Oswego Rotary Club

Ms. Carolyn Handville was a guest at the April 24^th. Oswego Rotary meeting and spoke about the Cancer Services Partnership Program in Oswego County that is administered through Oswego County Opportunities. Carolyn is the Coordinator for the OCO program and is responsible for the provider/patient recruitment and retention, case management services, work plan activities, and monitoring of budgetary expenditures. Thanks to the efforts of the Cancer Services Program, individuals who are uninsured or under-insured have the opportunity to receive, free of charge, the potentially life-saving cancer screenings they need.

The Cancer Services Program offers a number of cancer screening services including: Clinical Breast Exams, Mammograms, Pap/Pelvic Exams, and Colorectal Cancer Screenings for men and women.  These screenings are available year round and play an important part in maintaining good health.  

“When it comes to winning the fight against cancer, early detection is the best protection,” Handville said.

One lucky person will win a 1/2 Carat Heart-Shaped Diamond Pendant (Courtesy of Dufore's For Diamonds) PLUS 10 ADDITIONAL PRIZES in Oswego Rotary's Annual Diamond Pendant Raffle. The odds of winning this $1,600 package are INCREDIBLE because only 500 tickets will be sold!

Tickets are only $10 each - and the Drawing will be May 8 - JUST in time for MOTHER's Day !

You can buy tickets at Durore's for Diamonds, The Palladium Times Newspaper, The Oswego YMCA, and from Any Oswego Rotarian.

In Addition to the Diamond Pendant, the lucky Winner will receive: 

A $25 Dining Certificate from The American Foundry, Flower Arrangement in a Basket from Maida's Flower Shop, Bottle of Wine from Andrew's Wine Cellar, Old-fashioned Handmade Chocolates from Man in the Moon Candies, Locally Roasted Oswego Blend Coffees from Taste the World, a 13 week Subscription from the Palladium Times, Gift certificate to the Oswego YMCA, Two Tickets to the Annual Harvest Turkey Dinner from Minetto United Methodist Church, Two Handmade Pillow Cases from Deana Masuicca, and One Month Supply of Vemma Nutritional Health Supplements from 'MyHealthyChoice' 

Raffle proceeds benefit Oswego Community projects, Student Scholarships, and World-wide childhood mortality and Polio eradication projects through Rotary International.

Oswego City’s new Mayor, Tom Gillen, (seen on the left with Club President Dave Welsch), was introduced by Dr. Vern Tryon at the Oswego Rotary Club’s Tuesday noontime meeting held at The American Foundry on February 21, 2012. Mayor Gillen presented an optimistic view for the future identity and development of the City.

As a native Oswegonian, he has roots that are deep within the community. The Mayor was born and raised in Oswego, educated in the local schools, and received his baccalaureate degree in English at SUNY Oswego. He and his wife, Roxanna, live in the house built by his great-grandfather, are the parents of two daughters and a son, and currently have one grandson.

Mayor Gillen began his talk by asking, “What is it about Oswego that so many people find endearing and attractive?”

The Oswego Rotary Club was honored by a visit from NY Congressman Bill Owens on January 10, 2012. (Mr. Owens is seen here on the left with Oswego Club President Dave Welsch). He presented an informal talk at the Club's noontime meeting and delivered a message of hope to the audience that included a future vision of economic development in Central New York State. Mr. Owens said the industries of Tourism, Agriculture, and Green renewable energy, among others, are poised to become major players in the years ahead and plans are in the works to support various projects in those areas that will create much needed jobs for the region. 

Congressman Owens represents the 23rd. Congressional District which includes upstate NY since 2009, and has called Plattsburg his home for over 30 years. He cited several additional projects that he is immediately working on which are strengthening the region - including the re-vitalization of the Plattsburg Air Force Base, development of Fort Drum, and enhancement of business ties between Upstate NY,Canadian, and international partners. He emphasized that our elected Congressional representatives need to listen carefully to the needs of their local communities and constituents, and work as closely as possible with them in order to find solutions. He is also presenting specific strategies in Washington, D.C.  that will assist job creation and future economic growth right here at home.

More about Congressman Owen's message appears in Oswego Club's Jan 10, 2012 Axle. 

http://vimeo.com/34926787 

Rotary celebrates India’s first polio-free year. from Rotary International on Vimeo.

                         * * * Rotary club members worldwide are cautiously celebrating a major milestone in the global effort to eradicate polio. India, until recently an epicenter of the wild poliovirus, has gone one year without recording a new case of the crippling, sometimes fatal, disease.

India’s last reported case was a two-year-old girl in West Bengal State on 13 January 2011. The country recorded 42 cases in 2010, and 741 in 2009. A chief factor in India’s success has been the widespread use of the bivalent oral polio vaccine, which is effective against both remaining types of the poliovirus. Another has been rigorous monitoring, which has helped reduce the number of children missed by health workers during National Immunization Days to less than 1 percent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Oswego Rotary Club president David Welsch inducted two of our newest 'Associate' members into the club at the December 6th. meeting held at The American Foundry Restaurant. Mary Ciappa and Tammy Murphy received their badges, membership certificates, and lapel pins and brought the club’s membership to 42.

Ciappa, center in the photo, is a native Oswegonian, well-known educator, business person, and volunteer in the Oswego community. She taught third grade and special education at Kingsford Park Elementary School for 35 years. Since retirement, she has worked with her family in the operation of The American Foundry. Ciappa was recently named Zonta Woman of the Year for 2011. She has worked with many community organizations including the Salvation Army Advisory Board, the City Democrat Committee, the Library Board, Safe Haven Board, the Mental Health Center, and the Selective Service Commission. Her classification in the Club is ‘Education and Hospitality.’

Members of the Oswego Rotary Club learned of a new Rotary membership option at their recent weekly meeting at the American Foundry. The new option is called associate membership and is designed to encourage younger candidates to become acquainted and involved with Rotary projects and services in the local community and beyond.

In honor of World Peace Day...  we offer this Rotary Foundation Video:

Donate to The Rotary Foundation Today

17 yo. Adele Castelain arrived in Oswego in August and is now settled in with her new host family and attending her senior year at Oswego High School. She presented a brief travelog presentation to the Club on Tuesday, August 23, describing her family and home in Villeneuve D'Ascq near Lille, France, located in the Northern part of her country. Her father is an architect, her mother is a history teacher, and she has 3 siblings. Her interests include ballet, piano, sports, reading, art, and travel. James and Krstine Bushey are serving as her host family in Oswego. We will be excited to hear more from Adele as the year progresses!

Pictured with Adele are Sabine Ingerson, Oswego Rotary's Director of Youth Exchange and a member of the Board of Directors, and President Dave Welsch. 

The Oswego Rotary Club hosted a special 6 pm dinner meeting at Patz on the River Restaurant on August 23 to welcome our new District 7150 Governor, Jim Gascon, Esq. to our club.

Jim introduced his agenda for the 2011-12 year to the Oswego audience, and it was an excellent opportunity to get to meet him in a friendly, informal atmosphere. 

Pictured above are Marv Joslyn, President of the Baldwinsville Rotary Club, Area 8 Asst. District Governor Joette Deane, Jim Gascon, Oswego Sunrise Rotary President, Michelle McGrath, and Oswego Rotary President, Dave Welsch

We were very happy to be joined by the Oswego Sunrise and Baldwinsville Rotary Clubs for this wonderful and informative evening!

Andrea Gonzalez, the 2010-11 Oswego Rotary Youth Exchange Student from Venezuela, has been living in Oswego for the past 12 months and attended her senior year of High School at Oswego High during  that time. She is seen  pictured here with President Dave Welsch and Mary Avarokotos, who has taken Andrea into her home for the past seven months. Andrea presented a short and eloquent speech to the Oswego Rotarians at their July 26th. meeting thanking them for their hospitality, friendship and support during her exchange year. She recently finished off her visit in the United States with a cross-country bus trip that stopped at numerous places of national interest.

She was commended by a host of well-wishing remarks from the audience, hoping she has a joyous return to her country and family. All members of the Oswego Rotary Club and the Oswego Community will miss her and wish her all the best in the future.

l.,r. Karen and Mike Fitzsimmons parents of, Kaleigh Fitzsommons, RYLA participant, Dave Welsch Oswego Club President, Joette Deane, Oswego  Club Interact Advisor, Assistant Governor area 8

Kaleigh Fitzsimmons “ wowed!” the Oswego Rotary club with her enthusiasm and gratitude for  being sponsored to attend the RYLA seminar at Cazenovia College the first weekend in July. She garnered one of the top prizes from the event :  a Sammy Sailfish given to the  participant who showed great leadership. Kaleigh told the club that the RYLA participants were challenged mentally and physically. Kaleigh said they were given challenges that tested their ability to rise above divergent strong opinions, find common ground, and thus a workable solution.  Washington D.C. :  take note!! Kaleigh will be the Oswego Interact incoming President. Sara Gosek the previous President was also a RYLA graduate. The Oswego Rotary Club is proud of its RYLA graduates  and proud to have such a fantastic program in District 7150. Many thanks to Larry Richardson and Barb Defendorf.

Past President Dave Granoff passed the gavel to Oswego Rotary Club's New 2011-12 President, and Paul Harris Fellow, Dave Welsch at the Club's annual Changing of the Guard Ceremonies held at Patz' on June 28. His energized acceptance speech invited and empowered the Club to follow incoming RI President Kalyan Banerjee's Theme "Reach from within to embrace Humanity" in the upcoming year.

Dave has many creative ideas planned for the club and will focus on improvements in communications, public relations and awareness, fundraising activities, and additional youth programs. With the newly awarded Associate Membership RI Pilot program, he intends to explore options that will boost membership enrollment and improve retention.

The text of Dave's Address is available here... 

(Left Picture) Dave was also congratulated for his appointment and given a commemorative Rotary pin by his father, Don Welsch, (center) who is a past president, Paul Harris Fellow, and member of the board of directors of the North Scranton Rotary Club.

(Right Picture) The newest 2011-12 officers and returning members of the Board of Directors were also introduced and acknowledged by 2011-12 Assistant District Governor, Joette Deane. New officers for 2011-12 term include: Tom Ingram, President-elect; Sue Witmer, Vice President; Mark DuFore, Secretary; and Ann Seifried, Treasurer.  

The Oswego Rotary Club was awarded the coveted Presidential Citation Award for Club Excellence at the Annual District 7150 Awards Banquet held at Dibble's Inn in Verona, NY on June 30. The award is given by RI in recognition of multiple important club achievements that exemplify the 4-way test.

During the 2010-11 year Oswego demonstrated qualified excellence in the categories of: Community Service, Club Service, Vocational Service, Communications, International Service, New Generations Programs, Exemplary service, and Innovation.

The annual District banquet program also welcomed the New District 7150 Governor, Jim Gascon, with ceremonial acknowlegements from retiring Governor Paul Scott.

Paul Harris Recipients Deana  Masuicca (left) and Bill Reilly (right) receive congratulations from DG Jim Gascon and Oswego President Dave Granoff.

The Club's Community Gala event honoring Rotarian Deana Masuicca and Community leader Bill Reilly was attended by over 82 Rotarians and members of the Oswego Community on Tuesday, June 21st. The Event was sponsored by the Oswego Rotary Club to celebrate Deana and Bill's Paul Harris Awards for their contributions to community projects and for exemplifying the Rotary Ideas of "Service above Self." Participants enjoyed  the event at Patz on the River Restaurant where they were served a delicious Prime Rib dinner surrounded by the beauty of Oswego Harbor. Entertainment was provided by Hans Storsberg, a professional songwriter and guitarist. Special guest speaker for the event was James Gascon, Esq., the Rotary District 7150 Governor-elect who delivered a moving speech about Rotary's Gift of Vision program. Photos of the event are found HERE.

The Oswego Rotary Club was one of only 200 applicant clubs among 1,300 world-wide to be granted RI's approval to offer Associate Membership options to attract new members and retain current members.

The Associate Member Pilot Program gives clubs a tool for teaching prospective members about the club and the expectations of membership before they join. Clubs would determine the length of time a person could remain an associate member before becoming an active member.

The pilot is aimed at potential members who may be uncertain of the commitment involved with membership. It will provide them with an opportunity to get acquainted with a club’s members, programs, and projects, thereby increasing retention. 

This video from Ray Klinginsmith and Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar, Trustee Chairman of The Rotary Foundation, outlines the great successes our contributions have made in the past year, and gives thanks to Rotarians for supporting the many important projects, including Water, Polio eradication, and MORE.

Click HERE to watch it on Our website's FOUNDATION  PAGE.

The 2010-11 Oswego Pennies for Polio fundraising effort concluded on June 27 with a collected amount of $423.83. The familiar collection cans had been placed in particpating neighborhood business sites, and were always present on the lunch tables at the weekly Rotary meetings. The Oswego High School Interact club had also paticipated in distributing the cans throughout the various local elementary and middle schools and at the High school. The proceeds will be sent to the Rotary Foundation as an additional contribution by the Oswego Rotary Club to the Polio Plus RI Eradication campaign in the fight to end Polio.

Make No Small Plans EN from Rotary International on Vimeo.

If you have access to a computer or use an iPhone, it's easy to find a Rotary Club while traveling! Rotary International offers an easy to use Club Locator right on the RI website. Be sure to save it to your bookmarks!

You can also search for a Rotary club with RI's free iPhone app. "Rotary Club Locator" from Rotary International is now available in the Apple app store. The app also will soon be offered for Android and BlackBerry phones.

The First Rotary on-line Internet Club, called RotaryeClubOne, provides a wealth of on-line information and stories of Global interest to all Rotarians. Visit the site and see for yourself @ http://www.rotaryeclubone.org. Fill out an on line make up meeting form, print it out, and submit to the Club for credit...

Watch this inspiring address by RI President-Elect, Kalyan Banerjee.

Parts 2 & 3 Continue..... 

Go to http://www.rotary.org and visit  'Member Access'  at the upper right hand corner.

Donna Rose, an employee at St. Luke Nursing and Rehab. Center in Oswego, was the lucky winner of the Grand Prize Oswego Rotary Club Raffle drawing held on May 3. She won a half-carat heart-shaped diamond pedant and several other prizes worth over $!,600.00. The Club plans to use the benefits of this very successful raffle (over 300+ tickets were sold) to help fund community projects and student scholarships. The winning prize basket was presented to Donna by Terry Gorman, who is Oswego Rotary Club's past president and member of the Fundraising Committee.

Rotarian and Past President of the the Oswego Rotary Club, Terry Gorman, received his Paul Harris Fellow Award at the Club's April 12  Meeting.

Terry was cited for his contributions and achievements in Rotary which include past presidency of the Oswego Club in 2009-10, member of the Oswego board of directors, assistant scribe for the Axle, organizer for the Top-100 student honors banquet, assistant coordinator of youth exchange, member of the fundraising committee, foundation committee, and more.

The Paul Harris Fellowship is named for Paul Harris, who founded Rotary with three business associates in Chicage on 1905. The Fellowship was established in his honor in 1957 to express appreciation for a contribution of $1,000 to the humanatarian and educastional programs of The Rotary Foundation. Those programs provide educational opportunities, food, and shelter for milions of persons; and are funded, implemented, and managed by Rotarians and Rotary clubs around he globe.

Terry is the Administrator and CEO of St. Luke Heath Services senior care facilities in Oswego, NY, and has been a Rotarian since 1989. Congratulations, Terry, from all the Club members!

The Oswego Rotay Club voted to bestow Paul Harris Fellow Distinctions upon One Oswego Rotarian, Deana Masuccia, and One Community leader, Bill Reilly at the club's regular noontime meeting on March 29.

Deana has been a member of the Oswego Rotary Club since 1994 and is currently a member of the Club's Board of Directors. She is also a managing Board member and trainer at the Oswego YMCA, and Zonta Woman of the Year recipient. Bill Reilly is a Community leader who has piloted multiple community and literacy projects for the educational systems in and around Oswego for many years, and is the proprietor of the River's End Bookstore in dowtown Oswego.

The Club decided to use accrued Paul Harris points and generous personal contribution points given by several multiple PHF Oswego members to make the designations possible.

In the minds and hearts of the full Club membership, both individuals exemplify the ideals of Rotary and Paul Harris, the founder of Rotary, with high ethical standards in business, and the application of service in the their personal, business, and community lives. Both have made significant contributions to the Oswego community, its residents, and to the world.

Congratulations are certainly in order! A special gala event is being planned for the month of June to present their Paul Harris Fellow Awards.

 Courtesy of The Rotary International YouTube site @ http://www.youtube.com/user/RotaryInternational#p/u/6/ZVfaNJB8x1g 

With a 2/3 vote of the Oswego Rotary Club on March 22, 2011, the Membership Committee and Oswego Board of Directors were given the go ahead to apply for RI's experimental Pilot Membership Program for the 2011-14 years. The program is aimed at making membership application and retention possible for select individuals.

According to Dave Welsch, Oswego Rotary's President-elect, "The Associate Member Pilot Program gives clubs a tool for teaching prospective members about the club and the expectations of membership before they join. Clubs would deterine the length of time a person could remain an 'associate' member before becoming an active member. The Pilot is aimed at potential members who may be uncertain of the commitment involved with membership. It will provide them with an opportunity to get acquainted with a club's members, programs, and projects, thereby increasing retention."

The Oswego club wishes Evan best of luck in the National Spelling Bee, which will be held the week of May 30-June 4 in Washington, D.C.  For twenty years, Oswego has hosted a regional final for the National Spelling Bee, and Oswego Rotary, in its tradition of serving the community, has been an integral part of its success. For the full Pall-Times article go here.

Oswego Rotary Club welcomed Janelle Hutchinson, the latest of 3 new Members inducted into the Club, at the January 11 meeting. She was Sponsored and attended at the ceremony by her father and Oswego Rotarian, Joe Hutchinson. 

Janelle is a Health Care Instructor at Oswego County Opportunities, and is classified in the Club under "Health Education." She intends to Study the field of law, and will be entering Georgetown University Law School in Washington, D.C. this coming fall. She will present her Classification talk along with two other New Members, Robert Pompo and Rodney Wallace, at the upcoming February 8 noontime meeting. (photo courtesy of Vern Tryon)  

The Oswego Rotary Club Board of Directors voted today at their January 6 meeting to create a new Fundraising Committee that will study the effectiveness and profitability of current fundrising events conducted throughout the year. The Committee will also explore the feasibility of adding new fundraising opportunities. 

The Board discussed the problems of decreased attendance at past events and declining revenues. Rotarian Secretary Mark DuFore suggested that new opportunities could be introduced either in place of or in addition to traditional events now on the agenda. All agreed that extra empasis needs to be placed on advertising and promotion of upcoming events.

The first task of the 6 member Committee will be to conduct a review of Club fundraising activites and compare the cost-to-profit ratio of past events and ticket sales/visitor attendance. 

Oswego Rotay Fundraising Events are used to finance charitable donations for local community projects, student scholarships, and RI worldwide projects like Polio eradication. 

At Oswego Rotary's December 28th. Meeting, fellow Rotarians voted unamimously to approve the nomination of Sue Witmer as the next Vice President of the Club. She will follow Vice President Tom Ingram and President-elect Dave Welsch in the line to become President. Mark DuFore will remain as next year's Secretary, and Ann Seifried as Treasurer. Sue will serve as President in 2013.

She is currently Chair of the Programs Committee, a member of the PR/Marketing Committee, and a member of the Rotaract Committee. President Dave Granoff acknowledged her at the December 28 meeting for her dedication, enthusiasm, and significant contributions to the club.

Three members of the Board of Directors were also renewed for a 3-year term by a unamimous quorum vote. Congratulations are in order to the returning Board Members: Sabine Ingerson, Chair of Youth Exchange; Vern Tryon, Chair of the Membership Committee and a Past President; and Randy Zeigler, Director of Student Recognition Activities, Club Music, and Project Bloom.

The Oswego High School Chamber Singers led by Veronica Shaver performed at the Oswego Rotary Club's annual noontime Holiday meeting on Tuesday December 21st. They sung  seasonal and Christmas favoites in acapello fashion and were preceeded by a visit from Santa Claus himself wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. (photo courtesy of Dave Welsch.)

Oswego Rotarians enjoyed good music, food and fun at the annual Rotary "Regional" Christmas party on December 17 held at the Riverside Inn in Fulton. This year the event was hosted by the Fulton Sunrise Club and was attended by over 50 Rotarians from the Fulton, Fulton Sunrise, Oswego, Oswego Sunrise, and Baldwinsville Clubs.

Oswego Rotarians braved the Chilly Oswego winds to ring the bell once again this year in front of the Walmart Store. Pictured here are Joe and Valerie Hutchinson. A thanks are in order to those who gave their time for this worthy cause.

 Brief History of The Salvation Army's Red Kettle and Bell Ringing Traditions

Today, bell ringers and red kettles are seen in many stores, sidewalks, and malls around the world. They use bells to attract the attention of passersby; some volunteers even sing Christmas carols or play musical instruments to raise donations.

We Made It! The New Website was finally
launched on October 26.

The Club had it's fall Members' Night Out Program on November 16 at Patz' on the River Restaurant. Members and their guests enjoyed an Open program about Rotary and Projects sponsored by Oswego Rotary while enjoying warm friendship and a delicious meal.

Musical Entertainment was provided by member Gary Paricio's professional musician friend, Kimo Cortini, and the meal featured pork loin and turkey with a full compliment of delicious dishes and dessert. Even though the weather outside was frightful (it was raining) the event inside was delightful!

The program featured an Overview of Rotary and It's Purpose by President Dave Granoff, an Overview of our Oswego Rotary Club presented by past president Terry Gorman, an interesting discussion from Joette Deane, Assistant Governor of 7150, about Rotary International's Pure Water and Sanitation Projects around the world , and an excellent Slide show aimed at informing prospective new members about the Accomplishments of our club in the Community presented by President-Elect Dave Welsch.

Members' Night Out events are promoted as an excellent way for members to enjoy the Fellowship of Rotary with their friends and family, and to provide guests and prospective new members an opportunity to learn more about the role of Rotary in our Community.

Many thanks go to those in the Club who made the event a success.

The Annual Rotary Spaghetti Dinner on Nov 2 at Oswego High School was a delicious, successful event.

Click on the highlighted dates to find assignments and events planned on those days. Click on 'Calendar' at the top of page to view a full month's activities at a glance. Click on a Club officer's name under 'Directors', and you get instant access to send e-mail.

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