Reporter:  Joanne Lamoureux

Caleb Thomas

“Ithaca Murals”

 

St. Catherine of Siena and on Zoom

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NOTE: you can watch previous meetings by going to our YouTube channel!

 

President Mary welcomed everyone to the circus!  We started the meeting with the Four-Way Test.

 

Geoff Dunn announced all of our March birthdays and anniversaries.  He also mentioned that March 1^st is the first day of spring in meteorological terms, despite the weather outside!

 

President Mary introduced our guests, including Patricia Baxter from Ithaca, guest of Brian Wilbur, and our exchange student Emma from Italy.

 

Mike Brown (our tech pro) said that we seem to be in a very polarized time, so he had a quote from Mark Twain (who also lived in a polarized time) regarding Satan:

 

“I have no special regard for Satan, but I can at least claim that I have no prejudice against him.  It may even be that I lean a little his way on account of his not having a fair show.  All religions issue bibles against him and say the most injurious things about him, but we never hear his side.  We have none but evidence for the prosecution and yet we have rendered the verdict.  To my mind, this is irregular.  It is un-English.  It is un-American; it is French. … We may not pay him reverence for that would be indiscreet, but we can at least respect his talents.  A person who has for untold centuries maintained the imposing position of spiritual head of four-fifths of the human race and political head of all of it, must be granted the possession of executive abilities of the loftiest order.”

 

Frank Towner introduced new member Lynn Swain, a transfer Rotarian.  She was one of the first women Rotarians in her club in 1989.  An art historian with experience in museums, Lynn came to Ithaca to work at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and then moved on to the Cornell Botanic Gardens where she is currently Director of Development.  She has served on the Community Foundation board.  Her grandfather was a Rotarian in Westchester (PA), and she wears his Rotary pin.

 

The State Theatre donated two tickets to a performance of DakhaBrakha on Sunday, March 5^th at 8 PM.  DakhaBrakha is a Ukrainian folk music quartet that combines the musical styles of several ethnic groups.  Raffle tickets were on the tables, and the winning ticket was drawn at the end of the meeting.

 

Rotary International is hosting a global grant seminar on April 1^st (virtual) to help learn about the process for accessing funds for projects.

 

Community Service for Action committee met immediately after the meeting to talk about unifying the club calendar.

 

Coltivare is looking forward to our return.  We urge all to “eat lunch there” to help us all meet our goals.

 

Ukraine fundraising continues thru March 15^th, so if you haven’t yet donated, please do so on the Community Foundation website.

 

 

The Spring Highway Cleanup will be held on Earth Day, Saturday, April 22^nd from 9 to 11 AM; meet at the Tops parking lot.  More info as the date gets closer!

 

Our speaker, introduced by George Ferrari, was Suzanne Smith Jablonski, Executive Director of the Downtown Ithaca Local Development Corporation.  She spoke about the Ithaca Downtown Conference Center.

 

This is all new for Suzanne, with the Corporation being a new organization.  The objective is to enhance the vibrancy, foot traffic, and economics of the downtown.  The Downtown Ithaca Local Development Corporation is the owner of the new conference center.

 

More than 10 years in the making, the Conference Center offers large format indoor community space, supporting tourism and generating traffic.  The facility will provide jobs, revenue, and taxes.

 

The space is approximately 49,000 square feet with flexible spaces, and includes parking spaces, conference space, and residential levels.  It will be the third largest in total salable space in upstate NY.  Construction is in progress, with a target date of January 2024 for opening.  A video showed a time lapse of the project’s progress over nine months.  The website is functioning, looking to promote the conference center in anticipation of its opening.  ASM Global is the company contracted to manage the conference center.  This group will hire a manager and sales manager and will coordinate bookings for the facility.

 

Project Partners reflect the level of community collaboration:

City of Ithaca

Tompkins County

Hotel partners—all downtown hotels

Downtown Ithaca Alliance

Convention and Visitors Bureau

State and federal capital investments

Vecino/Asteri & Hayes Strategy

ASM Global

 

Happy Dollars were offered in support of our Community Grants program:

 

Thanks to all who participated in the meeting’s mechanics!

 

The raffle was drawn, and the winner was Gail Lyman!

 

And Ray Brisson offered a summary of funds raised for Ukraine—bottom line is that we currently have just under $15,000!

 

Thanks to all who struggle with technology.  It’s not perfect, but still!

 

Newsletter Reporter:  Joanne Lamoureux

Photographer:  Mike Brown

Greeter:  Todd Nau

Newsletter Editor:  Loralyn Light

 

Set-up/Tear-Down:  Harlin McEwen, Dave Martin, Steve Johnson, Gary Reinbolt—plus Greg Kops, Juliet Gibbs, Larry Robinson

Set-up Zoom:  Bez Thomas, Mike Brown

Recording Archive:  Paul Martin; click here

Club Service Facilitator:  June Losurdo