Process chemistry and chicken Marsala on Thursday’s menu

SRCrotaryLeave a comment

processMost of our club members know each other from Rotary meetings and social events, but in some cases we don’t know what they really do for a living.

Andy Leyhane, a club member and director, has a less-than-ordinary profession, and he’ll enlighten us at this Thursday’s dinner meeting at Quigley’s with a talk titled “The Role of Process Chemistry in Drug Development: A Little About What I do for Work.”

That presentation will come after Quigley’s “kitchen laboratory” whips up a dinner featuring chicken Marsala with chef’s choice of side dishes, salad, bread, dessert and beverages.

As always, we need to give the restaurant a proper headcount, so be sure your name is on the RSVP list below. If it isn’t and you plan to attend, please email dinner coordinator Debbie Brown (mdbrown@nycap.rr.com) no later than Tuesday. And, if you’d like to bring a guest or two, please let her know that as well.

Attending as of this morning:

Debbie Brown
Peter Brown
April Dowd
Bill Dowd
Dick Drumm
Murray Forth
Ray Hannan
Andy Leyhane
Jim Leyhane
Debbie Rodriguez
Carole Spencer

See you on Thursday.

 

Meeting of 2/16/17: ‘New BOCES School’

SRCrotaryLeave a comment

screen-shot-2016-10-16-at-7-10-54-pmMeeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
February 16, 2017

Members Attending (16): Debbie Rodriguez, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Terry Brewer, Bill Dowd, April Dowd, Jim Leyhane, Dick Drumm, Charlie Foote, Becky Raymond, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Ray Hannan, Ron Annis, Monika Annis, Carol Orvis.

Guests (2): Matt Sloane, Davell Banks.

PROGRAM : “The new Questar III BOCES school”

screen-shot-2017-02-16-at-8-18-48-pm
Matt Sloane describes the evolution of the classroom.

Carol Orvis introduced Matt Sloane, deputy superintendent of the Questar III BOCES educational organization that serves 23 school districts in Rensselaer, Columbia and Greene counties.

Matt, a native of Long Island where he was in a BOCES  music program as a high school student, spoke on the intent and details of the new 60,000-square-foot Questar school being built off Route 150 in Schodack to replace two outdated facilities in Troy and Hudson. It is targeted for a September 2018 opening.

The school, and indeed the curricula and philosophy of BOCES, has evolved over the years to become an entity educating and training students for the current job market as well as a place to educate students with special needs.

Students are exposed to both theoretical and practical applications of the skills needed in such fields as HVAC, automotive, hospitality industry, certified nursing assistant roles, emerging technologies and so on. In addition, they are trained in the management of businesses to complement the hands-on training.

Matt cited numerous examples of local professionals helping design the new school and some of the educational programs. He said Questar is welcoming to local professionals who may feel they have something to offer, and invited us to participate.

ANNOUNCEMENTS/BUSINESS

MEMBERSHIP — President Debbie Rodriguez announced that we have two new members in line — Jennifer Felts, sponsored by Pat Bailey, and Bob DeBennedetti, sponsored by Murray Forth. Under our new membership process, each must attend one breakfast meeting and one dinner meeting before their applications and fees are processed for formal membership.

dinerMARKETING INFORMATION — Davell Banks of Advertising In Motion, a marketing company currently dealing with the East Greenbush Diner, spoke briefly about marketing business and organizational methods. He showed a sample size (seen here) of a laminated restaurant tabletop displaying ads for local businesses. He explained that non-profit organizations can sometimes get free advertising in conjunction with business paying the way. As an example, our club will be getting a 30-month free ad on displays at the East Greenbush Diner.

ROTARY HOME COOKING — The second event of the winter series of member-hosted home events, “A French Bistro Dinner” hosted by Debbie and Peter Brown, raised $315 for the club treasury. Next up is “A Rotary Cocktail Party,”  a social  mixer to be hosted by the Brewers on Saturday, March 25. It will be open to all members and their guests. Then, on Saturday, April 8, the Dowds will host “An Agave Experience,” a guided tasting of Mexican-inspired tapas and high-end tequilas and mezcals, some of which are not sold in this country. That event is limited to 12 guests, and only 8 seats remain. Contact the hosts ASAP.

screen-shot-2016-12-16-at-12-13-38-pmSIMULATOR GOLF — Our next indoor simulator golf event at Burden Lake Country Club is scheduled for Saturday, March 11. The deadline for signing up (by email to SRCrotary@gmail.com or mmforth51@gmail.com) is March 8. Registration is $240 per four-person team. We also will conduct two raffles — one to benefit the Ronald McDonald House, the other to support our club treasury.

SWEDISH CONNECTION — Our club is establishing a sister-club  connection with the Rotary Club of Gefle, Sweden. Go here for the details.

DISTRICT CONVENTION — The District 7190 Convention is scheduled for Friday-Sunday, May 5-7. Go here for details and a link to the reservation site.

RI BIRTHDAY PARTY — This year marks the 112th anniversary of Rotary International and the 100th anniversary of the Rotary Foundation. Those milestones will be celebrated with a birthday party from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, February 24, at the Brookside Museum, 6 Charlton Street, Ballston  Spa. Admission is $20 per person. Details are available by clicking here.

screen-shot-2017-01-19-at-8-52-44-pmGIFT OF LIFE UPDATE — Jim Leyhane reported that two children whose cardiac surgery at a medical center in Portland, ME, was sponsored by the District 7190 Gift of Life are returning home to Panama this week after successful treatment. He said the cost of each surgery was $6,000. Albany Medical Center, where most of our GOL kids are treated, continues to impose a very high cost on such medical care. It has agreed to operate on a child this spring for $20,000. Jim will keep us updated on fund raising for that effort.

COMMUNITY AWARDS CELEBRATION — A recognition dinner, created by John Sawchuk to honor the accomplishments of people in many endeavors throughout the community, is set for Tuesday, February 28, at Moscatiello’s Restaurant in North Greenbush. John and Murray Forth are soliciting $100 sponsorships from individuals and organizations. Reservations for the dinner are $35 each.

NEXT MEETING: 6:15 p.m. Thursday, February 23, at Quigley’s. The speaker will be club member Andy Leyhane, Ph.D, on “The Role of Process Chemistry On Drug Development, or, A Little Bit About What I Do At Work.”

Introducing our sister club in Sweden

SRCrotaryLeave a comment
sweden-1
Monika and Ron Annis flank President Debbie Rodriguez to show off our sister Rotary club’s pennant.

flag-2Thanks to the ongoing efforts of local club members Ron and Monika Annis, the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club is partnering with the Rotary Club of Gefle, Sweden, in an effort to create a Viking equipment playground locally.

The club, which is in Monika’s hometown, is one of long standing, having been chartered in 1929.

Ron and Monika received a club pennant (shown here) from the Gefle group and, in turn, presented it to our club at Thursday’s meeting.

 

Breakfast meeting 2/16/17: ‘Behavioral Health Care’

SRCrotaryLeave a comment

SRC Breakfast LogoMembers Attending (10): Terry Brewer, Murray Forth, Shannon Romanowski, Jim Leyhane, Andy Leyhane, Mike Dewey, Ron Annis, Marco Koshykar, Jim Butterworth, Peter Brown.

Guests (1): Robert DeBennedetti.

MEMBERSHIP — Murray Forth introduced his guest, Bob DeBennedetti, who he is proposing for membership.

SPEAKER — Club member Peter Brown was the speaker, providing an overview of “Behavioral Health Care Initiatives In the U.S.”

Peter, who has worked in the mental health field for decades, recently organized and managed a conference on the topic in San Antionio, TX. (To learn about that event,  click here.)

He said the issue of behavioral health care and the impact of its management has significant costs and impact on our communities. Peter discussed costs, care providers and successful community approaches to working with individuals who have such needs.

NEXT BREAKFAST MEETING: 7 a.m. Thursday, March 15, at the Greenbush YMCA.

March ‘Rotary Home Cooking’ a cocktail party event

SRCrotaryLeave a comment

screen-shot-2017-02-14-at-8-22-18-pmSave the date.

The next event in our annual “Rotary Home Cooking” series of member-hosted get-togethers will be a bit of a changeup from the first two that were ethnically-themed dinners.

The Brewer family will host “A Rotary Cocktail Party” on Saturday, March 25. The 4 to 7 p.m. event will offer hors d’oeuvres and beverages attendees can enjoy on the move as they get better acquainted with each other in a casual social setting.

“This will be an open event to encourage member participation similar to the summer event at Roberto’s,” according to Terry Brewer. As always, proceeds will go toward supporting our club’s community service efforts.

How would you like a warm weekend on Lake George?

SRCrotaryLeave a comment
screen-shot-2017-02-13-at-8-50-00-pm
Courtyard by Marriott in Lake George

As you gaze around at all the mounds of freshly-plowed snow, a Lake George spring getaway sounds pretty good right about now, doesn’t it?

You can assure yourself of that possibility by making your reservation to attend the Rotary 7190 District Conference, scheduled for Friday-Sunday, May 5-7, at the Lake George Courtyard by Marriott hotel.

As has become the norm in recent years, day-of-service projects will fill up the first day, capped by a Cinco de Mayo party that Friday night. Saturday sessions will be time to share ideas to inspire innovation in Rotary, with free time Saturday afternoon in Lake George Village, then in the evening cocktails on the lake shore, and a gala banquet at the historic Inn at Erlowest on Saturday night. A closing memorial and awards session will finish the weekend on Sunday morning.

Rooms will be available at $129, plus tax, per night. Reservations may be made online.

RSVP by Tuesday for either Thursday meeting

SRCrotaryLeave a comment

screen-shot-2017-02-13-at-6-52-31-pmAfter being snowed out of our dinner meeting last week, we’re making up for it with two (2) meeting possibilities this Thursday: 7 a.m. breakfast meeting at the Greenbush YMCA and 6:15 p.m. dinner at Quigley’s.

The breakfast event will offer a continental breakfast; dinner is expected to be the ham dinner we hoped to have last week. In either or both instances, please reserve your place no later than Tuesday evening by contacting Terry Brewer (breakfast) or Debbie Brown (dinner). We need accurate headcounts for purposes of food and seating,

Our after-dinner speaker will be Matt Sloane of Questar III BOCES who will update us on the Rensselaer Education Center being built in Schodack. The facility in Troy is outdated and does not accommodate the type of training and experiences students need for the current job market.

We have a strong initial RSVP list already. Won’t you join us?

Signed up as of today:

Pat Bailey
Terry Brewer
Debbie Brown
Peter Brown
April Dowd
Bill Dowd
Dick Drumm
Murray Forth
Ray Hannan
Phil Kellerman
Jim Leyhane
Carol Orvis
Debbie Rodriguez
Matt Sloane

P.S. Please be sure to bring some canned goods to either meeting to donate to the “CANstruction: Hunger Heroes” food drive we’ve been mentioning for the past few weeks. This week and next are the only time to donate for this Districtwide effort.

 

Are you ready to change the way you dial local phone numbers?

SRCrotaryLeave a comment

area-codesEffective Saturday, August 19, if you try calling a phone number in the 518 area code the way you always have, it won’t work.

That is the start date for full implementation of the new “Area Code Overlay” for the 518 area code. That means in addition to our current 518, the same geographic area will include a new code — 838. That is because they have virtually run out of new phone numbers for the 518 area.

You do not have to change your 518 area code. But, any new numbers issued on or after September 19 will begin with 838. However, to call anyone else with that code or with the new 838 code, you will have to use a 10-digit calling sequence just as you do now for long distance calls.

For example, if you normally call your cousin Mary locally at 555-5555 you will have to dial 1-518-555-5555.  And, for local calls to people or businesses that have been assigned a new 838 code number, you also will have to dial a 10-digit code such as 1-838-555-5555.

If you want to get in the habit of doing this since it will become part of your way of life and there’s nothing you can do about it, you can begin practicing by using a 10-digit sequence as of March 18. If you forget and just use the usual seven-digit number your call will be put through until August.

Note: This change may require a variety of changes for some people. For example, all numbers you have stored for automatic dialing on your cellphones or landlines, for answering machine messages, call forwarding, fax machines, speed dialers, internet dial-up numbers, safety alarm security systems and other such equipment will have to be reprogrammed with a 10-digit sequence. Likewise for any printed material — checks, office stationery, websites, Facebook pages, pet ID tags, etc. Whatever you do not change will not work after August 19.

Additional information is available online by clicking here.