November 14, 2007

As usual, it's been a busy couple weeks for the Deposit Rotary Club. On October 31, we had the opportunity to listen to the stories of Carol Franz and Mary Lou Robinson, both of whom credit their survival of cancer to having received adult stem cell transplants. Out of gratitude for their survival and the desire to help save other lives, they have become activists to inform the public as to the wonderful possibilities that adult stem cell transplant technology offers. Both women had discovered that they had advanced terminal cancers and because their doctors were aware of the new techniques, they were able to donate stem cells from their own bodies which enabled them to grow healthy new tissues in the wake of unbelievably aggressive and intense chemotherapy regimes. It is now Carol's and Mary Lou's mission to encourage those facing cancer to ask their doctors to pursue new treatments that are available from stem cell technologies. Thank you to Ray Cornwell who hosted our guests.

In other Rotary news, we held a lunch auction on November 7 to benefit the Deposit Food Pantry. A huge thank you goes to Sue Elinsky for organizing the auction and to the Historical Society for offering our club a venue in which to hold the event.

The food pantry is not the only good cause that has recently benefited from Rotary's efforts. Club president Harry Dilello and Bonnie Hauber, DCS Superintendent and also a Rotarian, bestowed brand new hardcover dictionaries to our district's fourth graders. While one initially might think that a dictionary might not rank highly on a fourth grader's list of things to be excited about, I was very pleased to learn just the opposite when one of my dance students, Michelle Brejwo, came into the studio with a huge smile and said "Jesse, guess what?! The Rotary gave us all free dictionaries today!" It seems that this organization makes an impact not only on the world and community as a whole, but on all the individuals who benefit from and are thankful for all of Rotary's work, including the very young ones.

November 7, 2007

The evening of October 24, I had the pleasure of attending the Rotary District 7170 Annual Rotary Foundation and New Member Banquet held at the McKinley in Endicott. More than forty local community clubs from our district were represented and our Deposit delegation was especially strong, consisting of our President Harry Dilello and his wife Becky, Joe Esteves and his wife Peg, Stan and Sue Elinsky, Brenda Lee, and myself. We were also pleased to be joined by Paula Mazepa, our exchange student from Poland . This banquet was particularly special because the president of Rotary International himself, Wilfrid J. Wilkinson, and his wife Joan were in attendance.

That evening is truly one I will never forget as I was first struck by the beauty and elegance of the McKinley's massive ballroom, illuminated by chandeliers and candlelight, and further adorned with an astonishing display of colorful flags, reminding us of Rotary International's diverse programs and tremendous influence throughout the planet. Hundreds of impressively dressed Rotarians from around the Southern Tier were enjoying hors d¢oeuvres and dancing to the live music. Adding to the energy and excitement of the atmosphere was the vast number of young people: Interact and Rotaract participants, Ambassadorial Scholars, and all the inbound youth exchange students, who themselves helped to decorate the room with their diverse ethnic clothing and vests covered in dozens of pins and buttons, displaying their individuality and pride in their accomplishments. Many of them already friends, it was seeing the delight with which they hugged each other and crowded into informal photos together hoping to remember the event, that I think we were all reminded why we were here as Rotarians and how important our mission has become in a very global community.

I was very proud to be able to speak with the international president, to whom I was introduced by our own Harry Dilello. I found him to be wonderfully personable and deeply committed to his work. After the new members were pinned by our District Governor, Dave Reynolds, we listened to President Wilkinson¢s speech as he urged our local clubs to invite new members and generously contribute to the Rotary Foundation. So, I encourage anyone who has been following my column or watching Rotary¢s work here and abroad who might be interested in joining or learning more about our local club to check us out at www.rotary.org or even better, to come join us for lunch Wednesdays at noon at the Methodist Church. You will discover for yourself what a warm, fun, and rewarding organization Rotary truly is.

October 24, 2007

As usual, the Deposit Rotary Club has been busy organizing and running its meetings, projects, and programs. On October 10, we had the pleasure of having last summer's Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) students as guests at our weekly lunch meeting. Amelia Blair, Lindsey Wagner, and Kimberly Bosket were the guests of Pete Hempstead, who organizes Deposit's delegation to the annual RYLA conference held at Hartwick College in Oneonta. Local Rotary clubs sponsor students from their home communities to attend the week-long conference to give them a great opportunity to develop their leadership potential while meeting other accomplished young people from around the area.

Every year, high school juniors from Deposit are selected after an application and interview process to represent their school at the annual conference. Once at Hartwick, they are divided up into groups of about 15 students, purposely separated from the students they already know so that they are given the chance to forge new bonds and friendships. Amelia recalled that she met lots of new people this way, which was greatly beneficial in developing new leadership skills. Kim Bosket told our club that she is a participant in New Visions, a program administered by Broome-Tioga BOCES to give high school seniors access to experiences in the profession of their choice, whether it be health care, communications, law, or education. She said that she regularly sees other RYLA alumni at New Visions and so she is able to sustain the friendships she formed there. Lindsey told us that she still sees RYLA alumni at school sporting events and in this way, RYLA has contributed to deeper connections between students of different districts. Each of the girls commented on how good the experience was at making them not fear, but rather look forward to, college and the experience of living with new people in a residence hall.

On October 17, I had the particular delight of having my dance students perform at our meeting. Kyley Vandermark performed a ballet piece and Airin Rynearson presented her tap solo. Then, my adult dancers, Sandra Davis, Ellen Ficurilli, Sheila Katen, Phyllis Baker, and fellow Rotarian Brenda Lee tore up the floor with their piece "You Don't Own Me" from last summer's recital. I was immensely proud of the dancers and this, combined with our other activities, made me deeply proud to be a member of our own local Rotary Club. More to come next week!

October 10, 2007

I thought that this week I would take the opportunity to explain a little bit about how our Deposit Rotary Club functions with the hope that it might entice some local citizens to take more of an interest in our activities and perhaps even consider joining our club and our cause.

In order to plan all our various fundraisers and manage the club's programs and commitments, we meet every Wednesday over lunch at the Methodist Church on Second Street from noon to 1 pm. While all the traditional tasks of an organization's meetings are carried out, I was amazed at how much fun is had and how great the food was when I attended my first meeting! Birthdays, anniversaries, and achievements of all kinds are celebrated with mock fines and happy bucks, which not only add to the high-spirited atmosphere but helps raise some extra funds for the club's service programs. There is almost always some interesting or entertaining program at each meeting as many individuals or groups can attest to, many of whom have been our guests. In fact, on October 17, I will be bringing some of my dance students--including my adult class!--to provide the entertainment!

What really makes the meetings the most special, however, are simply the great people who are present. The Rotarians invariably greet each other with delight and it's clear that not only are they tied to each other through the business of the club, but that they are actually close and long-time friends. I have such a great time laughing at everyone's jokes and hearing great stories. Of course, no one can miss hearing the latest installment of the epic saga with which Smitty Axtell consistently regales the group!

Stay tuned next week for more Rotary stories and the latest news!

October 3, 2007

To kick off the start of the Deposit Rotary Club's weekly column in The Deposit Courier, I felt it appropriate to introduce our local club, as well as the worldwide Rotary International organization, to everyone in the community who might be unfamiliar with Rotary, its aims, and its functions. It is also my goal to keep everyone informed of the club's news and activities and to highlight the many ways in which Rotary contributes to building a thriving and enriched community here in Deposit. It is a particular honor to me as our local club's newest Rotarian to share news of the Rotary's work with Courier readers each week.

In case you were unaware, the first Rotary club was founded by Chicago attorney Paul P. Harris and three of his professional friends who, on February 23, 1905, formed a club dedicated to community service. They agreed to schedule their meetings on a rotating basis at each of the member's offices and thus chose to name their new organization "Rotary." Within five years, the initial club had inspired so many similar clubs in other communities, that a national organization was founded to help coordinate their efforts. Rotary clubs sprang up so rapidly and profusely that in 1922, with local clubs established on six continents, the global network of service clubs was named Rotary International.

Today, Rotary International consists of more than 32,000 clubs in over 200 countries and counts more than 1.2 million Rotarians as members. The organization dedicates itself to several global programs for the betterment of humanity including the eradication of polio, numerous youth exchange and scholarship programs, and in 2002, the Rotary Foundation partnered with eight major universities throughout the world to create Centers for International Studies at vastly influential academic institutions such as the University of North Carolina, Duke University, and the University of California, Berkeley. The goal of these centers is to promote intellectual work that will diminish conflict and establish long-lasting peace.

In addition to all this, perhaps Rotary's greatest and most direct impact is through the workings of its individual community clubs, such as ours here in Deposit. Most are aware that our club brings exchange students from around the globe to live and study with us each year, but Rotary contributes in countless other ways--of which giving a new beautiful and elegant sign to mark the entrance of the Historical Society's Museum is but one recent example. You can expect to read all about Rotary's important work right here in our column in the Courier! Catch you next week!