Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
October 1, 2015
Attending (13): Terry Brewer, Debbie Rodriguez, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Dick Drumm, Jim Leyhane, Jim Butterworth, Melissa Bill, Stewart Wagner, Len Leonidas, Rommel Tolentino.
Guests: None
ANNOUNCEMENTS/BUSINESS
CAR WASH COUPONS — Jim Leyhane said he has coupons available, priced at 11 for $100. Our club gets half the money from each sale, which goes to the general treasury. He noted that the coupons make good holiday gifts, especially during the heavy road salt months.
BLUE STAR MOTHERS — The organization of military families that visited the club back in February will make a return visit next week. Members are asked to bring scissors to help with a project.
FOOD SERVICE, SIGNAGE, ETC. — President Terry Brewer said he has spoken with Quigley’s owner John Walsh about food and other challenges at the restaurant. He agreed to increase our payment to Quigley’s, which may allow for more food choices. He said the club still should break even on expenditures. Terry and John also discussed putting up a sign on the street publicizing our meetings, and John was agreeable. Terry said we will consider making him a member.
BREAKFAST MEETING — We will debut our periodic breakfast meetings with a session at 7 a.m. Thursday, October 15, at the Quality Inn on Miller Road, off I-90 Exit 10. However, we still need people to attend. Please contact Terry with names of any prospective members ASAP so invitations can be sent out.
HOSPITAL STAY BROCHURE — Peter Brown updated us on this effort that may help someone going into the hospital by educating an advocate in case things go wrong or change. Having an informed friend or family member can make a huge difference. He thanked Roberto Martinez and Jim Leyhane for their contributions, and explained how the project came to be. Peter said the project team now has access to senior people in Albany and Syracuse hospitals. The brochure is available in two forms; the one prohibition is that no one can charge for it. They are hoping for a trial in the next few months. The next step may be introducing it to doctors or other clinics. The brochure can be downloaded from on our club website and development is continuing. Jim explained that the brochure and program are different because they were developed by laymen rather than by lawyers. He said it was not undertaken for financial gain, rather for a service to the public.
SPREADING THE WORD — Terry spoke about the opportunity to place an ad in the official flyer for the annual Apple Festival & Craft Show to be held October 10-11 at Goold Orchards in Castleton. The organizers will allow us to put up a table, pass out information about Rotary, and, hopefully, attract new members. Four volunteers are needed for each day of the event to staff the table. Shifts will 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1 to 5 p.m. each day. If you can help, please e-mail Debbie Rodriguez or Pat Bailey ASAP. … On the same topic of getting out the word about Rotary, Melissa Bill suggested going to Chamber of Commerce meetings to promote the club. Terry suggested that Melissa and Shannon Romanowski could do that together.
NEXT MEETING: 6:15 p.m. Thursday, October 8 at Quigley’s.
Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club 