Posted by Michelle Brandstadt on Jun 06, 2019
Here is what you missed at this week’s Rotary meeting!
 
Meeting Recap 6/6/19         
This week’s meeting was presided over by PP Jill Koch in President David Bagley’s absence.
 
Visitors
  • Mary Stronach; guest of Bob Stronach
  • Kim Todd, Aliyah DeJesus; guests of Gina Ciaccia
 
50-50 Winner: Jack Altdoerffer
 
Rotarians in the News
  • Mary Ann Hallak Serwatka – OD article about the new company Mary Ann and her husband, Tom, have started to raise funds for Utica’s homeless population
  • P David Bagley and VP Joe Caruso – pictured in New Hartford Town Crier for donation to Hope House
  • Linda Iannone and Jerry Krause – OD article about Stevens-Swan Humane Society Furball
 
Quiet Givers Awards
Dr. Roger Breslow presented awards to three very deserving Quiet Givers: Tina Pavlot, for her involvement in several committees and volunteer service; Bob Stronach, for his efforts as website administrator; and Israel Acosta, for scheduling the wonderful programs we enjoy each week. Congratulations to all three!
 
 
 
Program
Stephen Turnbull introduced all of the attendees present for the Youth Exchange (YE) program. Present were 2018-19 Inbound YE student Ophelia Liu and her host families: Shelby Davis, Fransisco Quintana, and the Heselton family—Ben, Cristin, Juliana, Nicholas, and Natalie; 2017-18 Outbound YE student Juliana Heselton; and 2019 Short Term Exchange Program (STEP) students, Elizabeth Wratten and Bart Hearn. All students attend Clinton High School.
 
 
Dressed in a customary Taiwanese dress and using her much improved English, Ophelia gave a rundown, oftentimes funny, of her year at Clinton High School with her three host families. Ophelia described all of her first time experiences, including holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter; outdoor activities such as learning to shoot a gun (she wanted to go hunting), ice skating, snow shoeing, sledding and making her first snowman; school activities such as sports and prom; and U.S. cities such as New York City, Boston, Washington D.C., and the Outer Banks. In summary, Ophelia thanked Rotary for the support and organized activities, and she said she feels she has matured and become much more independent. Ophelia’s presentation was video-taped and can be viewed on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/uticarotary/videos/423456491570430/.
 
 
Also presenting today was Juliana Heselton, who was a 2017-18 outbound student and one of Ophelia’s host sisters. Juliana spoke about her experiences in Hungary. She spoke fondly of her three host families and the friends she made during her stay.
 
 
Announcements
  • Area 2 & 3 Adopt-a-Highway is this Saturday, June 8, from 8-11 a.m.; contact Stephen Turnbull by Friday noon, June 7, if you want to help
  • Utica Zoo clean-up is scheduled for Tuesday, June 11, starting at 5 p.m.; meet at gift shop
  • Central New York Conservancy’s Clean Up the Park Day (Proctor Park) is Saturday, June 15, from 9 a.m. to noon; sign up to volunteer on our website at https://uticarotary.org/event/clean-up-the-park-day/
  • The Adrean Terrace Summer Breakfast Program starts July 1; details and sign-up are available on our website at https://uticarotary.org/event/adrean-terrace-breakfast-program/. An email to members will also be sent shortly.
  • The next Monthly Meet-up is scheduled for Wednesday, June 26, at Gerber’s 1933 Tavern from 5-7 p.m.; check the website calendar for directions if needed
Next week’s program: TBD