Local Scholars

 

Yu Jie Loh, left, from Shenendehowa High School, and Madysen Thomas from Ballston Spa High School joined Scholarship Chairman Paul Phillips and fellow Rotarians this morning at The Ugly Rooster. Thomas was our $1,000 scholarship winner, while Loh and Elijah Ramos (also from Shenendehowa) were the runners-up receiving $500 each. 

Thomas is headed to the University of Delaware at Newark to study nursing, while Loh will go to Cornell to study applied economics and management. Both had records of academic excellence in high school along with extracurricular activity and community service. 

Local Programs

 

Deborah Dugan, liaison for families in temporary housing at the Ballston Spa School District, was our speaker this morning. Her position is funded by the federal government through the 1987 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

Dugan said she works with about 64 students classified as homeless and 79 others at-risk. Homelessness is increasing, she said.

A Rotary member gave her $200 in gift cards for use in the program. 

Later Thursday, five Rotarians helped out at the free summer lunch program operated by the First Baptist Church of Ballston Spa for children in the school district. 

A New Rotary Year

 

Mike Williams, left, hands over a $2,000 check to new Malta Sunrise Rotary President Larry Levine at last week's meeting. Mike was closing out his campaign fund (he ran for town supervisor last year) with charitable contributions. His Rotary donation is for specific causes we have supported: $750 for AOET Uganda, $750 for QMC in Lesotho, and $500 for our local scholarship fund. 

Larry took over from Miles Cornthwaite on July 1, the start of the Rotary year. He, Miles and Mike are also among the club members who have served previous presidential terms.

At the business meeting, we discussed the successful wrap-up of our project to assist the New York Race Track Chaplaincy in cleaning up cabins and brush at Pine Grove camp on the west side of Saratoga Springs, where the families of track workers will be spending the summer.

And we discussed plans to help with a free summer lunch program for children in the Ballston Spa School District (which includes most of Malta) operated by the First Baptist Church of Ballston Spa.