CAPTAIN Calling

Our speaker last Thursday was Bill Lubin, Runaway and Homeless Youth Shelter Program director for CAPTAIN Community Human Services. He talked about the recent merger and expansion of CAPTAIN, the teen shelter it operates in our area, and outreach programs to homeless teen-agers and others.

Next week, we will hold board and business meetings at the usual time and places.

Chamber Chat

Pete Bardunias, president and CEO of The Chamber of Southern Saratoga County, was our speaker last Thursday, filling us in on what's going on in the world of commerce. He talked, for example, about this possible waste-to-ethanol plant in Halfmoon.
The previous week we held scheduled board and business meetings.

Uganda Report

Barbara Conner (facing camera at right) spoke at our meeting this morning about her recent trip to Uganda. Barbara was volunteering with AOET, under the sponsorship of the Presbyterian New England Congregational Church in Saratoga Springs. They worked in medical clinics and schools, and Rotarians contributed funds. Barbara was part of a team co-led by fellow Malta Sunrise Rotarian Paul Phillips, and his wife, Jean. Paul and Jean have been travelling to Uganda to do volunteer work for 15 years. This was Barbara's first trip.

Next board meeting will be on Wednesday, July 11 at Panera. Business meeting will follow the next day as usual at the Malta Diner.

Benches, Boards and Members

Our latest bench on the Zim Smith Trail was put up this morning by Al Schmidt and Miles Cornthwaite, using a grant from the Town of Malta/GlobalFoundries Foundation. Those two plus Paul Sausville put in the concrete slab last week.

Last night, at Andy's Adirondack Grille (which did a fine job), we inducted Tom Disinger as incoming club president, plus new and returning board members, all of whom were elected earlier this month. There is no Thursday meeting this week. Our next meeting will be July 5, when Barbara Conner will give a presentation on her church's medical mission to Uganda.

At last night's dinner, Al Schmidt and Doug Martin confirmed they will not be returning as members for the next Rotary year. Their many years of hard work have helped this club do a lot of good things locally and around the world. They (along with Arlene Schmidt, who left earlier this year but was with Al at Andy's) will be missed, and we hope they stop by to see us in the future.

Virtual Reality

Eileen O'Connor, shown with club President Bob Conner, was our speaker this morning. Dr. O'Connor, an associate professor at Empire State College in the State University of New York, gave us a tour of virtual reality, including its darker side.

Scholarship Winner(s)

Our speaker at last week's meeting was Sarah Pritchard, shown here with club President-Elect Tom Disinger.

Sarah is this year's winner of the Malta Sunrise Rotary Scholarship for $1,000. She is the daughter of David and Denise Pritchard of Malta, will graduate soon from Ballston Spa High School, and plans to attend Wheaton College in Massachusetts in the fall. Sarah will pursue a career as a physicians assistant.

We congratulate Sarah and four additional graduating Town of Malta seniors who were recognized as Commended Finalists in the Malta Sunrise Rotary Scholarship program. These four students will receive textbook awards for $125 each. They are Rachel Fowler and Andrea Carroll from Ballston Spa High School, and Claire Merkle and Brendan Barrow from Shenendehowa High School. 

New board elected

At last week's business meeting, officers were elected for the 2018-19 Rotary year.

The new board will be: President, Tom Disinger; president-elect, Mike Williams; vice president, Larry Levine; immediate past president, Bob Conner; treasurer, Cynthia Young; secretary, Kathy Eitzmann; Finance Committee chair, Steve Ames; Membership Committee chair, Miles Cornthwaite; Foundation chair, Bob Brilling.

Board members will be inducted at the June 26 changeover dinner (no morning meeting that week) at Andy's Adirondack Grille on Route 9. They take office July 1.

Al Schmidt is stepping down from his board post as Foundation chair after many years of excellent service. He continues to be engaged in other club business, such as installing benches this month on the Zim Smith Trail (where he and Miles replaced one last week).

In other business, we've set Aug. 28 as the date for us to assist a Red Cross blood drive at Malta Community Center.