September 7, 2022
Reporter: Kelly Buck
Wednesday’s meeting:Rocky Martinez, District Governor
Rotary District 7170
Coltivare and on Zoom
President Mary opened the meeting with the Four-Way Test.
She spoke briefly about our mission as Rotarians, noting that we strive for “effective altruism” and “to give where you live.”
Guests and visiting Rotarians were introduced, including DGE Wendy Deis from the Owego Club. They have been working with a Ukrainian Rotaract Club to supply medical and combat supplies. They raised $20,000 in 30 days on their first attempt; phase 2 is coming up with a music concert by classical composer-pianist Emmanuel Sikora in Binghamton on November 19th. Ithaca Rotarians are welcome to attend.
Angela Sullivan’s guest was Zach Clark, who has the State Farm office at 832 Hanshaw Rd.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Warren Allmon’s thought comes from William MacAskill, a professor of philosophy at Oxford University and the author of the forthcoming book, What We Owe the Future (NYT 8/5/22):
“… we are living through a unique and precarious chapter in humanity’s story. Out of the hundreds of thousands of years in humanity’s past—and the potentially billions of years in its future—we find ourselves living now, at a time of extraordinary change.
“A time marked by thousands of nuclear warheads standing ready to fire. A time when we are rapidly burning fossil fuels, producing pollution that might last hundreds of thousands of years. A time when we can see catastrophes on the horizon—from engineered viruses to A.I.-enabled totalitarianism—and can act to prevent them.
“To be alive at such a time is both an exceptional opportunity and a profound responsibility: We can be pivotal in steering the future onto a better trajectory. There’s no better time for a movement to stand up, not just for our generation or even our children’s generation, but for all the generations yet to come.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Voice of Rotary committee is working towards more publicity for our club and the service work we are doing. We need to do good and say so out loud so others know the difference we’re making at home and abroad!
Next week’s meeting will be at Coltivare, as well as the following week (September 14th & 21st).
DG Rocky Martinez is hosting Youth Celebration Day on October 8th from 2 to 6 PM. The free event will be held at the Cortland Country Club; all are invited to help build connections to our youth. The Dryden Rotary Club will be making barbeque at the event.
October 8
th is also the next Highway Cleanup Day (rain date is Oct 15
th). Meet at 9:00 AM at the Tops on Triphammer parking lot. Safety equipment will be provided; wear sturdy shoes and bring a water bottle. For registration and questions, contact Mary-Lynn Cummings:
mlcummings101@gmail.com, 607/227-5790. Or you can go to the website and sign up to help there! We will be using this technology for every event to allow those who are not attending meetings to be involved.
President Mary spoke a little about the committees she’s forming. We especially need people to volunteer on the set-up crew and the Funds in Action committee. Mary also advised that the board is putting together a climate group that Warren Allmon will lead. The committee will consider how our Rotary Club in Ithaca, NY can help with the global crisis.
She asked all Rotarians to think about what ONE thing they can do to help this year; then please do it. If everyone steps forward and can contribute their time and talents to at least ONE need, the load will be lighter for all.
Over 100 people attended the World of Skills job fair on August 31st. Mary thanked the group who helped pull it off: Ron Provus, Heidi Goldstein, Jack Roscoe, and the Brissons.
THIS WEEK’S PRESENTATION
Geoff Dunn introduced this week’s speaker, Jessica Verfuss, his co-worker and Deputy Director at the Tompkins County Department of Emergency Response.
Emergency Response coordinates and interacts with all the emergency services: fire, police, sheriff, EMT, 911, radio communications, etc. There are about 30 staff in the department—22 of them are 911 dispatchers (and they need more). The team responds to trouble and is present at Grass Roots, Apple Festival, etc. They practice full-scale exercises at the airport and elsewhere, pulling all emergency response units together for drills. They occasionally need “victims” (volunteers); let Geoff know if you’re interested in helping out. Visit
http://www.tompkinsready.org.
IMPORTANT: The team is introducing a new emergency notification system countywide. The old SWIFT 911 system is going away on December 31, and their prime goal is to get as many people as possible to sign up for SIREN now (Safety & Incident Real-Time Emergency Notifications). The system provides instant alerts via text and/or email for any emergencies, including severe weather, natural disasters, evacuations, etc. Residents are asked to text SIREN to 67283 or go to
www.tompkinscountyny.gov/siren. It is simple and free and could save your life and/or property. Sign up now!
Geoff and Jessica also discussed how to put together an emergency preparedness kit for your home. “It’s as easy as preparing for game day!” The purpose is, in the case of an emergency, to be self-sufficient for 72 hours until help can arrive. Steps:
• Make a plan
• Build a kit
• Communicate
• Stay informed
There is a preparedness resource fair this Saturday, September 10th at the mall from 10 AM to 2 PM.
HAPPY DOLLARS
We collected Happy Dollars to benefit the Community Grants fund. President Mary urged all Rotarians to consider giving $48 if possible; that’s how much we would have been asked to contribute if LAFF were happening and we were responsible for buying or selling four tickets. The goal for this year’s Community Grants is $10,000, and we need all donations in by next Wednesday, September 14th. The committee will make selection decisions on September 15th and will need to know how much they have to award.
Mary kicked off Happy Dollars with her $200.- Kelly Buck & Bob Gravani, chairs of the Community Grants committee, both presented gifts—Kelly’s $48 and Bob’s $50 (the pressure was on).
- Kim Pugliese: $40 for CG and the Cancer Resource Center's 28th annual Walkathon & 5 K on September 17th.
- Jack Roscoe : $50, really misses LAFF and hopes we can do it again!
- Wendy Deis: at Owego, we don’t say how much we put in. Great to be here!
- Larry Thayer: $48 + $2
- Bob Sprole: another $20 for his granddaughter’s second day as a teacher!
- Jessica Verfuss: happy dollars for the first day of school, Saturday’s preparedness fair, and that I’m done with today’s presentation!
- Linda Pasto: $20, with 17 for 17 years as a cancer survivor, and $3 for our exchange student Alexa who has arrived safely in Spain!
- Loretta Goss: $48 + $2, she will be happy when people sign up for the Walkathon on September 17th.
- Kelly Buck: she’s back to give her $2 for Brett Bossard’s new career path (leaving Cinemapolis after nine years for Ithaca College).
- Geoff Dunn: Jessica’s and my colleague Zack Guidi, Dispatch Supervisor and Newfield Assistant Fire Chief, has just been named Dispatcher of the Year by the APCO Atlantic Chapter.
- George Gull & Nancy Potter: donated LAFF tickets + $2, via Zoom.
- Mary Berens: note that Linda Brisson gave $50 since all host families for our two exchange students have been identified!
- Loralyn Light: will donate $50 on line for CG.
President Mary closed the meeting with two reminders:
Next week District Governor Rocky Martinez will be with us AT COLTIVARE.
Please think during the week about the ONE THING YOU CAN DO to help our club this year.
NEW MEMBER APPLICATIONS
Name: Gail Belokur
Business: United Way of Tompkins County
Position: Interim CEO
Sponsor: Jean McPheeters
Classification: To be determined
Name: Beth Prudence
Business: Morgan Stanley
Position: Financial Advisor
Sponsor: Mary Kane
Classification: To be determined
THANK YOU ROTARIANS
Newsletter Reporter: Kelly Buck
Photographer: Mike Brown
Greeter: Larry Baum
Newsletter Editor: Loralyn Light
Set-up/Tear-down: Brad Carruth, Steve Johnson, Dave Martin, Gary Reinbolt
Set-up Zoom: Bez Thomas
Recording Archive: Paul Martin; click
hereClub Service Facilitator: June Losurdo
