Anyone who has not yet visited the eclectic and fascinating art museum known as the Hyde Collection may want to consider attending Rotary International’s 114th birthday festivities planned for the Glens Falls institution.
Admission to the event, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Glens Falls, is limited to the first 60 registrants for the 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, February 21, event. Reservations are just $30, and cover hot and cold appetizers; wine, soft drinks, and water, and desserts, as well as access to the museum’s extensive art collection and displays.
The Hyde Collection is located at 161 Warren Street. It is a non-profit trust that hosts community events year round. Details about it are available online, or by calling 518-792-1761. Check the District website to see when registration opens.
Each month Rotary International focuses on a particular humanitarian issue. In February, for instance, the focus is on “Peace and Conflict Resolution/Prevention.”
While we all tend to focus somewhat singularly on the high profile conflicts around the world, like the fighting and human suffering in Syria, the fact is that according to the 2018 Global Peace Index (GPI) the global level of peace has deteriorated in the last year, marking the fourth successive year of deteriorations.
Peacefulness in 92 countries deteriorated, while in 71 countries it improved. The 2018 GPI reveals a world in which the tensions, conflicts, and crises that emerged in the past decade remain unresolved, especially in the Middle East, resulting in this gradual, sustained fall in peacefulness. Clearly, there has never been a more important time for Rotary International to push forward with peace initiatives worldwide.
In our own District 7190, we will hold our second annual “Peace Summit for Youth” on May 11 in Schenectady. (Details to come.) This day-long event is aimed at high school students and invites them into a facilitated conversation which encourages them to self define peace — in their school, in their community and in the world.
While adults may think of peace on the context of war and border conflicts, our youth perceive conflict in social media, drug abuse, violence, bullying, and sex. Finding peaceful solutions to these issues is where they tend to focus their thinking and hopes.
It is our job to nurture their ideas and help them to grow hope for their own future.
Held at Quigley’s Restaurant 573 Columbia Turnpike East Greenbush, NY 12061
Members Attending (11, no quorum): Andy Leyhane, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Terry Brewer, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Bill Dowd, Dick Drumm, Jim Leyhane, Kevin Leyhane, Debbie Rodriguez.
Guests (1): Kevin Pogge.
NOTES — We now are in the final week of selling $20 raffle tickets for the Cafe Capriccio Wine Dinner for 12. The drawings for that prize as well as 2nd prize (a custom quilt made by local artisans) and 3rd prize (a pair of tickets to a Capital Rep performance of “Shakespeare In Love”) will be made at our January 24 dinner meeting. … Details and potential dates were discussed for several upcoming annual events — the Community Awards Dinner, Bowling for Vets, and Rotary Recycling Day. We will be attempting to space out the events since the dinner and bowling events in particular rely on sponsorships to make a profit and we do not want to “go to the same well” too often in a short period. …
… Terry Brewer reported that he attended the latest District Membership Committee meeting on Wednesday evening. Plans are being made for a “Back to Basics” program to help clubs attract and retain members. He also reported that although SRC is the lone remaining Rotary club in Rensselaer County now that the Lansingburgh club has surrendered its charter, there is the possibility of the defunct Troy club being revived, with Troy realtor Kareem Jandali heading up the effort. Terry volunteered SRC to be the sponsor of the new club, and Bill Dowd volunteered to be our liaison to the incipient group since he lives in Troy. … We have collected more than 4,300 redeemable cans and bottles for the Clynk program, which means several hundreds dollars for the club treasury. Bill reminded members that the specific plastic bags and bar code stickers needed are always available at dinner meetings or, if someone cannot make it to a meeting, he will see to it that they receive the materials if they notify him.
Colonie-Guilderland’s Kirk Pogge
Kirk Pogge, president of the Colonie-Guilderland Rotary Club, was the guest speaker. He provided details of the Pure Water for the World program in Honduras his club has been supporting. Colonie-Guilderland is working on a Rotary Global Grant in conjunction with District 7190 and several other clubs here and in several other states.
He also shared details of the “Amazing Race to Recovery” event (click here for details) his club is holding on Saturday, January 26, at Crossgates Mall in Guilderland, It is a fundraising event to support the organization Second Chance Opportunities Inc. that is planning to open a community recovery center in Albany.
Kirk said more than 60 people have signed up to compete in the event, which is modeled on the long-running “Amazing Race” TV series, with detours, roadblocks, pitstops, etc. Teams will earn points for completing tasks throughout the mall and some tasks may be judged on time. Note: This is not a foot race, and no running is allowed in the mall.
SRC Third Thursday Breakfast Meeting Greenbush YMCA 20 Community Way, East Greenbush
Members Attending (4, no quorum): Murray Forth, ]im Leyhane, Shannon Romanowski, Marco Koshykar.
Guests: None.
A quartet of SRC Rotarians braved the 11-degree weather this morning to attend the initial Third Thursday breakfast meeting of the new year. Unfortunately, that is our lowest-ever turnout for the monthly events.
The next scheduled breakfast meeting is 7 a.m. Thursday, February 21. No program has yet been set for that date.
A scene from our first no-sew blanket making session in 2016.
Sharpen your scissors. We’re going to host a no-sew “Blankets for Vets” work session at our Thursday, January 31, meeting.
For those of you new to such an effort, we began back in 2016 holding occasional hands-on sessions in conjunction with the Blue Star Mothers organization to make blankets for military veterans. This year’s output will go to the Albany Stratton VA Medical Center.
It will be a convivial session requiring only a sharp pair of scissors, a willingness to help out, and, of course, your presence. No special sewing or weaving skills are needed with this sort of creative effort.
Blue Star Mothers, with whom we partner on a regular basis, is a volunteer organization with chapters across the country that provide assistance and support to active and veteran military personnel and their families in many ways year-round. SRC has helped the organization in the past with financial grants from our annual “Bowling for Vets” fundraiser, BSM dinner gala attendance, and hands-on cooperative efforts.
This certainly is a more-the-merrier sort of event that should appeal to most of our members, so please mark your calendars and plan to join your fellow Rotarians.
It’s that time again, the one week in the month when we have the choice of whether to attend a Rotary dinner meeting, breakfast meeting, or both.
• At the 6:15 p.m. dinner meeting at Quigley’s, visiting Rotarian Kirk Pogge will speak about the Colonie-Guilderland club’s upcoming “Amazing Race of Recovery” event to be held at Crossgates Mall. (Click here for details of the event.) The menu will feature Quigley’s popular ziti and meatballs, plus antipasto salad, chef’s choice of sides, bread, dessert, and beverages. The deadline for emailing your reservation to Debbie Brown (mdbrown@nycap.rr.com) is this Tuesday evening.
• At the 7 a.m. Third Thursday breakfast meeting at the Greenbush YMCA, fellow Rotarian Shannon Romanowski will be sharing her experience as executive director of the local Y and how her work interfaces with community organizations and families. The deadline for emailing your reservation to Terry Brewer (tlbrewer12piseco@gmail.com) is this Wednesday noon.
We look forward to seeing you at one or both of these events this week.
You can buy them for yourself, sell them to others, hand them out as gifts, etc . Any way you do it, there’s a good chance you can win a Cafe Capriccio Wine Dinner for 12, a handmade custom quilt, or tickets to a Capital Rep production for just the purchase of a $20 raffle ticket, an excellent return on investment. The drawing is just 10 days away!
Held at Quigley’s Restaurant 573 Columbia Turnpike East Greenbush, NY 12061
Members Attending (18): Andy Leyhane, Murray Forth, Phil Kellerman, Pat Bailey, Terry Brewer, Geoff Brewer, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Bill Dowd, Dick Drumm, Ray Hannan, Jim Leyhane, Kevin Leyhane, Carol Orvis, Becky Raymond, Roberto Martinez, Charlie Foote, Dean Calamaras.
Guests: None.
Tonight’s meeting was a Club Assembly, with Terry Brewer presenting the results of the recent member survey he conducted.
Terry noted that 25 people responded, which is more than 50% of our total membership list and a solid number to statistically present a cross-section of opinions.
He presented responses grouped into categories:
• Membership background and interests
• Membership and meetings
Membership projects and participation
• Club leadership and new members
• General comments on increasing membership, participation and engagement
The presentation was followed by a general discussion.
We have two weeks remaining to sell Wine Dinner for 12 raffle tickets. The drawing for winners of the dinner, the handmade quilt, and CapRep theater tickets will be held January 24. … Phil Kellerman reported that the holiday period sales of coffees raised $80 for the Capital Region Nordic Alliance. … January meetings: 17th– 7 a.m. Third Thursday breakfast meeting at the Greenbush YMCA, with Y Executive Director Shannon Romanowski speaking on “My Life With the Y.” 17th — 6:15 p.m. dinner meeting at Quigley’s with Kirk Pogge of the Colonie-Guilderland Rotary Club speaking on his club’s upcoming “Amazing Race” event at Crossgates Mall. (Click here to see the event flyer.) 24th — Drawing for the Cafe Capriccio Wine Dinner raffle and other prizes at our 6:15 p.m. dinner meeting at Quigley’s.
Here’s the official flyer for our raffle fundraiser. The prize drawings will be held at our January 24 meeting, which means only two weeks remain to sell tickets. See Andy Leyhane if you need more of them.
As everyone undoubtedly knows — since it has been listed on the club calendar every day since last July 1 — there is no dinner meeting scheduled for this Thursday, January 3, 2019. But, it never hurts to remind people.
We will resume our weekly dinner meetings at 6:15 p.m. next Thursday, January 10, when we will have a Club Assembly with Terry Brewer presenting the results of the recent member survey for your consideration and discussion.
Anyone who has not yet visited the eclectic and fascinating art museum known as the Hyde Collection may want to consider attending Rotary International’s 114th birthday festivities planned for the Glens Falls institution.
Held at Quigley’s Restaurant
SRC Third Thursday Breakfast Meeting
It’s that time again, the one week in the month when we have the choice of whether to attend a Rotary dinner meeting, breakfast meeting, or both.
Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club 