Counting Kudos

Malta Sunrise member Miles Cornthwaite, proprietor of Spa Cleaners in Ballston Spa, was our expert speaker Thursday. Miles, who has a dry sense of humor, spoke about cleaning both dry and wet.

That evening, at the Rotary Foundation dinner in Saratoga National Golf Club, Malta Sunrise was one of 11 local clubs honored by District 7190 for getting

"Every Rotarian, Every Year" to participate in funding the Foundation (which gets high ratings from Charity Navigator). Good work by our Foundation chairman, Al Schmidt, who was in attendance with his wife, President Arlene Schmidt.

In other news, it was announced that this fall's Saratoga Showcase of Homes, in which several club members participated as volunteers, raised $46,500 for Rebuilding Together Saratoga County, and $23,500 for Habitat for Humanity.

No meeting this coming Thursday, which is Thanksgiving. We resume the next week. And don't forget that members and friends are welcome to attend our holiday party at 6 p.m. Dec. 14 at Andy's Adirondack Grille, on the west side of Route 9, south of Northway Exit 13.

Busy, busy

Barbara Conner, above, took over the organization of our sponsorship of the Red Cross blood drive this year. It was held on Tuesday at the Malta Community Center. Several other Rotarians helped out, and at least three, including Barbara, Steve Ames and Miles Cornthwaite, donated blood themselves.

At Thursday's business meeting, we voted to donate $1,000 to ShelterBox, a Rotary-connected charity, in response to the recent hurricane in Haiti. We also voted to donate $200 to the food pantry at the Malta Community Center (which happens to be named after one of our members, David Meager).

Tomorrow, Saturday, we are having a breakfast and lunch fund-raiser at that same community center (located on Bayberry Drive west of Route 9), providing food service for the Town of Malta Arts, Crafts and Gift Fair. Admission is free, so stop by, say hello, and pay a modest price for a good cause to get something to eat.