Members in Attendance (10):  Dick Drumm, Debbie Brown, Pat Bailey, Peter Brown, Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Kevin Leyhane, Phil Kellerman, Andy Leyhane, and Terry Brewer.

By Zoom (2):  Charlie Foote and Debbie Rodriguez.

Guests (0):

President Peter Brown called the meeting to order. 

Theme for the Year: “Building Community”

MEETING NOTES:

Iron Giraffe Bowl-a-Thon: The bowl-a-thon will be held on Sunday April 14 from 2 pm until 4 pm. The cost will be $13 per person for 50 bowlers. Per Phil Kellerman, he will ask for sponsors next week.

Water for Kenya: Tony Kasura, one Peter and Debbie Brown’s guides during their trip to Maasai Mara Kenya, and Edith Kenara of the Rotary Club of Enkare Karok talked about the different areas for the proposed well. They are now looking for a public school in need of a bore hole.

PETS Training: Roberto Martinez reported that the four free virtual pre-PETS trainings are scheduled for Monday, February 5th at 7 pm, Tuesday, February 13th at 7 pm, Wednesday, February 21st at 7 pm and Thursday, February 29th at 7 pm.

The Rotary District in-person PETS training will be held March 15th through 17th at the Double Tree in Syracuse. Mario Cesar Martins de Carmargo from Brazil, the RI President for 2025-26, will be attending. Register early to secure a hotel room. For further information go to http://www.RotaryEmpireMDPETS.org. Roberto proposed that the Club help cover the costs for some members to attend.

Next Meeting: Thursday, January 25th at 6:00 pm at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant, Route 4, North Greenbush. Also, you can join the by Zoom using the link on the websites calendar page. Our speaker Dr. Kumar will give an update on Polio Eradication.

Entree choices will be Chicken Rustica Salad, Chicken Marsala and Eggplant Parmesan.

Terry Brewer has served as the SRC Club’s Membership Chair many, many times and has facilitated many Club discussions on membership. He has also served on the Rotary District Membership Committee. Membership is what gives us the ability to carry out our activities. It is a difficult time to attract new members. Not only is our Club aging, but the circle of friends we can recruit from is now in their late sixties and early seventies. We have lost many of our connections with local businesses and many no longer support community-based organizations. Declining membership in our District over the years led to a District reorganization.

Terry asked several questions. What are we doing about membership? Do we need to re-emphasize what Rotary is? What type of members to we want? Do we want members on paper or members who actively participate? What do we do to bring in new members? Are we offering a local, national and/or international themed Club? Is our Club too expensive? Along with the yearly membership fee and participating in the dinners, many of our resources come from member donations.

When we bring in new members, what are we doing to support them? Do they know who to contact for issues and concerns? Can they navigate the website? What do we do to follow up with new members? What activities can we do to engage and sustain members? Are we listening to what our members need and want? Are we asking them what they want from this Club to support them?

Member discussion produced several suggestions such as coming up with a signature event. We also need to come up with goal(s) and plan how to meet these goals. We also need to be more visible and define our “hook”. We need to get people thinking.

Membership is an ongoing conversation.

Happy Birthday Debbie!

Members in Attendance (13):  Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane, Debbie Brown, Pat Bailey, Peter Brown, Dick Drumm, Murray Forth, Ray Hannan, Kevin Leyhane, Phil Kellerman, Andy Leyhane, Len Leonidas and Debbie Rodriguez.

By Zoom (0):  

Guests (4): Noah Albanese, Hans Albanese, Janet Harris and Don Harris.

President Peter Brown called the meeting to order. 

Theme for the Year: “Building Community”

MEETING NOTES:

Water for Kenya: During Peter and Debbie Brown’s recent trip along with Janet and Don Harris to Maasai Mara Kenya, one of their guides, Tony Kasura, told them about the St. John Fischer Nursing School Clinical Program that sends student nurses to Kenya for a week of clinicals. Peter spoke to Vivianne Cunningham, of St. John Fischer, and discussed the possibility of SRC Rotary helping with the program. Due to unrest in the region, the College will not be doing the clinicals. However, a well (bore hole) is needed. Women walk long distances to obtain water which creates both physical and economic issues. Previously drilled wells often fail over time due to lack of maintenance. Peter Brown spoke to Nerris Dansou, the person in charge of water projects at Rotary International. There is a grant available to develop water projects. The Rotary Club of Enkare Karok has agreed to partner on this project. Peter has been speaking with Edith Kenara. Per Ms. Kenara, the Club of Kenkare Karok has already completed a community assessment. Both Ms. Kenara and Mr. Kasura had identified different areas for the well. They were supposed to speak. Peter is waiting to hear from them. Peter also has a hydrogeological survey and proposal submitted by Topmast Engineering. The cost for the well will be $45,000. A water tower accounts for about fourty percent of the cost.

Becky Ramond is interested in working on the grant. She will identify other organizations such as the Peace Corps who may have people in the area to participate in the project. Per Jeff Simon, the students from the East Greenbush Central School District might be interested in this project.

The Global Grant request must include provisions for training and maintenance, have an assigned owner of the water supply and at least 15% of the grant funds raised must come from outside the country. The Club will need members to work on the project, fundraise and determine further details.

Adopt-a-Family: Thank you to Debbie Brown and Debbie Rodriguez.

Holiday Party and Silent Auction: Thank you to Jim Leyhane and Roberto Martinez for setting up the holiday party and to Phil Kellerman for organizing the silent auction. Per Phil, the Club raised over $600.

Iron Giraffe Bowl-a-Thon: The bowl-a-thon will be held on Sunday April 14 from 2 pm until 4 pm. The cost will be $13 per person for 50 bowlers or $14 for less than 50 bowlers. Per Phil Kellerman, the next step is to ask for sponsors. He has all the sponsor signs from last year. Fifty percent of the funds raised will go to the Maple Hill Iron Giraffe project and the other fifty percent will Anchor Food Pantry.

St. Joseph’s Place: Phil Kellerman delivered the check for $234 for bus fares to St. Joseph’s Place and observed their operation. Everything was exactly as described. Phil also recommended that the Club deliver all checks in person or use a post office envelope.

Membership: Becky Raymond had an inquiry from a potential member. Peter Brown responded to the inquiry and Roberto Martinez followed up with an application.

Dues: Per Murray Forth, those members who split their dues into two payments, the second payment of $87.50 is due. There is one membership payment outstanding.

CNY Rotary: Per Peter Brown, Central NY Rotary announced that our 2026-27 President will be Pamela Baker Gratton from the Auburn Rotary Club. She is a Past Club President, Paul Harris Fellow, mom, and long-time non-profit worker who comes to the team with a lot of professional experience in working with volunteers.

Moscatiellos: Roberto Martinez and Jim Leyhane announced that we expect a price increase in the next year.

Next Meeting: Thursday, January 11th at 6:00 pm at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant, Route 4, North Greenbush. Also, you can join the by Zoom using the link on the websites calendar page. Our speaker will be Stephen Fine from the Melanoma Education Foundation.

Entree choices will be Antipasta Salad, Lasagna or Linguini with baby clams.

Noah Albanese is a senior at Gettysburgh College. He majors in political science and economics. Noah is the nephew of Rotary member Len Leonidas. He was supposed to study abroad in the Czech Republic for a year but was unable to do so due to the pandemic. He recently spent six months in Taiwan learning Mandarin Chinese. He lived in an apartment and attended class for three hours per day at the Mandarin Training Center. He received a Boren Scholarship from the U.S. Department of Defense to study language in a country of political importance. In exchange, he will work in a civil service job after college for a year.

Taiwan, the Republic of China, is a sovereign island with its own language and culture influenced by the Chinese, Japanese and 16 indigenous tribes. It was a Japanese colony from 1895 until 1945. There are approximately 23 million people living in Taiwan. After the Chinese revolution, the Nationalist retreated to Taiwan and eventually established a democracy. Taiwan is located between two tectonic plates with high mountains in the middle, surrounded by ocean. Tea is grown in the mountains, and they are known for their microchips. They have very good and inexpensive public transportation system. Both sides of the island are connected by tunnels through the mountains.

Noah showed pictures of places he visited in while he was in Taiwan. Historical places included the National Palace Museum. the National Marter Shrine, the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and the Night Markets. He had pictures of Taoist, Confucius and Bundist Temples, as well as Mazu, goddess of the ocean. She is the most powerful god and has the most commonly found temple. It was noted how beautiful and lush the island is.

Members in Attendance (12):  Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane, Debbie Brown, Pat Bailey, Peter Brown, Dick Drumm, Murray Forth, Ray Hannan, Kevin Leyhane, Phil Kellerman, Andy Leyhane and Terry Brewer.

By Zoom (2):  Debbie Rodriguez and Charlie Foote.

Guests (1): Marcie Bower

President Peter Brown called the meeting to order. 

Theme for the Year: “Building Community”

MEETING NOTES:

Adopt-a-Family: Thursday, December 14th, is the last day to turn in the donations for our adopted family. The wish list is posted on the website. Please wrap all gifts and label with the full name of the recipient. Please contact Kevin Leyhane, if you need full names. If you are unable to drop off donations on December 14th, please contact Debbie Rodriguez to arrange for an alternate date and time. The donations are due on December 15th. Debbie Brown and Debbie Rodriguez will coordinate getting the donations to Circles of Mercy.

Holiday Party and Silent Auction: The party will be held on December 14th at Moscatiellos. The cost has increased to $35 per person and does not include the gratuity. Children are half price. The Club will cover the gratuity. If the additional $5 is a problem, please contact Roberto Martinez.

Currently, 43 members and their guests will be attending. Our final count is due Monday. If you plan to attend but do not show up, the Club will still be charged for your meal.

Dinner will be served as a buffet that includes Ceasar Salid, Chicken Marsala, Lasagna and Eggplant Parmesan. There will be Cannoli and cookies for dessert.

Phil Kellerman is organizing the silent auction this year. Currently, 15 baskets are being donated. Phil will be there at 5:30 pm with the description and bid sheets for those donations. Phil asks that those donating arrive a little early.

Iron Giraffe Bowl-a-Thon: Phil Kellerman has left a message with the event coordinator at the bowling alley asking for a price of $12 per person instead of $16 for two hours of bowling and shoes. He has not heard back yet. His next step is to ask for sponsors. He has all the sponsor signs for last year.

Water for Kenya: Peter Brown contacted Jennifer Knowles regarding Rotary Clubs in Kenya that may be able to participate in the project. He has not heard back yet.

St. Joseph’s Place: The Club approved a donation of $240 for St. Joseph’s Place to purchase bus fares. Phil Kellerman will deliver the check and observe their operation.

Dues: Per Murray Forth, those members who split their dues into two payments, the second payment of $87.50 is due.

Viking Gym: The bulk of the work is to be done by the Town of Schodack. Ron Annis would like to get some volunteers in January to help put together the equipment.

Club Assembly: to be held on January 18th. We still need speakers for next year.

Next Meeting: Thursday, December 14th, the holiday party starts at 6:00 pm at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant, Route 4, North Greenbush. There will be no Zoom.

Marcy Bower is a licensed acupuncturist. She graduated from the New England School of Acupuncture’s three-year master’s program. Marcy works at Bower Family Acupuncture located at 81 Miller Road in Castleton.

Acupuncture is part of ancient Chinese medicine. It corrects the disease-causing imbalance of energy by supplementing weak energy, dispersing energy when it is too strong or moving stuck energy. Acupuncturists look at the human body though its energy or life-force. Ying represents the cool and watery parts of the body, whereas yang represents the hot, dry and fiery parts of the body. Other ways to look at the body include Qui and Blood, the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water, and microsystems. Disease is caused by the imbalance of these forces.

Acupuncture is used for pain management, anxiety, headaches and to treat many diseases. It involves inserting small needles into anatomical landmarks to restore balance. Accupressure involves putting pressure on certain parts of the body to help energy flow. It is used to treat things like insomnia, stress and motion sickness. Many insurances cover acupuncture treatments.