Update 2: Events added to ‘Summer Casual’ calendar

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UPDATE 2: Pat Bailey and Debbie Rodriguez will host “Sundae on Thursday (+ food)” event on Thursday, August 15. Save the date. Details to come.

UPDATE 1: Dick and Mary Drumm will host Rotarians and friends at a picnic-style get-together at their Fox Hollow residence on Thursday, August 8. Mark that date on your calendar, and stay tuned for details. Meanwhile, scroll down for all the other events and reservation deadlines.

We hope you and your family — and friends as well! — will join us at one or more of our “Summer Casual” events in July and August.

We have a few pressing reservation deadlines to facilitate planning, as follows:

Screen Shot 2019-06-17 at 12.49.01 PM• If you plan to attend the private-room dinner and chatfest at the Schodack Diner, 1842 Columbia Turnpike, on Thursday, July 11, you’ll need to contact event coordinator Ray Hannan (ray110b@yahoo.com) no later than Thursday, June 27 (the date of our Presidential Changeover Dinner, which we hope you will attend at Jim Leyhane’s residence). $15 per person or $25 per couple. Proceeds go to the club treasury.

Screen Shot 2019-06-17 at 12.51.02 PM• If you plan to attend our annual outing to Bruno Stadium at HVCC on Thursday, July 18, for a pavilion picnic and ValleyCats game you need to let event coordinator Terry Brewer (tlbrewer12piseco@gmail.com) know by Wednesday, July 10, how many tickets you will need. The price is $26 per ticket, which includes dinner. He will distribute the tickets on July 11. After that, you’re on your own.

Screen Shot 2019-06-17 at 12.52.48 PM • If you plan to attend our annual outing to the Mac-Haydn Theater (for a performance of “Ragtime: The Musical”) and/or a pre-theater dinner at Yiannis at the Chatham House on Thursday, August 1, you’ll need to contact event coordinator Debbie Brown (mdbrown@nycap.rr.com) by July 4.

Screen Shot 2019-06-17 at 1.01.43 PM• If you plan to attend the Thursday, July 25, Pool Party & Cookout being co-hosted by Jim Leyhane and Roberto Martinez, you’ll need to let Jim (leyhane@aol.com) or Roberto (rrmtz@aol.com) by Friday, July 12. The EG Student Advisory Council will be our special guests. Bring an appetizer or dessert. $15 per person or $25 per family. Otherwise, catering is by Selena’s Cafe. Proceeds go to the club treasury.

NOTE: We still need people to step forward to host or coordinate an event the week of August 22. As always, it need not be on a Thursday if another day works better for all concerned.

 

 

Meeting Clipboard: 6/13/19 (Scholarship Night)

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SRC ClipboardHeld at Quigley’s Restaurant
573 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY 12061

Members Attending (16): Andy Leyhane, Murray Forth, Phil Kellerman, Pat Bailey, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Dick Drumm, Bill Dowd, Terry Brewer, Doris Calamaras, Ray Hannan, Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane, Geoff Brewer, Mike Simon, Mike Bennett.

Guests (9): Megan Shiffer, Max Brady, Abigail Utter, Brandy Cenci, Jim Brady, Mr. & Mrs. Utter, Mrs. Shiffer and interpreter.

PROGRAM: ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS

Screen Shot 2019-06-03 at 4.46.57 PMAll three winners of our $1,000 SRC Scholarship Awards were present along with school representatives and parents.

President Andy prefaced the presentation by announcing that special awards were being given to three members who were largely responsible for the fundraising efforts to underwrite the awards, and they in turn would make the check presentations to the students. They were Murray Forth for running our recycling program, Terry Brewer for coordinating the community awards dinner, and Roberto Martinez for securing the necessary district grant.

The scholarship awardees, and their chosen colleges: Megan Shiffer of Columbia High School (New England College in Henniker, NH), Max Brady of Rensselaer High School (Siena College in Loudonville), and Abigail Utter of Maple Hill High School (Marist College in Poughkeepsie).

mike bennett and abigail utter
Mike Bennett and Abigail Utter of Maple Hill flank presenter Roberto Martinez.
brandy cenci and max brady
Rensselaer HS counselor Brandy Cenci and Max Grady flank presenter Terry Brewer.
Meghan & Jeff
Presenter Murray Forth congratulates Columbia’s Meghan Shiffer as Jeff Simon looks on.

RI Gold LogoMEETING NOTES: President Andy welcomed members and guests. … Jeff Simon reported on the East Greenbush elementary school kickball tournament that raised $441 for the EG Student Advisory Council. The proceeds were donated to Rotary International’s Clean Water Project. … Bill Dowd gave an update on the creation of a Troy Rotary Club that SRC is sponsoring. Bill and Terry Brewer are on the steering committee for the new entity. Its first public meeting generated about 30 attendees, three corporate sponsors were pledged, and several people volunteered to be charter officers. He said all are welcome to participate in Troy activities, and that its summer schedule would be incorporated into our own website calendar page for easy reference. …

Screen Shot 2019-06-03 at 4.29.32 PMSignup sheets were circulated for two events on our Summer Casual Calendar — a July 11 private-room dinner at the Schodack Diner, 1842 Columbia Turnpike, sponsored by Ray and Lois Hannan, and the July 18 pavilion picnic and ValleyCats baseball game at Bruno Stadium being coordinated by Terry Brewer. Also, Jim Leyhane said he will be hosting a pool party and cookout on July 25, with members of the EG Student Advisory Council as special guests. For the diner event and pool party, the sponsors are picking up the food costs, while guests are asked to contribute $15 per person or $25 per family to the club treasury. All available July dates on the Summer Casual Calendar now are spoken for. Anyone wishing to host or coordinate events the weeks of August 8, 15, and 22 is asked to let Bill Dowd know the date and details so they can be publicized ASAP. …

Screen Shot 2019-06-13 at 9.15.34 PMNext Thursday’s meeting will be “Musical Trivia, Part Deux,” with Kevin Leyhane as the quizmaster once more. … The following Thursday, June 27, Jim Leyhane will host the annual Presidential Changeover Dinner when Andy will pass the gavel to Phil Kellerman for the 2019-20 Rotary Year and Dick Drumm will become president-elect for 2020-21, our 60th year as a club. It will be a catered dinner, so RSVPs are quite important.

 

Troy Rotary’s 1st public session goes well

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Organizer Kareem Jandali (right) speaks at first Troy Rotary public meeting.

About 30 people, including SRC Rotarians Bill Dowd and Terry Brewer, turned out for the first public meeting of the under-development Troy Rotary Club on Wednesday evening at the Troy Kitchen food hall and entertainment venue.

The group of curious Troy residents and business people was treated to finger foods and a cash bar as well as a presentation by Past District Governor Fred Daniels and District Governor-Elect Larry Jones. Terry and Bill both spoke to the crowd in their roles as liaison between the Troy club and SRC, which is its sponsor.

Interest in formally applying for Rotary membership appeared strong, and we picked up three guaranteed corporate memberships. Several people stepped up as officer candidates (RI requires a minimum of a president, treasurer, and secretary to form a club), and one volunteered to create a closed group on Facebook to facilitate club communications.

Although this was the first public meeting, the project has been in the planning stages for several months. A summer schedule has been outlined that will include several networking sessions and public service project dates. The next open public meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 19, again at Troy Kitchen, 77 Congress Street. (Its owner, Cory Booker, was the first recruit for the club, which is being spearheaded by Kareem Jandali, already a Rotarian.)

Troy Rotary A1
About half the attendees get together for a post-meeting photo.

 

 

RSVP for SRC scholarship night THIS Thursday

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Screen Shot 2019-06-03 at 4.46.57 PMOK, so we said last week it would be Scholarship Night, but it wasn’t. It WILL be this Thursday at Quigley’s and we’d like to have as many Rotarians as possible on hand for this annual event.

We will be presenting $1,000 scholarship checks to graduating seniors from Columbia, Maple Hill, and Renselaer high schools, a philanthropic effort funded each year by the hard work and generosity of SRC members.

The menu will feature Quigley’s popular lasagna, plus antipasto salad, chef’s choice of side dishes, garlic bread, dessert, and beverages. As always, dinner coordinator Debbie Brown (mdbrown@nycap.rr.com) needs an accurate headcount for purposes of providing adequate seating and food without last-second scrambling. If your name is not on the following list, please be sure she receives your RSVP no later than Tuesday evening.

Bailey, Pat
Brewer, Terry
Brown, Debbie
Brown, Peter
Dowd, Bill
Drumm, Dick
Forth, Murray
Hannan, Ray
Kellerman, Phil
Leyhane, Andy
Leyhane, Jim
Leyhane, Kevin

Orvis, Carol
Simon, Jeff

Meeting Clipboard: 6/6/19

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SRC ClipboardHeld at Quigley’s Restaurant
573 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY 12061

Members Attending (12): Andy Leyhane, Murray Forth, Phil Kellerman, Pat Bailey, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Dick Drumm, Dean Calamaras, Doris Calamaras, Ray Hannan, Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane.

Guests (2): Tom Burdick, Dawn Vavala.

MEETING NOTES: President Andy welcomed 12 members (a quorum) and two guests. … Doris Calamaras announced that she wants to raffle several afghans she has purchased and donate the money to Gift of Life. There was a suggestion to sell the raffle tickets at the Gift of Life Golf Tournament in September. … Phil Kellerman provided an update on proceeds from the sale of CDs released at the recent SRC concert to benefit the Oley Foundation have reached $1,100. Mike McCarthy, one of the performers on the CD, will perform on the back patio at My Place & Co. (1640 Columbia Turnpike) on Sunday, July 7. …

Visiting Rotarian Dawn Vavala, who provides Rotary-branded clothing merchandise throughout the District, reported that sales of the special Rotary Foundation shirts has raised $1,500 for the Foundation. … Jim Leyhane talked about the Rotary Run & Festival for Good, to be held at the Columbia County Fairgrounds in Chatham on Saturday, October 10. The event will include 5K and 10K runs, and offer attendees  food and beer trucks as well as events for kids and families. Profits will go to GOL and ShelterBox.

Screen Shot 2019-06-08 at 1.07.44 AM
Tom Burdick

PROGRAM: The District’s Gift of Life President Tom Burdick presented a video about District 7190 and GOL. He noted how much our club has supported the Gift of Life over the years.

He noted that the District helped fund three medical teaching missions to Bucharest, Romania, donating $15,000 for each of the missions. GOL now has become the largest pediatric cardiology non-profit organization in the world.

The District is arranging and funding one or two such operations a year at Albany Medical Center. The GOL feels it is financially better to send teams abroad to train medical personnel, but some children continue coming to Albany because they do not have sufficient facilities in their home country. The Samaritan’s Purse philanthropic organization is being used as a partner because it can have patients fly into Albany instead of New York City. They also bring in an interpreter.

Tom said the District’s second GOL run held several weeks ago drew 200 runners and raised $2.500.  A lot of the work was done by the students.

Dawn Vavala spoke about GOL’s clothing donation bins and the need to get more out of Rotary members and friends. Also, people can donate through Amazon Smile and Amazon donates 0.5% of purchases.

In other activities, the GOL is looking for board members.  Interested parties can contact Tom. The organization also is considering a rum tasting fundraiser. The annual GOL Golf Tournament is scheduled for Monday, September 16.

NEXT MEETING: We will present $1,000 scholarship checks to a number of graduating high school seniors, an activity postponed from this week. Plus, Kevin Leyhane will present “Music Trivia, Part Deux.”

Meeting Clipboard: 5/30/19

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SRC ClipboardHeld at Quigley’s Restaurant
573 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY 12061

Members Attending (14): Andy Leyhane, Pat Bailey, Peter Berry, Geoff Brewer, Terry Brewer, Debbie Brown, Peter Brown, Dean Calamaras, Dick Drumm, Charlie Foote, Murray Forth, Jim Leyhane, Becky Raymond, Debbie Rodriguez.

Guests: None.

Screen Shot 2019-06-03 at 4.46.57 PMMEETING NOTES: President Andy Leyhane welcomed members, who constituted a quorum. … It was reported that selections have been finalized for our annual youth scholarship awards. We will be presenting $1,000 checks to one graduating senior each from Columbia, Maple Hill, and Rensselaer high schools. … Students at Goff Middle School are planning to host a kickball tournament at 10 a.m. Sunday, June 9, to raise money for their clean water project.  All teams are signed up, but they could use some help from SRCmembers in manning signup, scoreboard, and concession tables. …

Screen Shot 2019-06-03 at 4.29.32 PMWe now have two dates filled on our July-August Summer Casual Calendar — a Thursday, July 18, pavilion picnic and ValleyCats pro baseball game at Bruno Stadium on the Hudson Valley Community College campus (Terry Brewer is taking reservation requests); a performance of “Ragtime: The Musical” at Mac-Haydn Theatre preceded by dinner at Yiannis at the Chatham House on Thursday, August 1 (Debbie Brown is taking reservations for both). Dates still up for grabs: July 11 and 25, and August 8, 15, and 22. … Our annual Presidential Changeover, scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, June 27, will be hosted by Jim Leyhane at his residence, when his son Andy hands over the presidency to Phil Kellerman for the 2019-20 Rotary Year. …

The under-development Troy Rotary Club will hold its first public information-and-recruitment session from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 12, at the Troy Kitchen food hall,  77 Congress Street. All are welcome since SRC is the sponsoring club for Troy, and Bill Dowd and Terry Brewer are part of the steering committee for the effort. … A Danes Rotaract contingent — SRC members John Justino, the faculty adviser,and Becky Raymond, one of the liaisons, plus Immediate Past President Lindsey Riback — plans to  visit the Freedom From Fistula Foundation office in New York City to learn about fundraising opportunities.

PROGRAM: Peter Berry, SRC’s newest member and a longtime Rotarian who recently moved here from South Africa, gave an interesting talk about the history of South Africa and how it tied into his own experiences in Rotary.

Screen Shot 2019-06-05 at 11.01.31 PM

Come meet our scholarship winners

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Screen Shot 2019-06-03 at 4.46.57 PMOne of our most rewarding and favorite events each year is the presentation of scholarship awards to graduating seniors from local high schools.

That’s what we’ll be doing at this Thursday’s 6:15 p.m. dinner meeting at Quigley’s, and we’d sure like to have you in attendance to help show Rotary’s strong commitment to supporting youths in the community.

We will be presenting $1,000 scholarship checks to one student each from Columbia, Maple Hill, and Rensselaer high schools. They will be accompanied by school officials and parents, so we need a solid turnout of SRC members.

And, a special guest — Tom Burdick, president of the District’s Gift of Life — will be visiting to give us a brief update on that organization that we continue to support in its lifesaving efforts for children from abroad.

The dinner menu includes an entree of roast pork, chef’s selection of side dishes, antipasto salad, bread, dessert, and beverages. And, the cash bar is available as always.

If you haven’t yet made your reservation for Thursday, please do so with dinner coordinator Debbie Brown at mdbrown@nycap.rr.com no later than Tuesday evening so she can arrange for adequate food and seating and avoid last-minute confusion.

 

 

 

‘Ragtime’ added to ‘SRC Summer Casual Calendar’

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Screen Shot 2019-06-03 at 4.10.00 PM

“Ragtime: The Musical” is what its producers call “an epic, devastatingly touching adaptation” of the E.L. Doctorow “Ragtime” novel.

You’re invited to join fellow Rotarians for a performance on Thursday, August 1, at the Mac-Haydn Theatre in Chatham, SRC’s annual summer theater outing as part of our “Summer Casual Calendar.” And, once again we’ll be having a pre-theater group dinner at Yianni’s at Chatham House, 29 Hudson Avenue in Chatham.

If you’d like to make your reservation now, it would be smart so tickets don’t run out. Debbie Brown, event coordinator, is the person to contact for both theater and dinner reservations.

The Berkshire Award-winning combination of John Saunders and Sebastiani Romagnolo will  join forces again to put their stamp on the show. Says Romagnolo, “The American Dream, different for each of us, is defined by our race, our class, our origins. ‘Ragtime’ is a gorgeous revelation of that fact. It reminds us that the struggle for equality is never finished and that ultimately it is our differences that make a stronger and better world.”

Jimm Halliday, who won a Helen Hayes Award for Best Costume Design for his Kennedy Center production of “Ragtime,” is handling the same chore at Mac-Haydn.

This is one of the first two “Summer Casual Calendar” events now on our July-August schedule. The other is our annual trip to Bruno Stadium at Hudson Valley Community College for a picnic in the pavilion followed by a ValleyCats professional baseball game against New York-Penn League opponent Lowell Spinners — a Boston Red Sox farm team — on Thursday, July 18. Terry Brewer again is coordinating that field trip, so please contact him ASAP to reserve tickets. Guests are welcome as always.

Screen Shot 2019-06-03 at 4.29.32 PM

The full “Summer Casual Calendar”

• July 11: Open
• July 18: ValleyCats baseball game and pavilion picnic
• July 25: Open
• August 1: “Ragtime: The Musical: at Mac-Haydn Theatre pre-theater dinner at Yiannis at the Chatham House
• August 8: Open
• August 15: Open
• August 22: Open

(Note: Events are not required to be held on Thursdays if another day of the week works better for a particular activity. )

As most of you know, in recent years the “Summer Casual Calendar” has been a mix of cookouts, pool parties, baseball games, summer theater performances, and other family-oriented get-togethers. Guests are always welcome, and it’s a good time to let potential members get to know us in a relaxed setting, or for you to personally contact members whose participation has been lagging to get re-energized with Rotary.

How, you may ask, do we come up with activities? It’s totally up to you, our members. Some organize field trips, some like to host a pool party and/or a cookout, some come up with other imaginative activities.

The key is planning well ahead so people with busy summer schedules know ASAP what dates to reserve.

As always, the club president coordinates the dates, with the help of the webmaster. For this summer, that means Phil Kellerman and Bill Dowd, plus anyone else President-elect Phil may designate. So, if you plan to get involved as an event organizer, the first thing to do is pick a date and let Phil and Bill both know what and when the event is so it can get a place on the “Summer Casual Calendar.”

Looking forward to your ideas!

 

Update: ‘Summer Casual’ events scheduling

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UPDATE (5/28/19): We quickly received our first activity, from Terry Brewer who once again is arranging a trip to HVCC’s Bruno Stadium for a ValleyCats baseball game and pavilion picnic. Save the date: July 18.

 

ORIGINAL POST:

Believe it or not, we are just a little more than a month from the start of our annual “Summer Casual Calendar,” that July-August period in which we switch to a less rigorous, more social schedule.

It covers the weeks that are home to the following Thursday dates:

• July 11
• July 18
• July 25
• August 1
• August 8
• August 15
• August 22

(Note: Events are not required to be held on Thursdays if another day of the week works better for a particular activity. )

As most of you know, in recent years the “Summer Casual Calendar” has been a mix of cookouts, pool parties, baseball games, summer theater performances, and other family-oriented get-togethers. Guests are always welcome, and it’s a good time to let potential members get to know us in a relaxed setting, or for you to personally contact members whose participation has been lagging to get re-energized with Rotary.

How, you may ask, do we come up with activities? It’s totally up to you, our members. Some organize field trips, some like to host a pool party and/or a cookout, some come up with other imaginative activities.

The key is planning well ahead so people with busy summer schedules know ASAP what dates to reserve.

As always, the club president coordinates the dates, with the help of the webmaster. For this summer, that means Phil Kellerman and Bill Dowd, plus anyone else President-elect Phil may designate. So, if you plan to get involved as an event organizer, the first thing to do is pick a date and let Phil and Bill both know what it is and what the event is so it can get on the “Summer Casual Calendar.”

Looking forward to your ideas!

Meeting Clipboard: 5/23/19

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SRC ClipboardHeld at Quigley’s Restaurant
573 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY 12061

Members Attending (13): Andy Leyhane, Murray Forth, Phil Kellerman, Bill Dowd, Jim Leyhane, Debbie Brown, Dick Drumm, Ray Hannan, Roberto Martinez, Ron Annis, Peter Berry, Charlie Foote, Julius Frankel.

Guests (5): Monika Annis, Effie Frankel, Chris Jones, Kelly Walborn, Vivian Behm.

MEETING NOTES — President Andy welcomed members and guests. … Murray Forth reported that the club’s take for the recent Recycling & Shredding Day would come to about $1,250 for our scholarships and other programs. He noted that once again we had trouble with the company doing the shredding, and that we may be looking for a new vendor before the next such event. … Phil Kellerman updated us on revenue produced for the Oley Foundation fundraiser from the recent concert. Counting CD sales, it now is just short of $900. …

Jim Leyhane reported that the planned Rotary Run & Festival of Good, scheduled to be held in September, was being moved to October 10, 2020, due to the inability of local law enforcement to complete planning for its role in the event to be held in Chatham. … Bill Dowd reported that the second planning meeting for potential creation of a Troy Rotary Club had been held, and that a public information and signup meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 12, at the Troy Kitchen food court, 77 Congress Street in downtown Troy. Bill and Terry Brewer are serving as mentors for the new club and SRC is its sponsoring organization. … Tom Burdick, president of the board of the District 7190 Gift of Life, will be our guest at next week’s meeting, June 6.

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Attendees listen to speaker Chris Jones.
chris
Chris Jones

PROGRAM — Chris Jones, certified in a relatively new medical field by the American Board of Lifetyle Medicine (its inaugural exam was held in 2017), presented a look at how new research and practices in the healing and preventative medical arts are being used to improve health and quality of life for people of all ages.

While stressing that this field is not “alternative medicine,” Chris said it is a holistic approach to treatment. He touched on the benefits of healthy eating patterns, exercise, regular coaching sessions with a Lifestyle Medicine provider, meditation, behavioral modification, the realization that the process is an ongoing one, and numerous other points.

Among his “quick tips” for a healthy lifestyle:

• Get off the dieting roller-coaster by eliminating refined sugar and processed foods

• Make an appointment and be expected

• Don’t quit trying to quit

• Reduce stress by keeping it simple

• Remember that pills are never the answer

• Practice random acts of kindness.