details for everyone. …

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Members are urged to work on sales of $20 raffle tickets for the Cafe Capriccio private dinner described in flyers sent to all SRC Rotarians as a fundraiser to support the club’s youth programs. Tickets are available from President Andy Leyhane, Jim Leyhane, and Roberto Martinez. …

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Club member Jim McHugh, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in the East Greenbush Central School District, will be the speaker when we resume our monthly Third Thursday breakfast meetings at 7 a.m. on September 20 at the Greenbush YMCA. … At that evening’s dinner meeting, Courtney Moore of the Schenectady Rotary Club will speak on the “Clean Water for Haiti” program. … The program assignment chart has been posted at the bottom of our webaite’s CALENDAR page. Check it to see what date you have.

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The issue of mental health touches on all aspects of our society, all too frequently being front-and-center in the news when it comes to such darker topics as suicide, bullying, and drug abuse.

Tina Lee, the Community Education and Outreach Manager for The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) New York State, has begun speaking to Rotary clubs in District 7190 on the overall topic of “Raising Mental Health and Awareness in our Communities.” On Thursday, September 13, she will be visiting SRC for a presentation.

Formerly executive director of NAMI’s Mid-Hudson Region, among her efforts since moving up to a statewide role, she has been working with the East Greenbush Central School District on such issues as  suicide prevention and the opioid epidemic.

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• This very important and timely program should be of interest to most Rotarians, but please remember we always welcome guests to share our programs. Thus, if you would like to bring a non-Rotarian to the dinner meeting, please include their names when you RSVP no later than Tuesday, September 11, to dinner coordinator Debbie Brown’s next invitation to ensure sufficient seating and buffet items to accommodate everyone.

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Tina says her passion for mental health stemmed from her own daughter’s battle with mental health issues. Tina is a member of the Dutchess County Prevention Council DCDBCH, the Quality Assurance Committee, the Juvenile Justice Committee, and the Eastern Dutchess Rural Health Network Coalition, and is an instructor for the Dutchess County Crisis Intervention Training Committee.

In 2016, she was appointed to the Statewide Multicultural Advisory Committee (SMAC) with the Office of Mental Health and is a member of New York State’s Suicide Prevention Advisory Task Force.

She is a certified NAMI State Trainer for “Ending the Silence” and “Parents and Teachers As Allies,” two mental health literacy programs for high school students and educators. She recently became certified to present “Suicide Safety for Teachers,” a suicide prevention program for educators through the Suicide Prevention Center of New York State. And, she is NARCAN trained, ASSIST- and Safetalk-certified, and, since 2013,  a certified instructor in Youth Mental Health First Aid through the Council for Behavioral Health.

Please give strong consideration to attending this event, as always at 6:15 p.m. at Quigley’s, with socializing beginning at 5:45 p.m.

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