March 21 Tri-Gear Report
3-21-14 CLUB MEETING AT THE COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT
Flag Salute: President Bob Bustard
Invocation: Bob Balentine
Members Present: M. Albergo, R. Balentine, J. Bertini, R. Bustard, J. Ciannella, J. Doornbosch, S. Fox, S. Hopper, P. Jacobsen, A. Kilmartin, F. Logan, M. Offer, H. Paul, C. Rose, G. Sherman, N. Swales, Phil Wells.
Visiting Rotarians and Guests: Guest Speaker Dale Siegel; Honorary Club Member Nancy Kilmartin; Northern Valley Rotarian Ray Cywinski; Felicia Ang (guest of President Bob).
Make Ups: Earning make-ups at the March 18 Board meeting were President Bob, D. Beattie, R. Cangialosi, B. Cohen, P. DiRosa, J. Doornbosch, R. Falcon, S. Fox, S. Gold, S. Hopper, F. Logan, C. Rose, G. Sherman, Phil Wells, and V. Zherenovsky. President Bob and G. Sherman earned 2 additional make-ups each by delivering dictionaries to 3rd graders in at West Ridge School and by taking part in the Stop Hunger Now event at Pascack Hills. Also at the Stop Hunger Now event were M. Albergo, P. DiRosa, J. Doornbosch, S. Gold, and B. Vozza.
(Please be sure to report your make-ups for our records and to improve our percentage of attendance!)
Birthdays and Anniversaries – Celebrating birthdays were J. Ciannella on 3/20 and J. Bertini on 3/21.
Sunshine: Mary Ellen reported that Ralph was routinely going to his office and maintains a positive outlook.
S. Hopper’s wife is recuperating from a fall she took last week.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to all who are currently contending with adversity of one type or another.
Happiness:
by G. Sherman
Many Happy Dollars were directed toward the highly successful STOP HUNGER NOW event held in partnership with the Pascack Hills High School Interact Club on Thursday, 3/20. Many thanks to President Bob, Michelle Albergo, and Interact Advisor Peggy White for coordinating what we hope will become an annual event.
George S. and President Bob were also happy to have distributed the last of this year’s dictionaries to 3rd graders at West Ridge School in Park Ridge on Thursday. Jan D. was equally happy to have the last of the boxes of dictionaries out of his warehouse.
Steve H. was happy for his son’s success in his indoor soccer tournament and for his involvement with the Boy Scouts.
Steve F. was happy for the existence of defibrillators at Pascack Hills and for the quick actions of the coach, trainer and recent alumni of the school who were able to save the life of a member of the high school track team Thursday.
Joeen C. was happy to be back with her friends after a long absence.
June B. was happy for the beautiful family DVD put together by her children.
Helen P. was happy to be seeing her foster daughter this weekend.
Fay L. was happy to be spending time with his son and grandson this weekend.
Mary Ellen O. was happy about the birth of her 9th grandchild.
Announcements:
by G. Sherman
Northern Valley Rotarian Ray Cywinski spoke of their club’s efforts in partnership with the American Legion to buy a handicap van for the disabled veterans of the area.
President’s Ball: Bob Bustard encouraged members to attend the President’s Ball at Seasons on April 17. Cost: $95 each, including the usual great Seasons food, open bar, dancing and the opportunity to recognize our President. Pat DiRosa will send reservations for the club, and tables are assigned when requests are made so let Pat know of your intent as soon as possible before April 1.
Lord and Taylor( at Fashion Center on Route 17 north) Fundraising and Shopping Event: Cindy Rose announced that April 3 was the date of the shopping event and urged members to buy and sell or give away tickets. Cost is $5 per ticket which the club gets, plus a percent of any purchases on April 3 using the discount ticket. Items may be bought in advance and picked up on 4/3. The club will earn at least $1,000 for our Charitable Foundation if we sell all 200 tickets that Cindy has available.
Phil Wells announced that his uncle is putting together another mission trip to Haiti. This time, they will be filling a shipping container with new clothing and shoes, construction materials and gently used young adult and simple adult books. Once in Haiti, the container will be converted into a new YMCA English library in Cap Hatien, Haiti. Contact Phil if you have items to donate. Learn more about the work being done there by visiting http://www.wellsmountainfoundation.org/haitiproject
Mark Your Calendar with these UPCOMING EVENTS:
by G. Sherman
Fri., 3/21-Sat., 3/22 – PETS – Hanover Marriott
Th., 3/27 – Cocktail Hour at The Cornerstone, 84 Broadway, Hillsdale – 5:30-6:30.
Fri., 4/4 - Club Meeting at The Courtyard by Marriott -12:15- Guest Speaker will be Laura Hudson from Hearts&Crafts Grief Counseling.
Sat., 4/5-Thurs., 4/10 – 57th District Conference – Cape Liberty Cruise Port
Th., 4/17 – Presidents Ball – Season’s Restaurant - $95.00 p/p
Sun., 5/18-Fri., 5/23 – RYLA 2014 – Indian Head Camp, Equinunk, PA
1/3; 1/3; 1/3 – Won by Bob Balentine. The Joker still remains hidden among the 11 remaining cards.
Program:
by George Sherman
Friday’s meeting of the Park Ridge Rotary Club featured guest speaker Dale Robyn Siegel who spoke on the topic, “Your FICO Score and You”. Dale is a licensed attorney and President of the Circle Mortgage Group. She is author ofThe New Rules for Mortgages and an adjunct professor at both NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate and Baruch College.
Dale opened her talk by reminding members that many common occurrences in life – getting a job, opening a checking account, finding affordable insurance, borrowing money – can all be affected by your FICO score.
One’s FICO, or credit score is a measure of your payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, new credit and type of credit. The lower your score, the smaller the loan you are eligible for and the higher the interest you will pay.
To improve your score follow these tips: 1) Pay bills on time; 2) Keep the amount owed on a credit card below 50 % of the amount allowed; 3) Establish a good credit history; 4) Recognize that a new credit card can act against you since you have yet to establish a history with that vendor; 5) Don’t let anyone run a credit inquiry until you are sure you want to do business with that vendor; 6) Check your credit report from Experian, Equifax, and/or TransUnion annually for any potential errors. You are entitled by law to obtain one free report from each every year, though you will probably have to pay a modest fee for your actual credit score.