Rotary Club of Buffalo VOL. 143 , NO. 10 www.buffalonyrotary.org November 16, 2016 THURSDAY November 17, 2016 12:15 WEDNESDAY November 23, 2016 12:00 Adams Mark Hotel 120 Church St, Buffalo 14202. Service Above Self Day SPEAKER: Sam Hoyt Service Above Self Day! Annual joint meeting with the Kiwani's club Show your Rotary spirit and volunteer! Wednesday, November 17 at 12 noon Adams Mark Hotel, 120 Church St, Buffalo 14202. Guest speaker will be Sam Hoyt. You DO NOT have to work the entire shift. If you can only work an hour or two, that is OK. Just note the times you can work. Born and raised in Buffalo's west side, William B. (Sam) Hoyt III has represented the neigh- We will be meeting at the Founding Fathers, 75 Edward borhoods of Buffalo's Lower West Side, Black St., Buffalo between -4 5pm after our day of service Nov Rock-Riverside, and portions of North Buffalo, Parkside, and the City's University District, as 17th. Ronald McDonald House - 12-4 PM: Inside & Outside well as the town of Grand Island, since 1992. Sam has dedicated his career to advancing the ideals of public ser- Cleaning - 10 people needed - 780 W Ferry location vice and progressive community change. no lunch provided Sam counts the development of Western New York's economy as his highest priority. He has introduced nationally recognized, Foodbank - 12-3 PM: Sorting of Food in warehouse - 10 groundbreaking legislation to encourage a Smart Growth approach people needed - 91 Holt St location—lunch provided to combating urban sprawl. He champions legislation to reform industrial development agencies (IDAs), and allow for local govern- Goodwill – 9-12 PM Sorting, tagging, hanging clothing, ment consolidation. He has been one of the Legislature's leading opponents of legalizing casino gambling, which he views as an eco- sorting books, load/unload trucks - 10 people needed - nomic threat to the region. Sam has helped pass more than 150 tax 1119 William St. location—lunch provided cuts, and has helped direct millions of state economic develop- ment dollars into Buffalo's and Grand Island's business districts. Salvation Army - 12-4 PM: 12-1 serve lunch to seniors, 1 Sam is an ardent fighter for education. He's not afraid to challenge -2 Special Bingo (calling numbers, handing out prizes, the status quo with proposals to reform tenure for principals while assisting seniors) -2 3 pm take down Halloween decora- increasing compensation incentives to attract the best. He has pro- tions & store. 5-10 people needed - Lunch served - 960 posed introducing merit pay for teachers, and voted to pass char- Main St location ter schools into law. In March 2004, the New York Charter Schools Association and New York Charter Schools Resource Center pre- sented Sam with a “Breaking the Mold” award to honor his leader- Buffalo City Mission – 12-4 PM Sort donations ship of Charter Schools. Sam has also worked with the entire West- 5-7 people needed – Men’s Community Center – 100 ern New York legislative delegation to increase funding for Buffa- East Tupper Street—no lunch provided. lo's and Grand Island's public schools. Sam has doggedly fought against funding cuts and tuition hikes for the State University of New York (SUNY) system. He passed legislation, vetoed by Gover- RSVP directly to: nor Pataki, requiring that a minimum number of alumni sit on the [email protected], [email protected] or m SUNY Board of Trustees. He also helped eliminate the sales tax on [email protected] with your location choice & text books for all college students in New York. In 1992, he re- time frame. ceived the SUNY Chancellor's Recognition Award. ROTARY CLUB OF BUFFALO ROTARY REFLECTIONS November 3, 2016 701 Seneca Street, Suite 218 Buffalo, NY 14210 Phone: 716-854-3397 Club 28 Founded 1911 Club # 4725 www.buffalonyrotary.org Dateline BUFFALO – Suzanne Taylor summed up this election season with her invocation at Thursday’s Rotary Club of Buffalo luncheon meeting – and this reporter CONTACTS quotes verbatim – “Dear Lord: Help us all! Amen.” It was certainly appropriate since Administrative: Heather Culverwell [email protected] our speaker was Buffalo News political reporter Bob McCarthy in his annual overview Financial: Mary Ellen Puleri of the political scene. [email protected] Phone 553-3670 Meets Thursdays at 12:15 p.m. Templeton Landing , 2 Templeton Terrace Richard Klepfer celebrated 43 years of Rotary membership and John Rob- Publication Committee shaw celebrated his birthday (one day early!). And in a surprise move on Cris Heather Culverwell, Editor Balint’s part, the Queen of Hearts was won by... Joyce DeLong in absentia. In Associate Editors: Fred Batson, Bryce Bixby, Jack Karet, case Buffalo Rotarians have NOT noticed, Joyce DeLong and your reporter are rare- David Male, Stephen Robshaw, Katharine Smith ly, if ever, seen together, which has led to numerous rumors regarding our “shared” Suzanne Taylor, Jim Tyrpak Supergirl/Lois Lane identities! This instance of Joyce’s “win” has received particular The COG (USPS 120-620) Issued bi-weekly by the Rotary Club of Buffalo, NY, U.S.A. as a source of scrutiny since your reporter actually pulled the winning – $20 – card out of the deck... information to its members. Rest assured that snappy new twenty dollar bill went into the right hands, as per the CLUB OFFICERS and Directors 2016-2017 Four-Way-Test, Paul Hurley, Jr , President Michael Sendor , President Elect Joyce DeLong, Vice President Bob McCarthy began his political discourse with the revelation Katharine Smith, Secretary he’s now on the “crime beat!” Well, he said it felt like it, since he William Larkin, Treasurer can’t keep track of all the scandals he’s had to cover in the last Laurie Albertsson, Immediate Past President year, locally with Steve Pigeon and former Justice John Michalek, CLUB DIRECTORS with remaining terms former New York State Senators Marc Panepinto and George 2015-2017 Term 2016-2018 Term Maziarz and then at the state level (Shelly Silver, Dean David Knauss Hank Sokol Skelos, top Cuomo aides Todd Howe and Joseph Percoco, Susan Schwartz Nora Eberl Christa Linsey Al Stocker NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio...). Ah, yes, the Empire State at its best! Nicholas Alberalla Carolyn Murray He talked about the possibility of a Trump victory in Erie County, saying it was possible based on the local victory of “Trump-lite” Carl Paladino in 2010, who won ROTARY INTERNATIONAL the county with 58 percent of the vote. McCarthy also referenced Trump’s big victory John Germ, RI President in Erie County’s Republican presidential primary in April and Mrs. Clinton’s narrow Marlene (Marlee) Diehl, District Governor victory over Bernie Sanders the Democratic primary. He also said that historically “as Cheektowaga votes, the nation votes. (So watch the results in Cheektowaga!) Reminder He also quoted from Maureen Dowd’s “Year of Voting Dangerously” in describing When our Presi- the 2016 presidential campaign as “the king of winging it versus the queen of home- dent or a guest work.” speaker is making McCarthy’s take on the GOP? Its future may depend on its NEXT autopsy after his/her presenta- Trump blew up the road map the Republican Party constructed after its 2012 tion, it is rude to “postmortem.” be conversing so loudly that other Rotarians cannot hear the speaker . And will he take a break after Tuesday’s electoral results? McCarthy said he’s quite certain it will start up immediately when Mayor Byron W. Brown starts his 2018 Also—the speaker can hear you in- campaign. terrupting his/her presentation. Photos by -“COG” reporter, Katharine “Lois Lane” Smith Paul Maze If you must talk, please whisper so those around you can hear the speaker and the speaker is not offended. COG November 16, 2016 Page 2 Rotary Reflections—November 10, 2016 Rotary Reflections – November 10, 2016 It is the second week in November. There is a slight chill in the air. Under a clear blue sky, a strong wind strips leaves from trees around Lake Erie. Yes, it’s voting season. The research is done. Candidates have been whittled down to just four contenders from a field of 20. The issues at stake are both genuine and relevant. Children’s safety, barrier-free access to facilities, and public health and wellness are all under consideration. But this is no political race. With the presidential election and Buffalo Rotary’s “Politics as Un-Usual” series behind us, our votes are now required for projects presented as part of Buffalo Rotary Club’s Fall Grant Cycle. Carolyn Murray introduced the presenters for each of the four projects under consideration. The Gateway Longview project was presented by Joe Brennan. A grant of $7200 would provide much needed Bed bug-proof furniture to replace compromised furniture that needed to be discarded. Tom Schratz presented the proposal for the Olmsted Center for Sight. A grant of $5498 would provide automatic door openers at two restrooms (Men and Women), allowing limited-mobility patrons to use those facilities without relying on an escort. The New Directions proposal was presented by Margaret Brechtel. A grant of just $600 would allow the facility to purchase car seats for use in transporting children so they can spend time with their birth parents. Jason Krempa presented the proposal for Girls on the Run. A grant of $2775 would provide an inflatable finish line and running race tracking equipment, supporting a program that helps young women stay healthy and improve their self-image. Do we fund one or all? Make your vote count this season. Your Reporter, Bryce Bixby APPROVED FOR BALLOT – WELCOME NEW MEMBER INDIVIDUALS Welcome Andrew Kelley! The following membership proposal, approved by the Andrew is a financial advisor with Board of Directors, is pending.