Wilfred J. Wilkinson — RI President
Marlene Brown — District Governer
James J. Gascon — Asst. District Governer
Marion Krauter — President

UPCOMING EVENTS, INFORMATION AND OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

March is Celebrate Literacy Month

Bulletin #2008-09 Date: March 6, 2008

PROGRAMS:

TODAY
Club Assembly
March 13 – Allure Medical Aesthetics, Anna Nelson
March 20 – Tim Carroll Barn Restoration
March 27 – Early Act, Kelley McQuiggan & Horizons Students
Suggestions for future programs are always welcome. Please forward your ideas to Toni at tonicurt27@aol.com.

NEWS & NOTES

Mustang Construction: focus on Quality, Green building
In New York, you need to be licensed for just about every profession, including hairdresser. However, to call yourself a contractor, all you need is a truck and a set of used tools.

This leads to many people with carpentry skills calling themselves general contractors who are not really qualified. Seeking to buck that trend, Mustang Construction’s principals are dedicated to obtaining and maintaining certifications and high levels of continuing education according to co-owner Kevin Connors, who spoke to us February 28.

Mustang Construction was founded by Marcellus Central School alums Ron Fesko, Nathan VanDeusen and Kevin Connors several years ago. Ron and Nathan learned their trade building custom homes for the rich and famous on Nantucket Island. Kevin earned his Master’s in environmental engineering from Johns Hopkins and is a member of the American Society of Civil Enginners and the American Water Works Association.

As part of their dedication to providing the highest quality services from planning to completion, the three self-titled ‘closet environmentalists’ focus on green building. They are members of the U.S. Green Building Council and attempt to incorporate environmentally friendly practices into all facets of the construction process including evaluating where lumber comes from, recommending low volatile compound paint and advising on alternative energy solutions.

As an example, Kevin provided a breakdown of hypothetical cost of running all the lights in his house on incandescent vs. new energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs. According to his hypothetical spreadsheet, the annual savings of replacing all 54 bulbs could range from $784 to nearly $2,000, depending on the number of hours the lights are on during the day.

For more information about Mustang Construction Group see their Web site at http://www.mustangconstructiongroup.com.

Skaneateles Talk set to offer blog for businesses, organizations
Christine and Cary Briel have come up with yet another way to promote Skaneateles in cyberspace (can I still use that term or is it too 90s?).

After enduring endless questions from your newsletter editor regarding blogs and the like, the Briels decided that Skaneateles Talk should be available to the entire community.

So starting last weekend, they have opened the blog site to all of Skaneateles. Chris is expected to attend the March Club Assembly with more details. They could use individuals to jump on and start blogging to help get this off the ground. In case you aren’t able to attend this week’s meeting, learn more about it on the Web at http://skaneatelestalk.com/blogs/.

March is Rotary International’s Celebrate Literacy Month

What is Rotary Literacy Month?
Rotary Literacy Month highlights literacy and education issues around the world. Celebrated in March each year, Rotary Literacy Month is an excellent opportunity for Rotary clubs and districts to raise awareness about literacy, launch new literacy initiatives and projects, and recognize literacy accomplishments from the past year. Rotarians everywhere are encouraged to participate in Rotary Literacy Month by engaging in service or activities that specifically address literacy and education issues either in their communities or abroad.

Why is literacy important?
Literacy is the foundation for virtually all forms of education and a crucial component of effective social and economic participation, human development, and poverty reduction. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) nearly 800 million people over the age of 15 lack even basic reading and writing skills worldwide. In addition, there are roughly 137 million school age children who are illiterate around the world. Sadly, over 64% of all illiterate people in the world today are women. The benefits of literacy to society are undisputed. The Education for All Global Monitoring Report published in 2006 by UNESCO argues that literate populations are less likely to experience civil strife and are more likely to develop economically. There is also a direct connection between literacy rates and community health. People who are literate are generally more aware of health concerns in their communities and are therefore better equipped to avoid illness.

What can we do?
See next week’s Sunrise for ideas.

Special thanks to Ward Vuillemot for this submission

Timeline – 2004 Kabul Club lifts worldwide club total to 166
RI hosts its largest convention ever in Osaka, Japan, with a record crowd of 45,595 participants from 112 countries, surpassing the earlier record held by the Tokyo convention in 1978.
Rotary’s inaugural class of World Peace Scholars graduate.

CLUB BUSINESS & DATES TO REMEMBER

Call to Order; Pledge of Allegiance & Invocation
Introduction of Guests/Visitarians
Happy Dollars & Fines
District Major Events
February 26 – District GSE Team returned from India
March 14-15 – Multi-District President-Elect Training Seminar (PETS) – Double Tree Hotel
March 31 – Deadline for Presidential Citation application
April 5 – RLI, BOCES Verona
April 26 – District Membership Celebration, Harts Hill Inn, Whitesboro
May 29 – District Foundation Celebration
June 23 – Changing of the Guard

Committee Reports

Club Administration
President – Marion Krauter
Treasurer – Toni Feldmann
Secretary – John Rooney

Service Projects
Food Pantry – Daryle Pickering
Sea Scouts – John Paddock
Programs – Toni Feldmann
Early Act – Tom Seeley
Fire Equipment – Chris Bruna
Service Committee – John Rooney
Winterfest & Craft Fair – Paddock/Krauter
Membership (& Retention) – All
Social Chair – Paul Torrisi
Sergeant at Arms – Daryle Pickering

EVENING CLUB PROGRAMS

February 21 – Lightning 70th Anniversary Regatta
March 6 – Club Activities

OFFICERS & DIRECTORS

Officers
President – Marion Krauter
President-Elect – Tom Seeley
Past President – Daryle Pickering
Treasurer – Toni Feldman
Sergeant-at-Arms – Daryle Pickering
Secretary – John Rooney

Committee Chairs
Club Service – John Rooney
Food Pantry – Daryle Pickering
Membership – Daryle Pickering
Program Chair – Toni Feldman
Rotary Foundation – John Paddock
Social Chair – Paul Torrisi
Youth Exchange/RYLA – John Paddock

Members
Christopher Bruna, Dave Cutten, Robert DeWetter, Toni Feldmann, Paul Frickey, Douglas Hill, Marion Krauter, Michael Krebs, John Paddock, Daryle Pickering, John Rooney, Thomas Seeley, Patrick Taylor, Paul Torrisi, Michael Wahlrab, Rhett Weiss

Exchange Students
Sarah Bierbaum (Germany), Lucas Grob (Switzerland), Eddy Tasia (Belgium), Nico Avalle (Argentina)

TRY OUR ROTARY WEBSITES

Our District Website: http://www.rotary7150.org/
Rotary International: http://www.rotary.org/
RYLA http://www.rotaryryla.com/
Skaneateles Rotary: http://www.skaneatelesrotary.org/
e-club http://www.rotaryeclubny1.com

SUNRISE EDITORS

Thomas W. Seeley 685-2311 Fax: 685-2460 tws@mlsattorneys.com