• New Meeting Location on May 21!
  Mark your calendars as we will be holding our weekly Rotary meeting on May 21 at the Women's Community Building at 100 West Seneca Street (just a couple blocks down from the Holiday Inn).

	Rotary Rose Sales Report This year's fundraiser was an absolute amazing success! All net proceeds will support the 2004 Community Grant Awards, and we sincerely thank you for your wonderful support. Bettsie Park and John Bailey lead did an amazing job leading this year's campaign. They kicked off the program by setting an ambitious goal of a 20% increase in sales from the previous year. They not only drove the membership to reach that goal, but we surpassed it with a 36% increase!
The Order of the Rose was presented to this year's top Rotary Rose sellers: Barlow Ware, George Gull, Bob Sprole, Cal Organ (not pictured), and Bettsie Park. Bettsie Park and John Bailey lead this year's widly successful campaign!
We sold a total of 796 dozen roses sold by 101 members (up from 72 members from last year) with gross income of $11,287.98 and net of $4978.00. Bettsie and John tossed in the remaining to set us up for an even $5,000 in available funds for our 2004 Community Grants Awards. This was an amazing year for Rotary Roses, and extreme thanks go to Bettsie and John and all of the Rotarians who went out and painted the town red.

New Member Introduction: William Hawley Sponsored by Fred Antil Bill grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania and received an accounting degree from the University of Scranton. He then earned a Master's in Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. He spent a number of years as a Presbyterian minister when he oversaw 77 churches. Bill was also a former Rotarian from Middletown, and is currently moving into the Ithaca area as the Executive Director of the Senior Center.

Please take a moment to personally welcome our newest Rotarian, Bill Hawley!

• Successful Route 13 Clean Up!
  Noel Desch thanked a great crew who helped clean our lovable Route 13 (the upper half), including Pres. Jean, Casey Stevens, Dick Page, Don Hinman, Mary-Lynn Cummings, Jane Spano, Larry Robinson, Larry Thayer, Nancy Potter, Pat Vaughn, Rob Ainslie, George Schneider, Bob Gravani, Rob McKenzie, and Noel's wife, Janet.

• Special thanks to Beverly Baker who lead today's meeting while Pres. Jean was undergoing foot surgery.

• May Birthdays!
  4: Beverly Baker
  6: Mary-Lynn Cummings, Neil Olver
  7: Liz Seigel
  8: Barny Barnes
  10: June Losurdo
  12: Joe Bail, Jim Vorp
  13: Susan Blumenthal
  21: Sue Munson
  26: Nancy Rosen
  27: Carol Margolis, Peggy Williams

• Ambassadors
  4/29: Barbara Caldwell (Ithaca-Cayuga), Linda Lerch

• Visiting Rotarians
  Peter Brellochs, Eric Lindstrom (Ithaca Sunrise)
  Kevin Gross (Cortland Noon)

• Students
  Risa Takashima (Japan)
  Samuel Dricot (Belgium)
  Ariel Arandia (Bolivia)

"Ithaca Rotary Community Grant Awards"

Jessie Ripple, of the Community Service Committee
Committee Co-chairs: Sue Munson and Elizabeth Cree

The Community Small Grants Program is a subgroup of the Community Service Committee composed of Pat Baxter, Percy Browning, Siu-ling Chaloemtiarana, Larry Robinson, Dick Page, and Jessie Ripple. The team started with 58 applications, and they had to really stretch the available pennies to make meaningful awards to this year's fourteen recipients in ways that will really make a difference. The great feature of this program of Ithaca Rotary is that the money comes from the community and goes directly back into the community.

The 2003 Ithaca Rotary Community Grants were awarded to the following:

Family Reading Partnership Books will be provided to young children in Tompkins County through a new program called Books to Grow On. The program is designed to inspire families to share books with babies by giving books to children at different stages of development in their lives. Danby Community Park Association Picnic tables will be constructed in the new Danby Park, which will be used by the residents of Danby and the general public. City of Ithaca Youth Bureau's Youth Employment Project This program encourages local young people to consider the field of education as a career.

BOCES English as a Second Language Program Books will be purchased for low-income adults who are learning English. Reconstruction Home Two TV/VCR combos and rolling stands will be provided for room bound/sick residents, so that they will be able to view specialized programs with their families. Historic Ithaca This organization is dedicated to the preservation of local landmarks. The grant will be used to modernize their credit card services at the State Theatre box office. Beverly J. Martin Elementary School Electronic Keyboards will be used in a program that promotes and enhances academic performance through the arts. Even Start Literacy Project This collaboration between Groton School District, T-S-T BOCES, and CCC of Tompkins County will use the grant funds to publish an Alphabet Book featuring local children. The book will serve as an excellent tool for advancing early childhood literacy education. Loaves and Fishes 20th Anniversary Their grant money will be used to support their upcoming fundraiser featuring a t-shirt design contest on Hunger Awareness Day. Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service Books will be purchased for children, teens, and adults who have had to deal with suicide, homicide, accidental death, fire or other trauma. Baden-Powell Council, Boy Scouts of America Much needed equipment will be purchased for the camp, including tents, radios, helmets, kneepads or backpacks. Vitamin L Project This project encourages positive character development in young people through the medium of music. The grant will be applied to the purchase of a van to support the group's extensive traveling. Drop-In Children's Center's Emergency Tuition Fund The funding will provide direct support for families in need. Veteran Volunteer Fireman's Association The grant will help this organization repair their baseball field and / or erect small bleachers.

We've already raised $5,000 through Rotary Roses for next year's grant cycle, and if anyone is interesting in applying, please submit a proposal to the Club at:

Ithaca Rotary Club President or Secretary
P.O. Box 306
Ithaca, NY 14851

• Please view the calendar posted on the main page of this website for the most up-to-date information. [View Rotary Calendar]

Program Chair: Josephine Allen
Kettle Watch: Dave Barr
Thought: Joanne Florino
Introductions: Charles Nocera
Music: Bill Cowdery and Jack Burns
Photography: John Ziegler
Setup: Mike Billing
Editor: Matthew T. Dearing

• Please address all correspondence to the club to:
  Ithaca Rotary Club P.O. Box 306
  Ithaca, N.Y. 14851
  Attn.: Scott Russell, Secretary
  
  
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