January 8, 2025
Reporter: Gail Lyman
Wednesday, January 15th meeting:Delmer Padgett, Christine Alexander & Matt Hartz, TST-BOCES
“Building Futures Together: Advancing CTE & P-TECH through Work-Based Learning”
COLTIVARE and on Zoom
WELCOME & TRADITIONS
NOTE: you can watch previous meetings by going to our YouTube channel!

After President Angela opened our meeting and greeted people on Zoom, we recited our Four-Way Test with the additional “Will it be fun,” exemplifying “our guiding operating system” for what we think, say, and do as Rotarians.
Our guests included:
- Aarti Patel, guest of Angela Sullivan
- Brian Greene, guest of Angela Sullivan
- Stanley from Taiwan, RYE
- Filip from Sweden, RYE
- Isabela from Mexico, RYE
- Kerry Barnes, Executive Director, Tompkins County Public Library Foundation
- Leslie Tabor, Director, Tompkins County Public Library
BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES
Those celebrating birthdays in January include: John Barradas 1/6; Kelly Damm 1/9; Loretta Goss 1/13; Sherrie Negrea 1/18; Jean McPheeters 1/20; Carol Travis 1/21; Rich Higgins & Scott Whitham 1/23; Suzy Kuntz; 1/27; Chuck Bartosch 1/28; Sherry Haefele & Siu-ling Chloemtiarana 1/31. President Angela led those in attendance in the Happy Birthday song.
Our membership milestones for January are: Jen Harris & Al Vazquez 1 yr; La Jerne Terry Cornish & Amy Kremenek 2 yrs; Ivy Stevens-Gupta 8 yrs; Walt Cottrell & Gary Ferguson 20 yrs; Lenore Schwager 21 yrs; June Losurdo 23 yrs; Perri LoPinto 24 yrs; Peter Patrick 40 yrs; and Bob Gravani 46 yrs!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Ivy Stevens-Gupta, Community Service Committee chair, is looking for nonprofit organizations needing Rotary help between February and June 2025. (Aly Evans immediately raised her hand for Foodnet). Since our club only meets the first three Wednesdays of the month, she asked if there are members willing to volunteer for a nonprofit needing help on a situational basis.- Nancy Potter, International Service Committee chair, advised that the grant money from Rotary International has been received by our three Peacebuilding International Projects for this Rotary year: 1) Ark & Rainbow Development Foundation (Nigeria), partnering with the Rotary Club of Asokoro. Our club contact is Brandon Brylinsky; 2) Harmony African Collective (Malawi), partnering with the Lions Club of Zomba. Our club contact is David Kay; and 3) Kyaninga Child Development Centre (Uganda), partnering with the Rotary Club of Kampala Muyenga Breeze. Our club contact has not been named yet; would any member like to volunteer as the contact for this project? Our contacts will provide project updates in the coming months.
Nancy also reported that a smaller Rotary International grant was awarded to the Abukloi Secondary School (South Sudan) for the installation of a solar charging station for digital devices. Nancy expressed special thanks to her committee members: Ray Brisson, Brandon Brylinsky, Ron Van Ormer, Kati Flynn, and Joanne Lamoureux.- Jean McPheeters asked if there were any Rotarians who wanted to participate in an hour of axe throwing on Saturday, January 18th! She is taking our three exchange students and would like to have at least 3 or 4 others join in. It’s at 3 PM at East Lake Recreation Center in Lansing and will cost $20–25 each. Jean is also planning to take the students to Ciao for pizza afterwards. She needs commitments by 2 PM on Wednesday (right after our Rotary meeting) and promises that it will be a lot of FUN!
President Angela reminded us that: 1) the Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) will hold its next training program for “improving our Rotary IQ” on March 1st in Johnson City. “A knowledgeable Rotarian makes for an engaged Rotarian.” 2) Rotarian in the Wild has new gear to be awarded! Remember to send in pictures of club members in their Rotary swag. 3) The Interim Cornell University President will be the guest speaker for our January 22nd meeting.
NEW MEMBER INTRODUCTION
President Elect Mike Katz introduced our new member David Kay. When asked why he joined Rotary, David explained that as a faculty member at Cornell University interfacing with the community through Cornell Cooperative Extension, he felt that he had valuable experience to offer our club. International Service Committee chair Nancy Potter has already asked him to be a contact on the Malawi Peacebuilding project. David hopes for greater involvement in peace keeping around the world.
LAST WEEK’S PRESENTATION
“In the heat of the night …. Hot nights and rainy days in a warming world”
From Zoom, Bob Gravani introduced a colleague and good friend, Dr. Art DeGaetano, a Professor in the Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences at Cornell University. Art is also the director of the federally supported Northeast Regional Climate Center (NRCC) that provides data and information about climate change in the Northeast region and serves as editor for the American Meteorological Society’s Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology.

Art provided us with Ithaca climate records and trends for annual temperatures and precipitation since the 1930s from the data collected by the NRCC. Tompkins County’s winter temperatures have increased by 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1980s, and summers are getting warmer. The warmest summer temperatures recorded have been a recent phenomenon, with 2024 being the warmest year on record and the majority of the years with record temperatures being in the last decade.
In 2024, Ithaca experienced both record wetness in March and record dryness in September and October. The average annual precipitation has not shown an upward trend; however, the amount of precipitation during any given rain event has increased. Based on trends from the NRCC data, Art predicts that Ithaca and the surrounding regions will face more extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, and large storms, with their frequency and intensity increasing through the 2050s.
PAUL HARRIS FELLOW

Dale Flinn awarded a PHF+4 pin to Linda Pasto—meaning that it was the PHF pin with four sapphires. Linda said that since she joined Rotary six years ago, she has given every month to the Rotary Foundation. “It adds up quickly!”
HAPPY DOLLARS
- President Angela expressed gratitude for being our Rotary Club President with hard working chair people and increased participation at meetings and service events. She encourages each club member to find more ways to engage and contribute to our club.
Frank Towner announced that the Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours is on January 8th at Coltivare—a great opportunity to wear our Rotary gear!- Sarah Segal thanked Al Vazquez and Jack Roscoe for driving our three exchange students to the meeting. She and her husband are leaving on an 11-day trip to Cuba where she will be carrying toothbrushes donated by Gertrude Noden among other supplies and donations.
- Brad Carruth is flying to New Zealand on January 9th with his wife Gail. They hope to attend as many Rotary meetings as they can while there!
- Linda Pasto was sorry that her Ithaca Sunrise Rotarian husband (Ed Pasto) was having carpal tunnel surgery and could not attend this meeting when she was honored as a PHF +4 recipient.
Since our new membership program was introduced in September, Sherrie Negrea announced that we have six new Corporate members! If you know of a business or a nonprofit that should be at Rotary, please give names to Sherrie so she can pursue them.- Dale Flinn announced that our Rotary Adult Hockey team is playing at Syracuse’s OnCenter on Saturday, January 11th.
- Siu-ling Chaloemtiarana is helping to clean out Don Hinman’s house and has items to give away. If interested call her at 607-279-2550.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Since this was our first meeting of the year, Harlin McEwen thought it would be appropriate to share with us the following message taken from a recent article titled, “To See the Way Forward, Look Back,” written by Ranjay Gulati, a professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School.
Professor Gulati concludes that research worldwide shows that while it is essential to focus on the future, the “most successful ones are also guided by core values and a clear purpose … uncovered by conducting a thorough audit of a company’s history, original value statements, and purpose.”
Harlin concurs with the professor because he “believes that it is always good to reflect on the achievements and challenges of the past before looking forward to the future.” But, at the same time, Harlin added that, “every once in a while, we discover that ‘change sucks.’”
REMEMBERING DON HINMAN
Don Hinman, a long time Ithaca Rotary member who frequently sang at our meetings and with the Savage Club of Ithaca, his church choir, and the Ithaca Community Chorus, died last October. Two upcoming events may be of interest to Rotarians.
On Saturday, January 19th, the Ithaca Community Chorus with orchestra and soloists performs Mozart’s Requiem at 7:30 PM at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. This performance is dedicated to the memory of long-time member H. Don Hinman.
Please join the First Congregational Church on Saturday, February 1, 2025 to celebrate the life of H. Donald Hinman, their beloved choir and church member of 50 years. The service begins at 10:30 AM and a reception will follow immediately at the church, 309 Highland Rd. All are welcome with ample parking in the church lot.
Don’s signature: “Remember to sing a little each day.”
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
The Rotary District 5280 Charitable Foundation is accepting donations to assist those affected by the wildfires in Los Angeles County. Your donation is tax deductible and will directly impact those most devastated by this disaster. (Note that this district is based in Los Angeles.)
NEW MEMBER APPLICATION
Membership Type: Corporate Affiliate
Employer: Tompkins County Public Library
Primary Member: Kerry Barnes
Title: Executive Director (Foundation)
Affiliate Member: Leslie Tabor
Title: Library Director
Sponsor: Sherrie Negrea
UPCOMING MEETINGS
01/15 Delmer Padgett, Christine Alexander & Matt Hartz, TST-BOCES, “Building Futures
Together: Advancing CTE & P-TECH through Work-Based Learning”
01/22 Michael I. Kotlikoff, Interim President, Cornell University, “Cornell Community
Update”
01/29 No formal meeting
02/05 Dr. Martin Stallone, CEO Cayuga Health
02/12 TBA
02/19 Amy Kremenek, President, Tompkins Cortland Community College, “TC3: Your
Community’s College for 50 Years and Beyond”
THANK YOU ROTARIANS
Newsletter Reporter: Gail Lyman
Program Chair: Beverly Baker (January)
Photographer: Mike Brown
Greeter: Ray Brisson
Newsletter Editor: Loralyn Light
Setup/Teardown: Richard Kops
Kettle Watcher: Richard Kops
Audio/Visual Setup: Mike Brown
Recording Archive: Paul Martin; click
hereClub Service Facilitator: June Losurdo