April 13, 2022
Reporter:  Gail Lyman


Wednesday’s meeting:
John Joly, Acting Chief
Ithaca Police Department
 
Hybrid Meeting at Coltivare and on Zoom


WELCOME & TRADITIONS

In unison, we recited the Four-Way Test, led by President Catrina.
 
Catrina introduced visiting Rotarian Ted Silver from Rotary Club of Hamlin/Lake Ariel, PA, representing District 7410.
 
Ray Brisson introduced guests Eaton and Elisabeth Bodnaruk who learned about our club by purchasing a Dozen Dinner Draw (DDD) raffle ticket.
 


ANNOUNCEMENTS
  • Heidi Goldstein; photo by Mike BrownGeoff Dunn reported the District 7170 results for redistricting:  of the 41 clubs in our district, 32 clubs voted on the issue, with 31 yes votes and only 1 no vote.
  • Geoff Dunn and Heidi Goldstein encouraged members to sign up for our 7170 District Conference to be held April 29–May 1 in Fairport, NY.  Note that registration closes at midnight on Sunday, April 24.  Heidi announced that she, Cal Walker, and JoEllen Hedlund will be leading a session on DEI at the conference, and a few of our members will be creating some visuals for our hospitality room.  For conference details and registration go to: https://tinyurl.com/32kwcfft
  • President Catrina read Gertrude Noden’s update for their trip to Uganda as part of the Promoting Gender Equity and WASH project funded by the Dozen Dinner Draw (see end of newsletter for her full message).
  • President-Elect Mary Kane wants club members to answer a survey covering what we value about Rotary, what we want Rotary to provide, and what would improve our Rotary experience.  President Trina reinforced the need for club members to offer feedback on whether or not we want to return to in-person meetings exclusively.  The link to the survey is here.
  • Ted Silver; photo by Mike BrownTed Silver re-announced their district’s 7410 conference that will be held here in Ithaca May 5–7 (for more info and to register, click here).  Both Thursday evening’s “Welcome Fiesta” and Friday’s semi-formal dinner will be at Coltivare.  Ron Provus also announced the chef’s event (learning to fillet a fish), along with a tour of Cornell by Steve Johnson and other Cornell Rotarians.  Ted added that their major speaker will be RI Foundation Trustee Jorge Aufranc.  Ron Provus and Ted exchanged Rotary banners from their respective clubs.
  • Don’t forget about our next Highway Clean-Up Day, Saturday, April 23rd, in conjunction with Earth Day.  Meet at 9 AM at the Tops on Triphammer Rd; look for folks with hard hats and vests!  Safety equipment will be provided; wear sturdy shoes and bring a water bottle (and mask, if desired).  For registration and questions, contact Mary-Lynn Cummings: mlcummings101@gmail.com, 607/227-5790.
 


BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES
 
President Catrina read April birthdays, along with anniversaries (and apologies for missing last week due to COVID!).  Our newest member, John Clarke, was included on our anniversary list for April with his induction date of 4/1/22!
 


THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
 
Linda Brisson reflected on Mary Kane’s request from last week for club members to apply the Rotary Four-Way Test to our lives.  Linda found the meaning of “Service above self” in the following quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King:
  • “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.”
  • “Those who are not looking for happiness are most likely to find it, because those who are searching forget that the surest way to be happy is to seek happiness for others.”
  • “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.”
  • “Not everybody can be famous but everybody can be great, because greatness is determined by service.”


LAST WEEK’S PRESENTATION
 
Michael Stitley; photo Mike BrownHarlin McEwen introduced the second speaker in his April program series highlighting public safety:  Michael Stitley, Director of the Tompkins County Department of Emergency Response.
 
The Tompkins County Department of Emergency Response (DoER) is a department that “oversees county-wide emergency dispatch and communications systems that allow residents to dial 911 to receive emergency medical, fire, police, or other emergency help from any phone in Tompkins County.”
 
Although DoER has Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems to locate callers’ addresses and phone information, Director Stitley emphasized that the county’s 911 center dispatchers have as their first question, “What is the address of your emergency?” rather than “What is your emergency?”  He philosophically views his department’s 911 center dispatchers as community ambassadors that are trained to provide an assisting, reassuring attitude to all callers regardless of the severity of the emergency.
 
Geoff Dunn; photo Mike BrownAs part of National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week (April 10-16, 2022), DoER was to hold its first annual recognition ceremony the same afternoon of this Rotary meeting.  Deciding to honor one of his employees prior to the ceremony, Director Stitley announced that our own Geoff Dunn was awarded the “Director’s Award” for his exemplary service in the county’s COVID-19 response.  Geoff is Tompkins County’s Preparedness Coordinator.
 
Geoff Dunn commented that the county recently hired a new media coordinator, Robert Henry, an IC graduate; he will be producing videos for various departments, and ours is one of the first.  “A Day in the Life of a 911 Dispatcher” can hopefully also be used as a recruiting tool.
The county has a new system replacing Swift 911:  text SIREN to 67283 or register on line here.
 
Did you miss this meeting or another and want to view the recording?  Rotarian Paul Martin has created a YouTube private channel for our meeting recordings (beginning with the 02-23-22 meeting).  Check it out here.
 


THANK YOU ROTARIANS
 
Newsletter Reporter:  Gail Lyman
Photographer:  Mike Brown
Newsletter Facilitator:  Loralyn Light
 
Set-Up Crew:  Harlin McEwen, Steve Johnson, Dave Martin, Joe Giordano
Set-Up Zoom:  Catrina VanAtta and Mike Brown
Club Service Facilitator:  June Losurdo
 


From Gertrude Noden:  Promoting Gender Equity and WASH On-Site Launch Activities
 
My husband and I will arrive in Uganda Friday, April 15th and depart May 7th.  During our visit I will be delivering two days of project-related teacher professional development and two days of student youth empowerment workshops at the UNIFAT primary school, and one day at Gulu University’s teacher division.
I will also have project implementation meetings, workshops, and project tours with the Concerned Parents Association and Wawoto Women’s Co-Op partners in this yearlong project.  I have scheduled meetings with the Gulu and Kampala Rotarians as well.  While in Kampala, fellow Rotarians will take us on tour to villages where they have been successful at installing WASH infrastructure and youth WASH clubs.  Thank you to Dennis Gray for making these introductions!  And thank you to Joe Giordano for providing Ithaca Rotary Club flags as gifts for them.
These in-country activities will go a long way, replacing virtual communications, to the effectiveness of the Dozen Dinner Draw supported Promoting Gender Equity and WASH project.