Dinner Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
March 16, 2017

Members Attending (12): Debbie Rodriguez, Roberto Martinez, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Becky Raymond, Dean Calamaras, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Dick Drumm, Julius Frankel, Stewart Wagner, Jim Leyhane.

Guests (4): Sarah Stangl, Mike Stangl, Medora Jones, John Justino.

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PROGRAM: “The Modern American Dream – The Refugee Resettlement Experience”

Becky Raymond introduced her daughter Sarah Stangl, a case manager with the Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island.

Sarah often works with as many at 70 refugees. She displayed a map of where current refugees are coming from — about half from Syria, but other places elsewhere in the Middle East and Europe as well. She said the numbers have been seriously reduced since January, and spoke about how extensive the vetting process is, showing  a list of 20 different items including background checks, interviews with Homeland Security, and interviews with the State Department.

She noted that a few people have waited as long as 20 years for clearance. She cited as an example a man named Burkan, a Sunni and a radiologist in the Iraqi Army who fled the country in 2011. He spent three years in Jordan then a year completing security and background checks. He and his family finally arrived in Rhode Island in November 2014.

Refugee resettlement is overseen by the State Department, and there are 10 VOLAGs — thr acronym for voluntary agencies — that take on the responsibility of resettlement. Among them are Church World Service, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, the Lutheran Immigration & Refuge Service, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Dorcas International Institute first receives a “travel notice” that a family is coming and must then prepare an apartment, doctors’ appointments, cultural orientation, education and job search. Dorcas staffers and other members of the community welcome the immigrants at the airport.

She said refugee immigrants receive $925 per family the first month they are here to cover rent and food. Families with young children receive additional funds —  $554 per month for a family of three, or $635 for a family of four. They are required to quickly become employed, which, Sarah said, may leave little time to learn English or become acclimated, so Dorcas offers additional services such as ESL (English as a second language) classes, employment services, case management services, public school advocacy, and legal referrals. They continue to monitor families over the next few months and some even for years. Anyone 2ishing to contact Sarah for additional information can email her at  sstangl@diir.org.

[Sarah’s presentation can be viewed on our website’s Program Presentation Archives page. Click here to access it]

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Announcements & Businesss

NOTE: Scroll down for the minutes of today’s breakfast meeting that contain updates on:

• Ronald McDonald House cooking dates

• The polio video project

• Two club social events

• Results of the indoor golf fundraiser

GRANT SEMINAR: Debbie Rodriguez and Becky Raymond have registered for the District Grants Training session scheduled for April 1. Clubs are required to have at least two attendees to be able to apply for grants in the following Rotary Year.

DISTRICT CONFERENCE: Several SRC members are planning to participate in the annual District Conference scheduled for Friday-Sunday, May 5-7, in Lake George. You can get registration details online by clicking here.

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NEXT DINNER MEETING: 6:15 p.m. Thursday, March 23, at Quigley’s. The speaker will be Josephine Reeder, YMCA Director of Health and Wellness, on the topic of “YMCA Global Immersion Program: Vietnam.”

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Breakfast Meeting at Greenbush YMCA
20 Community Way
East Greenbush, NY
March 16, 2017

Members Attending (8): Murray Forth, Jim Leyhane, Andy Leyhane, Shannon Romanowski, John Sawchuk, Roberto Martinez, Mike Dewey, Matt Smith.

Guests (1):  Jeff Simons.

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Announcements/Business

INDOOR GOLF: The Indoor Golf Simulator Tournament at Burden Lake Country Club last Saturday was a success, raising about $800 for funds for both community service projects and the  Ronald McDonald House. The winners of the two raffles d0nated their winnings back to the club.

RMH BREAKFAST/DINNER: The club approved a Saturday, April 22, date for preparing breakfast at the Ronald McDonald House in Albany. Anyone wishing to be on the kitchen crew is asked to contact Terry Brewer. Earlier, the club approved a Wednesday, May 31, date for preparing dinner at RMH. Three of the six kitchen crew slots for that effort have been spoken for. Anyone who wishes to volunteer is asked to contact Bill Dowd.

ROTARY HOME COOKING SERIES: Terry and Geoff Brewer are co-hosting “A Rotary Cocktail Party” with drinks and hors d’oeuvres at their residence from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 25. Cost is $10 per person. Family and friends are welcome, but please be sure you contact Terry if you haven’t already done so to allow him to have an accurate headcount. … Then, at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 8, April and Bill Dowd will host a guided tasting of high-end tequilas, served with Mexican -inspired tapas. Cost is $35 per person. Just four seats remain. … Proceeds from both events will go to the club treasury to help support our community service efforts.

POLIO VIDEO PROJECT: Shooting and editing continue today. The goal is to have a finished product depicting the history of polio and Rotary’s support of work against the disease video ready for presentation at the District 7190 Conference in Lake George in May.  This is a group effort among SRC Rotary, CASDA, the District, and the UAlbany School of Public Health.

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Speaker

Jeff Simons, in his first year as superintendent of the East Greenbush School District, was in attendance.

Prior to his current position, Jeff had been superintendent of the Rome (NY) City School District for nine years. He gained significant community support there for three capital referendums totaling $92 million.

He now is working on  gathering support here for a proposed $39.7 million capital project, which he outlined at breakfast today. Details of the proposal are publicly available  online at egcsd.org/CapitalProject.

Jeff will speak on the same topic at our dinner meeting on March 30.

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NEXT BREAKFAST MEETING: 7 a.m. Thursday, April 20, at the Greenbush YMCA, 20 Community Way, East Greenbush.

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Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
March 9, 2017

Members Attending (21): Debbie Rodriguez, Roberto Martinez, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Bill Dowd, Jim Leyhane, Andy Leyhane, Ron Annis, April Dowd, Julius Frankel, Phil Kellerman, Dick Drumm, Terry Brewer, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Carol Orvis, Charlie Foote, Ray Hannan, Monika Annis, Doris Calamaras, Dean Calamaras.

Guests: None.

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PROGRAM:  “A Ride Into History on a B-29”

Club member Jim Leyhane, who had a ride on a B-29 aircraft bomber on his “bucket list,” presented a talk and slideshow on a round-trip flight he took from Albany  International Airport that fulfilled that wish.

Jim had a very personal reason for wanting the trip. His father was a cadet trainee as a B-29 crew member in the waning days of World War II and did not get to fly in action. But, when the Korean War broke out he was recalled to the military and served in the role he had been training for some years earlier — as a flight engineer on the crew of a B-29 its crew named “Fifi” — the very plane Jim flew on.

“Fifi” is owned and operated by the Commemorative Air Force, a volunteer organization chartered on September 6, 1961, as a nonprofit Texas corporation dedicated to the restoration and preservation of World War II-era combat aircraft. “Fifi” is one of only two of the approximately 3,900 B-29’s manufactured that still is flying. The planes were designed in 1939 and put into action in 1942, at a cost of $639,000 each.

Jim described the emotions of the flight that looped from the airport in Colonie across western Massachusetts, southern Vermont and Lake George then back to Colonie. And, he said the flight changed his preconceptions that it would be very noisy,  bumpy, and uncomfortable. Conversely, he said, it was relatively smooth at 200 mph and 2,000 feet of elevation. He said only the front and rear of the plane are pressurized because the bomb storage and bomb bays are in the middle.

During World War II, the bulk of the B-29’s were based in the Mariana Islands southeast of Japan. (Today, the Marianas are divided into the U.S. territory of Guam and the U.S. Commonwealth of Northern Marianas.) They flew numerous missions to bomb the Japanese mainland, usually escorted by P-58 Mustang fighter planes. For most of each mission they could fly higher than the Japanese planes were capable of doing, but had to descend to drop their bombs. Losses were heavy, but more planes went down from fires and mechanical problems than from enemy weapons.

Although “Fifi” now has newer Pratt & Whitney engines, it retains much of the original equipment to lend authenticity. In a nod to modern technology, rather than a cumbersome navigational system the “Fifi” crew uses an iPhone and Google that serve just as well or better. In another technological change, Jim pointed out that today’s cameras are so fast that in the videos and still shots used in his presentation the propellers do not appear to  be moving.

In a nice touch to the adventure, Jim said that he paid $1,200 for the flight but later was informed that $990 was tax deductible which, he said, “let me pay for something else on my bucket list.”

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Business & Announcements

RONALD McDONALD HOUSE MEALS — Roberto Martinez has scheduled the club to cook a dinner at Ronald McDonald House on Wednesday, May 31. A crew of six is needed for the effort, and we already have three. Anyone who can commit is asked to contact Bill or April Dowd. Roberto said he hopes to bring up at next week’s Third Thursday Breakfast Meeting the possibility of also cooking breakfast at RMH. Terry Brewer already has volunteered to chair such an effort.

SIMULATOR GOLF EVENT — Our Indoor Simulator Golf Tournament is scheduled for this Saturday at Burden Lake Country Club. Two team slots remain available. Anyone interested is asked to contact Murray Forth or Terry Brewer ASAP.

AREA 8 PROJECT — Jack Faddegon, Assistant District Governor for Area 8 of which SRC is a member, is putting together a joint work project for Sunday, May 20, at the Shaker Heritage Society near Albany International Airport. Potential chores include creating a stone fence, installing a new sign, plating flowers, cutting weeds, etc. A picnic lunch would be provided. Debbie Rodriguez said the thought is that six members from each club — SRC, Cohoes, Colonie-Guilderland and Lansingburgh — would create a sufficient group. She said she will share details as they are received so we can ascertain whether we will participate and, if so, line up our volunteers.

EASTER BASKET PROJECT —Today was the first dropoff date for donations to our Circles 0f Mercy Easter basket project. Remaining dropoff dates are next week’s (March 16) breakfast and dinner meetings and the dinner meetings of March 23 and 30. A shopping list of needed items was emailed earlier to all members and also is available on the club website. Columbia High School is running a parallel effort and has been provided with 20 baskets plus clear wrap and plastic grass materials. Len Leonidas’ Scouts will use the club’s donations to assemble and deliver a separate collection of baskets to Circles of Mercy.

POLIO DOCUMENTARY VIDEO —Roberto reported on the progress of the polio education video that began shooting this week. Click here for details.

SAVE THE DATES — Our second recycling/shredding day will be held at Wainschaf Associates on Saturday, April 29. … The District Conference will be held in Lake George on Friday, May 5, through Sunday, May 7. Registration details are available on the District website.

ROTARY HOME COOKING — Terry Brewer has asked for a headcount ASAP for everyone who plans to attend “A Rotary Cocktail Party” at his residence from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 25. Rotarians and family are welcome. Drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served. Cost is $10 per person. … “An Agave Experience,” a guided tasting of tequilas and Mexican-inspired tapas, will be hosted by the Dowds at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 8, at $35 per person. They currently have four seats remaining.

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TWO MEETINGS NEXT WEEK: Jeff Simons, the new superintendent of the East Greenbush Central School District, will speak on the upcoming capital budget referendum at the 7 a.m. Third Thursday breakfast meeting at the Greenbush YMCA. Then, at the 6:15 p.m. dinner meeting at Quigley’s, Sarah Stangl of the Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island will speak on refugee resettlement in the U.S.

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