The 3rd annual “SRC Community Recognition Awards” dinner was held with a full house Tuesday evening at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant in North Greenbush. Students, educators, first responders, miiltary personnel, Rotarians, and others were honored for their contributions to their communities.
Some scenes from the event:
SRC’s own Carol Orvis has been a longtime worker in the vineyards of academe. That effort was recognized at a recent dinner held by CASDA, the Center for School Improvement at UAlbany’s School of Education.
The handsome “Friend of Education Award,” seen below, was presented in recognition of Carol’s lengthy record of service to Questar III BOCES.
We’ll be resuming our weekly dinner meetings this coming Thursday at Quigley’s. Peter Brown has lined up Schodack Town Supervisor David Harris as our speaker. Look for Debbie Brown’s request for RSVP responses so we can have a nice turnout for our visitor.
Meanwhile, this is a good time to check off some to-do items on your Rotary activities list. Here are a few possibilities. You’ll note they are quite varied, which means everyone should be able to find something they can do to help,large or small:
• We still need someone to step up to coordinate our annual Easter basket drive for Circles of Mercy. Time is very short, so please let Andy Leyhane know right away if you can do your bit to make this a successful effort for underprivileged kids.
• Our first Rotary Home Cooking event of the season is set. Maggie and Murray Forth will host a roast beef dinner at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 16, at their East Greenbush residence. Seating, as it is for all such events, is limited. Please contact the Forths ASAP if you would like to attend. First-come, first-seated.
• We’ll be holding a painting party in our meeting room at Quigley’s at 9 a.m. this coming Saturday to finish up the renovations that have included Murray’s construction of cupboards, shelving, and a display case, plus some flooring, lighting, and ceiling repairs. If you can lend a hand to make the work go quickly, please let Murray or Terry Brewer know ASAP.
• Have you been distributing copies of our flyer for the April 13 “Recycling & Shredding Day” that is a major fundraiser for our scholarships and projects? Everyone has been sent a copy in JPG form (we’re sending one again today just to be sure) that you can share on social media, print out and post on bulletin boards at school, work, church, etc. We need everyone to have a hand in this effort, so we’ll also need volunteers to work a few hours at the event. Contact Terry or Murray if you can help.
Here’s the flyer for our upcoming SRC Recycling Day, as always a major fundraiser to help support our youth scholarship programs and community projects.
Please feel free to circulate copies on social media, websites, on bulletin boards at work, school, church, etc. We will be running newspaper ads, posting it on social media, our club website, and our Facebook page. The more we distribute the flyer, the more eyeballs we catch, the more potential dollars we’ll take in, so please help.
Held at Quigley’s Restaurant
573 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY 12061
Members Attending (13): Andy Leyhane, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Bill Dowd, Debbie Rodriguez, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Dick Drumm, Phil Kellerman, Terry Brewer, Charlie Foote.
Guests (1): Peter C. Berry.
NOTES: Debbie and Peter Brown and Pat Bailey introduced Peter C. Berry, who has returned to the area after a number of years living in South Africa. He had been a member of the Albany Rotary Club and is applying for reinstatement to Rotary as a member of SRC. … President Andy Leyhane is looking for a volunteer to coordinate this year’s Easter basket drive in conjunction with Circles of Mercy. Bill Dowd, who has handled the project numerous times in the past, said he is available to advise anyone who steps up. He also suggested finding a new partnering group for the effort rather than involving Columbia High School. Terry Brewer suggested the eventual coordinator contact Shannon Romanowski at the Greenbush YMCA. The deadline for dropping off completed gift baskets to Circles of Mercy is Monday, April 15. A shopping list has been placed on the club website. (Click here to access it.) …
… Terry, in his role of District Membership Committee chair, will run the upcoming District 7190 Membership Summit. Anyone interested in attending is asked to inform Terry and may enroll online on the District website. Details are available by clicking here. … The first two dates have been scheduled for the annual Rotary Home Cooking dinner series. Several more hosts are needed to round out the schedule. Series details are available by clicking here. … We will be holding a “painting party” beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 9, to finish off the renovations of the meeting room here at Quigley’s. Volunteers should contact Murray Forth or Terry Brewer ASAP. …
… Our next Recycling & Shredding Day is scheduled for Saturday, April 13, again at the Wainschaf Associates warehouse complex in Rensselaer. A full complement of volunteers is needed to staff the fundraiser. Please contact Murray if interested in lending a hand. … Bill Dowd has created a generic SRC flyer to be handed out to the public as a “Rotary explainer.” It will be distributed at various public events, beginning with the upcoming 3rd annual Community Recognition Awards dinner to be held on Tuesday, March 5, at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant. Terry reported that plans are being finalized for that event, which has become a major SRC fundraiser.
SCHEDULING CHANGES: We will not meet next Thursday, February 28. Thus, our next dinner meeting will be held at 6:15 p.m. at Quigley’s when Schodack Town Supervisor David Harris will be the speaker. … In place of our usual meeting on Thursday, May 9, Phil Kellerman is arranging a special live music event and CD release that will be open to the public as a fundraiser for the Oley Foundation for which he works. Thus, we have moved the 5th annual Great North American Whizbang Trivia Test from that date to Thursday, April 25.
It’s that time of year, when SRC joins with Circles of Mercy to make a lot of needy youngsters in the area happy. It’s the annual Easter basket drive for kids ages 1 to 12.
Circles, a frequent public service partner with SRC, is an outreach center for poor and low-income families that is sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy Northeast Community. In 2002, Mercy Associates started for Circles what has become a yearly tradition, of providing Easter Baskets to children of our client families. This holiday program is known as “Easter Baskets for Cate’s Kids,” referring to the founder of Circles.
First up, we need someone to step up as coordinator/s of our effort. What that entails is:
(a) lining up a work partner — the Greenbush YMCA has been suggested since SRC member Shannon Romanowski is executive director there, and fellow member Len Leonidas at Community Care Physicians has been a frequent help through his Cub Scouts kids;
(b) purchasing a sufficient number of baskets, artificial grass, clear wrappings, etc. (the club will reimburse for expenditures) and delivering them to the work partners;
(c) being sure all assembled, clear-wrapped baskets are delivered to Circles of Mercy no later than Monday, April 15.
We strongly urge one or two of our members to step up to handle this short-term initiative, an excellent way to get your feet wet in community service for a grateful clientele. All who are interested are asked to contact President Andy Leyhane ASAP.
Meanwhile, here is the shopping list to distribute to our club and to our work partners:
Last year, more than 150 requests for Easter baskets was met, and the same number or larger are expected for this year. The April 15 dropoff deadline was established to be sure the volunteer staff at Circles has time to get the baskets to their client families in time for the April 21 Easter holiday.
If you’d like to help get out the word about Rotary to your work, church, synagogue, mosque, fraternal organization, school, etc., we have a new tool for you to use.
Below is our newest flyer that succinctly explains the impact SRC and Rotary International have on the community and the world. If you want to download a copy and print it out for distribution or to post to social media, feel free to do so.
Our annual “Rotary Home Cooking” series, a member-hosted set of dinners/social events, is ready to roll out from March through June. And, we have our first two events already spoken for.
• Maggie and Murray Forth will host a roast beef dinner at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 16, at their East Greenbush residence. Seating, as it is for all such events, is limited. Please contact the Forths ASAP if you would like to attend. First-come, first-serfved.
• Dean and Doris Calamaras will host a Hungarian dinner at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 13, with a Hungarian Beef, Miskolcz style, entree and all the trimmings. (If you can’t imagine what they are, the Calamarases will provide details closer to the time for reservations to be made. We guarantee they’ll be tasty!) Contact Dean or Doris ASAP to make your reservation.
For those of you unfamiliar with the “Rotary Home Cooking” series details, here are the essentials:
Members volunteer to host and create themed dinners with a limited number of seats available. The hosts supply the food and beverages as their contribution, and they set the price per-person, using a restaurant approximation (usually in the $25 to $35 range). All money raised by attendees’ donations goes to the club’s general treasury to support our many community service efforts.
We now are looking for hosts for May, and June, with dates to be selected by the hosts. We can, of course, have more than one event per month which means we can take more in March and April. If you’re interested, please contact Bill Dowd or Andy Leyhane ASAP.
In the past, themes have spanned a wide range, from “A Greek Evening” to “A Plaza Hotel Recreation” to “Surf & Turf” to “A Beer & Wine Tasting” to “A Taste of New Orleans” to “A Rotary Cocktail Party” to “A French Bistro Event” and more.
In its inaugural year it was called “Rotary’s Got Talent.” That name didn’t lie, with entertainment ranged from dancing gymnasts to bowling ball freaks to a spoken rendition of iconic rocker Meatloaf’s “Paradise By the Dashboard Light,” and the event was a great night out with friends.
This year, the name has been changed to “Capital Cabaret” as Rotary District 7190 seeks to top last year’s $5,000 raised for the Rotary Foundation. And, the organizers are on the hunt for more talent.
“Capital Cabaret” will be held on Thursday, April 18, once again at the Lucky Strike Social Club at Crossgates Mall in Guilderland. Which club will be the best? Which will take home bragging rights that their talent won the $500 top prize?
We’re inviting Rotarians, their relatives, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc., to consider sharing their talents in song or performance, some kind of unique skill, magic or tricks with their pets, and on and on. There are no limits, so long as the act is rated G or PG.
Talent submissions are due by Friday, March 1, and the flyer gives the necessary details. Incidentally, if you bring along a prospective member that person will be admitted at 50% off!
We’re a mere 30 days from the start of spring, plus Thursday’s weather forecast is for temps in the high 40s, but we still need hearty dinner fare.
So, be sure to plan to participate in our 6:15 p.m. meeting at which the menu will feature Quigley’s popular lasagne entree, accompanied by an antipasto salad, chef’s choice of sides, bread, dessert, and beverages. Plus of course, the cash bar always is available.
We have a good early RSVP list of Rotarians who plan to attend, but if your name isn’t on it please be sure to email dinner coordinator Debbie Brown at mdbrown@nycap.rr.com no later than Tuesday evening. We need to know who’s coming, and whether they’re bringing guests, so we can have sufficient food on the buffet and seating at the tables.
Here’s the will-attend list so far:
Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club 