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

 

Members Attending (21): Roberto Martinez, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Debbie Rodriguez, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Bill Dowd, April Dowd, Dick Drum, Jim Leyhane, Andy Leyhane, Becky Raymond, Phil Nasca, Bonnie Nasca, Terry Brewer, Ray Hannan, Carole Spencer, Ron Annis, Monika Annis, Phil Kellerman, Dean Calamaras.

Guests: None.

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Announcements/Business

GOL MISSION — Jim Leyhane displayed a photo showing the District 7190 Gift of Life contingent currently in Bucharest, Romania. He explained their mission, which is part of an ongoing series of visits in which they provide training in pediatric cardiac surgical procedures to local medical staff as well as perform lifesaving work.

ROTARACT — Tentative plans for creation of a Rotaract Club (ages 18 to 30) at the UAlbany School of Public Health were updated. Debbie Rodriguez and Becky Raymond will act as liaisons with a club we would sponsor if it comes to fruition.

2 FOOD DRIVES — The dropoff deadline is November 10 at the Greenbush YMCA for contributions to the Thanksgiving “Community Basket Brigade,” being coordinated by Shannon Romanowski. Details on what is needed are available by clicking here. … A delivery date of November 21 has been established for nonperishable food items to The Anchor food pantry in Castleton under an initiative by Columbia High School. You can drop off donations at the school.

COFFEE SALES — Phil Kellerman will be selling specialty coffees again this year as a fundraiser for the Capital Region Nordic Alliance, which offers adaptive sports programs for disabled veterans. Price: $13 per package, or 2 for $25, with $5 from each package sold going to CRNA. Please see Phil if interested,

WEBSITE NOTIFICATIONS — As of tonight, 34 SRC members have signed up to automatically receive email notifications any time something is posted to the website. Our goal is to get as close to 100% participation as possible to improve intra-club communication.

HOLIDAY PARTY — The club’s annual Holiday Party will be hosted by Murray and Maggie Forth at 6 p.m. Thursday, December 21, at their East Greenbush residence. A major part of each year’s event is the Gift Basket Silent Auction, which raises funds for our general treasury. Webmaster Bill Dowd said he has posted suggestions and images on the website on various baskets that can be created. Click here to see them. Images also are available on the club’s Facebook page.

FOUNDATION DINNER — The reservation deadline for District 7190’s annual Rotary Foundation Dinner — this year themed “People of Action” — has been extended to Monday, November 6. Click here to register online for the Thursday, November 16, dinner that will be held in the 90 State Street event space in downtown Albany (valet parking available). As of tonight, eight SRC members have made reservations. Our club will be contributing a gift basket to the silent auction.

ADOPT-A-FAMILY … OR TWO — April Dowd reported that the club once again will participate in the “Adopt-a-Family for Christmas” program through Circles of Mercy, and that details of the family’s makeup and its needs are expected shortly. Terry Brewer will be checking with Doors of Hope on whether it will have a family to adopt as we did last year.

FELLOWSHIP DINNER — Mark Daniel Maloney, who will be president of Rotary International for the 2019-20 Rotary Year, will be the keynote speaker at the 92nd annual Eastern Cities Fellowship Dinner to be held in Rochester on Wednesday, December 6. Earlybird tickets are available at a $5 discount. Full registration information is available by clicking here.

CALENDAR REMINDERS — A Court of Honor ceremony to install Lorenzo Gonzalez of our Scout troop 41 as an Eagle rank is set for 2 p.m. Friday, December 10, at the Elks Lodge. Several SRC members will attend. … A District Membership Training session is scheduled for next Wednesday, November 8. Terry Brewer and Ray Hannan will attend; anyone else who wishes to participate should contact Terry ASAP…. No dinner meeting on November 16 because of  conflict with the Foundation Dinner.  However, we will have a 7 a.m. breakfast meeting that day at the Greenbush YMCA.

NEXT MEETING — 6:15 p.m. Thursday, November 9, at Quigley’s. Terry Brewer will provide an overview titled “Developing and Supporting SRC Rotary Programs and Activities.” This should be of high interest to members seeking insights into our service efforts, how they are funded, and where we are heading.

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Program: An Overview of the Board Retreat

President Roberto Martinez thanked members for the strong turnout to hear his review of the recent SRC Board retreat that examo9ned numerous facets of the club.

The entire 11-person Board plus three other members of the club at large participated in redefining the club’s efforts and goals; reviewing the current budget as to thoroughness and effective allotment of funds; evaluating club activities and whether we can successfully sustain the many initiatives we can undertake, and other topics.

Among the outcomes:

• Hold more working sessions — i.e., Club Assemblies — and schedule fewer guest speakers as a way of getting more members actively involved in planning and execution of projects.

• Evaluation of activities as to funding (via donations, fundraising, grants, etc.).

• Cluster efforts into four categories — Youth Involvement, Community Involvement, International & Foundations, and Club Sustenance — and have the budget and the activities calendar reflect that.

• Realign standing committees to be in step with club goals, and be sure all members are included and actively involved.

Both the November 16 breakfast meeting and the November 30 dinner meeting will be used to continue and refine this discussion. And, next week Terry Brewer will speak about the club’s capacity to maintain and fund its current heavy schedule of activities.

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

Members Attending (19): Roberto Martinez, Pat Bailey, Ray Hannan, Jim Leyhane, Bill Dowd, Terry Brewer, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Debbie Rodriguez, Phil Kellerman, Becky Raymond, Phil Nasca, Bonnie Nasca, Julius Frankel, Kevin Leyhane, Carol Orvis, Dean Calamaras, Charlie Foote, Dick Drumm.

Guests: None.

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Business/Announcements

HURRICANE RELIEF — A report was received from John Sawchuk that about $1,800 was raised for the Save the Children Hurricane Relief Fund via food sales at last Friday’s Questar Regional Professional Learning Day hosted by Columbia High School. SRC was a community sponsor of the event, along with Price Chopper and the East Greenbush Police Department.

ROTARY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE — SRC’s eight-person contingent was the largest of any club participating in the RLI workshop training sessions held last Saturday. Overall, participation was strong, in part because tuition was cut by 50% thanks to CASDA making venue arrangements that moved the session from its longtime spot at Siena College to the UAlbany School of Public Health.

CRNA LUNCHEON — Peter and Debbie Brown, Debbie Rodriguez, and Pat Bailey represented the club at a fundraising luncheon for the Capital Region Nordic Alliance. SRC is a financial supporter of CRNA which provides sports programs for disabled vets and others.

THANKSGIVING BASKET — A reminder that Shannon Romanowski is coordinating collection of donations to create Thanksgiving gift baskets for the Caring Community Basket Brigade drive. Details on what is needed are available by clicking here.

WORLD POLIO DAY / ROTARACT — President Roberto reported that nearly 60 people attended the 5th annual World Polio Day event at the UAlbany Health Sciences Campus on Tuesday. Twenty-one people received flu immunizations offered there. SRC provided refreshments for attendees. … Three School of Public Health graduate students inquired at the event about creating a chapter of Rotaract (a Rotary program for people ages 18 to 30). They will need a faculty advisor as well as a sponsoring club and liaison. Phil Nasca volunteered to work with John Justino at the school, and Debbie Rodriguez and Becky Raymond volunteered to be liaisons for SRC, which has offered to be a Rotaract sponsoring club. Details of Rotaract are available online by clicking here.

WEBSITE NOTIFICATIONS — Webmaster Bill Dowd reported that, acting on a decision made by the Board,  he sent notifications to all members that they would automatically be notified any time anything is posted on the website, but that they had to respond to the invitation to activate it. He said only about nine people of the 30+ he wrote to responded. Roberto asked Bill to see if he could resend the invitations.

EAGLE SCOUT — Troop 41’s Leonardo Gonzales will be receiving his Eagle rank at a Court of Honor Ceremony on Sunday, December 10, at the East Greenbush Elks Lodge. His Eagle project was the Viking playground built under Ron Annis’s supervision at the Schodack Town Park, with financial support from SRC.

BRANDING — Roberto announced that we are working on making branding of our club and its initiatives more consistent as to logos, colors, type fonts, etc. Members working on projects are asked to run any flyers, letters, etc., past Bill Dowd, who heads the Public Relations Committee, for editing in advance of distributing anything. We already have added the website address to the club’s official logo, and we are working on creating branded merchandise to use as ongoing fundraising.

BOWLING FOR VETS — The consensus at the meeting was that the annual event this year is too close to other events, such as the Community Recognition Dinner, and we would be seeking essential sponsorships from the same pool of local businesses and individuals too often in too short a window. It was decided not to hold the event until early in the new year when there is less competition. The topic will be on next week’s agenda for further discussion.

HOLIDAY PARTY — We are in need of someone to host the annual Holiday Party & Gift Basket Silent Auction, the latter an important fundraising effort for our general treasury and a major social event. The club calendar currently has reserved Thursday, December 21, for the party, but it can be held on any day a sponsor is available. Anyone interested is asked to contact Roberto ASAP.

FOUNDATION DINNER DEADLINE — Reservations for the November 16 Foundation Dinner, themed “Persons of Action,” must be made online by next Wednesday, November 1. So far, eight SRC members have made reservations and/or indicated interest in attending. We are hoping to have at least 10 so we can reserve a table.

CALENDAR ITEMS — Terry Brewer, a member of the district committee, and Ray Hannan will represent the club at the District Membership Training Meeting on Wednesday, November 8. Any other members who wish to attend should inform Terry. … The 2nd Community Recognition Dinner will be held on Tuesday, December 5, at Moscatiello’s Restaurant in North Greenbush. Save the date.

NEW MEMBER — Jeff Simon, superintendent of the East Greenbush Central School District, was approved as our newest Rotarian. He has met the minimum requirements of submitting an application, paying dues, and attending at least one dinner meeting and one breakfast meeting. We welcome Jeff to Rotary.

NEXT MEETING — We will hold a club working session based on items identified during the recent SRC Board retreat. The usual time of 6:15 p.m. Thursday, November 2, at Quigley’s.

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Program: “The Wonders of Iceland”

Club member Dean Calamaras presented a slide show on a multi-day visit he and Doris made to Iceland during a larger cruise that included Denmark, Norway, and Scotland.

He explained the geology of the island nation and its glaciers, volcanoes, shifting landscape and ever-present fog cause in part by the many geothermal inversions.

Dean showed images of fertile areas, bleak rocky swaths, and busy harbors that dot the island. He said the infrastructure of Iceland took a major leap forward during World War II when Americans and British, seeing the island’s strategic location, built highways and airports there.

Iceland has only about 335,000 residents, inhabiting an area of 40,000 square miles, making it Europe’s most sparsely populated country. Most of the population speaks English as well as Icelandic, and many work in technology as well as many in fishing and farming. Despite the climate, an extensive web of greenhouses and ready access to geothermal energy allows for a successful year-round agricultural industry. In addition, low energy costs made it possible to create the world’s largest aluminum manufacturing plant, which uses bauxite ore imported mainly from the Caribbean.

Dean also presented looks at local lore, such as trolls; sod-roofed houses; the modern capital of Reykjavík with its population of 123,000, about size of Hartford, CT; and scenes of various natural landmarks.

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