Posted by Deborah Burke on Jul 30, 2019
Here is what you missed at this week’s Rotary meeting!
 
Meeting Recap – Thursday, July 25, 2019
 
Visitors:
Mary Stronach, guest of Bob Stronach
Paul Sacco, guest of Bart Gorham
Julie Gigliotti, guest of Bob Dellecese
 
Rotarians in the News:
Dan Murphy was pictured in the OD playing the bagpipe at the dedication of the Irish Cultural Center
Stephen Gerling, former Utica Rotarian, was named chief US bankruptcy judge in the Northern District of NY
On Facebook, Rich Synek of Feed Our Vet, was seen on the cover of the VFW magazine from a year ago and twin 11-year girls ask that instead of gifts for their birthday, people make food donations to Feed Our Verts. They raised 225 lbs. of food.
While on vacation, Nick Passalacqua family was caught in the tornado on Cape Cod.
President Joe Caruso post a comment on FB about trades, stating that half of electricians are 57 year of age or older. Trades people are aging and there are less people going into the trades.
 
Share Rotary – What have you done today to make you feel proud …
USA Blind Hockey team was in Utica for a week long training camp. Jim Turnbull dropped the puck for the exhibition game that was attended by several Rotarians, while Stephen Turnbull pay on the local team.
Good Neighbor Coffee owned by Rotarians Tom and Maryann Serwatka, donate revenues from their coffee sales.
Linda Allen and Bart Gorham served breakfast to a large number of kids at Adrian Terrace this morning.
Elizabeth Nassar reported she brought two (2) Utica College students to the Blind Hockey Team game last week. The students were very impressed with how kind the Rotarians were and now want to be part of Rotaract.
 
Announcements:
-       Club Monthly Mixer will be this Wednesday, July 31st from 5 to 7 PM at the 72 Tavern and Grill next door to the Utica Auditorium
-       Youth Exchange Welcome Home Dinner is next Wednesday, August 7th at 6 PM at The Fireside Inn in Baldwinsville. Tickets can be purchased on the Rotary District 7150 website.
-       Rotary is presented with a tremendous opportunity this August to attend a professional production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It will take place at the Theater at Woodshill, on Sessions Road in Sauquoit. There are multiple performance the last two weeks of August. If you would like to attend with other Rotarians, email Linda Iannone  and she will put you in a group for either Saturday, Aug. 17 or Thursday, Aug. 22. Admission is a donation.
 
Program:
Rotarian Bob Stronach a member of the United State Coastguard Auxiliary, a voluntary core, and provide a very informative program. The Auxiliary consist of 26,000 volunteer members, mans 1,800 vessels and 160 aircraft, staffs 1,400 radio facilities and serves as a vital arm of the US Homeland Security.
 
The #1 job of the Auxiliary is boating safety. They support the Coast Guard and are uniformed but they are not allowed to carry guns. One of the Auxiliary’s newest programs is under an agreement with the Boy Scouts of America and is now part of their youth program with an active unit in Ithaca where they do scuba diving and sailing training. The Auxiliary has a station in Sylvan Beach that reports to the Coast Guard station in Oswego. They assist with search and rescue operations as well as safety. There are 5 flotillas in Central New York with operations extending from Cleveland to the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Auxiliary offers boating safety classes and host exhibition at malls and various boating shows. They also do inspections at marinas and boating ramps.
 
The Coast Guard does a good job of tracking incidents and issuing reports of incidents. The last report issued was 2016 with the following boating statistics: there were 701 fatalities in the Great Lakes States, a 5% increase; 24% were paddle craft (kayak, canoes, paddle boards); 47% were motorboats. Of these statistics, NYS had 188 accidents, 22 fatalities and 149 injuries. 80% of boating victims drowned and 97% of those who drowned were NOT wearing a life jacket.
 
Auxiliarists train like their active duty counterparts and members have to pass the same testing as the active duty Coast Guard does. They attend online course, conferences and active duty schools which includes air and boat operations. Members also teach boating safety courses and classes such as cold-water paddling. Members patrol in boats and also support the Coast Guard’s Oswego station via jet skis.
 
The movie “Finest Hours” is based on an incredible rescue by Coast Guard members in the 1950s of 32 men from a tanker that split in two. Bob also show a recent video of the Coast Guard chasing down and capturing drug smugglers in a semi-submersible submarine in the Pacific Ocean.
 
Thank you to Bob and members of the United State Coastguard Auxiliary for your voluntary service.
 
 
Next Week’s Program: Rotary Leadership Institute