Please join us this Thursday, September 27, 2023 at Moscatiello’s at 6:00pm for our weekly meeting. This week’s meeting will be a general club assembly with a presentation on our website. Kevin Leyhane will present the information contained on our club website as well as review some of technologies that we may use to find useful information. If you are unable to attend in person you may attend remotely using the link on our calendar page. The menu for the evening includes a choice of Chicken Ceasar Salad, Cheese Ravioli with Marinara or Meat Sauce, or Lasagna. Looking forward to seeing everyone this Thursday.
Members in Attendance (12): Dick Drumm, Charlie Foote, Phil Kellerman, Ruth Samuels, Jim Leyhane, Andy Leyhane, Pat Bailey, John Justino, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Ray Hannan, and Roberto Martinez.
By Zoom (0): None.
Guests (4): Jason Chevier, Superintendant Schodack Central; John Eberle, President & CEO Capital District Community Foundation; Marisa Multari, Asst. District Governor and Speaker Dr. Robert Martiniano Professor School of Public Health
President Peter Brown called the meeting to order.
Theme for the Year: “Building Community.”
MEETING NOTES
Discussion of agenda items was limited because of the robust presentation and following discussion on the topic of Social Capital and its effect on the stability of a community.
Membership: New member, Ruth Samuels was voted in by the club, and was sponsored by Deb Rodriguez. Congratulations!
SRC Board: Phil Kellerman and Andy Leyhane will be serving as At Large Board members. Becky Raymond has resigned her position with the Board. Many thanks to Becky for all her contributions as a past Board member.
Viking Gym: Ron Annis continues to push for some activity in the fall of this year. He may need a team to help assemble some of the equipment which has already arrived. There were some comments about people not knowing what the “Viking Gym” and this feedback is will go back to Ron. It was also suggested that school groups and the National Honor Society may be tapped for support.
Polio: Phil Kellerman provided an update on friend with polio needing leg brace. She received a pro bono medical consult and so far, Phil has coordinated raising $900. He would like to see if our club would consider a donation once he has more information.
Gift Of Life 25th Annual Golf Tournament: Marisa Multari commented that the Gift of Life Tournament was very successful and that Dean and Doris Calamaras were there as volunteers.
Speakers: We continue to look for speakers for the upcoming months. Roberto has produced a list of potential speakers and Marisa Multari provided the club with some additional ones. Roberto will compile the lists and bring to next week’s meeting. On both lists are the exchange program, mental health, Gift of Life and Shelter Box.
Rotaract: John Justino gave an update on the Rotaract Club. This included involvement with World Polio Day which is October 24th. He gave an update on their fund-raising event at the Beer Garden which was also attended by SRC Club members.
District News: Marisa Multari gave some save the dates for the upcoming Toronto Zone meeting, the annual Foundation Dinner, and the year from now CNY transition in Bennington, NY. She commented that the District will also be doing something for Polio Day.
Next Meeting: Thursday, September 28th, dinner 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. Kevin Leyhane will provide a “Technology Review.” He will do a hands-on presentation about using our website. Please feel free to bring your cell phone or laptop if you would like to follow along.
Entree choices will be Chicken Ceasar Salid, Cheese Ravioli with Marinara or Meat Sauce or Lasagna.
Dr. Robert Martiniano
School of Public Health
Robert gave a very thought-provoking presentation on Social Capital. He was introduced by Peter Brown who had a discussion with him years ago. Peter’s concern is the degradation of Social Capital and its impact on society. Social Capital is the product of interactions among individuals rather than the individuals themselves. Social Capitalism involves an exchange of ideas and involves social and cultural relationships. It builds shared trust and civic engagement. This trust seems to have declined in recent years. It is important because it creates linkage for exchange of ideas and knowledge and communications. These social networks can contribute to community wellness and projects which give back to society. Some networks have restrictions like age or income, or professions but in general having these linkages promotes a healthier society and outcomes. Formal networks would include Rotary, the Elks the PTA, bowling leages, fire companies and many other voluntary associations and groups. Informal networks would be weekly gatherings, play groups etc. The critical result is creation of a sense of belonging and bi-directional flow of information. Promoting Social Capital involves community organizations. Suggestions to build Social Capital are to build professional and personal relationships and become a resource to others. The presentation was followed by a very robust dialogue and discussion. The group thanked Robert for his presentation.
Join us this week at Moscatiello’s on Thursday, September 21, 2023 at 6:00pm to hear Dr. Robert Martiniano speak of the topic of “Social Capital.” As always if you can’t attend the meeting in person you may attend virtually using the Zoom link on our calendar page. Menu choices for this week include Antipasto Salad, Chicken Florentine, or Baked Ziti. Looking forward to seeing everyone this Thursday.
Members in Attendance (8): Dick Drumm, Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Pat Bailey, Phil Kellerman, Ray Hannan, Debbie Rodriguez and Andy Leyhane.
By Zoom (0):
Guests (0):
President-Elect Roberto Martinez called the meeting to order.
Theme for the Year: “Building Community.”
MEETING NOTES
Gift Of Life 25th Annual Golf Tournament: Was held today. There were over 70 golfers. The Club was well represented.
World Polio Day: Will be held on October 24th. The Danes Rotaract Club is working on a program. More to follow.
Membership: Ruth Samuels has submitted an application for membership. Other potential nominees for membership were discussed.
Technology Training: Kevin Leyhane will provide training on September 28th on the website postings, zoom set-up, etc. He will also look at the price to upgrade WordPress so that the website posts are automatically pushed out to Facebook.
Viking Gym: Roberto Martinez will provide an update on the project next week.
Speakers: We are still looking for speakers. Please let Kevin Leyhane or Peter Brown know if you have a guest speaker.
Next Meeting: Thursday, September 21st, dinner 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. Dr. Robert Martiniano will speak about “Social Capital.”
Entree choices will be Antipasto Salid, Chicken Florentine or Baked Ziti.
The Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club is returning to Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant on Thursday, September 14, 2023 at 6:00pm. The agenda for this meeting is a general club assembly where we will be working on scheduling presentations for the remainder of the Rotary Calendar Year. The menu this week includes a choice of Chicken Rustica Salad, Portobello Ravioli with red sauce, and Lasagna.
Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez Kevin Leyhane, Dick Drumm, Charlie Foot, Pat Bailey, Murray Forth and Debbie Rodriguez met for dinner at Moscatiello’s Italian Restaurant this evening.
There will be no regular meeting on September 7th.
Our first official meeting of the fall will be held on Thursday, September 14th with dinner 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 our website calendar page. Please let Jim Leyhane or Roberto Martinez know if you plan to join the weekly meeting via Zoom.
The menu will be a choice of Chicken Rustica Salid, Portobello Ravioli with Red Sauce and Lasagna.
Meeting Business
Theme for the Year: “Building Community.”
We are still looking for speakers. Please let Becky Raymond, Kevin Leyhane or Peter Brown know if you have a guest speaker.
The technical information for our speakers can be found at https://srcrotary.org/tech-data-for-speakers/. Please let Roberto Martinez or Jim Leyhane know what technical assistance the speaker will need.
Robert Martiniano will speak on September 21 on “Building Community and the Value of Social Capitol.”
Our District Governor, Whitney Pangburn, will speak on October 12th.
The Calendar page will be updated.
You can still use the Remind App. Text to the number 81010.
We look forward to seeing everyone at Moscatiello’s on September 14th.
Our Last Summer Social Event Came to a close last night as Pat Bailey and Mary Alice hosted the club to pizza and Pie at Pat’s house. With the event being well attended by both members and guests, all enjoyed family, friends, and the fellowship of Rotary. Please feel free to look at the pictures of the event below. This event marks the end of the Summer Social Events and we would like to take a moment to thank all of our gracious hosts for their support in hosting these events over the summer. Next Thursday, August 31, 2023 the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club will be returning to Moscatiello’s at 6:00pm. The menu will be a choice of Chicken Caesar salad, spaghetti and meatballs, or chicken marsala. We look forward to seeing everyone at Moscatiello’s next week.
On Monday, August 21, 2023 members of the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club delivered much needed school supplies to Circles of Mercy in Rensselaer as our school supply drive came to an end. The staff of Circles of Mercy were overwhelmed by the generosity of the club.
SRC Rotary President Peter Brown announced that he has arranged for Robert Martiniano to speak to the club on September 21, 2023 on the topic of social capital. This marks the first scheduled presenter for the upcoming Rotary Calendar Year. This serves as a reminder to start think about and scheduling presenters for the upcoming year.
There will be no regular meeting September 7, 2023 due to the Labor Day Holiday that week.
Last night several Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club members, family, friends, and guests enjoyed dinner at La Bella’s in Valatie followed by the show “Jersey Boys” at the MacHayden Theater. Everyone enjoyed dining on fine Italian food, followed by the enjoyable music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. A special thank you to Debbie and Peter Brown for arranging the evening.
Circles of Mercy School Supply Drive is winding down, if you haven’t donated supplies to Roberto, Jim, or Kevin please make arrangements to do so this weekend. All supplies will be dropped off on Monday, August 21, 2023.
Our next Summer Social Event is scheduled for Thursday, August 24, 2023 at 6:00pm at Pat Bailey’s house. Club hosts Pat and Mary Alice will be providing pizza and salad for all of those attending. Appetizers are optional, and as always we ask for a donation of $20 per member or $25 per family. Please RSVP to Pat no later than Wednesday, August 23, 2023 at pbailey7@nycapp.rr.com or (518)755-5324.
On Thursday, August 10, 2023 several members of the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club met at Moscatiello’s Restaurant as a summer social event.
Meeting Business:
The Materials for the Viking Gym are in NJ awaiting transport to Schodack
Circles of Mercy School Supply Collection is still taking place. Supplies are due by August 21, 2023. Supplies may be brought to any summer social event of dropped off with Kevin, Jim or Roberto
The club received a check for $1500 from the District foe the 2022-2023 grant.
Two possible new members have been identified by members of the club.
Thank you to Dick and Mary Drumm for hosting last week’s social event which made the club $200 for projects.
Looking ahead:
Next week’s summer social event is a trip to the MacHayden Theater to see a presentation of Jersey Boys. Details regarding dinner before will be sent out next week.
August 24, 2023 – Pizza Party at Pat Bailey’s
August 29, 2023 – Dinner at Roosevelt Room has been canceled due to it is the staff’s day off.
Movie Night in the Park:
August 11, 2023 : Nothing this Friday
August 18, 2023: Looking for takers
Thank you to Filli’s Deli for brokering more fillets for the club.
This week’s tour of the USS Slater has been canceled this week due to several conflicts. Instead the club will be meeting at our regular scheduled time of 6:00 at Moscatiello’s. Michael has agreed to give us our normal room at the normal price. The menu for this week is: Chicken Ceasar Salad, Spaghetti with meatballs, and chicken marsala. School supplies can be brought to this event for donation for Circles of Mercy. Please see the list below.
Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club 