RadioRotary

Margot Schulman, manager of The Lunch Box for Dutchess Outreach, and Rich Schiafo, deputy executive director of the Hudson Valley Regional Council, tell RadioRotary about efforts to prevent food insecurity in the Hudson Valley, starting with an event at the Walkway Over the Hudson for which a number of local agencies are providing a free meal entirely made from “recused food.” Rescued food may be food prepared for an event that was not utilized, food gleaned from farms after harvest, unserved restaurant food, or food removed from grocery shelves for one reason or another. Estimates are that 20% of food is wasted in the United States, while in Poughkeepsie more than half the students in elementary or high school are at a poverty level that makes them eligible for free lunches. Also in Poughkeepsie, The Lunch Box, which supplies free lunches and dinners, has many needy clients daily. Rescued healthy food can help the effort to reduce food insecurity.

Jonah Triebwasser interviews Cary Institute disease ecologist Shannon LaDeau on the recently recognized dangers from the Zika virus and on the mosquitoes that carry it from human to human. Zika has been known in the Old World since the 1940s but did not reach the Western Hemisphere until 2014, when travelers brought it to Brazil. It has since spread widely through South America, the Caribbean, and some neighborhoods in Florida. Zika is carried from person to person primarily by two species of tropical and subtropical mosquitoes that are daytime biters and to a lesser degree by sexual relations. About 80% of humans infected show mild symptoms or none, but the disease can cause severe damage to an unborn child if the mother is infected. The main concern has been microcephaly, which results in an abnormally small skull and likely brain damage.

RadioRotary interviews Robert Hawk Storm Birch, known primarily by his Native American name, Hawk Storm, given to him by his grandfather when he was five. The Schaghticoke Native Americans are struggling to win Federal recognition, although they have one of the oldest reservations in the U.S., located in Kent, Connecticut, just over the border from Dover, New York. The Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs only recognizes about 560 of the approximately a thousand indigenous tribes, which prevent the unrecognized from obtaining many services. Hawk Storm is working on improving the Schaghticoke Reservation in Kent with a cultural center, but he also is devoting time to helping the United Nations efforts on climate change and discrimination issues.

Patterson Rotarian Bill Flash is interviewed about his club’s activities. The Patterson Club holds a number of fundraisers annually that have become much anticipated events for the residents of Putnam County and beyond. The Blues and BBQ event provides great music from local bands and nationally known musicians along with food prepared by the great cooks of Patterson Rotary–ribs, brats, burgers, and more. A recent program featured both guitarist Dylan Doyle and the band Fade to Blues. Admission is free, although donations are encouraged ($10 suggested). Other events include Touch a Truck for Heroes and a semiannual community giveaway. In the spring, the main event is Men Who Cook, a contest that has run for over twenty years. If you are local to the Patterson area and are a Comcast subscriber, you can check out Bill Flash on Channel 8.

Many of the villages and hamlets in Dutchess County choose a day or weekend in the fall to celebrate local organizations and to entertain their residents and visitors. These include Hardscrabble Days in Red Hook and Community Day in Millbrook. For about forty years, one of these celebrations has been Pleasant Valley Weekend in the hamlet and town of Pleasant Valley. In this interview, Pleasant Valley Rotarian (and RadioRotary producer) Kathy Kruger tells about the Pleasant Valley Weekend of 2016. This was the 20th anniversary of the Rotary rubber-duck race in Wappingers Creek, a popular fundraiser. Pleasant Valley Rotary also runs the beer tent, one of the many sources of food and drink at the Friday through Sunday festival. There are carnival rides, several parades, community booths of all kinds, and fireworks at the end, all accompanied by music by several local bands. The town comes out each year in large numbers to enjoy a great weekend and celebrate their community.

Pleasant Valley Rotarian Ellen Haggerty is the guest on RadioRotary, discussing Rotarian Action Groups (RAGs) and Rotary Fellowship Groups with special emphasis on the RAG Rotarians for Hearing, an action group started by Ms. Haggerty. Rotarians for Hearing has a grant from the Rotary Foundation that covers hearing tests for newborns in Guatemala. An electronic device checks the baby’s ears to see if they are working properly; babies with difficulties are sent to Guatemala City for brain scans that reveal hearing problems in detail. It is important to get to children before the age of six, because older children who have never heard language then fail to learn it. There is much more of interest on this program—how Ms. Haggerty became involved in hearing about how she has traveled the world as a member of the Travel and Hosting Rotary Fellowship.

RadioRotary interviews Highland Rotary Club’s Steve Laubach and Don Verity concerning the 12th annual Hudson Valley Ribfest, one of the major summer events in the Hudson Valley and voted one of the “must-go-to” festivals in the United States. It is also the primary fundraiser for the Highland Rotary Club. Income from the Ribfest to supports The Rotary Foundation, ShelterBox, and several local charitable causes. Each year the Ribfest brings the contest for the NYS championship in barbecue to the Ulster County Fairground in New Paltz, along with live music, other entertainment, and children’s activities—including a pork-chop cook-off. Specialty booths offer barbecue equipment and supplies, while the food includes chicken, pulled pork, and corn-on-the-cob as well as the featured ribs.

Sarah O’Connell and Dave Kruger interview Millbrook Rotarian Ellie Savoy, author of the International Best-Seller Stop Dieting, Start Living: 5 Foundations for your Health to Permanently Lose Weight Without Dieting, Starvation, or Suffering in Silence, as well as portions of other self-help books. Ms. Savoy is a Board Certified Holistic Health Coach who not only coaches individuals, but also offers short courses. Her life took a turn for the better in 2011, when—30 pounds overweight—she face possible surgery, but decided to practice healthy eating and a better lifestyle instead. She has a lot of common-sense advice, which most of us would do well to follow. The basic program is to stop dieting and make the best choices in food and lifestyle. Exercise and sleep are also important, but should be routine rather than taking a special effort. Good health is everyone’s number-one asset in life, so make your own body your first priority.

RadioRotary interviews Kinderhook Tri-Village Rotarian, Dr. Tam Mustapha, who has held a number of positions supporting The Rotary Foundation, the charitable arm of Rotary International. The motto of The Rotary Foundation, “Doing Good in the World,” describes its main mission, which focuses on improving peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, saving mothers and children, supporting education and literacy, and growing local economies. In 2017 The Rotary Foundation will have been achieving these goals for a hundred years. Anyone can contribute money to The Rotary Foundation, secure in the knowledge that their contribution will be used for work in the focus areas described above, since there is almost no administrative costs to an organization that employs volunteer Rotarians, and what little costs occur are largely paid for with interest on the contributed money.

RadioRotary interviews Carmel Rotarian Marjorie Keith and recent Mahopac High School student Robert Solerno about the role of the 4-H Club of Putnam Country. Keith is the Executive Director of Putnam County’s branch of the Cornell Cooperative Extension, which sponsors 4-H clubs, while Solerno is not only an enthusiastic member of 4-H, but also a former member of the Mahopac High School Interact Club. Although we think of 4-H (which stands for Head, Heart, Hands, and Health) primarily as rural, the club thrives in Putnam County, which is not rural, with programs or divisions devoted to pet care, media, crafts, the environment, and leadership. A major event is the annual Putnam Country 40H Fair in Kent, NY, that features many local booths devoted to 4-H-related activities and activities that interest children as well as a famous chicken dinner on Saturday night of the Fair.

We explore the Rotary aim of “Doing Good, Having Fun.”

The Community at Brookmeade, located on 75 country acres just outside the Village of Rhinebeck, is a senior-living retirement community serving the Hudson Valley and surrounding areas. It consists of three connected facilities: Arbor Ridge offers independent living; The Terraces offers assisted living; and The Baptist Home provides long term care, sub-acute rehabilitation, palliative care and Out-Patient Rehabilitation Services. In this informative program, Rhinebeck Rotarians Carolyn Bernitt, president of the Brookmeade Community Foundation, and Brian Zeiden, Brookmeade’s Director of Development, describe the many programs available, including short-term rehabilitation and palliative care at The Baptist Home as well as activities available, such as an art show featuring residents’ art.

RadioRotary interviews Shayna Micucci and Kasandra Quednau, founders of the Rt. 212 Coalition, which aids persons and families facing addiction problems. Micucci is a trained addiction specialist and Quednau has personal experience with addiction in the past. The Coalition’s name comes from New York State Route 212, which runs through Ulster Country from Saugerties to Woodstock and beyond. Its mission is to bridge gaps in substance-abuse services by linking resources, providing support, building awareness, and collaborating with other organizations in Ulster County. Micucci and Quednau envision a community free from the stigma associated with addiction, which they work to achieve by supporting accessible substance-abuse prevention, education, and treatment services. The Coalition works with PAARI, the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative to provide scholarships that enable addicts to obtain treatment and also provides regular support meetings in Woodstock.

RadioRotary interviews Kathy Smith, who is on the board of the Friends of the Walkway Over the Hudson about the some of the many activities that not only involve using the great bridge but also raise money for its upkeep and improvement. Walkway Over the Hudson is a free New York State Historic Park that opening in October 2009 and today has half a million users each year. It was a railroad bridge from 1888 to 1974—the first bridge of any kind across the Hudson between New York City and Albany–but has been reconstructed as a 1.2-mile pedestrian bridge. Although the main purpose of the Walkway is to provide a stirring experience and views, there are many annual events, such as the races associated with the marathon, the Fourth of July Fireworks, and moon walks and sunrise strolls. Among the improvements funded by the Friends of the Walkway, the most notable is a dramatic elevator, a short distance from the Poughkeepsie Railroad Station.

Goshen Rotarians Nan Gill-Wilson and David P. Wilson are professionals in several branches of show business. The have brought their own talents and performing knowledge to the aid of their Rotary Club in a number of ways. Goshen Rotary manages to have at least one major event every month of the year. One of these fundraisers is “Goshen’s Got Talent,” a show based on local amateur performers—although David and Nan have found amateurs with professional chops. While “Goshen’s Got Talent” benefits the community service of Goshen Rotary—which includes dictionaries for elementary school, disaster relief, scouting, and the Braeside-Museum Village project—Nan and David also have developed “Once More Frankly!” which supports The Rotary Foundation. Their involvement in Willy Gilly Productions, the Acting Anyone Academy, and The Academy of Film Television Stage and Performing Arts also manages to entail Rotary connections in various ways.