The family of club member Bob Horan, who died unexpectedly on July 4th, has shared the following information about services at Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Parish at 1803 Union Street, Schenectady:

• Calling Hours – Friday, July 8 from 3 to 7 p.m.
• Funeral Services – Saturday, July 9 at 10 a.m.

(Scroll down for earlier story announcing Bob’s passing. And, click here to read his obituary as published in the Times Union, and to sign the guestbook.)

Are you a Twitter user? If so, following @SRCRotaryNY will give you a shot at a quick link for stories, announcements, etc., posted on the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club’s website.

The accompanying illustration shows you just part of the many items previewed on our Twitter page. Of course, you also can get to the website via the club’s Facebook page, or the “old fashioned” way of going to it at http://SRCrotary.org if you prefer.

You also can get another service that will keep you continually updated on what we’ve posted. That’s by going to the website and registering to follow the site, which will send you a quick email each time something new is posted.

The whole idea of utilizing all these avenues of communication is to keep all of us in the loop and, thereby, able to participate in our many public service and social activities.

On June 24 in …

1509 — Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon are crowned king and queen of England.

1717 -– The Premier Grand Lodge of England (now called the United Grand Lodge) is founded in London as the first Masonic Grand Lodge in the world.

1844 — Charles Goodyear is granted U.S. patent #3,633 for vulcanized rubber.

1916 –- Mary Pickford becomes the first female film star to sign a million-dollar contract.

1964 — The Federal Trade Commission announces that, starting in 1965, cigarette manufacturers will be required to include warnings on their packaging about the harmful effects of smoking.

That is when we reach the Summer Solstice, when the tilt of Earth’s axis is most inclined toward the sun.

It is the longest day of the year — about 17 hours of daylight — and the official first day of Summer 2016.

So, enjoy the great outdoors over the next few months, in particular by participating in the many “summer casual” activities our club has planned. And then, as we approach Labor Day, ignore those doomsayers who always like to rush into things by telling you that is the end of summer. In reality, summer will last until we reach the Autumnal Equinox at 10:21 a.m. (EDT) on Tuesday, September 22.

While the Summer Solstice happens every year, today’s occasion is unusual in that it also hosts a rare full moon, known as a “Strawberry Moon” or “Sagittarius Moon,” a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence for most people since it happens only once every 70 or so years. At the moment of the solstice, you should be able to see the rising moon and the setting sun in the sky at the same time.

Third Thursday Breakfast Meeting
Greenbush YMCA
East Greenbush, NY
June 16, 2016

Members Attending (8): Terry Brewer, Geoff Brewer, Mike Dewey, Murray Forth, Jim Leyhane, Andy Leyhane, Shannon Romanowski, Matt Smith.

ANNOUNCEMENTS/BUSINESS

• President Terry Brewer reviewed the remaining dates for the 2015-16 Rotary Year. On June 23, at Quigley’s, we will formally induct three more Rotarians, bringing the total this year to 15. On June 30, we will hold the induction of new officers as part of the “Presidential Changeover” dinner being hosted by the Forths.  And, the “summer casual” schedule was discussed. Details of all events are on the club website at SRCrotary.org.

• Members were reminded that we are trying to close out our final ShelterBox drive by June 30. We have 2.5 boxes funded. We need to raise $500 to bring our total ShelterBox donations to 8 — at $8,000 — for this Rotary Year.

• Shannon Romanowski reported on the “Circle of Changes” program sponsored by the YMCA for children with special needs. She is looking for community groups to sponsor a breakfast or lunch for 20 children during the week of July 11-15. Our club will support an 8 a.m. breakfast on Thursday, July 14, at the Greenbush Y. Shannon will be providing specific information regarding breakfast in the near future. Anyone who would like to participate is asked to let Terry or Shannon know.

PROGRAM: “RETIREMENT ISN’T WHAT IT USED TO BE”

Club member Mike Dewey, a financial planner, presented an informative and interesting overview on retirement planning and investing in your future.

He shared a packet of information that compared what retirement used to be in terms of years and eligibility/benefits to current processes for retirement, and some investment options available to workers in today’s economy.

Mike answered a number of questions on investing and saving options for individuals.

• If you missed this presentation and would like to see the PowerPoint version, go to our Program Presentation Archive.

NEXT BREAKFAST MEETING: We are off for the summer. We will resume the monthly sessions at 7 a.m. Thursday, September 15, at the Greenbush Y.

Each Rotary Year, the incoming international president gets to select a theme and motto for that term of service.

On July 1, we enter the 2016-17 Rotary Year under the motto “Rotary Serving Humanity.” That was selected by incoming President John F. Germ. You’ll be seeing the new logo and motto in lots of Rotary documents and announcements through June 30 of next year.

Here’s a look at the transition and the explanation for the new emphasis:

• Excerpted from U.S. Flag.org

The Fourth of July traditionally is celebrated as America’s birthday, but the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating its Flag is believed to not have originated until 1885, 108 years after the adoption of The Star & Stripes as the national flag.

B.J. Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, WI, Public School District 6, to observe June 14 as “Flag Birthday.” In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as “Flag Birthday” or “Flag Day.”

On June 14, 1889, George Balch, a kindergarten teacher in New York City, planned appropriate ceremonies for the children of his school, and his idea of observing Flag Day later was adopted by the New York State Board of Education. On June 14, 1891, the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia held a Flag Day celebration, and on June 14 of the following year the New York Society of the Sons of the Revolution celebrated Flag Day.

Following the suggestion of Colonel J. Granville Leach, who was historian of the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution, the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames of America on April 25, 1893, adopted a resolution requesting the mayor of Philadelphia and all others in authority and all private citizens to display the Flag on June 14. Leach went on to recommend that thereafter the day be known as “Flag Day,” and on that day, school children be assembled for appropriate exercises, with each child being given a small Flag.

Two weeks later, on May 8, the Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution unanimously endorsed the action of the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames. As a result of the resolution, Dr. Edward Brooks, then superintendent of

• The flag should not be used as “wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery” …
• The flag should never be used for any advertising purpose. …
• The flag should not be used as part of a costume or athletic uniform, except that a flag patch may be used on the uniform of military personnel, firefighters, police officers, and members of patriotic organizations.
• The flag should never be stepped on.
• When the flag is lowered, no part of it should touch the ground or any other object; it should be received by waiting hands and arms. To store the flag it should be folded neatly and ceremoniously.
• The flag should be cleaned and mended when necessary.
• No other flag should be placed above it. The flag of the United States is always the first flag raised and the last to be lowered.
• Ordinarily it should be displayed only between sunrise and sunset, although the Flag Code permits night time display “when a patriotic effect is desired” and the flag is illuminated.
  

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  Philadelphia’s Public Schools, directed that Flag Day exercises be held on June 14, 1893, in Independence Square. School children were assembled, each carrying a small Flag, and patriotic songs were sung and addresses delivered. Adults, too, participated in patriotic programs. Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, delivered a 1914 Flag Day address in which he repeated words he said the flag had spoken to him that morning: “I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself.”

  In 1894, New York Governor Roswell P. Flower directed that on June 14 the Flag be displayed on all public buildings.

  With B.J. Cigrand and Leroy Van Horn as the moving spirits, the Illinois organization known as the American Flag Day Association was created for the purpose of promoting the holding of Flag Day exercises. On June 14, 1894, under the auspices of this association, the first general public school children’s celebration of Flag Day in Chicago was held in Douglas, Garfield, Humboldt, Lincoln, and Washington parks, with more than 300,000 children participating.

  Adults, too, participated in patriotic programs. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane delivered a 1914 Flag Day address in which he repeated words he said the flag had spoken to him that morning: “I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself.”

  Inspired by these three decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day — the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 — was officially established by the proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson’s proclamation, it was not until August 3, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14 of each year as National Flag Day.

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