Attendees: Pat, Mary Alice, Ray, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Carole Heaney, Roberto, Jim, Chris Bystroff, Charlie Foot, Murray, Laurie

Guests: Tom Heaney

AI Content Review

Carole discussed the process of sending AI-generated minutes to Phil for review and corrections, aiming to free up club members for other tasks. Process needs continued tweaking.

Global Grant Update

Peter shared that Jennifer in Kenya has organized a meeting for next Wednesday with interested parties for the global grant project, and Peter offered to share the meeting details with anyone interested.

District Grant Updates:

District Grant 2024/25: Three Scholarships will be issued from this grant on June 12th. In Terry’s absence Phil will be presenting the awards.  That to everyone involved in making the event possible, especially Terry who reached out to the school systems. The meeting will not have a Zoom in order make the event more personal, and we will have different seating. Action item: updated guest list.

District Grant 2025/26 for EG School was received by the District but not yet reviewed  or approved.  Thanks to Carole, Laurie, Peter, and Chris for their efforts in preparing the application.

Project Updates:

Star of Hope: Roberto mentioned that Terry had moved the Star to Hope transition to September and he is the point of contact with Jeff for planning. Currently the Club would be responsible for moving stones and gardening at the new location. As more information is available, Terry will let us know.

St. Paul’s Book Nook: Consider book donations of paperbacks and hard-cover books in good order. Action: Phil to finalize with Chris Fowler for delivery

Event Planning

The group decided to proceed with the Club Induction to be at the June 19^th Presidential Turnover event at the Browns.

• The Pool Party at Jim’s and sponsored by Jim/Roberto will be July 24th. Action: Jim to finalize.
• St. Paul’s Senior Center site visit will be held on July 10th. Action: Phil to finalize
• Mohawk Humane Society tour will be on July 31st. Bring bagged dog food. Action: Phil to finalize

Club Runner Update

Roberto discussed ongoing issues with Club Runner and Rotary International synchronization, noting that the new officers for 25-26 are incorrect. The club is working to ensure all membership is properly recorded in the system before the new calendar year to avoid billing issues.  Action Item: Pat will reach out to the district for help on this matter.

Haiti Fundraising Update

Phil also mentioned the completion of the Haiti High Clinic fundraising, which raised $300. Thanks everyone for the contributions. Mr. Foote suggested that any speakers visiting with the club be informed they can make a request for donations via an application process in the following budget year. The Club thought this was a reasonable suggestion by Charlie. Action Item: Forward to the Board.

Membership Dues:

Murray will send out membership notices over the weekend.

Action: Members to pay dues.

Upcoming Social Events

Baseball at the Joe- August 7th Ticket Allocation Review

Roberto reviewed ticket allocations from last year and discussed discrepancies in the numbers, particularly regarding Pat’s tickets which were reported as 3 versus 4.

Debbie R. has info about Carole’s two tickets from last year. Paid but not used due to power outage at the stadium and should have been added to the list.

Action: Pat B. will confirm her ticket available. Debbie R. will confirm Carole’s two tickets are on the list.

MacHayden “Annie” Performance: Aug. 14th matinee. Debbie B. reviewed sign up list and updated ticket count.

Action: Debbie B is collecting monies now and will take final ticket count on June 19^th.  Tickets are $45.

Speaker:

The group agreed to postpone tonight’s speaker until September due to ongoing technical difficulties with Zoom.

Members in Attendance (13): Roberto Martinez, Pat Bailey, Jim Leyhane, Laurie Pferr, Debbie Rodriguez, Phil Kellerman, Ray Hannan, Murray Forth, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Christine Fowler, Andy Leyhane and Kevin Leyhane.

By Zoom (0)

Guests (0):

President Roberto Martinez called the meeting to order.

Theme for the year: Grow membership, do good in the world, leverage social capital, & have fun!

Meeting Notes:

Membership: Roberto Martinez called Shannon Romanowski about a Corporate Membership for the YMCA. Jim Leyhane has a possible member who might attend next week. Carole Heaney, Pat Bailey, Laurie LPferr and Debbie Rodriguez met as a small group to discuss ideas to increase membership and to look at the Clubs structure for changes that could help attract new members.

Global Grant: Per Peter Brown, there has been no progress since last week. He gave a recap of the project. The next step is to look for a site for a water capture.

Star of Hope:  Debbie Rodriguez will submit a budget for the Star of Hope Relocation Project when details become available. The boy scouts will help with moving the Star of Hope.

District Grant: Per Roberto Martinez, for the 24-25 Grant, three awardees were selected for the scholarships. The presentation of scholarships will be held on June 12th. Pat Bailey is working on entering the Clubs goals and officers into the District website. Laurie Pferr is heading up a small group to complete the 25-26 application.

Community Project: The next meeting for the backpack project will be held on August 21st.

Donation Jar: Members are asked to think about what non-for-profit organization should receive the proceeds of the passing of the jar next year.

Food Drive: Per Phil Kellerman, the Stuff the Bus event will be held on June 7th at Maple Hill to benefit the Anchor Food Pantry.

Change-Over Dinner and Induction of New Members: The change-over will be held on June 19th at Debbie and Peter Brown”s house at 6:00 pm. Laurie Pferr, Chris Fowler and Chris Bystroff will be inducted.

CNY News: Information on all of CNY events and more are posted to the website, cnyrotary.org.

RI Conventions: Calgary, June 21-25, 2025. Carole Heaney will be attending. The Club had voted that Carole would represent SCR Rotary as our Delegate to the Convention, however we subsequently found out that they do not appoint delegates any longer.

Summer Social Events: The events are posted on the Calendar page of the website.

For the St. Paul Center tour on July 10th, at 3:45, please bring donations of household items and books for adults 55 and older. Chris Fowler toured the facility and looked at the book nook. They could use some small tables, chairs, lamps and plants. Please, no clothes are needed. For t

For the Mohawk -Hudson Humane Society tour on July 31, please bring donations of pet food.

Valley Cats: The game was rained out last year. The Club tickets rolled over to this year. We will attend the game on August 7th. If you did not sign up last year but wish to go this year, let Debbie Rodriguez know. She will be picking up the tickets next month. Debbie will bring the list of attendees for this year’s game and will accept payments for those who had not signed up last year at the next meeting.

Tickets are $46 if we have 12 or more people attending or $50 if less than 12 attendees for the Mac-Hayden Theater production of Annie. Let Debbie Brown know if you are attending.

Next Meeting: The next meeting is Thursday, June 5th at 6:00 pm at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant, Route 4, North Greenbush. Tom Romero will talk about crypto currency.

Speaker Recap

Quisqueya explains that AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers typically serve full-time (40 hours per week) at service sites, focusing on indirect service and capacity building rather than direct tasks. The program aims to create sustainable systems that allow organizations to function without the VISTA after their service. Volunteers range in age from 18 and up, with no upper limit, and must be U.S. citizens, green card holders, or have work authorization. Quisqueya describes Siena College’s cohort model, which includes monthly gatherings for professional development and community building. She also discusses how partner organizations are selected and mentions several local nonprofits currently hosting VISTA volunteers. Quisqueya notes that VISTA volunteers can be recruited nationwide, with about 30% of volunteers traveling more than 50 miles to serve. Meeting Summary Membership: Carole presented the board with a draft of a sandwich board sign to use at events and to post by the door outside of Moscatiello’s on meeting nights. A request was made to do a mockup with the Rotary info and meeting times and contact information. Action: Carole H. will craft a mockup and send to Roberto. Roberto will then ask the restaurant if we can post outside. New Slate of Officers: A slate of officers was proposed and a vote from the membership approved. All in favor. No nays. President: Phil Kellerman for 2 years 2025/26 and 2026/27 President Elect: Andy Leyhane 2025/26 President Elect: Carole Heaney 2026/27 Vice President: Jim Leyhane Treasurer/Co-Treasurer: Murray Forth and Phil Kellerman Foundation: Jim Leyhane Club Budget: Phil Kellerman presented the Board with an update on the current financial health of the club. Phil informed the board that expenditures are outpacing income and discussed the need to identify strategies to increase funds, including major fundraisers to replenish the bank account, as upcoming expenses for scholarships will further decrease the balance. Strategies to Increase Membership: Follow up from the April 10th Rotary meeting presented by Carole and Terry on the Motivators and Barriers to Rotary Membership.  The membership identified several flexibility options to consider to make Rotary an appealing choice for joining Rotary including: changing meeting frequency, increasing frequency of meeting via Zoom only, offer multiple types of membership, decrease costs associated with attendance, i.e. weekly dinner expenses Action: Carole H. will set up a small group collect ideas and bring to the membership for discussion in mid-June to decide any changes by July 1st. Kenya Project: Peter updated the group on the Kenya water project, explaining that despite initial promising results, the drilling attempt was unsuccessful. He proposes using the remaining funds for a water capture project in an area with steady rainfall, noting that they need to find a suitable location that will serve the population and allow for water collection and treatment. Peter informed the group about the unexpected death of Edith Kanana’s brother, chair of a Rotary Club project, and the initiative to raise funds to help pay for the release of her brother’s body. He suggested that interested members can donate through him. Rotary District Grant Application Requirements: The group discussed the requirements for the Rotary district grant application. They need to include the club’s goals for 2025-26, foundation goals, and a slate of officers, which should be available on Club Runner and CNY site. Phil, as the President-elect, needs to set the club goals. The foundation goals involve estimating how much club members will contribute to the Rotary Foundation in the coming year. The grant application also requires signatures from current and incoming officers. Action: Phil will complete goals for 2025/26 by May 27th as President Elect. Carole will include in District Grant application. Membership Dues: The club discussed membership dues. Murray will send out invoices for dues in the next two weeks, with payments due July 1st. The club is considering setting up an ACH payment system through KeyBank for a $10 monthly fee to facilitate electronic payments. Action: Murray will send out membership dues invoices within two weeks. An ACH payment option will be included with the communication. Star of Hope Project: Debbie R. reported the group has selected Option A for a site plan and is waiting on a budget to determine costs and potential volunteer work. Debbie will submit a budget for the Star of Hope Relocation Project when details become available. District Grant 2024/25: The District Grant opportunities for 2024-25 have been discussed, with scholarship awardees selected and presented on June 12th. Murray and Phil to confirm scholarship awardee names for the bank checks and submit to Roberto before the June 12th meeting. Rotary Convention: Roberto is to notify Rotary International that Carole Heaney will be the clubs delegate Convention prior to June 19th. Fundraising: Club members to consider hosting fundraiser gatherings over the summer and notify Roberto of dates.

Attendance (16): Charlie Foote, Ray Hannan, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane, Murray Forth, Carole Heaney, Laurie Pferr, Becky Raymond, Pill Kellerman, Chris Bystroff, Keven Leyhane, Andy Leyhane, Pat Bailey and Debbie Rodriguez.

Guests (2): Quisqueya Witbeck and Janet Witbeck.

Next Meeting: The next meeting is Thursday, May 28 at 6:00 pm at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant, Route 4, North Greenbush. Also, you can join by Zoom using the link on the websites calendar page. This meeting is a Club Assembly.

Attendance (16): C. Foote, P. Bailey, C. Heaney, P. Brown, D. Brown, R. Hannan, M. Forth, C. Bystroff, P. Kellerman, L. Pferr, D. Rodriguez, R. Martinez, J. Leyhane, A. Leyhane, K. Leyhane and B. Raymond.

Guest (2): Quisqueya Witbek and Janet Witbek.

SRC Rotary Meeting Notes: May 15, 2025

Speaker Recap for May 15, 2025

This evening’s speaker, Charlee Stead, from St. Paul’s Center engaged the membership in conversations about new Senior Housing for the unhoused. The talk covered updates on various community initiatives, including a shelter and supportive housing facilities. Discussions focused on challenges faced by homeless individuals, particularly seniors and families, as well as strategies to support them through housing assistance and community partnerships. Charlee extended an invitation to the membership to visit Unity House or St. Paul’s Senior Center for a tour.

Member, Chris Fowler, expressed interest in supporting St. Paul’s with a library at Senior Housing.

Agenda Items:

Community Service:

Backpack Program Support and Fundraising

Carole and Peter updated the membership on the outcome of today’s meeting with EG District meeting on supporting the backpack program that addresses food insecurity for students and families across seven schools. The group came to consensus for Rotary to help support funding for freezers and shelving at Columbia High School, which coordinates the program.

A budget will be submitted to Principal Simon by Columbia High School representative Lois, by May 22nd. A follow-up meeting of the group will be held on May 29th.

The group also aligned on holding a fundraising “Fun Run” in early October to help support the program’s $25,000 annual costs, with Kevin Leyhane leading efforts to secure sponsorships. Schools maintain their own fundraising initiatives as well. Date to be determined on May 29th.

Action: Peter, Carole, Chris, and Laurie will continue working on the District Grant Application for the EG Backpack Food Program. Carole will coordinate a zoom meeting for the grant group.

Action: Roberto, Peter, Phil, Kevin, Laurie, and Chris to attend May 29th meeting at school. Peter to report results back to membership on May 29th.

Club Updates

Carole reported she is testing automated meeting minutes templates. Action: Expect a recommendation to the board by July 1 by Carole Heaney.

The club agreed to sponsor some of the expenses associated with the upcoming defensive driving course. Pat Bailey made a motion to donate $100, which was seconded by Murrary and approved by the group. Action: Pat to obtain check for Nassau Library.

Phil also encouraged members to increase their Facebook followers to reach a goal of 100 to 200.

Mock-up of a sandwich board has been sent to Board by Carole. Action: Decision needed by Board.

Rotary Meeting Updates and Plans

The meeting covered several updates and announcements, including a reminder about submitting agenda items for an upcoming board meeting to Roberto.

• Phil Kellerman will follow up on tour dates, and possible dates for Boathouse Grill
• Debbie R. discussed the relocation of Star of Hope and a meeting at the school complex on May 21st at 1 PM with Terry and Roberto.
• A change in the schedule for scholarship recipients, moving their presentation to June 12th instead of June 19th due to the original date not working.
• Club assembly planned on June 19th.
• A presentation on cryptocurrency by Tom Romero on June 5th.
• Check the rotary.org website for upcoming event information.
• No meeting on July 3rd.

Member Responses Needed re: Social Events this summer:

• Debbie Brown will follow up with MacHaydn theater for the August 18th performance times. Let her know if you are interested.
• Debbie Rodriguez has tickets for Valley Cats Game on August 7th. Let her know if you want tickets.
• Pat Bailey is taking enrollments ASAP for the AAA Defensive Driving Course on Saturday, May 17th.
• Donation Jar funds will need a beneficiary. Send suggestions to Roberto Martinez.

FYI: Upcoming Food drives:

• Hoffman’s Car Wash May 17-18: Free car wash with food donations
• Stuff the Bus: June 7th, 9a-12n at Maple Hill High School-No perishable items.

Attendance: C. Foote, D. Drumm, P. Bailey, C. Heaney, P. Brown, D. Brown, R. Hannan, M. Forth, C. Bystroff, P. Kellerman, L. Pferr, D. Rodriguez, C. Fowler, A. Leyhane. Guest: C. Stead

Submitted,

Carole Heaney/Deb Rodriguez

Members in Attendance (14): Roberto Martinez, Pat Bailey, Jim Leyhane, Laurie Pferr, Debbie Rodriguez, Phil Kellerman, Ray Hannan, Murray Forth, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Carol Heaney, Charlie Foote, Dick Drumm and Kevin Leyhane.

By Zoom (1): Chris Bystroff

Guests (1): Mark Yurkiw

President Roberto Martinez called the meeting to order.

Theme for the year: Grow membership, do good in the world, leverage social capital, & have fun!

Meeting Notes:

Membership: Thanks to Carole Heaney and Terry Brewer for the great meeting last week on what Rotary is and who Rotarians are. Carole has proposed a pop-up sign to highlight the Rotary meeting and invite people to come join us. Roberto will check with Moscatellos. We are using the new banner and the old flags and banners have been moved to storage.

Food Drive: Per Phil Kellerman, he has received another $165 in post donations from the bowling fundraiser. The raised the amount of the donation to the food pantry to $1370.

Zoom AI: Carole Heaney is looking into using Zoom AI to take the meeting minutes. On May 14th, our District Rotary will have a webinar on this subject.

RI Contact Page: Our Treasurer and Secretary need to make sure our contact data is correct in Club Runner.

Treasurer Report: Phil Kellerman reported that the IRS cannot find the submitted paperwork. They are backlogged and processing paperwork submitted last September. Phil endeavors to persevere.

SRC Facebook: The Facebook page is live. Please join and invite others. It has been linked to the website and the old Facebook page has been removed.

Global Grant: The well came up dry. The water flow is so low that a low flow pressure pump cannot be used. Alternatively, they are now looking for a suitable location to collect rainwater. The water will need to be treated and stored. Since the church where the well was located is not a suitable location because it has its own collection system.

Defensive Driving: The AAA course will be held on May 17th at the Nassau Ambulance (note change) from 9 am until 3:30 pm. We need a minimum of 25 people to sign up. If you are a member of AAA, the cost is $22. If you are a non-member, the cost is $27. Depending on your insurance, you can save 10% to 15% off the cost of your insurance and it should be good for 3 years. Contact Pat Bailey if you wish to attend. Fifteen people have signed up.

Community Project: The next meeting for the backpack project will be on 5/15 at 1:30 pm.

Fun Run: The Field Day Fun Run to benefit the backpack program will be held on Friday, June 13 from 11:30 am until 2:00 pm at Goff Middle School. There will be a quarter of a mile, half a mile, and mile and a half runs. Per Kevin, they are seeking donations, and the entry fee is projected to be $15. The kids will get a free t-shirt.

Star of Hope: Terry Brewer contacted Jeff Simon to set up another meeting with his management team, the architect, landscape architect and Turner Construction and to identify the new site.

Scholarships: Terry Brewer sent out the letters to the Schodack, East Greenbush and Rensselaer School Districts asking them to select one student each to receive a $1000 scholarship. Students selected should meet the Rotary goal of service. May 29th has been set aside for the scholarship presentation. This is also Ray Hannan’s birthday. He will bring in cake for dessert.

Board Meeting: To be held on May 19th. Send any agenda items to Roberto Martinez.

Donation Jar: Donations from the jar will go to the Haiti eye clinic this year.

Valley Cats: The game was rained out last year. The Club tickets rolled over to this year. Debbie Rodriguez dropped off the contract for this year to the box office. The Club would like to attend the August 7th game. If you did not sign up last year but wish to go this year, let Debbie know. She will pick up the tickets in July.

District Grant: Needs to be submitted by the 15th.

Change-Over Dinner: The change-over will be held on June 19th at Debbie and Peter Brown”s house.

Summer Social Events: The Valley Cat’s game is August 7th. We are also looking at going to S&S Brewery and touring the Mohawk -Hudson Animal Center.

CNY News: Information on all of CNY events and more are posted to the website, cnyrotary.org. CNY has several excellent webinars coming up that will inform and inspire, and we hope you will add to your calendars. Visit cnyrotary.org/events to get all the details and zoom links.

RI Conventions: Calgary, June 21-25, 2025. Carole Heaney will be attending. The Club voted that Carole would represent SCR Rotary as our Delegate to the Convention.

Next Meeting: The next meeting is Thursday, May 15 at 6:00 pm at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant, Route 4, North Greenbush. Zoom WILL NOT be available. Program to be determined.

Entry Choices are Chicken Rustica Salid, Eggplant Pharm and Spaghetti and Meatballs.

Mark Yurkiv traveled across Ukraine to “deliver lifesaving humanitarian aid to the front lines near Kharkiv in the east.” He speaks the language and is trying to save lives. He was born in NYC and his parents spoke Ukrainian. He joined the army and was assigned to photography. He is also an artist with exhibitions in Aisa and Tiawan. For more information on his exhibits go to www.signsofcompassion.com.

In this 15min video Mark tries to immerse you in how the people in Ukraine integrate their daily lives with this senseless terrorism  https://youtu.be/AEGWEjRvZSA. The people are like us. They have homes, work and shop in supermarkets but at night they make drones.

For three years Mark has been filling shipping containers with obsolete medical supplies and equipment to fill shipping containers to send to Ukraine. Shipping is expensive. The link to donate for shipping is https://ridgefieldresponds.org/ridgefield4ukraine/.