Rotary Speakers & Special Guests

Photos of speakers and special guests at Rotary meetings

June 24, 2008

Today’s Program: Bill Crist introduced Ward Vuillemot, who spoke of his recent trip to the Republic of South Korea.

Ward participated in the first and only GSE Trip to South Korea a few years ago, which focused on supporting literacy efforts in the country. The theme of these literacy efforts is “Development Through Literacy.” Several actions have been and continue to be taken in this regard: citizens are being taught to write, students are being trained to become teachers, and inmates of prisons are being educated. Ward shared with us a project he is currently working on – the distribution of textbooks throughout the southern region of South Korea. According to Ward, millions of books, including children’s books, are being distributed – most of them coming from U.S. schools. In closing, Ward reminded us how precious water is in countries such as South Korea because of its relative scarcity. When asked why he engages in projects such as these, Ward stated, “I believe that making these small changes internationally makes a big difference overall.” We agree, Ward, and we thank you for discussing these truly important issues with us today!

 

June 17, 2008

Today’s Program: President Bill Crist introduced Carolyn Fast, Assistant Attorney General for the State of New York. Carolyn focused the majority of her remarks today on an investigation the Attorney General’s Office has been conducting for the past couple of years into the student loan industry. According to Carolyn, approximately 2/3 of college students today graduate with debt as a result of taking loans to help finance their education – and it’s a fairly large debt as well, given the ever-increasing costs of obtaining a college education. During the investigation, the Attorney General’s Office has learned that the majority of students make their choice of lenders based on the recommendations of the Financial Aids staff where they attend college rather than conducting research on their own. In many cases, these recommendations are helpful and have resulted in equitable and low-cost loans for the students – but not always. In some cases, the recommendations have benefited the colleges more than the students (and occasionally have directly benefited the Financial Aids officers themselves). As a result of these findings, the Attorney General’s Office developed a “Code of Conduct” and required offending schools to agree to conform to it (and, in many cases, to make suitable reparations to the students affected). At the same time, the Attorney General’s Office supported (and helped have passed) a NYS law requiring all institutions offering financial aid to conform to this code. (A similar bill is now being considered at the federal level in the U.S. Congress.) In addition, the Attorney General’s Office has recently developed a brochure that lists students’ rights and responsibilities and that lists questions to ask of their Financial Aids Office and of potential lenders. At present, The Attorney General’s Office is conducting an investigation into the direct marketing of loans by various organizations – some of which are legal and aboveboard, but others of which are using misleading, deceptive, and false advertising in their attempts to convince students to borrow from them. In closing, Carolyn noted that federally guaranteed loans (such as the Stafford Loan, the Perkins Loan, and the Plus Loan) are generally the best deal for students – in the sense that their interest rates are capped and therefore are less expensive over the long run. Thanks very much for a most enlightening presentation, Carolyn!

 

June 10, 2008

Rotary Minute: President Bill Crist presented Frank Sayer with a commemorative clock in recognition of his 60 years of service to Rotary. Frank also received a “Paul Harris Plus 5” award and a lapel pin for his significant contributions to the Rotary Foundation. Congratulations, Frank. It was an honor for all of us present at today’s meeting to share this moment with you!

Today’s Program: President Bill Crist introduced Peter Crist, a retired police captain in the Town of Tonawanda who in 2002 helped organize (with four other individuals) an organization named LEAP. LEAP stands for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. The members of LEAP, which now numbers over 5,000 individuals, believe that in order to save lives and lower the rates of crime, disease, and addiction – as well as to conserve tax dollars – the prohibition against drugs in this country must be abolished and replaced instead by a system of regulation and control. Peter shared with us his view that the U.S.’s “war on drugs” is in fact not a war at all. First of all, he argued, one does not wage war against inanimate objects. Second, when you are truly waging a war you expect it to end at some point. And third, if you decide to stop the war, it’s considered a “surrender” – which, of course, makes it even harder to end it. But since we call our present drug policy in this country a war, said Peter, an unfortunate result is that those who oppose it tend to be criticized severely. Peter believes that a better description of our current drug policy (better, that is, than calling it a “war on drugs”) is to call it a “prohibition against drugs.” The bad thing about this, he claimed, is that prohibiting drugs in this country creates crimes and violence that need not exist. Peter stated that when drugs are prohibited, underground markets are immediately created and the values of these drugs are artificially inflated. And whenever a drug dealer is arrested, someone else immediately takes his or her place. All we are doing by prohibiting drugs, he suggested, is creating job opportunities for even more people willing to take big risks for the chance of earning even greater profits. In other words, fighting the war on drugs is just “stirring the prohibition pot” – and, to remove this pot, we must end drug prohibition. Peter noted that the legalization of alcohol in 1933 helped decrease crime and violence associated with its manufacture and distribution rather than to increase it. The same result occurred, he said, when the “numbers racket” in the U.S. was “legalized” with the advent of the lottery. He believes that legalizing drugs would have a similar effect. Just because a policy is in effect, he noted, doesn’t mean it’s “good” policy. He pointed to the acceptance of slavery and to the denial of women’s right to vote in this country, two policies that have since been abolished. Our present policy on drugs in this country, in a similar fashion, is simply “bad” policy, argued Peter, and should also be abolished. Since we don’t seem to be able to solve the drug problem and since we don’t seem to be able to get rid of it, we should try to live with it in such a manner that it creates the least amount of harm. Legalizing drugs and then regulating their manufacture and distribution, according to Peter and to LEAP, is the best way to do this. Thanks for a most stimulating and thought-provoking discussion, Peter!

 

June 3, 2008

Today’s Program: Bill Crist introduced President-Elect Shawn Seale, who began his presentation today by sharing with us one of incoming Rotary International President D. K. Lee’s most important goals – to help decrease the number of children’s deaths throughout the world. According to D. K. Lee, it is estimated that approximately 30,000 children five years old and under suffer preventable deaths every day! Mr. Lee is hoping that Rotary’s efforts during the coming year and in the future will help to bring these numbers down and has pledged to emphasize this goal during his term as president. Shawn then shared his objectives for the 2008-2009 Oswego Rotary Club. Among them are the following: to provide all new members a mentor to help guide them in their early days as Oswego Rotarians; to give all new members an opportunity to conduct a program at one of our meetings; to investigate additional areas where the club can engage in community involvement activities; to investigate additional ways to raise funds; and to encourage all our members to contribute to The Rotary Fund so that we end up with 100% participation. Thanks for giving us some things to think about, Shawn!

Job Well Done Recognition Award: Randy Zeigler presented this week’s Job Well Done Award to Mary & Dave DePentu for all their efforts in support of Project Bloom.

 

May 27, 2008

Today’s Program: Sabine Ingerson introduced today’s speaker, Doris Skiba – our exchange student this year from Germany. Doris told us that she lives in Bavaria, where the weather is somewhat cooler than in the rest of Germany because of its mountains. Specifically, she lives in a small community named Hohenau and attends school in the Freyung-Grafenau district. Germany is located in Central Europe and is a federal, parliamentary, representative democratic republic composed of 16 states. Not long after World War II, Germany was divided into two separate states (West Germany and East Germany) along the lines of the allied occupation. Bonn served as the capital of West Germany and East Berlin as the capital of East Germany. A year after the fall of the Berlin Wall (which took place in 1989), the two states were reunited with Berlin as the capital. After showing us a number of slides depicting Germany today and German culture, Doris fielded questions from the floor. In response to a question asking what best describes the Bavarian tradition, she answered “castles, clothes, and Oktoberfest.” What kinds of foods has she become fond of in the U.S? “Lasagna, spaghetti, and just about anything from Dunkin’ Donuts.” What will she most remember about her stay in the U.S? “Her host families, the friends she has made, her trip (with several other Rotary exchange students) to New York city, her trip to Disneyworld, and the prom.” (Proms are not held in Germany.)

Scholarship and award recipients for 2008 were present at Rotary today with their parents. Left to right: Elizabeth Donovan, Jenna Skubis, Gabrielle Rumrill, exchange student Doris Skiba, Waruguru Gichane, and Jordan Holliday.

Presentation of Student Awards: Vern Tryon introduced this year’s recipients of the Oswego Rotary Scholarships and the Oswego Rotary Occupational Education Award. With the help of President Bill Crist and member Tony Murabito, Vern presented scholarship awards to the following individuals: Elizabeth Donovan, The Anthony J. Murabito Oswego Rotary Scholarship; Waruguru Gichane, The Charles E. Riley Oswego Rotary Scholarship; Gabrielle Rumrill, The Manjula Shah Oswego Rotary Scholarship (underwritten by the Tarandi Foundation); and Jenna Skubis, The Ralph & Dorothy Faust Oswego Rotary Scholarship. Vern then presented the Manjula Shah Oswego Rotary Occupational Education Award of $500 to Jordan Holliday who completed the New Vision Allied Health Program and intends to pursue a career in medicine.

May 20, 2008

Larry Mayo, member of the Board of Directors of the Oswego Public Library is greeted by club president, Bill Crist.

Today’s Program: Tom Ingram introduced Larry Mayo, Assistant Director of Continuing Education at SUNY Oswego and currently serving as a member of the Board of Directors for the Oswego Public Library. Larry began his talk by sharing with us a story. In 1992 he took a trip to the southwest part of the U.S., spending approximately three weeks there. His host attempted to convince him to visit a palm reader. Larry grudgingly agreed to do so, where he was informed by the palm reader that he (Larry) was a bibliophile surrounded by books and that he could be successful in a minor public office but should probably not ever run for a major office. Larry didn’t think much of the palm reader’s statements at the time, but now he isn’t so sure, given that he has successfully run for the Library Board and has spent so much time being involved with the Library in recent years. (Just make sure you remember that caution against running for major office, Larry!) At present, Larry serves as Chair of the Library’s Building Committee and as its Fiscal Officer, two positions that have proved quite significant and time-consuming in the past couple of years, considering the renovation efforts that have been taking place at the Library. According to Larry, the Library (which has been moved temporarily while the renovations have taken place), will close on Friday, May 23 and will reopen at its original location approximately a month later. Larry gave us a fairly comprehensive “walkthrough” look at the new structure, and then closed by informing us that it’s believed the Oswego Public Library is the oldest public library in continuous use in the U.S. Thanks for a most informative and interesting presentation, Larry, and congratulations to the Library on its upcoming grand reopening!

Our honor student guests from Oswego High School today (May 20, 2008) were:

Elizabeth Donovan

Shannon Donovan

Hannah Kisselburgh

 

May 13, 2008

Rotarian Melanie Trexler, Chris Watson, weekend sports anchor for News 10 Now, and club president Bill Crist

Today’s Program: Melanie Trexler introduced Chris Watson, weekend sports anchor for News 10 Now. Chris noted that he grew up in Oswego, went to high school here, and later graduated from Herkimer Community College and SUNY Oswego. He first became involved in television broadcasting in high school, as a matter of fact, and his interest in this area has continued (obviously) ever since. After graduating from SUNY Oswego, Chris worked at Channel 3 in Syracuse, followed by a stint in Utica, and then he returned to Syracuse to work at Channel 9 -- and finally, News 10 Now. He indicated that he loves his job because he “loves sports, loves doing play-by-play, and loves being in front of
the camera.” In response to a question regarding some of his best experiences as a sports reporter, he named covering the NCAA Lacrosse Championship games, the Yankees-Red Sox American League Championship games, and NCAA Basketball with the “Orange” as among his favorites. Syracuse’s victory in the 2003 NCAA Basketball Tournament, not surprisingly, stands out as his all-time favorite moment in covering sports. Chris’s favorite sport is major league baseball, followed closely by college lacrosse. His favorite sports hero is Jim Kelly, former quarterback for the Buffalo Bills. And his prediction for Syracuse basketball next season? “The team looks good,” he said, “especially with the return of Andy Rautins and Eric Devendorf.” Thanks for a most enjoyable talk, Chris!

Two new members were inducted today. Debra Robillard was proposed by Paul Scott and David Welsch was proposed by Bill Crist.

 

May 6, 2008

Rotarian and superintendent of schools David Fischer, greeted by club president Bill Crist, presented the program on the Oswego City School District budget.

Today’s Program: Bill Crist introduced Rotary member Dave Fischer, Superintendent of Schools for the Oswego City School District. Dave spoke to us today about the proposed 2008-2009 School Budget for the Oswego City School District. The theme behind this year’s budget, Dave noted, is “Working Together Works.” After briefly discussing the district’s long range goals and what Dave referred to as its various “points of pride,” Dave explained where, at present, the revenues used to pay for running the school district come from. 42% of these revenues is derived from property taxes, 29% from state aid, and the remaining 29% is derived from pilots, federal aid, and the fund balance. Where, specifically, are these monies spent? 80.25% of these revenues is spent on salaries, wages,
and benefits; 14.17% is spent on contractual services; 2.97% is spent on debt service and interfund; 2.17% is spent on supplies and materials; and .44% is spent on equipment. What does the budget for next year look like? The proposal calls for a cost to the taxpayers of $66,590,271 – which will, if passed, increase the full tax rate from $20.67 per $1,000 assessed to $21.46 per $1,000. In closing, Dave noted that, with this budget, all academic and extracurricular programs will be maintained not to mention the creation of several new programs, plus he asked that all eligible voters make sure they get out and vote on the budget proposal this coming Tuesday, May 20. Thanks for a most informative presentation, Dave!

Honor student guest, Kaitlyn Smeguelsky, from Oswego High School

 

April 29, 2008

PDG Bruce Frassinelli, Jim Kevlin, and Club president Bill Crist

Today’s Program: Jim Kevlin, owner, editor and publisher of the Freeman’s Journal of Cooperstown, told Rotarians how the newspaper is attempting to lead a grassroots movement to save the annual Hall of Fame game held in the Otsego County seat. Major League Baseball announced earlier this year that this year’s game – on June 16 between the San Diego Padres and the Chicago Cubs – would be the last. Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said there are problems with scheduling; it is expensive for the teams; because of the exhibition nature of the game, many of the top players don’t show up, or, if they do, they play only two or three innings. Kevlin called these arguments unconvincing, so he and his newspaper started a petition-signing movement which has collected more than 1,500 names. Some of the organizers of the movement to save the game in Cooperstown are trying to come up with a unique idea for the game. One such idea was to invite potential Hall of Famers, who are not too far removed from their prime. Kevlin said the petition-signing campaign and help from several well-known politicians, such as U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton has resulted in more than 1,500 signatories. Much of the impetus, however, was lost when the Hall of Fame president was canned. ``So, we’re starting from scratch,” Kevlin said. ``The Hall of Fame has become a captive of Major League Baseball,” Kevlin said. Kevlin was introduced by Past District Governor Bruce Frassinelli at whose SUNY Oswego classes Kevlin spoke earlier in the day.

 

April 22, 2008

President Bill Crist welcomes Mary Margaret Pekow, executive director of Catholic Charities, who presented our program today.

Today’s Program: Catholic Charities of Oswego County – Mary-Margaret Pekow, Director. Prior to being recently named Director of Catholic Charities of Oswego County, Ms. Pekow served as its Clinical Supervisor from 2004 through September 2007, at which time she was named the Counseling Director.

Mary-Margaret received her MSW degree from Adelphi University on Long Island. Prior to coming to Central New York, she was the Director of Metro Therapy, Inc., an early intervention agency serving the New York City area.

Mary-Margaret spoke to our Club today about her current role as Director and to enlighten us as to the mission of Catholic Charities of Oswego County to provide assistance to the poor of the community. She briefly discussed some of the many services provided by her organization including an Emergency Assistance Program that addresses the immediate needs of food and clothing to those in emergency situations. There is a Family Support Services Program for families with children suffering from severe emotional problems. Counselors are available to go into the home to provide support. The CYO program provides educational and social activities for area youth. The agency also offers a Parent Aide Services program for long term support for parents whose children are at risk of being abused or neglected. The Family Care program matches mentally ill adults with families willing to provide a home for these individuals. This program requires a higher degree of supervision by trained staff counselors. The Amigo Mentoring Program matches high school student volunteers with elementary students in need of a role model. Ms. Pekow emphasized the great need in Oswego County for the many services provided by her organization and other agencies providing services to the community. There are two full time staff members as well as many individual volunteers. All services are free of charge and available to anyone. No referrals are necessary. The Agency is supported by United Way, the Diocesan Hope Appeal, County of Oswego, New York State and donations from the public.

We thank Ms. Pekow for speaking to our Club today and offer our sincere appreciation for the services provided by Catholic Charities of Oswego County.

Our Oswego High School student guests were Amanda Donovan and Christopher Wallace.

 

April 15, 2008

Bonnie Holmes is welcomed to Rotary by President-Elect Shawn Seale.

Today’s Program: Bonnie Holmes, director of the Success By Six program, gave club members information on the recently concluded Battle of the Books tournament, held at Oswego High School. A record number of teams competed this year, the third year the competition has been held in Oswego County. The program began in Alaska and is intended as a literacy program to encourage children in the fourth through tenth grades to read more often.

 

April 8, 2008

President-Elect Shawn Seale welcomes Chrystal Hoyt, membership and volunteer coordinator for Harborfest, to our meeting today.

Today’s Program: Chrystal Hoyt, Harborfest’s Membership Director and Volunteer Coordinator, spoke about the upcoming Harborfest program July 24-27. Harborfest has been voted as Central New York’s most popular festival in a poll by WSTV-TV. Hoyt acknowledged that there could be significant challenges with the Bridge Street bridge closed this year, but Harborfest planners are attempting to mitigate the inconveniences. The shuttle buses are free for this year only. There is still a minimal fee to ride the trolleys within the Harborfest venues. The Legends ballfield will be used for parking this year. There also will be additional water taxis to transport festgoers from one side of the Oswego River to the other. The Rock Stage will move from the Port of Oswego to East Second Street near Burke’s, and the Historical Maritime District venue will be at West First and Lake streets. According to Hoyt, Harborfest has a $1.2 million annual budget and is now in its 21st year. She made a plea to Rotarians for contributions and to consider being volunteers. Although there are about 600 volunteers many more are needed, she said. Harborfest has once again been named one of the top 100 festivals in the United States by the American Bus Association. The festival continues to attract upwards of 250,000 unique visits during its four-day run.

Oswego High School honor students Bruce Kesselring and Katie DeVita were our guests today.

 

April 1, 2008

Today’s Program: Al Heath, deputy county fire coordinator, spoke about the work he and his colleagues do with hazardous material calls. The unit is located in the Oswego County building in Fulton. He described some of the events to which his team responded in recent years, including the Central Square train derailment, the Pulaski propane truck accident and the Route 104 propane truck spill. He also said the team responded to numerous fuel spills.

 

March 25, 2008

Bill Crist, club president, above left, welcomed music teacher Eric Nelson, seated at keyboard, and Casmir Usiatynski, coordinator of engineering service for Oswego Industries, to our meeting.

Today’s Program: Eric Nilsson, Oswego Industry/ARC (Enriching Lives through Music) and Casmir Usiatynski, coordinator of engineering service for Oswego Industries. Eric displayed electronic musical instruments for physically disabled people to play. The music is created by moving hands toward and away from motion sensors that in turn play up to 64 sounds, operating on a sonar principle. Tones can also be done with foot switch and wheelchair bound individuals. The keyboard can produce 610 different tones or voices and up to four beams can be generated allowing multiple ëmusicians to participate.

Zachary Falls and Sophia Rosenbaum, honors students from Oswego High School, were our guests today. They were introduced by Rotarian Randy Zeigler.

 

March 18, 2008

Today’s Program: Bill Crist introduced Nick Sterio a local businessman and musician and presented him with the Job Well Done award. The award is sponsored by The Palladium-Times, Dunkin Donuts, and the Oswego Rotary Club. A native Oswegonian, Nick still lives in the house that he was raised in. Nick has over 75 years of music in Oswego. He gave a brief history of his musical career from high school bands, to playing for the Armed Services to currently playing for RSVP on April 20, 2008.

 

March 11, 2008

Club president, William Crist, welcomes Dan Dey as our guest speaker.

Today’s Program: Bill Crist introduced Daniel Day, Executive Director of Northern Oswego County Health Services in Pulaski and member of the Rochester Rotary Club. Dan, who commutes from the Rochester area to Pulaski on an almost-daily basis, explained that the Pulaski Health Center is called a “community health center.” Community health centers such as Pulaski’s have been developed over the years in the U.S. to provide health services for both rural and inner-city residents. (Take a guess as to which type of residents the Pulaski Health Center serves!) In this country more than 1,000 community health centers are currently in operation serving almost 6,000 sites. The Pulaski Health Center serves five sites at present and sees approximately 12,000 patients per year for a total of about 49,000 visits. As to the composition of the individuals treated at the Pulaski Health Center, approximately 25% are Medicaid patients, 25% are Medicare patients, 25% are “no pay” patients, and 25% are private patients. One of the benefits provided by community health centers, noted Dan, is that every patient has their own primary care physician. As a result, they know that they have someone who is monitoring their health and they know that their medical records are complete and up to date. This makes it more likely that efforts at “prevention” can be made as well as the treatment of immediate health problems. Dan concluded by stating that, in his opinion, this model of health care should be the prototype for the entire country. It is, he believes, the “ideal” model of care. Thanks for a most enjoyable presentation, Dan!

Today's honor student guests, Alison Finn and Ryan Pekarek from Oswego High School.

 

March 4, 2008

Today’s Program: Bill Crist introduced Dr. Bruce Altschuler, Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Political Science Department at SUNY Oswego, who spoke to us today about the process by which we currently select our presidential nominees in this country. According to Bruce, the U.S. has probably the most complicated system of nominating presidential candidates in the world, with very long contests being waged, incredible amounts of money being spent, and then (ironically) too little time for voters to become informed. He now favors the implementation of a “national” primary system, a concept he opposed for many years. Bruce noted the major arguments against using a national primary and then explained why, in his opinion, they are no longer particularly valid. As to the argument that a national primary campaign would cost too much, he stated that so much money is raised already these days that it’s hard to imagine national primary campaigns costing any more. As to the argument that the current system allows a dark horse candidate to win early and then raise momentum, he believes that this is no longer true since there simply isn’t enough time for such a candidate to raise enough money to continue. Regarding the argument that a national primary would damage the small states, his response is – so what, shouldn’t the small states have less influence? And as to the argument that a national primary would weaken the parties, he noted that the parties have always been able to adapt and would doubtless prove able to adapt to this system as well. In Bruce’s opinion, a national primary would have two major benefits: (1) it would simplify the system (in that the candidate with the most votes would win, plus everyone would know when the primary was being held), and (2) all votes would be equally meaningful. Thanks for an enjoyable and most interesting discussion, Bruce!

Club president, Bill Crist, investing Alison Wood a Paul Harris Fellow, given by her husband, Bob Wood, in honor of their 60th wedding anniversary.

Alison Wood was recognized today as a Paul Harris Fellow in special appreciation for the ways in which her life has exemplified the humanitarian and educational objectives of The Rotary Foundation. Alison was designated to receive this recognition by her husband and Rotarian, Bob Wood. As President Bill Crist stated when presenting this award to Alison, “We move closer to a more peaceful world today as Alison Wood becomes a Paul Harris Fellow.”

 

February 26, 2008

Today’s Program: Bill Crist introduced Kristopher Scholl, chemical engineer and brewmaster from Anheuser-Busch brewery in Baldwinsville. According to Kris, Anheuser-Busch was founded in 1852 and currently operates 12 breweries in the United States, 14 in China, and one in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the company holds a 48.5 percent share of all U.S. beer sales. Anheuser-Busch currently produces over 60 varieties of beer and alcohol products (including some rather unique seasonal and high-end brands), with – of course -- Budweiser and Bud Light as its flagship beers. The company is proud of its many packaging innovations, such as shrink-wrapped labels and aluminum bottles. It is even prouder of its position as the global industry leader in promoting responsibility, with ads dating back to the early 1900s that carried the tagline “Budweiser Means Moderation.” Since 1982, the company and its wholesalers nationwide have invested more than $675 million in alcohol awareness and education programs and partnerships, all focused around the theme of “Responsibility Matters.” In response to questions from the floor, Kris noted that the most popular size beer container at present is the 12-ounce can. The ideal shelf life for most bottled beers is approximately 110 days. Interestingly, said Kris, the difference between bottled and draft beer is actually very slight. Draft beer has a bit less carbon dioxide, but the formulation of bottled and draft beer is essentially the same. They may taste somewhat different, he explained, because some of the carbonation tends to be released from draft beer when it is poured. Thanks for a most interesting presentation, Kris. (By the way, did you bring any samples today? We didn’t see any – at least not those of us who arrived for the meeting after 12:00!)

 

February 19, 2008

Today’s Program: Bill Crist introduced today’s speaker, our own Tony Henderson, Oswego Rotary Club member and dormitory director at SUNY Oswego, who shared with us his thoughts on Black History, which was especially fitting given that February is Black History Month in the U.S. Tony began by noting that indeed he is an African American – but that he personally prefers to think of himself simply as “an American.” He then noted that for quite a time he really didn’t know a great deal about black history. Over recent years, however, he has made a serious attempt to become more knowledgeable in this area. Accompanied by his parents, Tony first heard Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., speak when he was 15 years old. Then, only two days after Dr. King’s famous I Have A Dream speech, Tony got to shake his hand when he visited Tony’s hometown. Tony was much impressed by Dr. King’s humility, and he continued to admire him for that trait as time went on. Tony also noted, as an interesting sidelight, that Dr. King was fairly short – 5’4”, as a matter of fact. Tony brought a number of books to today’s meeting written by or about blacks that have inspired him – individuals such as Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, Thurgood Marshall, Malcolm X, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Muhammad Ali. In closing, Tony gave us (as he does every year) a quiz dealing with people in black history. Bruce Frassinelli scored highest in the quiz, getting 24 of 29 items correct. (Congratulations, Bruce!) Thanks, Tony, for once again bringing alive to us the story of blacks in America – and for doing it in such an informative and entertaining manner!

 

Oswego Rotarian, Randy Zeigler, presented the Job Well Done award to Dennis and June Ouellette, supporters of Project Bloom for the past fifteen years. They own Ontario Orchards and through their business have performed landscaping design, planting and maintenance work for the Project Bloom planting area at Washington Park (aka East Park) in the City of Oswego. June is also a Project Bloom Committee member and has donated many hours of her time and paid for her employees' time to support Project Bloom initiatives. Project Bloom Chairman Randy Zeigler says "We greatly appreciate June and Dennis Ouellette's long-term commitment and generous contribution of their time, planting materials and design skills in support of the Greater Oswego-Fulton Chamber Project Bloom Committee and its beautification efforts in the City of Oswego. Their unselfish support of Bloom has contributed tremendously to a very successful sustained effort to beautify our lovely, lakeside community."

 

February 12, 2008

Today's speaker Forest Ranger Scott Jackson of the Forest Service and club president Bill Crist.

Bill Crist introduced Scott Jackson, a NYS Forest Ranger whose district comprises all of Oswego County and the northern part of Onondaga County. Scott began his talk by noting that approximately 100 forest rangers are employed by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, which averages out to about 60,000 acres per ranger. Established in 1885 to protect the newly created forest preserve, Rangers were originally known as Wardens. In 1911 the Conservation Department was formed, and with this came the title Forest Ranger. At present, forest rangers are charged with four primary responsibilities: wilderness search and rescue, fire control and management, public education and outreach, and law enforcement. Rangers spend a good deal of their time, said Scott, patrolling state lands in the attempt to make sure that our citizens are safe and that our natural resources are not being abused. They use a number of different means of transportation in carrying out their responsibilities, including vehicles, helicopters, and airboats. Thanks for sharing this information with us today, Scott. We are most appreciative of your efforts and, of course, the efforts of your colleagues!

Honor student guests from Oswego High School today were Justin Pagano and Alyssa Collins.

 

February 5, 2008

Club president Bill Crist, guest speaker Mercedes Niess, Mark DuFore

 

January 29, 2007

Club vice president Dave Granoff, John Mosher, Rick Tesoriero

Rick Tesoriero introduced today’s speaker, John Mosher, who currently serves as Director of Human Resources for Novelis, Inc. in Oswego. Novelis is a Canadian company (headquartered in Toronto) involved in aluminum rolling and can recycling. Novelis, in fact, is the world leader in aluminum rolling, producing an estimated 19 percent of the world's flat-rolled aluminum products. It is the No. 1 rolled products producer in Europe, South America, and Asia, and the No. 2 producer in North America. Novelis produces high-quality aluminum sheet and foil products for customers in high-value markets, with customers such as Alcan, Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Crown Cork & Seal, Ford, General Motors, Kodak, and many more. Novelis was spun off from Alcan’s rolling division and incorporated in January 2005. In May 2007 the company was acquired by India’s Hindalco Industries Limited, part of the worldwide Aditya Birla Group, making the combined entity the world's largest rolled-aluminium producer. Novelis’s logo is the rising sun (Aditya is the Hindi word for the sun), evoking images of greatness, energy, vibrancy, and illumination. According to John, the Oswego plant is the largest wholly owned facility within Novelis, recycling approximately 8 billion aluminum cans per year and producing approximately 1.5 billion pounds of rolled aluminum per year. According to John, the reason Oswego’s plant has been so successful lies in its corporate philosophy: “Take care of your employees, take care of your customers, take care of your costs, and do this in an atmosphere of trust and integrity.” Thanks, John, for a most informative presentation!

Oswego High School student guests today were Stephanie Fochtman, Monique Reeser, Jordan Holliday, and Steven Cznarnecki.

 

January 22, 2008

Mark DuFore, Sharon Morey, club president Bill Crist

Mark DuFore introduced Sharon Morey, who competed in the Iron Man Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii this past October. Sharon first competed in a triathlon (a 2.4 mile swim followed by a 112 mile bike ride followed by a 26.2 mile marathon) 21 years ago at the age of 40. She qualified for October’s triathlon approximately a year ago in Panama City, Florida. Over 1700 athletes from 50 countries (and from 48 U.S. states) competed in Hawaii. The day started for Sharon (as it did for all the athletes) at approximately 3:45 a.m., when she (and they) were “marked” for the competition. The event itself began at 7:00 a.m. with the swim. (All 1700 of the participants begin at the same time, so it’s important to try to keep from swimming into each other, especially at the very beginning.) After finishing the swim, the athletes collect their biking gear (which they’ve gotten ready the day before) and start riding. Then, after completing the bike ride, they move on to the running portion of the event – the marathon. Sharon completed the triathlon in just over 14 hours, earning her fourth place in her age group. (Congratulations, Sharon!) Since it gets dark around 6:00 p.m. in Hawaii, she (and many of her co-competitors) finished in the dark. In response to a question from one of our members, Sharon noted that eating and drinking “correctly” during the race is extremely important and that it takes a great deal of planning prior to the event and discipline during the event to get it right. When asked why she participates in events such as this, Sharon said that she loves the training for the race and the experience of the race itself, plus she enjoys the challenge. We very much enjoyed your talk today, Sharon. Thanks!

Sabina Ingerson, Doris Skiba, club president Bill Crist

Dorris attended the meeting to thank Rotarians for their financial assistance for an upcoming trip with her host family to Florida and Disney World.

December 4, 2007

Superintendent of Oswego City School District (OCSD) and Rotarian David Fischer, Mary Beth Fierra of OCSD, Club president Bill Crist, and Tom Finnerty of OCSD.

Tom Finnerty and Mary Beth Fierra, with the help of “volunteers” from the audience, gave us a most interesting demonstration of the SMART Board Technology currently being used in the Oswego City School District and showed us numerous examples of how it’s being used for classroom instruction. At present, more than 130 classrooms in the district are using this device, which (according to Tom) is “revolutionizing education.” The SMART Board is touch sensitive, in that the touch of your finger works the same way as the click of your mouse. In other words, you “use your hands to run the show.” It is also media rich and extremely interactive, making it highly sought after by the students. Thanks, Tom and Mary Beth, for making today’s presentation both informative and fun!

Gabrielle Rumrill and Stephen Kolenda, Oswego High School students, were guests of the Club today.

November 20, 2007

In the photo: Melanie Trexler, Oswego City Police Chief Michael Dehm, Club president Bill Crist

Melanie Trexler introduced today’s guest speaker, Michael Dehm, Oswego’s Chief of Police. Chief Dehm visited us this afternoon to discuss the upcoming RT 104 Bridge Rehabilitation Project and its implications for traffic patterns during the time of the project. According to Chief Dehm, the last time the bridge was closed for renovations was in 1966. It is expected that the renovation project will begin on April 1, 2008 and continue until late November or early December. All eastbound traffic traveling into Oswego on RT 104 will be directed to turn right onto Hillside Avenue and left onto W. Utica Street -- and then to travel east on W. Utica Street and over the Utica Street Bridge. All westbound traffic traveling into Oswego on RT 104 will be directed to turn left onto E. First Street and right over the Utica Street Bridge – and then to travel west on W. Utica Street and turn right onto W. Fifth Street. These are the designated detour routes. Alternate routes are possible, but traffic signals will be timed for the detour routes and not for alternate routes. Thanks for the information, Chief!

Sara Finn and Michael Ryan, tudents at Oswego High School, were guests of the Club today.

Photos by Honorary Rotarian, Harrison Wilde.

 

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