Meetings of 12/15/16: Bylaws vote postponed
Dinner Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
December 15, 2016
Members Attending (11): Debbie Rodriguez, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Jim Leyhane, Terry Brewer, Dick Drumm, Dean Calamaras, Phil Kellerman, Carol Orvis, Stewart Wagner, Ray Hannan.
Guests: None
BUSINESS
Because we did not have the minimum number (12) of members in attendance to constitute a quorum, the scheduled vote on a set of proposed changes to the Club Bylaws could not be held, and no other official business could be transacted. President Debbie Rodriguez said she will reschedule the vote for sometime in January.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
• HOLIDAY PARTY — A reminder that Murray and Maggie Forth are hosting the annual Holiday Party & Basket Silent Auction at 6 p.m. Thursday, December 22. If they have not yet done so, anyone wishing to attend must contact Murray at mmforth51@gmail.com no later then Monday, December 19, to let him know how many will be coming. Persons whose surnames begin with A through K are asked to bring a dessert serving six, and those with names beginning with L-Z an appetizer serving six. And, of course, a themed gift basket for the silent auction.
• HOLIDAY GIFTS — Donations of gifts for Christmas have been very generous again this year, with adopted families provided through Circles of Mercy (headed up by April Dowd) and Doors of Hope (headed up by Terry Brewer) as recipients. … In addition, staff and students from Columbia High School led by John Sawchuk are adopting seven families. … Dean Calamaras reported that donated gloves and hats he and Doris collected have been delivered to needy persons.
• RESOLVED TO RECYCLE — Our New Year’s paper and electronics recycling day will be held on Saturday, January 14, at Wainschaf Associates Construction, located behind Target on 3rd Avenue Extension in Rensselaer. Details are on a flyer that has been sent to all members and placed on our website and Facebook page. Members are asked to help distribute flyers as widely as possible.
• SHARING THE WORD — Debbie and Becky Raymond attended a meeting in Colonie of the Capital District Rotary Club to talk about our work supporting the Freedom From Fistula Foundation. That club is a two-year-old group of mostly young adults who meet in-person monthly but online in between sessions and for project work.
• MILITARY AID — Grants supported by our recent “Bowling for Vets” event will be given at our January 5 meeting to representatives of the Blue Star Mothers military family support group and the Capital District Nordic Alliance for its adaptive sports programs for vets. … Phil Kellerman is continuing to sell specialty coffees with proceeds to be divided between those two groups.
• SIMULATOR GOLF — Two dates have been confirmed for Saturday indoor simulator golf tournaments at Burden Lake Country Club — January 21 and March 11. A flyer for the first event will be distributed to all members and posted on our website and Facebook page in the next week or so.
• ROTARY HOME COOKING — Dean and Doris Calamaras will host the first event in this annual winter series of small, member-hosted dinners. The date for their event is Friday, January 27. They can accommodate six to eight guests, with reservations taken as always on a first-come, first-served basis.
Breakfast Meeting
Greenbush Area YMCA
East Greenbush, NY
December 15, 2016
Members Attending (9): Shannon Romanowski, Terry Brewer, Andy Leyhane, Jim Butterworth, Becky Raymond, Matt Smith, Jim Leyhane, Mike Dewey, Murray Forth.
Club member Andy Leyhane spoke about his work as a biochemist at AMRI (formerly known as Albany Molecular Research Institute).
How often do you visit our calendar?
This is a screen grab of the illustrated events calendar posted on our club’s Facebook page. You can link to it directly from the website (on the “Club Calendar” page) or bookmark it for a quick connection.
A perfect time to clean out the basement and garage
Here are the details of a promising fundraising effort being spearheaded by club members Mike Dewey and Matt Smith, with the venue being donated by Josh Wainman.
Please spread the word, share the flyer (on Facebook would be good!) and take this opportunity to make your New Year’s Resolution to clean out your basement and garage at a very low cost.
If you’ve been wondering for soooo long how to safely get rid of those personal paper records, those old computer keyboards and electronic games, and similar things taking up valuable space in your home, here’s the answer.
And, 100% of the profits will go right back into your community by supporting Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club projects that benefit people and organizations in need.
We need your RSVPs for 3 upcoming events
Please take a brief moment out of your busy schedules to RSVP to three upcoming SRC events. We need accurate headcounts for planning purposes, so please extend that courtesy to the event coordinators. (And, as always, guests are welcome, but we’d like to know they are coming.)
RSVP to Murray Forth (mmforth51@gmail.com)
Weekly dinner meeting, 6:15 p.m. Thursday, December 15, at Quigley’s. We have a lot planned for this one: (1) a vote on proposed changes to our club Bylaws — you received them on 12/4 by email, and also can find them on the website; (2) webmaster Bill Dowd will give us a presentation on best uses of the SRC website and our social media presence, so bring your cellphones, pads, laptops, etc.; (3) the menu will include Chicken Marsala, chef’s choice of sides, salad, bread, dessert and beverages. Tuesday, December 13, deadline for RSVPs.
RSVP to Terry Brewer (tlbrewer12piseco@gmail.com)
or Shannon Romanowski (sromanowski@cdymca.org)
or Shannon Romanowski (sromanowski@cdymca.org)
Monthly Third Thursday Breakfast Meeting. It will be held at 7 a.m. Thursday, December 15, at the Greenbush Area YMCA, 1 Community Way, East Greenbush. Tuesday, December 13, deadline for RSVPs.
RSVP to Murray Forth (mmforth51@gmail.com)
Holiday Party and Basket Silent Auction. Murray and Maggie are hosting the annual event at 6 p.m. Thursday, December 22. The menu will include Prime Rib and all the fixin’s from club member Jim Mendrysa’s Talk of the Town catering. The price will be $25 per person. Members whose last names begin with A through K are asked to bring a dessert serving six, and those who are L through Z an appetizer serving six. And, of course, don ‘t forget to bring your themed gift baskets for the silent auction, always a fun component of the evening and a good fundraiser for the club treasury. Monday, December 19, deadline for RSVPs.
P.S. This week only, do NOT reply to Debbie Brown who usually coordinates our meeting dinners. As you can see above, Murray is handling that duty this week.
Meeting of 12/8/16: ‘Banking Today,’ and ADG visit
Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
December 8, 2016
Members Attending (15): Debbie Rodriguez, Murray Forth, Roberto Martinez, Bill Dowd, Jim Leyhane, John Sawchuk, Terry Brewer, Stewart Wagner, Dick Drumm, Dean Calamaras, Ray Hannan, Becky Raymond, April Dowd, Melissa Bill, Charlie Foote.
Guests (1): Assistant District Governor Jack Faddegon.
PROGRAM: “TODAY’S BANKING AND YOU”
Club member Melissa Bill, the West Sand Lake branch manager for Key Bank, described her background of 12 years in the industry during which she worked her way up from part-time clerk to management. In that period, she has worked for five different banking companies.
Melissa explained that beyond basic banking services, many modern companies deal with customers’ “financial wellness,” something she said fits within her personal philosophy of banking. What that means, she said, is “paying attention to what people really want and need from their bank.”
She also noted that younger customers tend never to go into a bank, preferring to handle all their transactions electronically. In answer to a question about how to get young adults to be more bank savvy and proactive in their financial dealings, Melissa advised that they should get to know their bank branch managers and make an appointment for an annual review of their finances. “Think about it the same way you do for a checkup from your doctor,” she said.
She supplied a list of questions her bank asks during client interviews, and suggested we all use it as a self-assessment.
BUSINESS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
ASSISTANT DG VISITS — Jack Faddegon, ADG of District 7190’s Area 8 (SRC, Cohoes, Lansingburgh, Colonie-Guilderland), was our special guest. He said DG John Mucha has asked each ADG in the District to come up with a cooperative project involving their Areas’ clubs. Among suggesti0ns already up for consideration are a work project at a local historic site, conducting a public “What Is Rotary?” informational event, undertaking a membership improvement effort for clubs having difficulty, or any other item we can think of. He said he will coordinate among the clubs, and hopes to decide on an effort shortly after the upcoming holidays.
Jack also switched to his role as District coordinator (along with wife Nancy) for ShelterBox to express thanks for SRC’s continuing support at a high financial level for the international disaster agency, and to Bill Dowd for serving as the club’s ShelterBox Liaison Officer. SRC Treasurer Murray Forth then surprised Jack with our latest check for ShelterBox — this one for $2,600, funded by five SRC members’ special contributions.
NEW MEMBERS — President Debbie Rodriguez announced the acceptance of new members Phil and Mary Bonnie Nasca. Phil is dean of the UAlbany School of Public Health, Read More »
Latest RI Convention newsletter available
Issue No. 3 of the Rotary International Convention newsletter now is available by clicking here.
The Atlanta gathering alread has drawn more than 40 Rotarians and guests from District 7190. And, both Jim Leyhane and Roberto Martinez have expressed interest in attending on behalf of SRC.
If you think this is something you’d like to be involved in, check out the newsletter, then get in touch with Jim or Roberto to coordinate travel and lodging plans.
‘Votes & Volts’ program on December 15
Are you planning to attend SRC’s December 15 “Votes & Volts” meeting? We certainly hope so, because the agenda has been created especially for ALL members, new and old, and it will be an excellent opportunity to get to know each other a lot more.
Not only will it be the last regular meeting of 2016 (see below), we need you to vote on proposed major changes to our Club Bylaws AND to be there for Bill Dowd’s program on”Our Web, Social Media, & You.” 
All member have been emailed the proposed changes, but, in a brilliant bit of serendipity, if you didn’t read your email or accidentally trashed it you still can find the changes on one of our club’s communications platforms Bill will be talking about — SRCrotary.org.
Please plan to attend, and bring your cellphones, iPads, laptops or whatever you usually use to go online. Quigley’s has WiFi, and we know you will find the program very worthwhile.
IMPORTANT NOTE — About that mention above that December 15 will be our last regular meeting of 2016 — that’s true, but don’t forget to RSVP to Murray Forth at mmforth51@gmail.com no later than Monday, December 20, if you plan to attend the Thursday, December 22, “Holiday Dinner & Theme Basket Silent Auction” at Murray’s residence. After that, we won’t meet again until January 5 when President Debbie Rodriguez has something special in the works.
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RSVP now for our Thursday return to Quigley’s
After a one-week hiatus due to owner John Walsh’s illness, he’ll again be hosting us at Quigley’s, with our usual 6:15 Thursday dinner this week.
The menu will feature John’s popular lasagna, plus chef’s choice of sides, salad, bread, dessert, and beverages. And, as always, the cash bar is available.
After dinner, club member Melissa Bill, a First Niagara Bank branch manager, will speak on a very timely topic — “How Banking Today Affects You.” Come armed with your questions.
Note: Because dinner coordinator Debbie Brown will not be available this week, please email Murray Forth at mmforth51@gmail.com no later than Tuesday to let him know if you plan to attend (and so we can give Quigley’s a proper headcount). And, please be sure to let him know if you plan to bring a guest.
See you on Thursday!
Proposed SRC Bylaws changes
• This message was emailed to all members today.
To: SRC Members
Date: December 4, 2016
Re: Proposed Bylaws Changes
At the December 1 meeting of your SRC Board of Directors, attended by nine of the 11 Board members, a series of proposed bylaws changes was unanimously approved to be put before the general membership for a vote.
The changes would modify two sections of the current bylaws (which are available in full on the club website for your review). One change would reduce the annual dues. The other would amend the types of memberships, adding “Corporate” and “Family” categories as recently allowed by Rotary International, and would introduce a streamlined process for proposing and accepting new members.
In accordance with our current bylaw requirement of a 10-day notice of proposed changes, this email will serve as such notice and allow for a vote to be held at the December 15 meeting or thereafter as designated by President Debbie Rodriguez. Members’ questions will be answered at such a meeting.
PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE SRC BYLAWSRead More »
Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club 