|
Tomorrow’s Meeting: July 18, at Coltivare: Christine “CJ” DelVecchio, President NYS Association of Realtors.
** Plus, a very special red ticket prize! Every $1 ticket gets a chance to win a gift basket from the Cornell Store on The Commons, valued at over $100!
July 11, 2018 The lede on the June 27 newsletter was, “June Losurdo, 2017–2018 President of the Rotary Club of Ithaca, N.Y., called to order the last meeting for which she would be exercising these duties.”
Not so fast, Mr. Editor! June was back last week, riding the Four-Way Test like the pro she is! And the 70-or-so souls in attendance recited with the strength and conviction worthy of a robust and dedicated Club!
 The Thought for The Day was given by James Brown. Driving home from a baseball game last week, James’ wife suggested a quote from Macbeth for his upcoming Thought. At the time he eagerly accepted her proposal, yet later considered that Macbeth may not be the best choice for a Pass the Gavel/ Peaceful Transfer of Power celebration. So James turned to Hamlet, and quoth, “Brevity is the soul of wit.”
Dale Flinn introduced guests, including a number of Mary Beren’s family members. One visiting Rotarian was with us: Salvation Army Lt. Stacy McNeil of the Ogdensburg, N.Y. Club. Stacy has just started in her new post as core commander in Ithaca. Last week was her first time at an Ithaca meeting, and we look forward to having her join us regularly. Welcome Stacy!
As we were off for the Fourth on the first Wednesday of the month, birthdays and Club anniversaries were celebrated last week, and Joanne Lamoureux did the honors. July traditionally has a long list of anniversaries, allegedly due to a past secretary who only recorded new members once a year, in July. As such, the July reading becomes quite a Who’s Who of Ithaca Rotary.
At the end of the meeting, the gavel in her possession, Mary Berens drew the winning red ticket for a 50/50 split prize. Winner Nathan Lyman donated his winnings back to the Club’s coffers. President Mary asked for a moment of silence in memory of honorary Rotarian Dorothy Cotton, and Rotary friend Carl Gortzig. She then rang the closing bell.
George Gull snapped a new, “okay everyone, wave at the camera” photo from the northeast corner of the room, providing us with an updated Sea of Rotarians profile cover for our Facebook page. Watch for it, coming soon.
One more Rotary/ Ithaca fireworks show has gone into the record books and by all accounts it was a blazing success. Explosive! Fireworks chair and instigator Dale Johnson delivered the preliminary report: food, music, weather, and feature presentation were all better than great. And after the ringing has left the ears and the dazzle has drifted from the eyes, the recognition by thousands that Rotary is a welcoming and involved member of the Ithaca community will carry on. Dale asked all those who had a role in making the event happen to stand, and all — and there were a lot — were given a round of applause.
 Notice for those who were part of the event team, Dale is holding an After Action Report meeting tomorrow right before the regular Club meeting. Please plan to attend if you have feedback. And if you can’t get to the hot wash, send your comments to Dale. And one more thing: If you have a donation canister, please get it back to Jeff Bricker, ASAP.
Outgoing President June Losurdo still had some business to wrap up before handing the gavel over to Mary, and that was to announce the Rotarian of the Year. This, she said, was one of the greatest privileges she had as President. In her preamble leading to the introduction, June finally tipped her hand when she said the recipient was the power and inspiration behind the Rotary fireworks: The 2017–2018 Rotarian of the Year is Dale Johnson. Congratulations Dale! Well deserved!
Summer golf tournaments are in full swing.
 Incoming President Mary introduced Madeline Turner, our outbound Rotary exchange student for the 2018–2019 year. She leaves for Mumbai, India, on July 27. Madeline told us that her inspiration and motivation to be an exchange student came from hosting our inbound exchange student from one year ago, Paula from Poland. Madeline actually graduated from Ithaca High in June, so her year abroad is her “gap” year. She will be attending Cornell’s ILR School when she returns.
As you may have guessed from all the chatter about “outgoing” and “incoming,” last week the Gavel Was Passed from now Past President June Losurdo to now President Mary Berens.
 There are two traditions for this event. The first is to tell the story of the incoming (there’s that word again) president. Mary’s younger sister, Julie Berens, took to the podium for that activity. She gave a photo history of Mary as a young child, a student at Cornell University, family picnics and reunions, and gatherings with Delta Gamma sorority. There were more photos — her wedding to husband Paul, as Director of Alumni Affairs at Cornell, “jungle Mary” in the Ecuadorian forests, and travels to Europe.
With the help of Siu Ling and the Rotary Chorus, Mary’s spirit was encapsulated in songs: “Give My Regards to …,” the Cornell Alma Mater, and “Viva La Rotary.” Frank Towner gave Mary her new “President” name badge, and Mary gave June her “Past President” badge. The Cornell Big Red Bear made an appearance live and in person, grunted a few grunts, and posed for photos with the new Pres.
Tucked in before the bear was the second tradition: the greeting by Past Presidents. For all the PTGs that I can remember over my relatively brief tenure, the PPs have lined up reception-style, and the new president walked through greeting each along the way. This year, Mary stood at the front of the room and the PPs lined up to greet her one-by-one. It was nice; we could all see Mary and be part of her joy.
Mary spoke briefly to close, saying her approach for the year will be to celebrate traditions while including innovative ideas. She quoted the new RI theme: Be the Inspiration.
  
Ambassadors: None
Visiting Rotarians: Salvation Army Lt. Stacy McNeil from the Ogdensburg, N.Y. Rotary Club, visiting our club for the first time, since being called to service in Ithaca
Students: Madeline Turner, outbound exchange student
Workers:
• Greeters, Nancy Potter and George Gull
• Kettle, Jim Johnston
• Thought for the Day, James Brown
• Introductions, Dale Flinn
Set-Up: Harlin McEwen, Joe Giordano, Ron Provus, Dave Martin, Dale Flinn & Brad Carruth
Bulletin Reporter: Gail Lyman
Photographer: George Gull
Bulletin Editor: Ted Schiele
Club Service Facilitators, Beverly Baker & Joanne Lamoureux
Sunshine Chair, Kellyann O’Mara
July 18, 2018
Coltivare, S. Cayuga at Clinton St., Downtown Ithaca
Christine “CJ” DelVecchio, President NYS Association of Realtors
|
