Annual City of Ithaca Pride of Ownership Launches Twentieth Year Nominations Due Friday, November 3
Nominations must be received at the City Clerk’s Office, 108 East Green Street, no later than 4:30 pm on Friday, November 3. Click here for a nomination form.
Ithaca’s Twentieth Annual Pride of Ownership Awards program, recognizing owners of properties within the city of Ithaca who have developed projects or taken care of their properties in ways that enhance the physical appearance of city neighborhoods and commercial areas, is seeking nominations for this year’s awards. The program is a joint project of the Ithaca Rotary Club and the City of Ithaca.
Founded by former Common Council member Susan Blumenthal, who felt that developers and property owners should receive recognition for work that went above and beyond the requirements of the project, the awards are focused on projects that are thoughtful, unexpected, and lift the aesthetic experience of their setting and surroundings.
Do you own property in the city? Have you made improvements lately? Nominate yourself, a neighbor, or be nominated by others. Projects may range from major structural work to small but significant improvements. Commercial projects, owner-occupied housing, rental housing, and institutional facilities (education, religious, government) are eligible. Awards focus on how properties appear from the street and public right-of-way, improve their local surroundings, and thereby improve quality of life for the city as a whole.
Nominations must be received at the City Clerk’s Office, 108 East Green Street, no later than 4:30 pm on Friday, November 3. For more information or an application, contact a member of the 2017 Committee:
Susan Blumenthal at 272-3931 or susanb@twcny.rr.com; John Barradas at 277-2755 or jb@barradasandpartners.com; Frost Travis at 273-1654 or ftravis@travishyde.com; Margaret Hobbie, 220-5334 or mhobbie@verizon.net; Brett Bossard 351-1554 or brett@cinemapolis.org or Scott Whitham, 379-9175 or whitham@whithamdesign.com.
Additional forms are also available on the internet: Go to www.cityofithaca.org and click on “Announcements.” Or Click Here for an application.
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Maricelis Acevedo is Associate Director for Science of Cornell’s Delivering Genetic Gain in Wheat project. She works with wheat scientists around the world to develop and deliver wheat varieties that are high yielding and disease resistant. Originally from Puerto Rico, she obtained a B.S. in biology and M.Sc. in crop improvement from the University of Puerto Rico, and earned a Ph.D. in biology with a specialization in plant pathology from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. In 2010, Maricelis was among the first recipients of the Jeanie Laube Borlaug Women in Triticum Early Career Award.
Catrina Decker is the External Relations Program Director at Ithaca College. In that role she is engaged in outreach activities by which she establishes and maintains relationships with alumni, representatives of business, government, and non-profit organizations. She meets with students to discuss their career development plans and assists them to engage in the internship and career search processes. Catrina received her bachelor’s degree in 2006 and her MBA in 2014 from Ithaca College. In her free time, she enjoys hiking with her husband, Brad Decker and their 2 dogs, Zoe and Max. She enjoys dance aerobics and eating ice cream all year long, no matter how cold it is!.jpg)
Tim Emerson first came to Ithaca as an IC student majoring in music performance, and right from the start pursued a career of service. After IC, he attended a graduate program in performance at New England Conservatory, organized independent musicians in Boston, built an independent management consulting practice in the Oneida area, and taught professional writing at SUNY Cortland. Culminating his pursuit to overcome chronic pain, Tim started Kwan Yin Healing, through which he speaks about and produces free materials on "Overcoming Long-Term Pain Without Drugs." Tim is passionate about both disease eradication globally and safe water projects. He is a member of the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce, and glad to be back in Ithaca N.Y.
Aly Evans was named executive director of Family Reading Partnership in June of 2016. She previously managed educational programs for The CBORD Group, which brought her to Ithaca from San Diego. Aly holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education from the University of Northern Colorado, and a Master of Management from the University of Phoenix. She is an active volunteer for local and national organizations that enable her to make a difference in the lives of others.
Linda Pasto grew up in Chicago and has lived in Ithaca with her family in 1985. She has been a nurse for 38 years, and is professor emeritus of nursing at TC-3. Linda earned three degrees from Syracuse University: B.S. in child development, B.S.N. in nursing, and a master’s in maternal child nursing. Linda has traveled to five continentals, volunteers with several community organizations, and gets special satisfaction as an ostomy ambassador. She seeks to help others and make a difference every day since losing her colon to Crohn’s disease..jpg)
David Williams grew up in Ithaca. After graduating from the Alternative Community School, he attended Cornell and then moved to New York City to work in non-profit professional theatre. In 2008, he was hired to work on Franziska Racker Centers’ “Making Room” capital campaign before transitioning to Racker’s Quality Enhancement and Standards Department, where he now works as Assistant Director of Standards. Last year, David completed his master’s in public administration from Binghamton University. He has also been a volunteer for Big Brothers/ Big Sisters of Tompkins County.
Losurdo grew up in King Ferry, New York and graduated from Michigan State University. She is married to Frank Losurdo and they live in Ithaca, NY. Their son John is a junior at Michigan State University.
At its June 28 meeting, long-time Ithaca Rotary member Scott Russell was named Rotarian of the Year for 2016-17. The award is given every June in honor of an active club member who exemplifies the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self.”
Dennis Gray is a native of Canada, raised in Toronto, Ontario. He earned a degree in commerce from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto. He and his wife Maricelis, another new Ithaca Rotary Club member, moved to Spencer, NY in April 2016 when Maricelis took a position at Cornell University. Dennis is now founder and CEO of Backyard Brands, Inc. and has been a long-time Rotarian. He has spent significant time and effort working on Rotary International water and sanitation projects in Kenya and Uganda.
Ryan Harriott is a program manager at the Women’s Opportunity Center in Ithaca. She is interested in leadership and community development, and is involved in local youth events and food pantries, and has raised money for Haitian orphanages. Ryan holds an associate’s degree from TC-3, a B.S. in human and community services from SUNY Empire, and is currently enrolled in the MPA program at Capella University. Ryan lives in Groton with her family.
Rusdi Sumner is originally from Trumansburg, NY. Her alma mater is SUNY Cortland, where she studied business economics and communications. After a stint at A.G. Edwards in Syracuse, she returned to Ithaca in 2001 to sell real estate at Audrey Edelman & Associates. Subsequently, Rusdi owned and operated Avalon Homes for ten years, and is now an associate wealth advisor at Tompkins Financial Advisors. Rusdi has served as board treasurer for Better Housing of Tompkins County, and has been on the board of Habitat for Humanity.
You’ve Heard About Rotary Youth Exchange Scholarship, Now You Can 
The Saturday team — Dan Weed, Dale Johnson, Bez Thomas, Janet Steiner, Edward Kokkelenberg, collected 2,857 children's books.
The Wednesday Team — Gary Reinboldt, Mary Grainger, Brad Olson, Heidi Goldstein, Dave Flaccus, Rob McKenzie, Dale Flinn, Janet Steiner, Edward Kokkelenberg collected 1,979 general interest books on Wednesday May 25.
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Thank you to everyone who participated in the trash pickup along Route 13 on Saturday, March 19. It was sunny. The temperature was cooler than normal but pleasant. Our efforts working from the Stewart Park exit to Cayuga Heights Road produced some 55 bags for the DOT to pick up. George, Dale, Bez, Walt, Frank (June's husband), June, and Bill were Rotarian "doo-ers". Many stories to tell and memories for the ides of March highway pick-up. I think we did a side of the highway that has not been done for years due to its steepness. Everyone gave of themselves as true Rotarians!
The Newfield High School Interact Club collected and packed 1900 books as part of the Ithaca Rotary Club's Books for the World project. Book categories included children's books, adult books, textbooks, and reference books. The books will be sent to Rotarian operated warehouses in port cities along the African coast where they are distributed freely to schools and libraries. Brenda Barnstead, the Interact faculty advisor, is a Rotarian from the Horseheads Rotary Club.