If you’re fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and plan to join us for our first in-person SRC meeting of the 2020-21 Rotary Year, you have just eight days left to make your registration.
Roberto Martinez and Jim Leyhane are co-hosting the meeting at Roberto’s residence — at 6 p.m., an earlier time than we have been meeting virtually. After a brief business session, we will devote the remainder of the time to eating (subs), drinking (BYOB alcohol if that is desired), and getting reacquainted with each other after a 14-month shutdown.
So, be sure to email Roberto (rrmtz@aol.com) or Jim (leyhane@aol.com) NO LATER than next Tuesday, June 1, so they can have an accurate headcount to purchase food and beverages for the June 3 event. Attendees can chip in to cover that cost at the meeting.
If you’re looking for hanging plants, patio pots, and other sorts of seasonal decorations, Saturday is the last day you will be able to purchase them while helping a sister Rotary club.
Schenectady Rotary is partnering with the Schenectady Arc Horticulture Program to selling such plants, which will be available for pickup on Saturday from the Arc Maple Ridge Day Center, located at 2999 Hamburg Street in Rotterdam.
Customers are asked to place orders in advance by going online.
Rotary District 7190 has announced a program to help Rotarians achieve Paul Harris Fellow status (or adding PH levels +1, +2, etc.) by contributing $250 to the Rotary Foundation.
The District then will add 750 District Donation Points to that payment to reach the 1,000 dollars/points needed for each PH level.
All individuals need to do is make the $250 donation no later than May 30 (click here to download the Foundation donation form) then notify District Governor Rich Griesche (richg851.aol.com@clubrunner.email) that you have done so, and he will take it from there.
MEMBERS ATTENDING (17): Dick Drumm, Bill Dowd, Murray Forth, Debbie Rodriguez, Ray Hannan, Phil Kellerman, Pat Bailey, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane, Kevin Leyhane, Tony Morris, Dean Calamaras, Doris Calamaras, Charlie Foote, Andy Leyhane.
GUESTS (1): David Harris.
• PAUL HARRIS POINTS: The District has announced a program to help Rotarians achieve Paul Harris Fellow status (or adding PH levels +1, +2, etc.) by contributing $250 to the Rotary Foundation. The District then will add 750 District Donation Points to that payment to reach the 1,000 dollars/points needed for each PH level. All individuals need to do is make the $250 donation no later than May 30 (click here to download the Foundation donation form) then notify District Governor Rich Griesche (richg851.aol.com@clubrunner.email) that you have done so, and he will take it from there.
• SCHOLARSHIP VISITORS: Terry Brewer continues to work on lining up Zoom visits by our three SRC Rotary Scholarships recipients from Columbia, Maple Hill, and Rensselaer high schools. We probably will have their visits divided between the June 10 and 17 meetings.
• IN-PERSON MEETING: Members who are fully vaccinated and plan to attend our first in-person meeting of the 2020-21 Rotary Year — 6 p.m. (note the earlier meeting time) Thursday, June 3, at Roberto Martinez’s residence — are asked to email Roberto (rrmtz@aol.com) or co-host Jim Leyhane (leyhane@aol.com) NO LATER THAN TUESDAY, JUNE 1, so they have an accurate headcount for ordering food.
• SPEAKER DAVID HARRIS: Our speaker was the Schodack Town Supervisor, now in his second and final term in office. He provided a rundown of how the town has been conducting business during the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by an update on commercial development in the town.
Much of new and proposed business expansion is concentrated on the Route 9 corridor which, he noted, “Is commercial, always has been commercial, and always will be commercial.” He listed such new businesses as several Stewart’s Shops locations, a new specialty butcher shop, the latest expansion of the Curtis Lumber venue, and the proposed expansion of Amazon’s presence which would add about 500 jobs to its current 1,100-person local workforce.
David pointed out that Amazon is helping pay for expansion and upgrades of water and sewer lines in the area, and noted that other companies and developers would be following suit. “Infrastructure is what draws businesses, and businesses are the main contributor to the town tax base,” he said, with builder-supported infrastructure making it possible to attract still more businesses.
Among other topics, he talked about
• Adding two police offers to the force, and posting an officer on the Empire State Trail, probably on weekends. Amazon contributed a police bike to that effort, which will be utilized by the force’s first female officer, hired several months ago by Chief John Horrigan.
• Improving water quality and availability in various parts of the town. In particular, the area around Nassau Lake will become a water district and the town is working with state and federal representatives to get General Electric to pay for a water system necessitated by continued drainage from the old, controversial Dewey Loeffel landfill.
• NEXT WEEK’S SPEAKER: Christian Multunas, a doctoral candidate in nanotechnology at RPI, 7 p.m. via Zoom.
The Colonie-Guilderland Rotary Club is planning its 16th annual Golf Outing, a sign some normalcy is returning to the region after more than 14 months of COVID-19 shutdowns.
The event will be held at the Mill Road Acres golf course in Latham on Friday, June 18. It is open to anyone, and is designed as a fundraiser to benefit local and global charities such as Ronald McDonald House, St. Jude’s, Polio Plus, The Rotary Foundation, Food Pantries of the Capital Distinct, and ShelterBox.
The registration form and event details are available online.
Now that all club members have, to our knowledge, been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, we are planning our first in-person meeting of the 2020-21 Rotary Year.
It will be held at Roberto Martinez’s residence, with Jim Leyhane co-hosting, at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 3. (Note the time differs from our usual Zoom meeting time.)
In addition to addressing any business that may crop up, we will spend some time socializing and enjoying a subs-and-beverages dinner. (BYOB for alcoholic beverages.) To get an accurate headcount in time for ordering, please email Roberto (rrmtz@aol.com) or Jim (leyhane@aol.com) NO LATER THAN TUESDAY, JUNE 1, if you plan to attend. We ask that only fully vaccinated people attend, including guests.
Meanwhile, enjoy the weekend. The forecast certainly is favorable.
The annual District 7190 Conference, a virtual event for the second straight year, will take place Saturday. If you haven’t registered but have had a change of heart and would like to participate, you still can do so even though you’re cutting it close.
All you have to do tonight or Friday by 1 p.m. is go online to sign up, and the event organizers will send you an access link.
The event will take place in three phases:
• The social gathering beginning at 8 a.m.
• The business meeting, which includes a roll call of clubs, a number of committee reports, a vot by the clubs on the proposed district budget for the 2021-22 Rotary Year, and “a few surprises.”
• After a short break, the Remembrance Ceremony will honor Rotarians in the district who have passed away since last year’s convention. That will be followed by recognitions and awards.
Note: The agenda and the proposed budget both have been attached to emails sent to all Rotarians by DG Rich Griesche.
MEMBERS ATTENDING (14): Dick Drumm, Debbie Rodriguez, Bill Dowd, Ray Hannan, Phil Kellerman, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Pat Bailey, Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane, Andy Leyhane, Dean Calamaras, Doris Calamaras, Murray Forth.
GUESTS: None.
• IN-PERSON MEETING — Our first in-person meeting of the 2020-21 Rotary Year will be a subs-and-soda picnic at Roberto Martinez’s East Greenbush residence, co-hosted by Jim Leyhane, at 6 p.m. (note the time) Thursday, June 3. Anyone who is fully vaccinated and wishes to attend is asked to let Roberto know no later than Tuesday, June 1.
• MEETING VENUE SEARCH — Several members are checking on the possibilities of various places to host our weekly meetings since Quigley’s is out of business. Dick Drumm is checking on the Schodack Diner, Debbie Rodriguez on Moscatiello’s Restaurant, Ray Hannon on the Crisp Cannoli, Jim Leyhane on the American Legion in Rensselaer. (We queried the East Greenbush Elks, but it already hosts a Thursday event.) All will report back to the membership.
• SPEAKERS: David Harris, Schodack Town Supervisor, will review the state of the town at our May 20 Zoom meeting. Christian Multunas, a doctoral student in nanotechnology at RPI, will speak at our May 27 Zoom meeting.
• FINANCIAL GRANTS: Treasurer Murray Forth reported that checks have been sent for money designated by club donors for specific organizations: Circles of Mercy ($600) and a trio of food pantries — The Anchor, Doors of Hope, and CoNSERNS-U ($185 each).
• SUMMER CASUAL EVENTS: Three of our eight “Summer Casual” events for July and August have been scheduled: Thursday, July 8, 6 p.m., picnic at the Brown residence; Thursday, July 15, 6 p.m, at the Calamaras residence; Thursday, July 22, 6 p.m., the Leyhane residence. Debbie Rodriguez is looking into a possible outing to Bruno Stadium for a ValleyCats baseball game. Anyone else wishing to reserve a date to host or arrange an event is asked to let Debbie and/or Bill Dowd know so the date can be reserved and publicized.
Now that most adults have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and state attendance restrictions on in-person gatherings are being eased, we’re nearing the return of SRC outdoor gatherings.
Our first will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 24, with a picnic at the Drumm farm to mark our annual “Presidential Changeover,” when Dick will be handing the gavel to Debbie Rodriguez.
And, we now have the first of eight “Summer Casual” dates reserved in July and August. Jim Leyhane and Roberto Martinez will co-host a picnic and pool party at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 22, at Jim’s residence.
Details and signup dates for both events will be shared closer to those dates. Meanwhile, reserve them on your calendar.
According to the latest CDC guidance, people who are fully vaccinated can associate with other fully vaccinated people with only “miniscule” chance of a COVID problem. Thus, we’re asking any club members and significant others who wish to attend any events to do so only if fully vaxxed.
Meanwhile, if you would like to hold some sort of “Summer Casual” event or to plan an outing for the club, please let incoming president Debbie and/or webmaster Bill Dowd know so the date can be reserved and publicized.
Traditionally, each July and August we suspend our weekly formal meetings in favor of a “Summer Casual” schedule.
For those of you who are among our newer members, that simply means we like to socialize, renew acquaintances with members’ families, and share a picnic, a drink, a game, a field trip, or anything that works as a summertime activity.
In normal times — remember those? — we have had pool parties, picnics and a baseball game at the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium in Troy, an evening of summer theater at the Mac-Haydn Theatre in Chatham, etc. This summer, we’ll be pressed to come up with some alternatives, given the state’s pandemic-era restrictions. (However, the ValleyCats will be playing this summer in the Frontier League, and Mac-Haydn says it will have some sort of season starting in mid- to late-summer rather than in May as usual.)
What helps is that, to the best of our knowledge, all club members have been fully vaccinated. According to the latest CDC guidance, people who are fully vaccinated can associate with other fully vaccinated people with only “miniscule” chance of a COVID problem. Thus, we’re asking anyone who wishes to attend any events — significant others included — to do so only if fully vaxxed.
We have four Thursdays each in July and August to fill. We already have word from Debbie and Peter Brown that they will host an outdoor get-together at their home and from Roberto Martinez and Jim Leyhane that they will do likewise at one of their residences. No specific dates have yet been announced, but we now know we have at least six dates open.
If you would like to hold some sort of “Summer Casual” event or to plan an outing for the club, please let incoming president Debbie Rodriguez and/or webmaster Bill Dowd know so the date can be reserved and publicized.
Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club 