Speakers & Guests

Photos of speakers and special guests at Rotary meetings

November 18, 2008

Speakers today were (L to R) Robert Jones and Carol Burch from Hannibal Central School District, and Sue Witmer from SUNY Oswego Project SMART. The program was introduced by Rotarian Diane Dillon.

 

November 11, 2008

Jacob Annal, this year’s Regional Spelling Bee Champion, with PDG Bruce Frassinelli, twenty-five year coordinator and master of ceremonies of regional spelling bees in Easton, Pennsylvania, and Oswego, New York.

Today’s Program:  Today’s program chair, Bruce Frassinelli, introduced Jacob Annal, this year’s Regional Spelling Bee Champion, who represented our area in the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. Jake, now an eighth-grader at Oswego Middle School, did a great job of describing his Washington experience. Having been in the regional final four consecutive years, he is eligible one last time in 2009. He also served as pronouncer for the 5th Annual Rotary Spelling Bee. The winning table consisted of captain Selma Sheridan and tablemates Frank and Ruth Sayer, Joe and Val Hutchinson, and Vivian Sayer. They will be honored for their efforts during the awards-presentation ceremony at our Nov. 18 meeting. They won by correctly spelling “expatriate," which had been misspelled by the runner-up table (captained by Mark DuFore), and then correctly spelling the next word on the list – “dossier." The four tables went through 39 consecutive words without a misspelling before table four, captained by Diane Dillon, misspelled “maraschino" (a large cherry). Table one, captained by Randy Zeigler, went down on “kohlrabi," a cabbage having a greatly enlarged, fleshy, turnip-shaped edible stem. In all, it took 50 words to crown the champion table. Listed below are the words given in the spelling bee:  friend, notebook, pencil, gavel, coffee, adhesive, printer, dictionary, calculator, embryo, military, mimic, promoter, tenure, qualified, crescent, nasal, luau, barrio, wary, dearth, salve, lithe, bangle, hasty, jute, patina, relevant, sequin, equine, giraffe, prosaic, toucan, segue, jinx, rhythm, liege, fuchsia, geisha, MARASCHINO, barrage, parfait, gauche, camphor, mercurial, surveillance, KOHLRABI, vaudeville, EXPATRIATE and dossier. Pleeze knote: The naims of evrywon  partissapating in the spelleen bee wud be listid, butt eye am not shur eye culd spel all ov thim korrectly!

November 4, 2008

Rotarian Melanie Trexler, guest speaker Terry Pryor, and club president Shawn Seale.

Today’s Program:  Melanie Trexler introduced Terry Pryor, executive director of the Oswego County Historical Society and curator of the Richardson-Bates House and Museum, 135 East Third St., Oswego. In a slide show, Pryor showed club members the extensive renovations and restoration of the historic home that was home to Max Richardson and his family. The home has been restored to a 1900-era setting because the Historical Society was able to get authentic furnishings and paintings that graced the home to conform to that period. Richardson collected second-tier art, rather than fine art, because, according to Pryor, he could nor afford the more costly artifacts. Among unique items in the Richardson collection is Naomi Richardson’s diaries in which she would commemorate food poisoning episodes and her constipation. Pryor says the museum contains about 50,000 three-dimensional artifacts, some 750,000 paper documents dating from the 16th century, 75,000 photos, 100,000 negatives and 2,000 Stereoptician cards.

Congratulations to our newest member, Rachel Kesler of Pathfinder Bank. She was inducted into the club after a ceremony conducted by President Shawn Seale. Coincidentally, President Shawn is also her sponsor. Please say ``hello” and introduce yourself to Rachel, if you haven’t done so already. Congratulations, Rachel, and welcome to the fold! Each member is ready to help in any way he or she can.

October 28, 2008

Today’s Program:  Shawn Seale introduced Joette Deane, club member and Water Resource Group Coordinator for District 7150. According to Joette, “the time is now” to take action regarding worldwide water issues. Approximately 1.2 billion people lack access to clean water, and this is preventable. In fact, the video Joette played for us makes the point that the lack of access to clean water “makes everything else we want to do for people around the world irrelevant.” Joette showed us a letter she received recently from D. K. Lee, our Rotary International President, stating that his primary emphasis for clubs and districts in 2008-2009 is to reduce child mortality worldwide and noting his belief that providing access to clean water can make a significant impact in this regard. Rotary’s long-term goal is to reduce the incidence of unclean water 50% by the year 2015. Joette’s district water projects goals for 2008-2009, to be guided by the theme Make Dreams Real: Save Children’s Lives With Clean Water, are the following:  to continue raising awareness of current water issues and potential projects; to identify and recruit leadership within clubs and areas to lead the process of initiating and finalizing projects; to have all clubs participate in a water project; to finalize any projects that have not been completed in the last three years; and to complete all required reports to Zone and share this information with leadership within the district and with all the clubs. Thanks for sharing this information regarding the need for clean water worldwide, Joette, and thanks especially for your concern and for all your efforts!

October 21, 2008

New York State Senator Darrell Aubertine is welcomed to Oswego Rotary by club president Shawn Seale.

Today’s Program:  Shawn Seale introduced NYS Senator Darrel Aubertine, who is running for reelection against Dave Renzi this November 4. Senator Aubertine began his remarks by noting that although he is not a member of Rotary, he has had the opportunity to work with Rotary on several occasions, most recently by helping to obtain the funding to rebuild the Clayton Boathouse, a venture sponsored by the Clayton Rotary Club. “We’re in unchartered waters when it comes to the economy,” he stated. “The more important question is what to do about it.” According to Senator Aubertine, the recent “bailout” approved by Congress will help. Although he supports the bailout, he does have some reservations concerning its implementation as regards accountability. Senator Aubertine also stated, “It’s easy to let the news that we see get us down. Let’s not lose sight of the future and all the things we can take advantage of.” In response to questions from the floor, Senator Aubertine noted that he believes we should attempt to focus on energy sources such as nuclear plants, ethanol production, wind energy, and the redevelopment of hydroelectric power. He prefers “Plan B+” to “Plan 2007” as a means of managing the water levels of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River (Plan B+ will essentially provide for higher water levels on average in the spring and fall) because he believes its implementation will help our regional economy and better protect the environment. Senator Aubertine noted that he supports a “property tax cap,” but one that is linked to the principle of “mandate relief” (“If you have a good idea – then pay for it.”). And, finally, he indicated that he also supports a “circuit breaker property tax cap” based on one’s ability to pay – but he made it clear that this type of relief must be paid for as well. Thanks you for visiting us today, Senator Aubertine, and for sharing your views with us!

William Darvill and Mallorie Shannon, Oswego High School students were our guests today.

 

October 14, 2008

From left, Jane Murphy, Literacy Volunteers of Oswego County executive director; Jennifer Bisbo, tutor; Mike Kemp, LVOC’s Learner of the Year; Rotary Club president Shawn Seale.

Today’s Program:  Shawn Seale introduced Jennifer Bisbo, one of the tutors for Literacy Volunteers of Oswego County (LVOC), and her student, Mike Kemp. LVOC offers a “basic literacy” program to any individual 16 years or older who has difficulty with reading skills and is not currently attending school. It also offers a “computer literacy” program for individuals with the most basic reading skills. At present, approximately 60 students participate in these programs, all on a one-to-one basis with their tutors. Jennifer shared with us that she became a tutor because she loves to read and therefore wanted to help others to learn how to read – plus, she always wanted to teach. Mike stated that he joined the literacy program because he needed to know how to read in order to be able to perform better at work. He noted that participating in the program has been extremely beneficial to him. Not only has it helped him in his job (at Paul’s Big M), but it’s also taught him a great deal about working in teams and learning to trust others. In closing, Jennifer stated that LVOC is always seeking people who are interested in becoming tutors. Tutor Training Workshops are held several times throughout the year. If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a literacy volunteer tutor, please send an email to lvoswego_programs@verizon.net or call 342-8839. Thanks for a most interesting presentation, Jennifer and Mike!

 

October 7, 2008

Today’s Program:  Shawn Seale introduced Dave Renzi, Republican candidate for the New York State Senate, 48th District. Dave, a former member of the Rotary Club of Watertown, stated that he intends, if elected, to help create an environment in this district where both businesses and homeowners wish to be. We need to cap property taxes at or below the rate of inflation, recommended Dave. We need to eliminate waste in government spending. We need to provide tax credits for businesses that create new jobs. And above all, stated Dave, we need to make sure that we are treated fairly compared to those living downstate. In response to a question asking Dave to name the major differences between himself and Darrel Aubertine, his opponent in the upcoming election, Dave stated that Senator Aubertine has voted for increased taxes and spending many times and that the Senator appears simply to accept the disparity between downstate spending authorizations versus spending for Central and Northern New York. Dave indicated that, as Senator, he would take completely different stances on both issues. In response to a question asking what, if any, issues Dave is unwilling to compromise on, he stated unequivocally that he is pro-life and that he believes marriages should be confined to the union between a man and a woman. Thank you for sharing your views with us today, Dave!

Katie Flanagan and Kevin O’Connor were our student guests from Oswego High School today.

 

September 30, 2008

Dr. Joseph Camerino, superintendent of the Oswego County BOCES District, (on right) spoke about renovation plans for the occupational center at Mexico. He was assisted by Steven Tryon, Director of Technology for BOCES.

Today’s Program:  Vern Tryon introduced today’s guest speaker, Dr. Joseph Camerino, District Superintendent of Oswego County BOCES. Joe’s major purpose in visiting with us today was to discuss BOCES’ current capital project, which is aimed at providing improvements to its current structures in order to increase campus safety and security and keep BOCES technologically relevant. In line with these objectives, the theme of BOCES capital project is “Safety, Security, and Technology.”

According to Joe, BOCES’ main building, constructed in 1969, has had few renovations since and no major renovations. In addition, a number of wooden structures built in the 70’s and 80’s should have come off line by now, but only five of them have. BOCES’ current structures are plagued by environmental, telephone, plumbing, electric, and fire alarm problems, not to mention that campus traffic patterns are both congested and inefficient. As a result, the proposed plan calls for the following:  the reconfiguration of current space to keep student programs together; the construction of 18 new classrooms; the development of a new library/media center; the renovation of the cafeteria and the development of a new multi-purpose room; the creation of a focused main entry area; the improvement of vehicular and traffic patterns; and the updating of BOCES’ HVAC, electrical, plumbing, fire alarm, communication, and security systems.

The estimated cost of this project is $48.4 million, resulting in an average cost to local taxpayers across BOCES’ nine component districts (who own property valued at $75,000-$150,000) of approximately $2.34-$34.69 per year. (It is estimated that 90% of the total project cost will be eligible for NYS Aid.)

In closing, Joe urged all resident voters of the nine component school districts (APW, Central Square, City of Fulton, Hannibal, Mexico, City of Oswego, Phoenix, Pulaski, and Sandy Creek) to vote on the proposal on Wednesday, November 12. Polls will be open from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Thanks for sharing this information with us, Joe!

 

Charles Platt (center) was inducted into Rotary membership by club president Shawn Seale (right). He was proposed for Rotary membership by club president-elect David Granoff.

 

Thomas Graber of Oswego High School was our guest today and was introduced by Randy Zeigler.

 

September 23, 2008

Today’s Program:  Dave Granoff (on right) introduced Dave Welsch of our club, who spoke to us today about “What Is It That You Do?” Dave noted that he is a fulltime musician – a “Bass Player” -- living right here in Oswego, New York. Originally from Scranton, Pennsylvania, Dave came to Oswego in 1977, attended SUNY Oswego, graduated, and then went to work for Radio Shack. He hosted a Jazz show on WRVO, later became its Operation Director, and remained until 1992. In 1994, he met the members of Bela Fleck and the Fleckstones at Harborfest and started taking lessons from Victor Wooten. In 1997, Dave designed a web page for the Fleckstones and then soon after began his own company, DayGig Music – a publishing, production, and management company providing services to musicians and to the public ranging from internet design, maintenance, and consultation to live performances, production, and musical education. Along the way, he has developed a client list that includes internationally renowned and Grammy Award winning artists. He also works as Production Manager for "Bass At The Beach" and as Tour Manager and Management Assistant for Victor Wooten, which involves tour management, advertising design, tour merchandise and materials design, Bass/Nature Camp administration, inventory management, teaching, and website development. Locally he performs for the Mario DeSantis Band and the Mario DeSantis Orchestra in addition to doing private instruction and a great deal of freelance and theatre work. Dave indicated that recently he has also become more involved with audio engineering, music and video editing, and merchandise design. In closing, Dave shared with us his views on “the keys to success”:  have the talent, have the right temperament, get the important information, get the right people to work with, have the will to win, listen, never stop learning, and realize that there is no such thing as “luck” or “a chance meeting” – you make it happen! For a more detailed description of Dave and all his activities and enterprises, please click on the following link: http://www.daygigmusic.com/. Thanks, Dave, for a truly interesting presentation!

 

September 16, 2008

Past District Governor Bruce Frassinelli, Utica Rotarian David Jones, and club president Shawn Seale

Today’s Program:  Bruce Frassinelli introduced Dave Jones of the Utica Rotary Club, noting Dave’s extensive community involvement activities plus his current participation as a Board of Directors member for a number of different organizations. According to Dave, our world is currently littered with landmines and unexploded ordinances (UXOs) left over from a century or more of wars and internal strife. More than 10,000 people are maimed or killed by these devices each year, almost 40% of them children. What can be done about this problem? Mine and UXO clearance efforts represent a significant activity. Last fall Dave traveled to Cambodia with a group of approximately 15 individuals and helped clear the mines from a village in northwest Cambodia; then the group moved on to an area in North Vietnam and disarmed the many UXOs that were still there. What else can be done? Mine risk education programs and mine survivors’ programs can be developed and conducted. In addition, Rotarians around the world can help by joining and actively participating in a relatively new organization – Rotarians for Mine Action (RFMA). For more information or to apply for membership, please proceed to http://www.rfma.org. Thank you for sharing this information with us, Dave, and thank you for all your fine efforts in this regard!

 

September 9, 2008

Club president Shawn Seale welcomes club member Wagner Dotto, who presented the program today.

Today’s Program:  Shawn Seale introduced Wagner Dotto, Editor and Publisher of Oswego County Business and a member of our own Oswego Rotary Club. Wagner’s major purpose in speaking to the club today was to describe how he happened to visit the United States several years ago and then end up as a permanent resident, but he began by encouraging us to nominate a “Mover & Shaker” who has made a difference in Oswego County and Northern Onondaga County and who is under 40 years of age. Oswego County Business is sponsoring this “Forty Under 40” event, which will honor 40 leaders in the area under the age of 40. You may download the nomination form online by proceeding to www.oswego40.com. According to Wagner, he now lives in the U.S. because of Rotary. In 1987, living in Sao Paulo, Brazil, he applied for and was offered a Rotary Foundation Scholarship, which enabled him to “come to America,” first to Pennsylvania and then to North Carolina -- where he pursued and earned a Master’s Degree in Journalism. Wagner was one of 1300 scholarship recipients that year. He received approximately $12,000 from Rotary for his travel, room and board, university fees, and books. He was informed that a total of approximately $14 million in scholarships was distributed by Rotary that year to the 1300 scholarship recipients. Instead of returning to Brazil after his scholarship year (1987-1988), Wagner earned a research assistantship and remained in the U.S. for another year and a half. He hadn’t intended to remain in the U.S. after finishing school when he first arrived – but he did! Wagner joined the staff of the Post-Standard in 1991 and then, just one year later, founded his own business, the Oswego County Business magazine. In closing, Wagner reiterated the importance of Rotary to his life. “The Rotary Foundation opened the doors for me,” stated Wagner. “Without the scholarship, I probably would not have come to the United States.” We’re pleased that you did, Wagner, and we thank you for a most enjoyable presentation!

 

September 2, 2008

Tracy Burt, from the NYS Attorney General’s Office in Syracuse, was welcomed as today’s speaker by club president, Shawn Seale.

Today’s Program:  Shawn Seale introduced Tracy Burt, who currently serves as this region’s Consumer Fraud Representative for the NYS Attorney General’s Office. Tracy spoke to us today about safety issues as they relate to the use of the internet by children and young adults. Tracy essentially asked and answered three questions: (1) What are your kids doing online?, (2) What risks are they being exposed to online?, and  (3) What can you do as a parent? In response to her first question, Tracy stated that our kids are doing lots of things, such as emailing, texting, chatting (instant messaging), blogging, social networking, gaming, web camming, creating and viewing online videos, and downloading music. In response to her second question, Tracy noted that among the risks of online participation are being cyber bullied (cyber bullying involves activities such as posting unflattering pictures of others, making false or malicious statements about others, etc.), leaving digital footprints (what you say online stays online), and being enticed to meet strangers. Another “risk” is downloading music, which in many cases is illegal. As to what you can do, Tracy offered several recommendations:  set rules within your household regarding your children’s use of the internet, place your computer in a common, non-secluded room, ask your children about their online activities, encourage your children to tell you if they encounter a sexual solicitation, encourage your children not to reveal much about themselves online, tell them not to post their cell phone number online, tell them never to send explicit images of themselves, tell them to respect other people’s privacy and feelings and not to be cyber bullies themselves, and install filtering software that restricts access to inappropriate material. Thanks, Tracy for a most informative discussion of a truly important issue!

 

August 26, 2008

Steven Cohen was our guest speaker at Rotary today. He was introduced by immediate past president Bill Crist.

Today’s Program: Stephen Cohen spoke to our Club today about “joyous Living”. Mr. Cohen attended Queens College and the Manhattan School of Music. He taught at the United Nations International School and currently teaches at The Huntington School in Syracuse. He has recently recorded a CD entitled “Serenity”. Mr. Cohen began his talk by passing out a copy of “Attitudes” by Charles Swindell.

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company…..a church……a home. The remarkable thing is that we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable…The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you ….. We are in charge of our attitudes.”

August 19, 2008

Today’s Program: Maggie McCloskey, our Club’s representative at RYLA and also niece of John Fitzgibbons, spoke today about her experiences at the District’s RYLA conference held July 11th -13th at Cazenovia College. Maggie talked about the various programs aimed at time management, leadership skills, decision making, and communications skills. Speaker Paul Minch challenged the students to set high goals and set time limits to achieve those goals. For a service project, the group constructed shelving for the local Humane Society. Other activities included a challenge course through the woods where team members learn to work together as a group. At the concluding ceremony of the weekend, Maggie was awarded “Zoey”, the weekend’s mascot for her outstanding display of leadership skills.

Mr. Larry Richardson, chair of the RYLA weekend, challenged each of the students to organize a service project of his/her own. Maggie has decided to plan and promote the “Pajama Program”, a program designed to provide sleepwear and nurturing books to children in need. Maggie asked for our Club’s participation with this project. For more information and collection sites, please contact Maggie McCloskey at 315-343-4051 or cell 315-532-1155. Her email address is:
maggiemccloskey@gmail.com .

We will provide more information about the “Pajama Program” as it becomes available. Congratulations and our thanks to Maggie for a job well done.

 

August 12, 2008

Rotary District 7150 Governor Larry Calabrese, Annabelle Calabrese, and Club President Shawn Seale

Today’s Program: District Governor, Larry Calabrese visited our Club today. Mr. Calabrese has been a Rotarian since 1995. He is a past-President of the Utica Rotary Club. A graduate of Utica College of Syracuse University in 1962 with a B.S. degree in Accounting, Mr. Calabrese recently retired as Vice-President of Operations of Excellus, Inc. District Governor Larry spoke about his vision for this year’s theme of “Make Dreams Real.” He began by reading a poem entitled “Possibilities”. Our District Governor focused his discussion on the issue of children’s health in areas of the world where disease and hunger claim thousands of young lives every day. He proposed a year long program which he calls “Pennies for Polio” and rallied members to join him in his quest to help address children’s health issues. He challenged all Clubs to pledge $1,000 per year for three years. If all 33,000 Rotary Clubs were able to meet this goal, $100,000,000 could be raised to reduce child mortality around the world. Governor Larry received a $10,000 public relations grant to reach out to the public for assistance with this project.

In closing, Governor Larry believes that anything is possible and urged everyone to participate in any way he or she can.

Annabelle Calabrese also addressed the Club about the Literacy Project to be conducted at the District Conference in September. Clubs have been asked to provide children’s books (ages 0 to 5) which will be bundled with other items into literacy kits at the Conference. Please bring books to the August 26th meeting. Paul Scott will collect them and transport them to the District Conference.

August 5, 2008

Our speaker was Officer Scott Plasse, an agent with the Border Patrol since September 1996. He spoke about the change in the focus of the Agency since 9-11. Prior to the terrorist attacks, the concentration in this region was on issues dealing with migrant laborers. Since then, the focus has changed to a strategy to stop terrorism. Routes 81 and 90 are considered a major smuggling corridor connecting the Niagara River to all principal east coast cities.

The local Border Patrol office covers areas from Jefferson County in the north to the Pennsylvania state line. They patrol bus and Amtrak stations. The organization is intelligence driven, depending on tips from agents at border crossing checkpoints and the general public. They do not enforce New York traffic laws but they do work closely with the local and state police and the Coast Guard in this area.

Mr. Plasse also spoke about procedures dealing with illegal aliens. These individuals receive hearings before an administrative law judge. Some are housed in local jails until they can be processed in the system but there is also a federal detention center in Batavia.

Currently, there are 17,000 border patrol agents, up from 6,000 in 1996. We thank Mr. Plasse for speaking to our Club and for the fine job done by his Agency to protect our borders.

Club President Shawn Seale and Rotarian Sabine Ingerson with exchange student Doris Skiba (center). Doris had just returned from a one month tour of the United States with other exchange students.

Doris spoke about and showed pictures of her recent bus trip across the U.S. Highlights of her trip included stops in Washington, DC, a day at the beach in South Carolina, Dollywood, Graceland, New Orleans, the NASA Center in Houston, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Newport Beach and San Francisco, Yellowstone Park, Mt. Rushmore and Chicago. Doris expressed her gratefulness to the Club for hosting her this past year and wished everyone well. She departs on Sunday, August 10th to return home to Bavaria. Auf wiedersehen and our best wishes, Doris.

July 29, 2008

Fran Clark is welcomed to Oswego Rotary by club president, Shawn Seale.

Fran Clark from the Wind Power Education Project and the New York Public Interest Research Group spoke to our Club about the benefits of wind power projects to the upstate region. He highlighted the rising costs of electricity and natural gas and the drawbacks to dependency on fossil fuels including global warming and acid rain. The burning of coal results in the mercury pollution of our lakes and streams and results in warnings on consumption of fish caught in the affected waters. Mr. Clark spoke about the benefits of wind power as follows:

1. Cleanliness
2. Reduction in the use of other power sources
3. Preserves farmland
4. Reduces usage
5. Environmental and public health benefits
6. Job creation
7. Lease payments to landowners
8. Creates tourism benefits

Mr. Clark continued with examples of successful wind projects both overseas and here in New York. Denmark produces 20% of its electricity from wind power. In New York, there is the Maple Ridge Wind Farm on Tug Hill and the Fenner Wind power project in Madison County. The Steel Winds Project on the former Bethlehem Steel site in Lackawanna is the first project completed in an urban setting.

Mr. Clark addressed negative aspects of the projects including noise, decreased property values, shadow flicker, dangers to birds and other wildlife. He pointed out that the Fish and Wildlife Service supports wind farms.

In closing, Mr. Clark urged citizens to get involved by attending public hearings on wind power.

Oswego Rotarian Rick Tesoriero, center, greets Beverly and Augustine Silveira. Gus was a long-time member and honorary member of the Oswego Club.

 

July 22, 2008

Left to right: Rotarian Melanie Trexler, John Higbee, Jim Howard, Rotary Club president Shawn Seale.

Today’s Program: Rotarian Melanie Trexler introduced Jim Howard of “Hives of Howard” and John Higbee who spoke about their work as beekeepers. Jim Howard, a veteran beekeeper, brought us up to date on issues affecting the bee population. He attended a National Bee Conference where there was discussion of colony collapse, a major cause of the recent decline in the bee population. He explained that in colony collapse, bees leave the hive for no apparent reason. A recent federal farm bill would provide $30 million to study this problem. He indicated that New York has been lucky so far to have lost fewer hives to colony collapse. Jim discussed his strategy for keeping hives alive over the winter. He had a very successful winter this year given that all of his hives survived.

John Higbee is relatively new to beekeeping and has taken it up since his retirement from a maintenance position at Nine Mile. He has always been fascinated with bees and became interested again after meeting Jim Howard at the Farmer’s Market. John talked about his experiences in bee removal from houses and trees in the area. He and Jim have worked together to develop plans for removal of bee swarms. Each instance is different but location of the queen bee is essential. Once she is removed, the others will follow. Both Jim and John stressed the importance of educating the public about the role of bees in our country’s food supply. They reminded us that without bees, there would not be crops.

We thank Jim and John for the very interesting program and for all of their hard work and dedication.

Ben Miller (left) receives the Job Well Done Award from Rotarian Richard Shineman. Ben is a neighbor of Dick’s and has done good deeds for Dick and others in the neighborhood. Ben is a native Oswegonian. He graduated from LeMoyne College with an accounting degree. He is a member of the New York State Police and is an investigator of personal injury accidents and instructs NYS trooper recruits. He is based in Oneida. Congratulations to Ben.

 

July 15, 2008

Perry Noun (left) welcomed to our meeting by club president Shawn Seale.

The Noun siblings from left: Connie, Perry, Bill, and Chris.

Today’s Program: Perry Noun, former Executive Director of the Northeastern NY PGA, host of the Sports radio show “Tee Time with the Pro-Noun”, and winner of sixty amateur golf tournaments, spoke to our Club today. Perry focused on two themes – “his theory on life” and “it’s never too late.”

Regarding his theory on life, he believes that life is a 60/40 proposition. He suggests that everyone makes mistakes in life and that mistakes are a learning opportunity. If a person can say that at least 60% of his life is good, then he can consider his life a success. Be thankful for the 60% and work your hardest to keep the good at 60%. Appreciate everything in life.

His other topic was “it’s never too late.” Perry spoke about trying many new things in his life including his career as a sports radio talk show host. He knew nothing about radio talk shows but he convinced others to give him a chance and the rest is history. To further prove his point, Perry brought out his siblings – Bill Noun, and twin brother Chris and sister Connie from Rochester. The four have started singing together and entertained our Club with a few numbers in perfect harmony. The group sang together as children but only recently have decided to combine their talents and sing for club gatherings including various veterans’ associations in the Finger Lakes area.

As always, it was a pleasure to have Perry speak to our Club and a special treat to meet and hear the Noun family together.

 

July 8, 2008

Rotarian and Salvation Army Captain Ken Hayes introduced The Salvation Army Music Conservatory of the Empire State Division. The group of young people aged 12 to 21 from across New York State, spent several days in Oswego practicing their musical skills and receiving instruction in music theory, leadership, creative dance and movement, drama, and biblical studies. They performed at the Farmers’ Market in Oswego as well as for the Rotary meeting.

 

July 1, 2008

Today was our Changing of the Guard program as Shawn Seale (below left) took over the club presidency from William Crist.

Today’s Program: Annual Changing of the Guard Meeting. Past District Governor, Bruce Frassinelli presented Regal Eagle pins to five noteworthy members of our Club, namely, Frank Sayer, Tony Murabito, Vern Tryon, Paul Scott and Paul Heins

Perfect Attendance awards were presented to various members for years of perfect attendance. Among those with the most number of years of perfect attendance were Mark DuFore, Dr. T. and Bruce Frassinelli.

Paul Scott introduced Robert Crist who presented his son, President Bill Crist with a Paul Harris Fellow Award. After expressing his gratitude, Bill Crist spoke about the highlights of his past year as President beginning with his attendance at the District Conference last fall. He also spoke about meeting the
the President of Rotary International at the District’s Changing of the Guard Meeting held recently.

Paul Scott presented a Past President’s pin to Bill Crist followed by the presentation of the President’s
Pin by Bill Crist to Shawn Seale.

Club officers for 2008- 2009 were sworn in by Bruce Frassinelli.

President Shawn Seale then spoke briefly about his plans for the upcoming year including his support to “Every Member, Every Year” – encouraging all members to make an annual donation to The Rotary
Foundation. This year’s theme is “Make Dreams Real”.

We sincerely thank President Bill Crist for his service to our Club this past year and look forward to working with President Shawn. Many thanks from the Club to Vern Tryon for his service in producing the program for today’s Changing of the Guard meeting.

New Rotary Club president Scott Seale receives the president’s lapel pin from immediate past president, William Crist.

One of the final acts of Bill Crist’s presidency was the induction of Karen Ferguson into Rotary membership. Karen’s classification is human services administration. She is the branch director in Oswego of the American Red Cross.

William Crist became a Paul Harris Fellow presented by his father, Robert Crist, and ADG & DGN Paul Scott.

Past governor of Rotary District 7150 Bruce Frassinelli (center, rear) made several Regal Eagle awards for various services made during the course of his club and district activities since coming to Oswego. He and his wife, Marie, will be moving to Pennsylvania at the end of 2008. Shown, left to right in back, Paul Scott, Vernon Tryon, Bruce Frassinelli, Paul Heins, Anthony Murabito, and, in front, Frank Sayer. Frank has been an Oswego Rotarian for over 60 years and Tony for more than 50 years. Paul Heins was the first Rotarian to invite Bruce to a meeting after he came to Oswego as editor and publisher of The Palladium-Times and subsequently proposed him for membership. Bruce, in turn, proposed Paul for membership upon his arrival in Oswego as publisher of The Palladium-Times. Vern was thanked for work on the pancake breakfast and other club projects and for having twice served as club president.

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