Periodically, we like to review who visits the SRC website from other countries. As of today we have had visits in 2020 from the following 18 foreign nations:
France
Sweden
India
China
Belgium
Netherlands
Philippines
Lithuania
Greece
Brazil
South Korea
Serbia
Canada
Italy
Romania
Slovakia
United Kingdom
Bahamas
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s edict banning group meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic remains in effect through next Friday, May 15. Until then, we’re playing it safe but still getting together.
Thursday evening we met for a well-attended virtual cocktail hour via Zoom teleconference hosted by Roberto Martinez and Jim Leyhane, sharing talk of spring gardening, grocery shopping, family hikes, summer camp cleanups, pets, and, of course, the pandemic.
Next up, a 6 p.m. business meeting via Zoom next Thursday, May 14. One of the items on the agenda will be voting for a slate of candidates for the SRC Board for the 2020-21 Rotary Year. Please mark your calendars and plan to join your fellow Rotarians then.
Our Club bylaws require us to approve a slate of officers (collectively referred to as the Board) “at a regular meeting held at least one month prior to the end of the Rotary Year.”
Because of the ongoing restrictions on group gatherings, our next formal meeting will be via Zoom video conference at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 14. At that time, a vote on the Board will be on the agenda. (Should we not have the 12 participants needed to achieve a quorum, a vote by email will be requested the next day with a 48-hour limit on responses.)
The slate of candidates for the 2020-21 Rotary Year, which begins on July 1:
PRESIDENT: Dick Drumm
PRESIDENT ELECT: Debbie Rodriguez
VICE PRESIDENT: Terry Brewer
TREASURER: Murray Forth
SECRETARY: Pat Bailey
AT-LARGE: Bill Dowd, Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Dean Calamaras, Kevin Leyhane
(Note: The Immediate Past Present automatically becomes a Board member each year.)
Tuesday is Cinco de Mayo, but it also is “Giving Tuesday” for many charity and public service groups around the world.
One of the participating organizations is ShelterBox, which will match 100% of dollars donated by individuals and groups. up to $20,000. So, any donations you make will have a double impact on that day only. And, 100% of what you donate is tax deductible.
As the Rotary-affiliated organization says in a news release: “ShelterBox is a charity that delivers practical emergency aid to families who have lost everything because of natural disaster or conflict. We aim to provide safe shelter as quickly as possible, and the tools that will help communities to rebuild.
“Our global network of supporters, staff and volunteers make it possible to deliver aid to some of the most remote communities in the world. Most recently, we’ve been delivering tents, mosquito nets and water filters to Indonesia, in the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami at the beginning of October.
” ‘Giving Tuesday’ is a moment of conscience and celebration that brings fundraisers together. ShelterBox is a very family-focused organization, so we love the idea of becoming part of a global tribe of charities, all visibly working together on the same day.”
SRC traditionally is a strong financial supporter of ShelterBox. So, if you would like to help maintain that practice at any level of donation, just do it on Tuesday by going to the ShelterBox website and clicking on “DONATE” in the upper right corner.
ShelterBox’s rating by Charity Navigator, an organization that analyzes the trustworthiness of charitable organizations:
Travel obviously has been severely curtailed during the covid-19 pandemic, and international travel is nearly non-existent.
However, you can be a globetrotter once again by using the Internet to connect to more than 200 online Rotary meetings around the world.
There’s a staggeringly-detailed spreadsheet available to you that lists all the regularly-scheduled online meetings and activities of clubs throughout the world, live links to visit them, plus password information where needed.
Even if you don’t join in, simply looking at the amount of activity Rotarians offer in the virtual world will be worth a minute or two of your time.
CLICK HERE to access the chart.
Our first clubwide videoconference meeting went very well last Thursday, so this week we’re going to try a virtual cocktail (or coffee, tea, etc.) hour.
Roberto Martinez and Jim Leyhane are serving as our online hosts for the social event, scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 7. We can catch up some more, share our stay-at-home anecdotes, and generally get reconnected with each other. (We’ll have another formal virtual business meeting the following week.)
The Zoom meeting ID number and password are being sent out to all club members for access to the social hour. If you don’t receive an email containing them, please contact Roberto.
See you (literally) on Thursday.
HERE’S A PUBLIC SERVICE EFFORT TO GET BEHIND. TELL YOUR FRIENDS!
Held at Quigley’s Restaurant
573 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY 12061 Virtually
Members Attending (17): Phil Kellerman, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Debbie Rodriguez, Pat Bailey, Dean Calamaras, Doris Calamaras, Dick Drumm, Charlie Foote, Bill Dowd, Terry Brewer, Geoff Brewer, Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Kevin Leyhane, Ray Hannan, Becky Raymond.
THERE’S ALWAYS A FIRST TIME: Sixty years into its existence, the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club is always looking for something new to do. This week it did something it has never done before — met virtually.
With the current social distancing rules preventing in-person meetings (our last dinner meeting was held on March 12), we met today via the Zoom video conferencing system, with 17 members participating. We will hold another such meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 15. Members will be sent an email containing the meeting ID number. (Meanwhile, keep an eye out for information to come about a virtual cocktail party at 6 p.m. next Thursday.)
MEETING NOTES: President Phil Kellerman called the meeting to order, thanked Peter Brown for making the Zoom arrangements, and asked everyone to let us know what has been going on with them since March 12. … Although we have not been formally meeting, some club business has been taking place behind the scenes. For example, several members have participated in virtual District training events, and Phil, Murray Forth, and Terry Brewer have been working on our application to the Internal Revenue Service for reinstatement of tax exempt status. The latter is a detail-intensive effort Terry estimates has already consumed an estimated 60 manhours. Phil said he expects to share the details with the Board via a password-protected website page Bill Dowd is creating, then submit the application within two weeks. …
The Board, via email discussions, approved a $500 grant to the East Greenbush Central School District to aid in the purchase of masks for employees during the pandemic. … Terry reported that Columbia, Maple Hill, and Rensselaer high schools have verified they received our letters concerning scholarships of up to $1,000 for a graduating senior at each school. Depending on social distancing recommendations at the time, we will either have the checks available for presentation in June or will simply mail them to the recipients. …
It’s nearly Club election time. We will be emailing to members a slate of candidates for SRC Board seats for the 2020-21 Rotary Year. According to our Club Bylaws, a new slate must be approved at least a month before the June 30 close of the Rotary Year. Practically speaking, we need to have it done before then because we cannot submit applications for District Grants by the June 1 deadline if we do not have the slate in place.
Our Rotary meetings may be on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic guidelines, but you still can be in the loop through Rotary.
Join the #RotaryResponds “COVID-19 Livestream Telethon” at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 2 to hear stories of hope, inspiration and gratitude from Rotarians, Rotaractors, and friends of Rotary from across the globe as they share what they are doing to help their communities.
Just click on the special link — https://on.rotary.org/fb2may — to RSVP.
One activity that traditionally has been on SRC’s “Summer Casual Calendar” will not be found there this year.
Among the many arts organizations cancelling their scheduled summer seasons is the Mac-Haydn Theatre. The Chatham institution had been planning a seven-production lineup for what would have been its 52nd season.
John Saunders, Mac-Haydn’s producing artistic director, said in an announcement today that the plays planned for this summer will be moved to 2021: “Pippin,” “Urinetown,” Man of La Mancha,” “42nd Street,” “Parade,” “Rock of Ages,” and “The Sound of Music.”
“This decision did not come lightly and has weighed heavily upon me since this crisis began,” Saunders said in his announcement. “I am nothing if not an optimist, but I have realized that the most important thing is the health and safety of our audience, artists, volunteers and staff.”
Also Thursday, the company announced a fundraising campaign to offset projected financial losses from canceling the season. Called the Bright Future Fund, it takes its name from what was the theme for the 2020 season: “Bold Vision, Bright Future.” The $250,000 campaign represents 20% of Mac-Haydn’s annual operating budget.
Patrons who have already paid for this year’s subscriptions may visit machaydntheatre.org/tickets for refund, postponement or donation options.
Other artistic organizations in the region that already had cancelled or delayed their seasons:
CANCELLATIONS
• Dorset Playhouse in Dorset, VT
• Opera Saratoga in Saratoga Springs
• Jacob’s Pillow dance festival in Becket, MA
• Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA
• Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, MA
DELAYS
• Berkshire Theatre Group in Pittsfield and Stockbridge, MA, delayed until August.
CHANGES
• Park Playhouse in Albany has canceled its main summer production. “Evita,” but currently plans to present “Matilda: The Musical,” performed by Park Playhouse students, in August.
Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club 