Meeting Minutes - August 16, 2011

INVOCATION:  Fred Noll 

ATTENDANCE: 17 of 29 members
 

GUESTS:
Matt Dorcas and Ellen Quimby, New members to be officially inducted on 8/30;  Frank Dias, HONOR Board member & Minisink Rotarian;  Grace & Lily Bonitz;  Chris Molinelli, COO of HONOR & Warwick Rotarian (speaker)

UPCOMING DATES:
**August 23rd -- Club meeting to be held at the Townhouse Diner (formerly Johnny D's).  We may move our meeting location and are trying out the Townhouse**
August 24th -- Region 5 Meeting, BBQ at Hanofee Park in Liberty.  6pm.  A sign-up sheet was sent around for anyone interested in attending. 

September 17th -- WIFFLE FOR KIDS!! 

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Wiffle for Kids is right around the corner!!  We are still looking for sponsorships (Corporate and Pinch Hitter), corporate and competitive teams, and prize donations.  Our numbers are down this year (sponsors and teams).  Please help in spreading the word about the tournaments and sponsorship opportunities!

 

Next week is the last week we will collect backpacks and school supplies.  Please bring any donations to the meeting and we will make sure everything is delivered to Jill Weed, coordinator of 'Backspacks for all Children.'  Suggested donations are:  backpacks, glue sticks, boxes of 24 crayons, marble notebooks, 3-ring binders, binder dividers, pocket folders, loose leaf paper, pencils, rulers, and blue or black pens.  Gift cards are also acceptable if you are not able to shop.

 

Bill Bassett mentioned the 'Columbia County Rotary Ride' to be held on September 24th.  More information and a registration form can be found at:  http://columbiacountyrotaryride.com/.

  

Chris Molinelli, COO of HONORehg, told us that HONOR has been in existence for 20 years and is the only performance based shelter in Orange County.  The maximum stay is 90 days, but they will not kick someone out if they are not ready.  The average length of a person's stay is 49 days.  In addition to the facility we toured at our meeting, there is the Addiction Crisis Center which has 15 beds, and 'A Friend's House,' which is a shelter for runaway youth.  They also run a 10-bed shelter in Newburgh for people who are HIV positive and HONOR Industries, a program where people learn skills and a trade while handcrafting furniture pieces.  The furniture is for sale to the general public, non-profits, etc.

 

At the conclusion of Chris's talk, members took a tour of the HONORehg facility.