Joints, Africa, Santa

 

Last week's speaker was Dr. David Quinn from The Bone & Joint Center, who told us about their new facility on the Saratoga Hospital campus off Route 67, west of Northway Exit 12 in Malta. 

At this morning's meeting, we took care of some business regarding the two African projects which we have helped support in recent years. We voted a baseline amount of support, which will be supplemented by some members' individual contributions. The total amount will be reported soon on this blog.

In other business, Santa Claus stopped by to lead a holiday singalong.

Gift of Life Via Malta Sunrise Rotary to Ugandan Boy

 

A story in today's Albany Times Union is headlined "Toddler in Uganda gets life-saving surgery with help from Malta man". (It is published online today, December 3, and will probably appear in print over the weekend.) The story concerns this boy, Mark Kasajja, who is now recovering well after operations on November 25 at the Uganda Heart Institute. The treatments were paid for by Gift of Life International, which has long been associated with Rotary and to which our club has made modest donations over the years. We have also helped support through AOET a school in Uganda where Mark's father works.

At a meeting of Malta Sunrise Rotary last March, the Zoom speaker was Rob Raylman, CEO of Gift of Life. In attendance was our member Paul Phillips (the aforementioned "Malta man"), who for 18 years has led local efforts to support AOET in Uganda. Paul brought up with Rob the plight of Mark Kasajja, then aged two-and-a-half. They followed up later to good effect.

Coincidentally, the Times Union reporter, Wendy Liberatore, spoke to our club in 2019.

Polio and Thanksgiving

 Rotarian and polio survivor John Nanni was our Zoom speaker last week. Despite the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, he said, Rotary's efforts to eliminate the disease there and everywhere continue. Our club with others throughout the world joins the funding effort to accomplish the great goal. (Our Foundation chair Barbara Conner accepts donations for this purpose.)

No meeting this week. Happy Thanksgiving.

Toys and the Navy

In memory of our late President Tom Disinger, a group of us helped out at Capital Region Toys for Tots on Sunday, at their warehouse in Clifton Park. (They will be needing more volunteers this month and next.) Pictured are Cheryl and Bob Bonney, Bob Conner, Steve Ames, Estelle Genest, Doug Ford (from the Ballston Spa club), Dave and Pat Kruczlnicki. Behind the camera was Barbara Conner, and somehow avoiding the spotlight were Miles Cornthwaite and Tom Genest.

Toys for Tots is affiliated with the U.S. Marine Corps, which is affiliated with the U.S. Navy, in which 

our own Paul Phillips served in the 1960s, about which he told good stories as the speaker at today's meeting. He also recited from memory W.S. Gilbert's tribute to the very model of a modern major-general.

 

UPDATE, Oct. 31 fire house breakfast cancelled/postponed

 

Jere Blackwelder, president of the board of Saratoga History Center at Brookside Museum, was today's speaker.

Brookside, which anchors Front Street at the west end of downtown Ballston Spa, is a 1792 structure originally built as a hotel. It ran into financial difficulties and almost closed a few years ago, and just when it was digging itself out ran into the coronavirus pandemic.

Brookside has dug itself out again, Blackwelder said, hosting over 2,000 visitors since it reopened at the end of June with expanded exhibit space and gardens. He urged everyone to drop by and join up. One of the books for sale in the museum store is a new one, "Saratoga County Stories," by various local historians (including Malta's Paul Perreault), proceeds of which benefit Brookside. 

UPDATE OCT. 30: Unfortunately, a Covid exposure has caused the cancellation/postponement of our Halloween breakfast that was scheduled for Sunday Oct. 31 at the Round Lake Fire House. Tickets already purchased may be reused for the rescheduled event at a date to be determined, or refunds will be available tomorrow morning (Oct. 31) at the fire house.

Ambulance Vote

Scott Skinner from Malta-Stillwater Emergency Medical Services was our speaker on Thursday. He advocated passage of and provided information about the proposition to create an ambulance district in Malta. 

The issue will be decided by town voters in the upcoming election. Early voting has started already at various locations in Saratoga County, and Election Day is November 2. (Check out the back of the ballot on the bottom right.)

We also discussed plans for our Halloween all-you-can-eat scrambled egg, sausage and pancake breakfast on October 31 at the Round Lake Fire House.

We made plans to help out Toys for Tots on November 7 at their Clifton Park warehouse.

 And we got a report on last weekend's Dunning Street cleanup.

 

The Guv

 

Rotary District 7190 Governor Bruce McConnelee spoke to the club on Thursday, accompanied by his wife Lorraine. He talked about efforts to bolster membership, including restarting Rotary in Troy, a club focused on veterans begun by Glenville Rotary, and another new club, Heartbeat online, which is affiliated with Niskayuna. He reminded us about an Oct. 29 meeting in Liverpool, near Syracuse, for World Polio Day, and the Nov. 18 Rotary Foundation dinner at Glen Sanders Mansion in Scotia. And he told a 1980s story about when he was a new Rotary member in Scotia, and helped put a Whipple bridge over Collins Creek.

Also Thursday, our member Bob Conner started his sixth year on a club Rotary project, working with the Shenendehowa School District on the Bountiful Backpacks program, delivering food to Chango Elementary in Malta.