April 23, 2007

Reporting the Meeting of April 16, 2007

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Nominating Committee Chairman Bob Youmans announced the following slate of club officers for 2007-08 who were subsequently elected unanimously:

President – Ron Serapilio

President-Elect – Mark Gasparovic President Nominee – Chris Nyhan

Secretary – Bill Lonergan Treasurer – Ken Crotty

• President Linda expressed appreciation to the owner of Sam’s Chinese Restaurant and his wife for taking in our group after the Millstone Lodge was not open when the membership arrived for our meeting. Linda noted that our regular meetings will be held in the Bill Sewell Room at the Ballston Town Hall until further notice.

• Linda also announced that the Board of Directors had approved the purchase of a projector for a little more than $1,000 to enable the frequent power presentations of our speakers to be accommodated without the necessity of beg, borrow, or stealing a projector on short notice. She commended Ken Crotty for his vigorous research in obtaining the best price for a viable projector. She said Ken can “squeeze a nickel so hard that the Indian rides on the buffalo”.

• Val Mosier reminded the group that in lieu of the chili dinner for Town in Bloom a special collection would be conducted at the April 23 club meeting. A basket will be passed and all will have an opportunity to support TIB.

• Mark Gasparovic’s Rotary Minute recounted the contrast between the behavior of motorists on Interstate 88 and those driving on smaller state roads through the villages during a recent trip to Ithaca. On the Interstate speeders were flying by him and weaving in and out of the driving lanes. In contrast, the smaller road drivers were polite, gave others the right of way, and he even observed one man helping an elderly lady across the street. Mark suggested that this difference in attitude toward others could be attributed to the Rotary signs he saw as he entered a number of the villages along these less traveled roads. He inferred that the kinder behavior resulted because you often find Rotarians in small villages and towns, and Rotarians treat people with dignity.

• Laura Linder announced that she had received 30 orders for Vidalia onions to date. She also distributed sign up sheets for onions and for commitments of support for the 4H Training Center’s April 28 Walkabout

Cathleen Hamel, Vice-President and Chief Nursing Officer at Saratoga

Four members of a Methodist church-sponsored Volunteers in Mission Team (VIM} described in pictures and words the power of their commitment to help others in need by rebuilding homes in Vancleave, Mississippi destroyed or damaged by Hurricane Katrina. 40,000 Mississippi homes were still uninhabitable when a team of 45 volunteers, including our presenters Dave and Shirley VanSchaick, Bill Borthwick, and our own Mary Anderson, traveled to Vancleave to work on restoration projects this past November.

Mary began the presentation by describing her motivation for joining the team. Because she believes so strongly in the “Service Above Self “ Rotary motto and had gained great satisfaction from earlier volunteer service in Nicaragua, she wanted to repeat the experience in the United States. Mary observed that the satisfaction generated by the VIM experience came primarily from the commitment of her fellow volunteers, the project’s continuity achieved by relating the immediate work to what had been done before, and the sustainability made possible when the next group follows up on the work of its predecessors.

Dave had constructed a power point presentation from the many photographs he had taken to chronicle the group’s experience. Departing from the power point norm, Dave, Shirley, Bill, and Mary informally shared stories related to the events captured on film. Among the scenes depicted on film were the 60-hour motor trip to Mississippi, where team bonding began; the devastation caused by Katrina; the warm welcome and hospitality of the Methodist Church members who fed and housed the volunteers; and numerous before and after photos of the good work the team of 45 did in rebuilding homes described so personally as “Beverly’s House”, “Elizabeth and Eddie’s Home”, “Fran’s Home”, “Allan’s House”, etc. A particularly memorable moment for this audience was a photo of a dust-masked Mary Anderson expertly wielding a staple gun while installing wall board. The spontaneity and informality of the presentation and the interaction with the audience added to the power of the experience the volunteers were describing.

Our presenters noted that the purpose of their presentation was to “share the story” because that is how VIM will grow. Each expressed the desire to repeat their experience; in fact, Bill is leading a similar mission to Ireland in two weeks. In

donating 1800 hours of service and completing the restoration, or nearing the completion, of seven homes during their service in Mississippi, this group of volunteers aptly demonstrated the power of “Service Above Self”

Reported by Dick O’Rourke