The Skantarian The Skaneateles New York Rotary Club (SRC) a member of RI District 7150 - Area 11 http://www.skaneatelesrotary.org District Governor – Marlene Brown Ass't DG (Area 11) – Jim Gascon

Vol. 79, Number 48 December 6, 2007 Editor: John Shannon jms@mlsattorneys.com

SRC’s Officers for this 2007-2008 year: SRC’s Directors: Active Members: 54

President Dick Kokosa 2008 Gary Caldwell, John May

President Elect John Hennessy Jim Messenger & Lee Overstrom

Past President Ralph Jurgensen 2009 Robin Jowaisas, Umesh Patil

Vice President Doug Rutan Lori Ruhlman, Roberta Williams

Treasurer Sue Keefe

Corr. Secretary Art Fellerman

Rec. Secretary Duane Weaver Sergeant at Arms: Lee Overstrom

Committee Chairs – Administration, Chuck Williams; Fundraising, Dale Zabel; Membership, Roberta Williams; Public Relations, Lori Ruhlman; Rotary Foundation, Dick Poppa; Service Projects, Doug Rutan and Leadership, Dick Kokosa.

Exchange Students: Nico Avalle (Argentina) – van der Van Family , Sarah Bierbaum (Germany) – Swartz Family, Lucas Grob (Switzerland) – Frackenpohl Family, Eddy Tasia (Belgium) – Naro Family

Last Week’s Program: Stephanie Wisniewski, RYLA; 7:45PM Meeting of Skaneateles Rotary Foundation - Membership Vote on Bylaws, John Hennessy

This Week’s Meeting and Program: Todd May – Christmas Benefit Fundraiser – Skaneateles Country Club - 6:00 PM

Birthdays in December: Jowaisas (5^th), Wisner (8^th), Plank (25^th), Keefe (27^th)

Rotary Anniversaries in December: Tarnow (4^th), McLennan (5^th), Mercurio (27^th), Feldmann (29^th), Hyatt (37^th)

November 8^th Missing Faces: Bennett, Bentivegna, Poppa, Price, Rademacher, Renner, Roche, Tarnow, Weaver, Wisner, Zabel (Week’s Attendance- 73%)

November 29^th Guests: Stephanie Wisniewski, Jack Emmer

November 29^th Visitarians: none

Roving Rotes: RF Committee – Vuillemot; Skaneateles Sunrise – Hennessy, Pavlus; Dryden RC – Vuillemot

Weekly Setup &Ticket Sales: 12/6 – Keefe & Langley, 12/13 – Lee & T. May, 12/20 – J. May & McLennan, 12/27 – Messenger & Osborne, 1/3 – Overstrom & Patil, 1/10 – Plank & Price, 1/17 – Poppa & Priest, 1/24 – Rademacher & Ralph, 1/31 – Renner & Roche (Please find a replacement if you won’t be available for setup & ticket sales.)

Future Meeting Programs & District Major Events

Club Programs & Events

Dec 6 Todd May – Christmas Benefit Fund Raiser – Skaneateles Country Club - 6:00 PM

Dec 13 Dick Kokosa – Annual Club Meeting; Elections and Bylaws Vote (Board Meeting – 5:00 p.m.)

Dec 20 Dick Kokosa – Club Christmas Party

Dec 27 Gina Didio – 2007 Skaneateles Rotary Scholarship Recipient & Club Activities

Jan 3 Bennett & Ruhlman – Returning Exchange Students & Club Activities

Jan 10 Clyde Ohl – Modernizing Local Government (Board Meeting – 5:00 p.m.)

Jan 17 Kokosa – Club Assembly

Jan 24 Tom Watson – Photography Technology

Jan 31 Arnie Rubenstein – Antique Boat Show

District and Other Programs & Events

Nov 10 RLI – Loudonville, NY

Jan 2008 D7150 Mid-Winter Meetings

Mar 14-15 Multi-District President-Elect Training Seminar (PETS) - Double Tree Htl – Carrier Circle, E.Syr.

April 15 RLI – Verona, NY

News and Notices:

· Dec 6 Christmas Benefit Fund Raiser – This year’s annual Christmas Benefit will be held on December 6 at the Skaneateles Country Club. All proceeds from the event support the Christmas efforts of the Skaneateles Outreach Program and the local food pantries. A grand event is planned by Chairman Todd May who is being capably assisted by Timer Whittingham, Dale Zabel, Steve Schwartz, Jack Hyatt and Robin Jowaisas. Cocktails and live “Big Band “ music begin at 6:00 followed by a family style turkey dinner at 7:00 and table hosts are reminded to bring their carving tools to do honors to the bird. Just a reminder that the $20 dinner fee only covers the cost of the dinner and that the fund raising results from participation in the raffle by the Rotarians and guests present. So please let’s fill those tables…no empty seats allowed…and please ask your guests to bring a monetary donation for participation in the raffle. Checks should be made out to “The Skaneateles Rotary Foundation”, the new tax deductible arm of our club. Todd May is happy to answer any questions and Jack Hyatt is the ticket-master.

· Bylaws of Skaneateles Rotary Foundation, Inc. approved - The members of the newly formed Skaneateles Rotary Foundations, Inc. approved their bylaws on November 29, 2007.  The purpose of the foundation is to “operate exclusively for the benefit of charitable, educational, health, welfare and recreational needs of the community in accordance with section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code”.  Thanks to all participating club members for making this a reality.  To review the bylaws go to the club’s “Newsletters & Archives” page of the website.

· Polio Fight Gets $200 Million Injection - November 27, 2007
India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, along with the African nation of Nigeria, are the only countries where polio remains stubbornly endemic. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced that it was giving $100 million to the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International to try to stamp out the crippling disease, and Rotary, which has already contributed $633 million to the fight, pledged to match the Gateses’ grant. Most of the money will be used for immunization.

December is Family of Rotary Month

The Family of Rotary - Friendship was the foundation, the rock on which Rotary service was built. Rotary clubs are encourage to care for Rotarians, their families and members of the larger Rotary family, thereby strengthening clubs and instilling a sense of integrity, tolerance and unselfishness in the next generation. Specifically, the Family of Rotary is:

Rotarians’ family members

¨ Spouses, Widows and Widowers

¨ Children and Grandchildren

¨ Other relatives

The larger Rotary family

¨ Our neighbors in other clubs and districts around the world

¨ Our Foundation and its alumni

¨ Youth Exchange students, Group Study Exchange members

¨ Rotaractors, Interactors, RYLA participants

¨ Global Networking Groups (Rotary Fellowships & Rotarian Action Groups)

Supporting the Family of Rotary is of critical importance because it

¨ Builds lifelong friendships

¨ Enhances our personal families’ relationships

¨ Builds world understanding and peace

¨ Improves international solidarity and tolerance

¨ Contributes to membership growth

During the busy holiday month take some time to reflect upon what you and our club can do to strengthen The Family of Rotary through personal and club commitment. During the month, the Skantarian will carry a list of “How do we …” strengthen the family of Rotary.

Rotary Timeline – 1947: More than 300,000 Rotarians in 70 countries mourn the death of Rotary's founder, Paul P. Harris. An outpouring of contributions made in his honor allows The Rotary Foundation of RI to launch its first program the following year. Under the auspices of what would become known as the Ambassadorial Scholarships program, 18 "Rotary Fellows" act as ambassadors of goodwill studying abroad. Since then, thousands of former Ambassadorial Scholars have gone on to pursue careers that promote peace and global understanding.