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2019–2020
President: Geoff Dunn
President-Elect: Catrina VanAtta
Vice President:
Treasurer: Jay O'Leary • Secretary: Joanne Lamoureux 

Stories
News 2020-07-15

Tomorrow’s meeting:
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 880 0341 6864; Passcode: 702484

Suzanne Gilbert, Senior Director, Research & Strategic Opportunities at SEVA Foundation

July 15, 2020

WELCOME & TRADITIONS

Before he’s even had a chance to carve his initials into the Rotary gavel, new Ithaca Rotary President Geoff Dunn has rolled up his sleeves and jumped into the mechanics of the Club. Last week he introduced a new Club Zoom account, with Angela Sullivan (long-time holder of a Zoom CDL) graciously offering to “drive” the meeting. After some difficulty with muting, unmuting, and waiting rooms, Pres Geoff kicked off the meeting with the Four Way Test.

Cal Walker gave the Thought for The Day, reminding us of the 6 most important words.

Maricelis Acevedo announced that last week’s first ever DoGoodery Raffle was a big success. 41 tickets were sold for a total take of $201. All were put into a bag and the grand drawing commenced under the watchful eye of our sergeant-at-arms Harlan McEwan. The winner was #23 who ended up being none other than Gail Lyman! Gail won a pack from South Hill Cider. Next week’s raffle is a $50 gift certificate from Edible Arrangements. Rotarians are asked to buy as many tickets as they like for $2–$5. Proceeds from this month’s raffle will go to the Rotary Harvest in August.

The deadline for buying tickets to the DoGoodery raffle is Mondays at 5:00 p.m. Watch for the DoGoodery Raffe email from Maricelis with the week’s details.

 



ANNOUNCEMENTS

Geoff made several announcements:

  • District Governor Matt Adler will Zoom with the board on Tuesday August 25, and with the entire club on Wed August 16. All are urged to “attend.”
  • A short survey is coming out next week regarding our club’s slow reopening. The board wants to get members’ opinions. Please respond promptly.
  • At last week’s meeting, a number of participants modeled the coveted Rotary/ People of Action face covering. If you did not get one, and would like to have one, please send an email to either President Geoff (gdunn@frontier.com) or Secretary Joanne (ithacarotarysecretary@gmail.com), and one will be mailed to you.

John Barradas is leading another charge at the highway. Clean-up is again planned for two hours in the morning this Saturday, July 25. Helpers are really needed! Please sign up, and show up!

Kelly Buck reminded the club of the upcoming Rotary Road Rally on August 9. Online registration is open now; all teams are urged to pre-register to be eligible for one of the prizes.

The Rally starting line is at Triad Foundation on Craft Rd., and ending point is Myers Point Park. To keep numbers down and safe, prizes will be announced a day or two later. Maguire Auto has become a sponsor for $125. We are seeking a match – another $125 – from a Rotarian or their business to cover the cost of the pavilion rental, and the car entry fee. Kelly also put out a call for 25 goody bag items. Email her to make arrangements: kdbskier@gmail.com

Due to COVID-based budget cuts, the City of Ithaca is struggling to maintain some of its parks and public spaces. Noting this, Maricelis asked Rotarians to help out. (It's a perfect fit with our club’s new sustainability focus.) Gather up a few friends at whatever time works for you, and get outside and help. She will help organize groups. COVID protocols required, so masks and distance with anyone other than household members. More info soon.

Linda Brisson announced that there is an upcoming training for anyone interested in being a Youth Exchange volunteer. Get in touch with Linda for the details.

President Geoff and Kelly Buck are going out to Greek Peak on Thursday evening to check out their outdoor trivia. If it’s good, it may be offered as a Rotary activity — a way to be together, do something fun, and (bonus) log a Rotary meeting makeup!

There is an obituary in Tuesday’s Ithaca Journal (E-Edition) for Nelson (Ned) Charles Dunham, Jr., who, the obituary says, was a member of Ithaca Rotary for over 25 years.
 



LAST WEEK’S PROGRAM

Program director Ivy Stevens-Gupta has reserved a monthly slot for an environmental sustainability speaker. Last week, the first of this important series, Ivy introduced Master Composter Kurt Pipa, who spoke about recycling food scraps. Kurt is an assistant manager at GreenStar, and has been an avid gardener for years. He has started a composting program at Ithaca College, and lives in Eco Village.

Kurt described the community of life that lives in soil – earthworms and many microorganisms. He urged us to support that community, in order to best support our own health and wellness.

Soil is not a renewable resource, so we need to take care of it; the Earth has lost one half of its topsoil over the past 50 years. One way to help is to turn your food waste into compost. There are about 15 drop spots across the county, and citizens are welcome to drop off their food scraps and pick up a container for their homes.

In 2018, 340 tons of food scraps were collected. In addition to organic materials, the drop totes also accept meat scraps, oils and fats. Participants report that their garbage doesn’t stink anymore, clearly a benefit that is truly close to home!

Learn more at recycletompkins.org.

 



THANK YOU ROTARIANS

Ambassadors: None
Visiting Rotarians: None
Students: None

Workers:
  • Thought for the Day, Cal Walker
  • Introductions, Rotary hosts introduced their guests
Set-Up: Geoff Dunn and Angela Sullivan

Bulletin Reporter: Kelly Buck
Bulletin Editor: Ted Schiele

Club Service Facilitators, Beverly Baker & June Losurdo
Sunshine Chair, Kellyann O’Mara

 



COMING THIS WEEK

July 22, 2020
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 880 0341 6864; Passcode: 702484

Suzanne Gilbert, Senior Director, Research & Strategic Opportunities at SEVA Foundation

 



 

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