You can plan your Rotary activities by making a habit of checking the ‘Club Calendar.” Just go to that page on our website page and click on the link that appears just before the program assignment chart. You’ll find more than just what our club is doing listed under “Events.”
If you like interactive dinner theater, save Saturday, February 18, for a special Rotary fundraising social night out.
Enjoy an evening of fun and laughter while you try to solve the crime during an interactive comedy called “A Wee Bit O’Murder,” involving leprechauns and stolen gold.
The event, sponsored by the Schenectady East Rotary Club, will be held at The Hibernian Hall, 1746 State Street in Schenectady, just north of the Blue Ribbon Diner. The deadline for reservations is February 10.
The pre-show dinner menu:
Garden salad
Sliced sirloin with mushroom-cabernet demiglace
Parmesan roasted baby potatoes
Sautèed green beans
Dessert
Reservations are $40 per person, $75 per couple. Cash bar. To reserve seats call Sue Mackey at 368-8520 or email her at mackeys97@gmail.com
We hope so, but if you haven’t yet emailed your RSVP to host Murray Forth you’re quickly running out of time.
The deadline for responding to him at mmforth51@gmail.com is Monday (December 19) for the Thursday dinner party, being put together in part by club member Jim Mendrysa’s Talk of the Town catering service.
To flesh out Jim’s prime rib menu with all the fixin’s, members whose surnames begin with A through K are asked to bring a dessert serving six; those with surnames beginning L through Z are asked to bring a similarly-sized appetizer. Beverages will be provided.
And, of course, we’re looking to see how imaginative everyone is this year in creating themed baskets for the always-popular silent auction.
The weather forecast for Thursday calls for rain, but with temperatures in the mid-40s, no snow. We’ll take it!
Meanwhile, stay warm, finish up those baskets, and get ready for another fun evening of food, fellowship and frivolity.
The first of our annual winter series of Indoor Simulator Golf Tournaments at Burden Lake Country Cub will be held in just a few weeks.
We need every member of the club to help spread the word in any way they can during this holiday period when people’s attention might be on other topics. The more notice we can give the public the better.
All SRC members are being emailed a copy of the attached flyer today. (It already has been posted on the club website, Facebook and Twitter pages.) We ask that you forward it to friends who like to golf, post a copy on your Facebook page, get it posted at your place of work, where you shop or have a beer, at the YMCA, library, churches, schools, etc. Encourage people at such places to get a foursome together for the event. It is open to people of all skill levels.
These tournaments are major sources of funding for our many community service projects, scholarships, grants, etc. Remember, every cent we earn goes toward such initiatives.
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).
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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 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 »
