April 2, 2015 Chumline

Pledge & Prayer:   We thank you Bob who lead us in the pledge and thank you to Fr Rick who gave us a wonderful blessing.    God  Bless  America!

Announcements:                      WINNER – WINNER – On The GOLF BALLS… see who won…

• The Community Service Dinner was March 27^th  and it was a wonderful evening.  The Honorees were, well, honored. They greatly appreciated the recognition of their efforts to make our local community a better place to live. To everyone who helped make this event special – THANK YOU!!  The raffle baskets were a big hit. Eric and his beautiful wife, Debbie won two lotto baskets – they are still scratching away.   The final tally of the event is still being worked out as we had last minute journal ads and other monies still coming in. Again, Thank You to everyone who helped to make this event a true Rotary calling for “Service Above Self.”   They money raised goes towards our great efforts to make our local and world community a better place to live!!
• DISTRICT CONFERENCE is April 16-19.  We have a few Rotarians from out club attending to represent us.  They will undoubtedly make us look good ;-)  Have fun girls!!!  (I believe its Kathy, Karen Sobel and Ritva who are going.)

• Bob is now focused on our next event for the Gift of Life.  May 7^th –please mark your calendars. (see below)
• Veterans need our help!  Rotarians are meeting at the VA in Northport on April 17^th   for a great program that offers assistance to our local homeless Veterans.  If you can help, Bob is offering to pick you up at the Irish Coffee Pub at 8:30 a.m. to drive you and others to the VA. You can see firsthand how Rotary can help make a difference to Veterans.  From showers, new clothes, job opportunities, living quarters and more, this program helps Veterans to feel appreciated- worthy of the sacrifice they gave us.  If you can help on 4/17, please let Bob know.  “Many hands make light work.”   
• Making a difference around the world – The Rotary Haiti Project is on track.  People in a Haiti town now have clean water thanks to Rotary.  Karen Sobel is keeping us updated on the progress and it is going well.  Also, Ryan emailed everyone information regarding Greetings from Uganda where the Rotary Gift of Life program is expanding.  Rotary is going strong!!
• Phoenix Rising for Recovery Motorcycle Ride – May 9^th.  Tony may ride for this event and if you have a bike, you can join him.  Phoenix Hose is fundraising for their cause to help people in our local community beat addiction.  They are looking for volunteers, sponsors or anything support you could offer.  Starts at 10 a.m. at Renegade Classics on Commack Rd in Deer Park and ends at Gullhaven Golf Course in Central Islip.

       For more information call 631-707-2197 – ask for Scooter.  

• RYLA campout April 17 to April 19 in Riverhead- the Dorothy Flint 4H Club.  Volunteers are still needed.  Cheryl noted that an Islip High School Interact student, Emily Lambert, is representing RYLA at the camp. There are five students in total that our dues had helped to attend RYLA camp. Please speak to Tony if you can volunteer.  The kids run the all the programs and it is a worthwhile experience for adults too.
• Karen Moss also reported that the Rotary scholarships of $750 each are in process.  We have received at least one application back and the schools will be returning the others.  Interact club members are eligible from each Islip and East Islip High Schools.
• Still buzzing with BeesWell Veteran Stoves help homeless Vets make food and keep warm.  Shannon Burbage and her fellow Ronkonkoma Rotarian, Ron paid us another visit. They gave us an update on the wonderful program they started.  Our club and our own Rotarians have pledge hundreds of dollars to buy more stoves to help our veterans- to date we have purchased 115 stoves for homeless Veterans. There is a local need for approximately 2000 stoves per month.  In the Summer months, the need will only increase.   If you would like to donate to buy a BeesWell stove for a veteran, please speak to Bob or Tony.  
• Islip Arts Council – visit their home http://islipartscouncil.org  to see the great programs they are working on.  See what Spring events are around the corner!
• Thank you Ryan and Eric for helping with the happy golf balls – short for happy dollars and golf balls.

Special Guests:  We welcomed our guest speaker, Kate Travers from.  If you can invite a business friend to Rotary maybe we can increase membership.  All are welcome.

                                                                       INVITE A FRIEND TO ROTARY

5-7-15   Gift of Life Black Tie or Preferred or Business Suit. Oldies Dinner Dance (6pm to 10pm) at Windows of the Lake,         Ronkonkoma $85p.p.

If you would like to see the Rotary Calendar, Please log onto the Google calendar: cid=ZTRrbjdmanF1OWh2N2lrbGY5cWJibjltaW9AZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ&invEmailKey=adamicoesq

           Happy Dollars:  

Karen M was happy for the great work for the Community Service Dinner.  She was seconded by Eric and Tom Jones. Karen S was happy for Easter and Passover. As was Teresa, and Merri.  Tom Jones was also happy that his daughter got accepted to 3 graduate schools.  Good Luck!! John C was happy his daughter passed her speech pathology license.  Great job!! Guy was happy that the East Islip Library’s renovations are now complete.  Liz was happy to be happy. Ryan was happy that baseball season is starting.  Could I say go Mets ;-)  Russ was happy for the holidays. Bob was happy for Gary and the wonderful job he does on teeth (I second that) and for John C who knows how to not only crack jokes, but he does good with cracking bones too.   

$  24 collected

The Wine winners > Kate our guest speaker and Fr Rick won the wine – ENJOY ;-)

The almost Golf Ball winner:    Karen Sobel WON the Golf Ball Raffle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    Great job Karen ;-)

Collected $ -   I will have to get the amount collected, but there was over $3200 in the kitty- and Karen won half!!!!

Guest Speaker:  Kate Travers from Hope for Youth in Amityville Long Island

It started when a Family Court judge realized that one half of the children in the State Psychiatric Hospital System were there because they simply did not have the support in the community.  Judge Elizabeth Bass Golding formed a committee for the “Lost Children” and from there they expanded an idea that no child should be lost in the system.  They acquired buildings, built support networks and reached out our Long Island community to help our local children stay in the community through family support and foster care. They help siblings to stay together, they help educate kids and adults, and they help children reach their fullest potential.   Similar to our own belief, their organization promotes “Service Above Self.”

For more information visit their website at http://hfyny.org/

Attendance:     18 members

Karen M      Teresa            Ryan                      Bob                        Merri               Fr Rick          Gary       Guy             John  C          Tom J                    Sue Z                      Karen S           Liz                  Tony              Eric

Joe Perino              Russ                       Jim S                                                    

Yours Truly in Rotary,                                                                                                                                                                   Merri Ciano                                                                                                                                                                     Mciano@MyBestTeam.net