Next Club Meeting: March 17, 2022. An in-person meeting will be held at the First Presbyterian Church in Corning [details below]. Please use this Zoom link if you cannot attend in person.
President-elect Stuart Sammis called the meeting to order at 12:10 p.m. Stuart shared a video of “My Country “Tis of Thee,” performed by Crosby, Stills and Nash, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Gil Sweet delivered the invocation for the meeting, praying for peace on behalf of the people of Ukraine.
Club Service:
Invocation: Gil Sweet
Photos: Rick Davis
COGS: Tom O'Brien
Presiding: Stuart Sammis
Stuart introduced Monique Hammond, the presenter for the day’s program and her husband, Ross. The subject of Monique’s program is “Hearing Loss- the silent epidemic.” Both Monique and Ross are Rotarians.
Announcements:
Dr. Bob Cole reported the unhappy news that Peter Maier is seriously ill with cancer. Peter was a long-time resident of Corning and member of Corning Rotary who moved to Connecticut several years ago.
Stuart reported also that Paula Smith’s mother recently passed away. We send our prayers to Peter and his family and our condolences to Paula.
Jeff Ugoretz reported that beginning March 17, 2022 the Club’s lunch meetings will be held in hybrid format for the indefinite future, with members meeting either in person at the First Presbyterian Church of Corning, or virtually by Zoom. The First Presbyterian Church of Corning is located at 1 East 1st Street on the South side of Corning, and the meetings there will be in a room on the lower level. The entrance to the Church is on the 1st Street side. Until the Club can arrange for catering to members meeting in-person at the Presbyterian church, those persons will have to bring their lunches with them. The first hybrid meeting will be on March 17, 2022. Stuart mentioned that green beer will not be served at the March 17 meeting.
Ernie Danforth reported that the spelling bee was greatly successful, with 19 Rotarians volunteering to help and 20 non-Rotarian volunteers who helped. Ernie thanked all the volunteers who participated, including Dale Wexell for coordinating the event and Dick Pope for initiating the event. A list of all the Rotarian and non-Rotarian volunteers who helped is included in the recording of these Cogs.
Ray Defendorf and a number of Rotary members reported that Corning Rotary would like to sponsor a special fund-raising dinner to raise money for the Ukrainian refugees who have been invaded by Russia. The proposal is for a Ukrainian potato pancake and Kielbasa dinner to which Corning Rotary and possibly other service clubs would sell tickets. Ray and others have approached a number of local merchants for their support and are awaiting responses. Proceeds from the event would be processed through Rotary International and the Rotary International Foundation for Ukrainian Refugee Relief. Planning for the event is in its infancy; but April 3. 2022 has been mentioned as a possible date for the event.
Ted Goldwyn asked members to support the Club’s “Pints for Polio” “Fun-Raiser” scheduled for March 30, 2022 from 5-8 p.m. The event is planned to support the fight against polio. Details of the event can be found here.
Reminders:
the Rotary District Training Assembly will be held at Honeoye Central School on April 9, 2022. Each Club can have up to 6 members attend for free. Details here. Contact Wendy for more details and carpooling info. We need a gift from the Club for the raffle.
Wendy Winnett also shared that the Corning Y will hold its annual Maple Syrup Event the weekend of March 18-20 at Watson Woods (the former Watson Homestead) in Coopers Plains. Contact Brian Dana at brian.dana@rochesterymca.org or 607-962-0541 for more information.
Program: Monique Hammond presented a vigorous explication of the risks and consequences of hearing loss. She explained how hearing loss diminishes the joys of life, how the loss occurs and what can be done to minimize it. Loud noises and environments are the main causes. Monique’s entire Zoom presentation is recorded here.
March 9, 2022. Corning NY: The Corning Rotary Club is hosting a “fun”draiser on March 30th from 5pm -8pm to be held at our 3 Market St. Breweries. These good businesses are offering free tastings to all ticket holders who have purchased their $25 tickets from us: either on-line, or at LMG Studio at 94 W. Market St or that night at the event. We need some Rotarian volunteers who are looking to help by marking off cards presented as well as being ambassadors for possible new Rotarians. Click here to sign up. Those completing their cards by doing all 3 tastings will get a swag bag with a tasting glass, bottle opener and other goodies. It is a chance to not only engage but to help in Rotary’s efforts to eliminate polio for good.
Rotary has been a key supporter in the fight against polio since the 1980’s. Along with other organizations such as the WHO and the Gates Foundation, billions of children have been vaccinated against this life altering disease. Unfortunately just recently a case was discovered in Malawi Africa after years of having the only cases being in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Also, just recently 6 health care workers, often women and mothers, were killed while attempting to administer vaccines and aid.
Through PolioPlus we, as Rotarians, have supported clean water initiatives and sanitation efforts as preventative measures against this disease. The infrastructure created by years of this effort also aided in providing immunizations for COVID-19.
We are close but the need for help is still very much needed. All dollars raised are matched 2 to 1 by the Gates Foundation. Currently our club is looking for each and every donation of at least $25 for a drawing to be held at the end of the month for an Amazon Echo Dot. Just show Wendy that you have given or reach out if you do not know how to accomplish the donation. Thanks for all you do.
Corning NY. 3-5-2022.CYRUS LAW WINS REGIONAL SPELLING BEE SPONSORED BY THE CORNING ROTARY CLUB
Cyrus Law from the Alternative School for Math and Science in Corning is the Champion of the Southern Tier regional spelling bee sponsored by the Corning Rotary Club. The competition involving 43 spellers from 22 schools in the Southern Tier lasted 17 rounds. Spellers competed at the Corning – P.P. School District Middle School on March 5. Tim Allard served as pronouncer for the competition, and the judges who tracked every word and verified spellings were Keith Orfanides, Kerry Elsasser, and Linda Perry. Spellers studied Words of the Champions; the 4,000-word list provided by the Scripps National Spelling Bee. “The competition, as usual, remained at the highest level and reflects the commitment of all the spellers to strive for excellence,” said Dale Wexell, Regional Bee Coordinator.
Cyrus Law, the son of Jingsha Ye and Derek Law of Painted Post, NY, now advances to compete in the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee near Washington, D.C. The semifinals on June 1 and the finals on June 2 will be televised on national networks ION and Bounce and hosted by accomplished actor, director, educator and lifelong children’ literacy advocate LeVar Burton. Cyrus also wins the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award, a 2022 U.S. Mint Proof set, provided by Jay Sugarman, Chairman and CEO of iStar Financial, in honor of his father.
The Corning Rotary Club has sponsored the regional bee event for 10 years. The competition encourages students to set goals and dedicate time to study and prepare. Participation also provides an opportunity for students to gain experience in public speaking and performing under pressure. The purpose of the Bee is to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives.
Thank you to all the volunteers, including the following from Corning NY Rotary: Yumiko Akiba, Dave Anderson, Jen Batzing, Bill Boland, Cathy Buck, Rick Davis [photographer], Ray Defendorf, Nancy Dubendorfer, Pauline Emery, Rich Fastiggi, Ted Goldwyn, Laura Matson, Dick Perry [photographer], Stu Sammis, Gil Sweet [photographer], Jeff Ugoretz, Wendy Winnett, Dale Wexell for coordinating the entire event, and Dick Pope for making our participation necessary.
And a special thank you to the at least 20 non-Rotary volunteers whose participation was also vital to making this event a success.
President-elect Stuart Sammis called the meeting to order at 12:10 p.m. Stuart shared a video of “My Country “Tis of Thee,” performed by Crosby, Stills and Nash, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Gil Sweet delivered the invocation for the meeting, praying for peace on behalf of the people of Ukraine.
Invocation: Gil Sweet
17, 2022. Stuart mentioned that green beer will not be served at the March 17 meeting.
Ted Goldwyn asked members to support the Club’s “Pints for Polio” “Fun-Raiser” scheduled for March 30, 2022 from 5-8 p.m. The event is planned to support the fight against polio. Details of the event can be found 
the Rotary District Training Assembly will be held at Honeoye Central School on April 9, 2022. Each Club can have up to 6 members attend for free. 
Program: Monique Hammond presented a vigorous explication of the risks and consequences of hearing loss. She explained how hearing loss diminishes the joys of life, how the loss occurs and what can be done to minimize it. Loud noises and environments are the main causes. Monique’s entire Zoom presentation is recorded 
. These good businesses are offering free tastings to all ticket holders who have purchased their $25 tickets from us: either 
Rotary has been a key supporter in the fight against polio since the 1980’s. Along with other organizations such as the WHO and the Gates Foundation, billions of children have been vaccinated against this life altering disease. Unfortunately just recently a case was discovered in Malawi Africa after years of having the only cases being in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Also, just recently 6 health care workers, often women and mothers, were killed while attempting to administer vaccines and aid.
