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September 13, 2017 The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance, led by President June Losurdo, then rolled into the Thought for The Day. It was a pair of Thoughts, actually, one from an Englishman, and one a Chinese proverb, both delivered by John Barradas. “They know and do not know that action is suffering / And suffering is action.” — T.S. Eliot, Murder in the Cathedral
“It takes years to make a friend, but you can lose one in an hour.” — Chinese proverb  Introducing Brad Carruth, who, just back from a five week cruise, at least a portion of which was in and around the Balkans, introduced the guests in attendance at the meeting.
 There were three red ticket drawing winners last week: Mary Berens selected 4 tickets to the East Hill Flying Club Fall Harvest Breakfast that was cooked up last Sunday, Dale Johnson emerged from the yellow box with a 6-episode DVD of the Andy Griffith Show, and Bill Hawley won a beautiful photo of the total eclipse, taken in Nebraska by astro-enthusiast extraordinaire, George Gull.
Sidebar: A couple of questions
First off, whatever happened to the red ticket prize of 4 season tickets to Cornell football? Every time they were passed up, I imagined that the next week they would have grown by two, or added a pizza party or limo ride. And
(2), why is it that the soundtrack for the eclipse was always “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” instead of Carly Simon’s, “You’re So Vain,” which actually talks about a total eclipse of the sun?
 Nancy Potter reported that the Club has won a District grant for $2,500, funds that will be matched by Ithaca’s Child Development Council, for a new project called “Starting Life Together.” The purpose is to create a guidebook for brand new parents and their newborn babies. The project needs volunteer help, so if any Rotarians are interested, it would be appreciated. Please step up soon, as the project will begin quickly.
 Dennis Gray of the International Committee told the Club about an upcoming fundraiser, “Dozen Dinner Draw.” Rotarians are asked to help obtain $100 restaurant gift cards from various places around town. Tickets will be sold for a chance to win 12 gift cards. Dennis anticipates we might raise $10,000+ this way, and the proceeds could go to hurricane relief.
LAFF, Little Apple Fall Follies, is just around the corner and Jack Roscoe had the update. The event — which funds our totally awesome Community Grants — is on Saturday, October 7, 7:00 p.m. at the Ithaca High School auditorium. Tickets are on sale now for only $12. Each Rotarian will be issued 4 tickets to buy or sell, or buy to either sell or give away. Please complete your transactions as soon as possible, and turn the money in to Jack or Ron Provus before the end of September. That’s LAFF, Oct. 7, 4x $12 tickets, funds our community grants program.
 Speaking of community grants, Kelly Buck introduced 2016 community grant recipient, Lois Ecklund, representing the First Unitarian Church’s Babies First program. Last year, the grants committee awarded Babies First a $850 grant to purchase new car seats for individuals in need. Lois shared some program statistics and their deepest thanks.
The deadline for receipt of nominations for Pride of Workmanship Awards has been extended to Monday, September 25. Please nominate someone you work or do business with. There are many worthy individuals in our community who deserve this recognition.
President June had a couple of reminders for everyone. (1) orders for tree peonies are still being taken through the end of the month, and (2) Ithaca College President Shirley Collado (who was our speaker last week) will be officially inaugurated the weekend of November 4. It is going to be a big deal, and all in the community are invited to attend.
June also shared that she attended the annual Peace Festival last weekend, and was presented with a check for $500 for the Polio Plus drive. This money will be matched two times over by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, totaling $1,500 towards the eradication for polio.
 After the speaker, President June collected Happy Dollars. Together, we celebrated the eclipse, hurricane relief, Garner Day of Caring, road rallies, our new German exchange student Hendrik, and yes, even Lyme Disease.
And finally, President June apologizes that her moment of silence in memory of 9-11 might have been misunderstood when she mentioned former Ithaca Rotary President Fred Antil. June saw Fred at his Cornell reunion and he now lives in Warminster, PA. If anyone wants to reach out to Fred his email is fha1@cornell.edu.
More about Hurricane Relief
Picking back up on the support-for-hurricane-relief topic initiated with the announcement of Dennis’s fundraising project, over the weekend 7170 correspondent Cindy Kain sent out a letter from R.I. President Ian Riseley, in which President Ian provides a link for Rotary Foundation Donor Advised Funds directed toward these efforts. Here is the take-action info directly from Ian’s letter:
Leaders in North America have responded by making two Donor Advised Funds under The Rotary Foundation available to accept contributions for hurricane relief: The Gulf Coast Disaster Relief DAF was established to assist communities devastated by Hurricane Harvey. The Hurricane Emergency Relief DAF is accepting contributions for Hurricane Irma disaster recovery.
If you would like to help please go to the following link: www.your-fundaccount.com/rotary/HowToContribute.asp. You can contribute online with a credit card or follow the instructions for contributions by check or wire transfer. You will need to provide the specific name of the Rotary Foundation Donor Advised Fund and the account number.
• Enter: The Gulf Coast Disaster Relief DAF, Account Number 608
• OR: Hurricane Emergency Relief DAF, Account Number 296 For more info, look in your email for Cindy’s Sept. 16 email titled “Hurricane Relief.” P.S. Do what you can; Maria is now a Cat. 5 headed for Puerto Rico.
Name: Kelsey Rossback
Classification: Human Services
Employer: United Way of Tompkins County
Position/Title: Director, Community Impact
Sponsor: James Brown
Please send your comments regarding applicant(s) to New Member Flow Coordinator Joanne Lamoureux, within 10 days of receiving this bulletin.
Frank Towner introduced the meeting speaker, fellow Rotarian Leslie Dankes Burke. Leslie spoke to us about her Trailblazers PAC — Front Porch Politics. She was assisted by Ithaca College intern, Josh Marshall.
 Leslie ran for N.Y.S. Senate in 2016, and came in second. After analyzing voting results, she and her team decided to shift their campaign focus to local government races.
Leslie (among many of us) found 2016 to be “ultra partisan,” and with a lack of voter engagement. There is a strong sense of “dirty politics” across our country, keeping many voters from becoming involved, she said. Trailblazers PAC seeks to re-engage voters in democracy.
They decided to support candidates for local government (county level and down) by training them to develop grassroots financial support, and investing in candidates who demonstrably work toward honest government. They ask candidates who want their support to disclose 100% of their campaign finances, be fully transparent if elected, and to raise at least 1% of their campaign money from voting households in their district. This enables them to actually meet with their constituents, hear their ideas, tales, and comments, and be more prepared to represent those individuals if elected.
 Many candidates come into politics with lots of passion but little knowledge of how to run a campaign and manage finances. Trailblazers’ workshops and trainings in N.Y. and Pa. prepare candidates for office.
Trailblazers PAC’s vision for the future is a United States of America with two parties that engage in honest debate and dialog. We have a tremendous opportunity to emerge out of what Leslie calls “political adolescence,” and engage in open policy conversations that can change America for the better.
Last March, Leslie and Trailblazers PAC were profiled on the NPR show Weekend Edition Saturday with Scott Simon. Click here for the audio and transcript.
Ambassadors: None
Visiting Rotarians: None
Students: None
Workers:
• Greeter,
• Kettle,
• Thought for the Day, John Barradas
• Introductions, Brad Carruth
Set-Up: Dave Martin, Joe GIordano, Steve Johnson, Brad Carruth
Bulletin Reporter: Kelly Buck
Photographer: Mike Brown
Bulletin Editor: Ted Schiele
Club Service Facilitators, Beverly Baker & Joanne Lamoureux
Sunshine Chair, Kellyann O’Mara
September 20, 2017
Coltivare, S. Cayuga at Clinton St., Downtown Ithaca
Rotarian Richard Kiely and the annual Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) student presentations
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