We were pleased to have Carolyn Walton visit us again today to provide an update on the successful Woods Program. The Woods Program focuses in the physical, mental and emotional group of the young adults who participate. Carolyn is looking forward to expanding the program via working with the Superintendent of the Lake Placid Central School system and will be presenting to an upcoming meeting of school superintendents from other districts around the state. We invite you to visit https://www.thewoodsprogram.com/ for the latest information. The Rotary Club of Lake Placid is proud to have provided financial assistance to support the fine work that Carolyn and her team is doing and looks forward to hearing more stories about the positive impact the program brings to its participants.
Jenna Audlin is a student in the Saranac Lake system who Zoomed in to a recent meeting. Her love of the outdoors and desire to educate children about the environment they live in has led her to create a series of books that encourage children to understand the Adirondack environment. Jenna's books are full of activities which are done while, for example, on a hike. The goal is to increase observation skills and interpret what certain things mean in the life cycle of a tree or the changing of the seasons. Jenna self-publishes her books and they are sold through Amazon or local stores like The Bookstore Plus. For more about Jenna, please click this link to read a recent story in the Adirondack Explorer: https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/stories/exploring-the-adirondacks-with-a-pencil
Our club welcomed Chadd Cassidy, General Manager of the Olympic Center. With over two decades of experience in daily management and facility operations, Chadd is positioning the Olympic Center for growth as a world class venue for figure skating or ice hockey. Chadd's presentation showed us some of the behind the scenes operations of a facility that has a positive economic impact on the community and as a space for many different kinds of events - soon to be a performance area for shows and other forms of entertainment. From exciting sports events to the nostalgia of an illustrious history, ORDA facilities are a must see for everyone who lives or visits our area. We suspect that under Chadd's leadership, the Olympic Center's presence as an important performance space is in good hands for the future.
The 2024 Dam Duck Race is history. A beautiful late summer day, the fantastic all-you-can-eat dinner from Lisa G's (thanks Mike and Meghan), live music by Spring Street, Vestopia Hoops, face painting by Merriloons and activities by the Lake Placid Public Library. Couldn't have asked for a better day. The Dam Duck Race team worked hard to put on an awesome fund-raiser. But now we're looking forward to next year with the challenge to make it even better for all to enjoy. Looking for a picture gallery? Eventually - so watch this space. Meanwhile visit our Facebook page to see but a few of the many images from the day. https://www.facebook.com/rotarycluboflakeplacid
We had the distinct pleasure to welcome District Governor 2024 - 2025 Teresa Whitmore to both our club's Board and general meeting this week. DG Whitmore engaged with our members as she presented the 2025 Action Plan. We were happy to learn that many of the Plan's points are already in process or are on our agenda, adjusted to reflect our club's goals and objectives. Many thanks for stopping by and learning about all the community and international activities that our club is involved with. We extend our best wishes to you for a successful term as District Governor. https://rotary7040.com/ Club President Kathleen Thompson received the District banner from DG Whitmore
A man who wears many hats, Rick Preston came to us in his capacity as an officer of the ambulance service https://lakeplacidambulance.com/ Rick's presentation provided history of the service and the many staffing and financial challengers that organizations of this type face. What was once an all volunteer group now includes paid members. It is a stressful job making recruitment and retention of members difficult. It can be any given day and we hope it doesn't happen, but it's good to know that the service is there to serve our community and the surrounding area as part of a mutual aid network. Rick is shown with a stair climbing chair, purchased in part with donated funds from our club, that used to transport patients in special situations
Sam Baker, a teacher at Lake Placid High School, visited us today with lots of discarded plastic wrapping, scissors and gloves in order to demonstrate and seek support for a program from Trex Corporation to collect such wrappings and recycle them into a community resource such as a bench. This program is being followed in Saranac Lake so Sam came to see if our club was interested in supporting the project and earning a "reward" for participating. Details of the Trex company's project with some explanatory charts may be found at https://nextrex.com/view/recyclingchallenge This is an interesting project which could be considered by our Interact group and there is also interest in placing a collection bin at Town Hall.
It is with sadness we report the passing of member Ben Kernan. A kind and generous man, Ben was a supporter and contributor to many of our club's projects as well as other organizations in the Lake Placid area. A remembrance and details on services may be found here: https://mbclarkfuneralhome.com/tribute/details/1033/Benjamin-Kernan/obituary.html#tribute-start