You probably know that SRC’s Presidential Changeover dinner is scheduled for Thursday, June 30. But, two days before that you can attend a Rotary changeover picnic.
That event is the transition of the District 7190 leadership team for the new Rotary Year 2022-23. The family-friendly event is scheduled for the Orenda Pavilion at Saratoga Spa State Park. Here are the details:
Debbie and Peter Brown are planning to host a picnic at their Castleton residence on Thursday, July 14. It will kick off our “Summer Casual” schedule of events that traditionally substitute for formal meetings in July and August.
Details will be provided closer to the day of the event.
Meanwhile, take a look at the calendar below (it’s regularly updated on the club website calendar page) to find available “Summer Casual” dates if you’d like to host or arrange a family-friendly event.
Over the years, we have enjoyed such events as professional summer theater performances, group restaurant visits, ValleyCats baseball and picnic at Bruno Stadium, a vineyard wine tasting, several pool parties, ice cream socials, and various cookouts and picnics on our schedule.
MEMBERS ATTENDING (19): Debbie Rodriguez, Bill Dowd, Becky Raymond, Charlie Foote, Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane, Pat Bailey, Ray Hannan, Dick Drumm, Phil Kellerman, Andy Leyhane, Tony Morris, Kevin Leyhane, John Justino, Murray Forth, Peter Brown. By proxy: Carol Orvis, Dean Calamaras, Doris Calamaras.
GUESTS (1): Jamie Crouse of the YWCA.
President Debbie Rodriguez called the Zoom meeting to order and noted the presence of a quorum.
MEETING NOTES:
• DISTRICT GRANT — Debbie reported that our District Grant application for assistance with our annual scholarship program has been submitted and accepted for consideration.
• SUMMER CASUAL EVENTS — The dates for our July-August “Summer Casual” period have been posted on the website calendar page chart. Anyone wishing to reserve a date to host or arrange a family-friendly event is asked to inform Kevin Leyhane.
• DUES — A reminder that the deadline for receipt of six-month or full-year dues is June 1. Please mail checks, payable to SRC Rotary, to the club at P.O. Box 71, East Greenbush, NY 12061. Dues remain at just $175 per individual member or $350 for “Family” or “Corporate” group memberships covering an unlimited number of members (although such entities have only a single vote on matters coming before the membership). Dues may be paid in two equal installments, no later than June 1 and December 1. The split payments are $87.50 for individuals, $175 for “Family” and “Corporate” groups.
• IMPACT COMMITTEE — Pat Bailey reported that the group will hold a public meet-and-greet event at Kristy’s Barn in Schodack on Saturday. She also is lining up volunteers to do the same for the Schodack “Music In the Park” series.
• DRIVER TRAINING — The tentative session scheduled for June 18 has been put on hold. A new date and site are being investigated.
• NEXT MEETING — We will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 26, via Zoom.
• PROGRAM — Jamie Crouse, marketing development director for the YWCA of the Greater Capital Region, which is based in Troy, presented a video describing the organization’s work helping women and children in need of housing, education, safety, and counseling.
Among numerous points made in the video and by Jamie is that the YW houses more than 100 women and 50 children daily, most of them from Rensselaer County. Some are short-term residents, others longer-term, depending on their circumstances. Funding comes from government grants and donations from businesses, service organizations, and individuals
Another effort is a 14-week program preparing women for the work world, which she said has an 83% success rate of graduates obtaining long-term employment or resuming their formal education.
The YW is one of the recipients of any money raised by our aforementioned Impact Committee.
A note from Rotary Impact Committee chair Pat Bailey:
“The Rotary Impact committee is looking for additional members to assist Becky Raymond and me this Saturday (May 21) at Kristy’s Barn.
We would appreciate at least one other member to join us to greet customers, explain a little about Rotary, collect donations for the Troy YWCA women’s shelter, and local food pantries.
Time would be about 10 a.m. to noon or 1 p.m. Please contact me or Becky if you can help. Thanks so much!
A combination of factors has prompted a change in this Thursday’s meeting schedule.
• Rather than a dinner meeting at Moscatiello’s, we will meet via Zoom, beginning at 7 p.m. The usual protocol: gain access via the link posted on SRCrotary.org/calendar
• Our scheduled speaker, Jamie Crouse of the Troy YWCA, will present the program via Zoom.
As always, keep an eye on the club calendar on the website for any and all updates. And, feel free to claim a July or August “Summer Casual” date to host or arrange a family-friendly event.
As we have reminded members for the past month, SRC is required to inform Rotary International by the end of June how many dues-paying members we have. The club Board agreed some time ago to cease covering dues payments for people who do not pay on time.
If you want to be among those who are counted as active members, you need to submit your check for six-month or full-year dues by June 1 so our club officials have sufficient time to handle the bookkeeping chores involved in that reporting process.
Please be sure your checks, made payable to “SRC Rotary,” are mailed in time to reach Treasurer Murray Forth by the deadline. The mailing address is P.O. Box 71, East Greenbush, NY 12061. (Please enter “dues payment” in the memo line of your check.)
As announced several time, dues remain at just $175 per individual member or $350 for “Family” or “Corporate” group memberships covering an unlimited number of members (although such entities have only a single vote on matters coming before the membership). If it is easier for you, dues may be paid in two equal installments, no later than June 1 and December 1. The initial partial payment for individuals is only $87.50, or $175 for “Family” and “Corporate” groups.
As explained in our Club Bylaws: “Club annual dues will be based on dues levels set by Rotary International and District 7190 plus a Club membership fee of $20 above RI and District dues for first-year members and $30 above RI and District dues for all members after their first year. A $5 deduction from each member’s dues will become an annual contribution to the Rotary Foundation. All club fees are subject to modification by subsequent votes of the membership. Fees are payable annually no later than the first day of June, or semiannually no later than the first day of June and no later than the first day of December. Per Rotary International regulations, a portion of each payment shall be applied to each member’s subscription to the RI official magazine.”
Thank you for making sure our membership status stays strong as we continue our many community and global services in an ongoing effort to aid humanity.
Our guest speaker at this Thursday’s dinner meeting at Moscatiello’s will be Jamie Crouse, Director of Marketing and Development for the YWCA of Troy.
Not only will this provide us with inside information of what is going on with another major service organization, but it is yet another step in expanding SRC’s ability to work with, and support, aid groups throughout the most populated sections of Rensselaer County
Please join us for a social period — and cash bar — beginning at 5:30 p.m. Dinner entree choices will be linguine with clams or chicken Caesar salad. No need to make a reservation. Just show up and let us know what interests you. The meeting itself will begin at 6 p.m.
And, speaking of what interests you, we have just two guest program slots via Zoom remaining for the current Rotary Year (May 26 and June 23). If you’d like to schedule someone for either of those dates, please contact Kevin Leyhane or Becky Raymond.
Beyond that, we’re looking for people to host or plan events for our “Summer Casual” calendar in July and August. Check the available dates on the chart at http://SRCrotary.org/calendar and let Kevin know if you want to reserve a date for a cookout, pool party, picnic, field trip, theater outing, baseball game, etc.
P.S. Please remember six-month or full-year dues are due no later than June 1.
MEMBERS ATTENDING (16): Debbie Rodriguez, Bill Dowd, Pat Bailey, Ray Hannan, Charlie Foote, Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane, Andy Leyhane, Kevin Leyhane, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Dick Drumm. By proxy: Carol Orvis, Dean Calamaras, Doris Calamaras, Tony Morris.
GUESTS (1): Matt Krouner.
President Debbie Rodriguez called the Zoom meeting to order and noted the presence of a quorum.
MEETING NOTES:
• BOARD ELECTION — President Debbie presented the slate of candidates for the SRC Board for the 2022-23 Rotary Year as drawn up by the Nominating Committee. She asked for any additional nominations; none were forthcoming. Jim Leyhane moved and Charlie Foote seconded a vote in favor of the slate, which was elected without objection. As of July 1, the Board will consist of President Kevin Leyhane, Immediate Past President Debbie Rodriguez, Vice President Jim Leyhane, Treasurer Murray Forth, Secretary Pat Bailey, At-Large Directors Roberto Martinez, Dean Calamaras, and Becky Raymond.
• IMPACT COMMITTEE — Chair Pat Bailey reported that the next public information effort will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday at Kristy’s Barn. Volunteers for three-hour blocks are needed. … We also will work on selling rechargeable lanterns as a ShelterBox fundraiser. Roberto Martinez will obtain details from District 7190’s Larry Jones, our ShelterBox liaison, on fundraiser guidelines.
• SCHOLARSHIPS — Maple Hill High School reportedly has selected its recipient of one of three SRC Rotary Club $1,000 scholarships in June. We’re awaiting similar word from Columbia and Rensselaer high schools. We hope to have the recipients join us for a dinner meeting.
• DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS –– Save the date. Arrangements are being made to sponsor a driver safety training session for Saturday, June 18. Several locations are under consideration, and Kevin Leyhane is arranging for an instructor. Completion of the course qualifies licensed drivers for an insurance discount.
• NEXT MEETING — 6 p.m. Thursday, June 19, with speaker Jamie Crouse, director of marketing and development for the Troy YMCA.
• PROGRAM: CAMP SCHODACK — Matt Krouner, the fourth generation owner and director of the residential summer camp for youngsters, spoke to the club and showed photos of the camp through the years. Matt is a licensed psychologist, but is a fulltime camp director.
The facility, which actually is in Nassau, is built on land acquired by Matt’s Russian Jewish great-grandparents in 1908 when they emigrated from Russia to escape persecution. While the land turned out to be poor for farming, the fact it was so picturesque and varied in topography made it ideal for a seasonal hotel, and the old Krouner’s Hotel was a result of that. (The camp itself originally was known as Camp Nassau, but a division of the business resulted in part of it moving to Albany and retaining the name while the second Krouner generation gave the Rensselaer County portion its current name.)
Camp Schodack was shut down by the state during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but rebounded last summer and, thanks to strict safety protocols, had no COVID cases. It now is back to its normal size — 400 campers, 200 staffers, and programs involving the arts, sports, culture, etc.
Campers, who pay $7,750 for a 3½-week stay or $12,450 for a 7-week stay, come from throughout the Northeast as well as some from Europe and Asia. They live in bunk groups of a dozen or so with counselors, and range from about age 7 (just going into second grade) to 15-16 when they can become leadership trainees.
One of the original Camp Schodack buildings, now used as a dance studio.
A bunk house for Camp Schodack campers.
Camp Schodack is a summer icon in our region, and with the new season drawing near we’ve invited owner-director Matt Krouner to meet with us at 7 p.m. via Zoom this Thursday.
Matt will be giving us an update on the 65-year-old operation that serves children from many states each summer. Plan to join us by visiting SRCrotary.org/calendar and clicking on the Zoom link for that date.
And, please remember, we also will be voting on a slate of officer candidates for the 2022-23 Rotary Year, as explained in an email blast to all members last week as well as in posts on our website and Facebook page.
On a cool windy Saturday, SRC Rotary Impact Committee set up a table at Kristy’s Barn in Schodack to promote Rotary and their fundraising campaign.
More than $40 was raised for local food pantries and the Troy YWCA women’s shelter. Members spoke to numerous shoppers about what Rotary does.
Pat is looking for volunteers for next Saturday, May 14, to staff the table from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. or 2 to 5 p.m. Please contact her at baileyps26@gmail.com if you can help.
Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club 