August 17, 2022
Reporter: Kelly Buck
Wednesday’s meeting:
Emme Edmunds, Community Health Nurse, TCHD
“Scientific, Historical, and Practical Comparisons
between Monkeypox and Covid-19 Infections”
Meeting on Zoom only
Join the Zoom meeting
WELCOME & TRADITIONS
Heidi Goldstein led the meeting in President Mary’s absence. She opened with the Four-Way Test, advising Rotarians that they may stand or not during the recitation of the test, whichever they choose—there is no precedence.Heidi then thanked the set-up crew and urged others to sign up to help thirty minutes before future meetings. Heidi also noted that we did not set the tables today with paper placemats and napkins in a nod to PDG Evan Kurtz’s comments encouraging all clubs to become more environmentally conscious.
Guests were introduced, including Philippe Nell, Nathan Lyman’s guest from Switzerland who was a Rotary exchange student in Albion, NY fifty years ago! Todd Nau was with us again as a guest of Ron Provus, along with Jeremiah Craig, guest of Heidi Goldstein.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Heidi advised the club that there was a board meeting last night, and they are looking at ways to create a greater sense of belonging and family among and between club members.
She urged everyone to sign a retirement card for James Brown as he steps down from his role at the United Way.
Next week’s meeting (August 24) will be by Zoom ONLY!
Mary Berens stated that the wishful goal for 2022 Community Grants is $10,000. To date, we’ve been collecting Happy Dollars with that goal in mind, and we’re almost to $7,000. She asked for help in raising more money by September 1st.
Bob Gravani announced that the next Highway Clean-Up event is planned for Saturday, October 8th, with a rain date of October 15th. Please sign up to help.
Heidi Goldstein asked for sign ups for the 2022 Rotary Harvest on Saturday mornings: August 27th, September 3rd, and September 10th. Meet at the Ithaca Farmer’s Market at 8:30 AM or at Aldi’s at 9:00 AM to shop for food for the ten families in need. Then we will deliver the food collected to those families. She also showed off some beautiful handmade pillowcases by club member Sherry Haefele, who created them for the Rotary Harvest children. Lovely!
Loretta Goss advised that the board agreed that on the third Wednesday of every month, we would take time for a short healthy activity. She showed a ten-minute Calm video on meditation.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Bez Thomas delivered today’s thought:
“Always do the right thing for the right reason at the right time with the right people. [And] you will have no regrets for the rest of your life." ~ Al McDonald
HAPPY DOLLARS
Heidi collected Happy Dollars to benefit the Community Grants fund. We were happy for:- June Losurdo: $5, PSA and connected to what she does—the students are back in town!
- Heidi Goldstein: $1, her son is getting married this Saturday
- Nate Lyman: $20, my friend came from Switzerland to be with us
- Nancy Potter & George Gull: $23, one for each of the 23 triangular windows that just arrived for the Dome!
- Dale Flinn: $20, be careful what you wish for! The cabinets for the cottage up north arrived, but they were too big! Adjustments have been made to make them work.
- Linda Brisson: $8, we gained another host family so we now have 5 out of 6 families!
- Bob Gravani: welcomed a new grandson and is training for a 100-mile bike ride on September 10th
- Kati Flynn: $20, going to England to see her daughter for the first time in a year!
- Geoff Dunn: $1, the last of 100,000 face masks have finally been distributed!
LAST WEEK’S PRESENTATION
Geoff Dunn introduced this week’s speakers panel: Jessica Wickham of Tompkins Weekly, Matt Butler of Ithaca Voice, and Mark H. Anbinder of 14850 Magazine. The media experts spoke of their experiences during the pandemic and compared how different media is from the 1990s to now. The three outlets complement each other in covering the news across the county and the city of Ithaca. They all need more reporters!
Tompkins Weekly: they cover the county. Since they’re a weekly publication, they have more time to cover stories in depth. They’ve increased the print publication from 16 to 24 pages. They would love to report more on the smaller towns in the county. They do a lot of election and candidate coverage.
Ithaca Voice: Ithaca city-centric. Less compelled to cover news outside of the city since Tompkins Weekly usually picks up on that. The Ithaca Voice is probably the most well known of the three media outlets. Caters a lot to IC and CU students and their interests. The Voice tries to be more proactive than reactive and holds those in power accountable.
14850 Magazine: this is their 30th anniversary. Launched the online version on 9/11. While they intentionally avoid arrests and crime reporting, they tend to generate negative social media responses and comments. They like to focus on what people need to know: road and school closures, etc. Like to research and report on food and restaurants. Wishes they could do more business coverage.
Revenue streams usually come from advertising, nonprofit grants, donations, and subscription fees.
Brett Bossard closed the discussion by thanking the group and recognizing that the good work they do is NOT fake news!
Geoff also announced that once a month, a member of “Les Six” (President Elects) will lead a Rotary meeting.
NEW MEMBER APPLICATION
Name: Shine Gonzales
Business: CFCU Credit Union
Position: Business Development Accounts Specialist
Sponsor: Melissa Coville
Classification: To be determined
THANK YOU ROTARIANS
Newsletter Reporter: Kelly Buck
Photographer: Mike Brown
Newsletter Editor: Loralyn Light
Greeter: Loretta Goss
Set-up/Tear-down: Harlin McEwen, Dave Martin, Ron Provus, Heidi Goldstein, Gary Reinbolt, Gertrude Noden, Linda Brisson, Brett Bossard, Bez Thomas
Set-up Zoom: Brett Bossard
Recording Archive: Paul Martin; click here
Club Service Facilitator: June Losurdo