RadioRotary

Recorded live by RadioRotary at the Highland Rotary Club, Highland Rotarians Steve Laubach and Don Verity tell about the glories of eating barbecue (and listening to music) at the fourteenth annual Hudson Valley Ribfest, the biggest, best barbecue in New York State, which takes place every August at Ulster County Fairgrounds just outside New Paltz. […]

This weekend on RadioRotary: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow! Tune in to the award-winning RadioRotary on Saturday, August 25th at 2:00 p.m. (on WTBQ 93.5 FM and 1110AM or  http://www.wtbq.com/ ) and Sunday, August 26th at 6:30 a.m. (on WBPM 92.9 FM or http://  www.wbpmfm.com/ ) and 9:30 a.m. (on WGHQ 920AM and 92.5FM, WBNR 1260AM […]

RadioRotary interviews three distinguished Rotarians: Donna Gunn of the Lakeway/Lake Travis (Texas) Rotary Club, Peggy Rogers of Sebastopol (California) Rotary, and Rotary 2017-18 President Ian H.S. Riseley of the Sandringham (Australia) Club as all visit the International Convention in Toronto, Ontario. Ms. Gunn is Special Projects Chair of Rotary 3D Limbs, which proved 3D printed limbs, primarily legs, for children in need. The printed limbs not only cost less than 1% of hand-made and fitted limbs. They can be adjusted to make an exact fit for no extra cost and are adjustable in length so that they grow with the child. Ms. Rogers is representing the Family Safety Rotary Action Group (RAG), dedicated to breaking the cycle of domestic violence, which can affect men and children as well as women. RI President Riseley looks back at his tree-planting campaign and other hallmarks of his year, as well as outlining a path for the future of Rotary.

Toronto Rotary International Convention, Part 3 (Aired on August 4 and 5, 2018) RadioRotary interviews three distinguished Rotarians: Donna Gunn of the Lakeway/Lake Travis (Texas) Rotary Club, Peggy Rogers of Sebastopol (California) Rotary, and Rotary 2017-18 President Ian H.S. Riseley of the Sandringham (Australia) Club as all visit the International Convention in Toronto, Ontario. Ms. Gunn is Special Projects […]

Mid-Hudson American Cancer Society (Aired on July 28 and 29, 2018) Kristine Revelle of the American Cancer Society in the Mid-Hudson comes to RadioRotary to discuss the many ways that the Cancer Society is fighting the hundreds of diseases that we lump together as cancer. The Society emphasizes education about the causes of cancer, advocacy for cancer issues with local and national governments, research on the causes and cures of cancer, and services for the victims of cancer. The Mid-Hudson Region has been at the forefront of cancer=prevent studies since 1959. Ms. Revelle tells listeners ways that they can reduce their risk of developing cancer and outlines resources from the Society to help in recovery. Events, such as the annual Breast Cancer Walk and the campaign “Real Men Wear Pink” help not only to raise money for the Society but also create awareness.

Mid-Hudson American Cancer Society (Aired on July 28 and 29, 2018) Kristine Revelle of the American Cancer Society in the Mid-Hudson comes to RadioRotary to discuss the many ways that the Cancer Society is fighting the hundreds of diseases that we lump together as cancer. The Society emphasizes education about the causes of cancer, advocacy for cancer issues with […]

Mary Albrecht of the Town of Pleasant Valley visits RadioRotary to describe the annual festival known as Pleasant Valley Week end, which has moved from its previous time in September to July. The event features three separate parades through the hamlet—a motorcycle parade on Friday, the big parade and fireworks on Saturday, and a parade of automobiles on Sunday. Most of the events and activities during the event are aimed at children (although Pleasant Valley Rotary runs a beer-and-wine tent), including a Ferris wheel and other rides, contests of various kinds, and a “Little Miss Pleasant Valley” pageant for girls 5 to 7 years old. But the whole family can enjoy the bands, the country music, and the typical carnival foods, as well as the race of plastic ducks down nearby Wappingers Creek.

Here are four more stories of people putting service before self from the 2018 Toronto Rotary International Convention. Sole 4 Souls not only distributes shoes and other clothing around the world, but also creates sustainable jobs in third-world nations. World Bicycle Relief does not provide relief for bicycles, but provides bicycles for relief of travel problems in places with bad roads or none. The specially designed bicycles are strong enough for bumpy rides and easy to repair if needed. Rise Against Hunger recognizes that there is food enough for every person on the planet, but 815 million people, many of them children, go hungry because food is unequally distributed. The volunteers at Rise Against Hunger work on assembly lines to produce nourishing food packages; often the volunteers are Rotarians. Rotary is most known, however, for its steps to end polio now, which is discussed by Al Bonney of Traverse City Rotary.

Each year RadioRotary takes its microphone to the Rotary International Convention, which in 2018 is in Toronto, Ontario. Some 24,000 Rotarians are in attendance and RadioRotary gets as many of the great stories as it can. One of the interviews in this show is with Ellen Haggerty, a Pleasant Valley Rotarian whose mission to improve hearing and make life easier for those who are hearing impaired takes her all over the world. Her organization, Rotarians for Hearing, is one of the many Rotary Action Groups, or RAGs, that deal with specific issues. One of the highlights of the RadioRotary interviews at the International Convention is the interview with the new president of Rotary International; for 2018-19, it is Barry Rassin from the Rotary Club of East Nassau in the Bahamas.

RadioRotary interviews Kimberly Kochen, Executive Director of The Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse, located in Poughkeepsie, N, the nonprofit agency dedicated to the reduction of child maltreatment since 1973. Among their programs are outreach to elementary schools for educating children and to PTAs and other groups for educating adults. Almost 17,000 children per year are served, mostly through lessons in schools, ranging from puppet shows for younger children to more formal teaching though grade 6. Child abuse is a major problem but only about one in a thousand children will report it. Everyone who suspects child abuse should call the NYS Central Registry at 1(800) 342-3720 or in case of immediate harm, 911. Parents and others are urged to “trust your gut” if you suspect anything, and take action immediately. Abuse during childhood often affects the person abused for his or her entire life.

District Governor 2018-19 Christine Giangrasso (Aired on June 23 and 24, 2018) A long-standing tradition of RadioRotary is the interview with each incoming District Governor (DG) of District 7210, the person who will lead the 55 clubs in 8 counties that make up the District. From July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2018, that person will be Christine (“Chrissy G.”) Giangrasso of the Highland Rotary Club. DG Giangrasso brings to the District an attitude of “We Can Do It,” inspired by World War II’s Rosy the Riveter, Sylvia Whitlock (first woman Rotarian in 1987), and the women of Rotary—but not leaving out the men of Rotary. Among her goals for the 2018-19 Rotary Year are revving up the fight against opioid addiction and engaging with the 46 Interact clubs of the District. As a member of Highland Rotary as well as DG, she will be involved in that club’s annual fundraiser, the August Ribfest at Ulster Fairgrounds.

Marjorie Nichols Keith, Executive Director of the Putnam Country Cornell Cooperative Extension, brings 4-H Club member Patrick Salerno to RadioRotary to help tell about the 47th annual Putnam County 4-H Fair at Veteran Memorial Park in Carmel. The Fair is a big family event with food booths, music, a Master Gardener plant sale, horse and dog shows, an auction, and activities such as Touch a Truck and a magic tent. There is free admission and free parking. Over 500 volunteers make the weekend event happen, ranging from Rotary clubs, Lions clubs, village officials, and of course 4-H clubs. If you are not in Putnam Country, you can check your county’s Cornell Cooperative Extension Website for the location and dates of the fair nearest you.

Total Transportation for Local Charities (Aired on June 9 and 10, 2018) RadioRotary interviews two employees of Total Transportation Corp., a business that goes out of its way to help local community organizations such as Rotary clubs. Vincent Marzello is the Regional Director of Operations, working out of Wappinger Falls, while MaryAnne Coe is the Location Manager in that office. Marzello and Coe describe how they loan out equipment, often with volunteer drivers (regular employees who volunteer their time), to chairitable organizations such as Pleasant Valley Rotary. The Rotary club regularly runs a “Stuff the Bus” campaign for the local food pantry, and Total Transportation provides the bus, which (festooned with a large sign) is parked in a supermarket lot until donors have filled it with food, which the bus then transmits to the food pantry. In some other recent charitable events, Total Transportation carried supplies for Puerto Rican victims of Hurricane Maria.

Rotarians Gary Silver and Gary Siegel report to RadioRotary on an important program that they have been developing and monitoring, including their 16 trips to Haiti. Working with the Rotary Club deCap-Haïtien, the Liberty Club has distributed over a thousand two-bucket water filtration systems to families in Cap-Haïtien, a historic city of about 200,000 whose water supply is not potable (suitable for drinking). This effort began as a Rotary District 2710 grant but now is funded largely by a Rotary Foundation Global Grant, which pays about $105 per family, including the cost of technicians who install the system, teach the family how to use it, and monitor it twice a month thereafter. The Liberty Club is best known for providing and coordinating disaster relief after hurricanes Katrina on the Gulf Coast, Harvey in Houston, and Maria in Puerto Rico, although they also are involved in many local community projects.

New Paltz Rotarian Toni Hokanson visits RadioRotary to promote the annual “Touch-a-Truck” fair at Ulster County Fairgrounds. While the basic attraction for kids are the trucks, with a chance to climb all over them and sound their horns, the inexpensive family outing includes much more in the way of free entertainment, ranging from the Hurd’s Family Cow Train (cars shaped like cars, pulled by a tractor) to the giant pile of mulch for young mountain-climbers to tackle. The only additional expense is for fair food or a helicopter ride. “Touch-a-Truck” is a major fundraiser for New Paltz Rotary, despite the low per person admission (truck exhibitors also support it with entrance fees), which helps support the good works of the club. These include a weekly food-backpack program for children in the New Paltz schools who would otherwise be food deprived and scholarships, including a new 2-year scholarship to SUNY Ulster College for students whose parents did not attend college.