The Rotary Club of Potsdam will honor Rotarians Mary Sue Foster and Shawn Seymour as Paul Harris Fellows, and Potsdam Public Library Family Literacy Specialist Maria Morrison with the Service Above Self Award at its annual dinner on Wednesday, June 11, at the Lobster House in Norwood. Christina DeLorenzo will also be installed as the 2025-2026 Potsdam Rotary president at the event.
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Rotary Club of Potsdam, New York, U.S.A., District 7040
Congratulations to all the 21st Annual Potsdam Rotary Scholarship Golf Tournament winners! The tournament took place on Saturday, May 17, at the Potsdam Town & Country Club in Potsdam.
Men’s Flight
First place ($400): Brookfield Renewable U.S. (Jamie Barkley, Jeff James, Randy Reagan and Steve Hayes)
Second place ($200): Kiss My Putt (Michael Mikhael, Justin Gross, Joe Willard and Rob Burns)
Second place ($200): Kiss My Putt (Michael Mikhael, Justin Gross, Joe Willard and Rob Burns)
Mixed/Women’s Flight
First place ($400): Sig Cha$erz (Troy Galligan, Chris Austin, Shawn Hartigan and Jolene Garrow)
Second place ($200): Grip it and Sip It (Shilo LeDuc, Andrea Martin, Shawn Martin and Jami LeDuc)
Closest to The Pin (Women): Rachelle McHenry
Closest to The Pin (Men): Justin Gross
Closest to The Pin (Men): Justin Gross
Longest Drive (Women): Ashley Sweeney
Longest Drive (Men): Shawn Seymour
Closest to the Line: Teresa Planty
Putting Contest: First place: Ron Simmons; Second: Randy Reagan; Third: Jolene Garrow; and Fourth: Cody Hazelton.
Longest Drive (Men): Shawn Seymour
Closest to the Line: Teresa Planty
Putting Contest: First place: Ron Simmons; Second: Randy Reagan; Third: Jolene Garrow; and Fourth: Cody Hazelton.
The Rotary Club of Potsdam thanks all golfers, sponsors, volunteers and the Potsdam Town & Country Club and Fairways Restaurant for a great day.
The Rotary Club of Potsdam today presented 33 gift cards to instructors at the Seaway Career & Technical Education Center in commemoration of National Teacher Appreciation Week. Above, Potsdam Rotarians present gift cards to the teachers Rotary recognized for their continued pursuit in trade skills education and training of local youths across several school districts.
Registrations are still available for the 21st Annual Potsdam Rotary Scholarship Golf Tournament. The event will take place on Saturday, May 17, at the Potsdam Town & Country Club with a 10 a.m. shotgun start.
Team registrations are online at bit.ly/rotary-golf-2025 and will close soon when the team limit is reached.
Contests are planned for longest drive (men and women), closest to the pin (men and women), closest to the center line, and beat the pro, as well as mulligans and a 50/50. The format is captain & crew. The event includes lunch at the turn and an awards reception with heavy hors d'oeuvres.
Proceeds from the tournament support Potsdam Rotary's BOCES Vocational Scholarship Program, Potsdam High School Scholarship, Rotary Youth Leadership Award, and other projects.
Sponsorships are available at bit.ly/rotary-golf-sponsor-2025.
For more information, email golf@potsdamrotary.org.
Ian Weems of Canton Central School District, a student in the Digital Media Design program at the Seaway Career & Technical Education Center, is the March recipient of the Potsdam Rotary Club’s “Rev. William R. and Crystal E. Cuthbert Vocational Excellence Award Sponsored by Brookfield Renewable U.S.” Weems is the son of Dylan and Corina Weems.
Madison (Mia) Henry of Brasher Falls Central School District, a student in the Health Careers program at BOCES Seaway Career & Technical Education Center, is the February recipient of the Potsdam Rotary Club’s “Rev. William R. and Crystal E. Cuthbert Vocational Excellence Award Sponsored by Brookfield Renewable U.S.” At a Rotary luncheon honoring Henry, she met with Potsdam Rotarians and was commended for her academic excellence by Seaway Tech instructor Joanne Carkner. Left to right: Potsdam Rotary Vocational Service Chair Duane Pelkey, Carkner, Henry, and President Sunday Smith.
Early discount registrations are now being accepted for the first golf tournament of the season, the 21st Annual Potsdam Rotary Scholarship Golf Tournament! The event will take place on Saturday, May 17, at the Potsdam Town & Country Club with a 10 a.m. shotgun start.
Team registrations are now being accepted online at bit.ly/rotary-golf-2025. Early team registrations will receive a discounted rate of $380 per foursome, versus $400 after May 1.
Contests are planned for longest drive (men and women), closest to the pin (men and women), closest to the center line, and beat the pro, as well as mulligans and a 50/50. The format is captain & crew. The event includes lunch at the turn and an awards reception with hors d'oeuvres.
Proceeds from the tournament support Potsdam Rotary's BOCES Vocational Scholarship Program, Potsdam High School Scholarship, Rotary Youth Leadership Award, and other projects.
Sponsorships are available at bit.ly/rotary-golf-sponsor-2025.
For more information, email golf@potsdamrotary.org.
The Rotary Club of Potsdam is seeking 15- to 17-year-old high school students from the Potsdam area who are interested in being part of the Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA), May 23-25, 2025, at RKY Camp on Eagle Lake, one hour north of Kingston, Ontario.
Potsdam Rotary is sponsoring two to three students who will incur no costs of their own to attend the camp, other than their personal transportation.
RYLA is an intensive leadership experience organized by Rotary clubs and districts around the world. It is entirely volunteer run with many organizers and counselors who are past RYLA delegates themselves.
Student participants will learn valuable leadership and communication skills, conflict resolution, business ethics, and how to plan and manage a project, while learning about Rotary youth programs -- and meet other young people and have fun as well.
Students attend RYLA with the financial support of a local Rotary club that "awards" youths a chance to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Students are selected by the club based on the demonstration of leadership potential and a desire to be of service to their local and global communities. After RYLA, participants are required to present to their sponsor club based on their experience.
Students who wish to apply for RYLA should email Potsdam Rotary at ryla@potsdamrotary.org with their name, contact information, resume and a few paragraphs on why they should be selected to attend. If they have a resume, they may attach that as well. Students can also contact Duane Pelkey at 315-323-4987 with any questions.
All students attending must have a valid passport. The deadline to apply to Potsdam Rotary is April 3.
The Rotary Club of Potsdam is forming an Interact Club made up of St. Lawrence County high school students from grades nine through 12.
Interact clubs bring together young people to develop leadership skills while discovering the power of “Service Above Self.”
Members of an Interact club connect with leaders in the community and around the world to take action to make a difference in their schools and community; discover new cultures and promote international understanding; become leaders in their schools and community; and have fun and make new friends from around the world.
Interact clubs organize at least two projects every year: one that helps their schools or community and one that promotes international understanding. Potsdam Rotary members will mentor and guide Interactors as they carry out projects and develop leadership skills.
The new club will meet monthly via Zoom. Its first project will be collecting enough plastic bags to have a bench manufactured from the recycled plastic.
Interact members can also get involved in activities like World Interact Week, the Interact Video Awards, Rotary Youth Day at the United Nations, and Global Youth Service Day.
Interested students can sign up at https://bit.ly/potsdam-interact. They can also email interact@potsdamrotary.org with any questions.
Eva Donahue of Norwood-Norfolk Central School District, a student in the Computer & Information Sciences program at BOCES Seaway Career & Technical Education Center, is the January recipient of the Potsdam Rotary Club’s “Rev. William R. and Crystal E. Cuthbert Vocational Excellence Award Sponsored by Brookfield Renewable U.S.” At a Rotary luncheon honoring Donahue, she met with Potsdam Rotarians and was commended for her academic excellence by Seaway Tech instructor David Wells. Left to right: Potsdam Rotary Vocational Service Chair Duane Pelkey, Donahue, and President Sunday Smith.
The Rotary Club of Potsdam has named its scholarship gala in memory of late Rotarian Rebecca J. “Beck” Tessier of Massena, who died in November after a valiant, two-year battle with ALS. The scholarship gala, which benefits BOCES Seaway Career & Technical Education Center programs, will now be known as the “Beck Tessier Memorial Scholarship Gala.” Tessier was a member of Potsdam Rotary from 2018 until her death and had a special fondness for the scholarship gala. She was instrumental in the planning and execution of the first gala, and was honored as a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary in 2020 for her demonstrated commitment to the goals and purposes of Rotary. This year’s gala, with the theme of “Around the World,” will be held on Saturday, March 22, at the Elks Lodge in Potsdam.
Audrieanna Sherman of Norwood-Norfolk Central School District, a student in the Education & Human Services program at BOCES Seaway Career & Technical Education Center, is the December recipient of the Potsdam Rotary Club’s “Rev. William R. and Crystal E. Cuthbert Vocational Excellence Award Sponsored by Brookfield Renewable U.S.” At a Rotary luncheon honoring Sherman, she met with Potsdam Rotarians and was commended for her academic excellence by Seaway Tech School instructor Kayla Merchant. Left to right: Potsdam Rotary Vocational Service Chair Duane Pelkey, Sherman, Merchant, and President Sunday Smith.
The Rotary Club of Potsdam has donated $1,000 to the Potsdam Holiday Fund as well as $600 worth of children’s books. The Potsdam Holiday Fund Inc. is an all-volunteer non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that provides new gifts, warm clothing and food to families and senior citizens in need in Potsdam, Madrid, Hopkinton, Nicholville, Brasher Falls, Chase Mills, Fort Jackson, West Stockholm and Winthrop. Donations to the Potsdam Holiday Fund are still needed and welcome at potsdamholidayfund.org or Potsdam Holiday Fund, PO Box 827, Potsdam, NY 13676. Left to right: Potsdam Rotary Club President-Elect Christina DeLorenzo presents a check to Potsdam Holiday Fund board member Laurean Pelkey and President Traci Giffin.
Elizabeth Birdou of Massena Central School District, a student in the Cosmetology program at BOCES Seaway Tech, is the November recipient of the Potsdam Rotary Club’s “Rev. William R. and Crystal E. Cuthbert Vocational Excellence Award Sponsored by Brookfield Renewable U.S.” At a Rotary luncheon honoring Birdou, she met with Potsdam Rotarians and was commended for her academic excellence by Seaway Tech School instructor Niki Rutledge. Left to right: Potsdam Rotary Vocational Service Chair Duane Pelkey, Birdou, and Rutledge.
The Rotary Club of Potsdam has donated $250 to the Colton Pierrepont Parishville Neighborhood Center (CPPNC) to assist children and families in need during the holiday season. Once again, the Neighborhood Center is providing children with toys, books, hats, mittens, scarves and pajamas, etc., while families are receiving the fixings for a turkey dinner.
Kendall LaMora of Colton-Pierrepont Central School District, a student in the Building Trades program at BOCES Seaway Tech, is the October recipient of the Potsdam Rotary Club’s “Rev. William R. and Crystal E. Cuthbert Vocational Excellence Award Sponsored by Brookfield Renewable U.S.” At a Rotary luncheon honoring LaMora, she met with Potsdam Rotarians and was commended for her academic excellence by Seaway Tech School instructor Larry Ashley. Left to right: Potsdam Rotary Vocational Service Chair Duane Pelkey, LaMora, Ashley and President Sunday Smith.
The Rotary Club of Potsdam celebrated the Potsdam Chamber of Commerce Fright Night by distributing more than 300 books to children and hosting them in a spooky Haunted Hallway, where the children also enjoyed apple cider and bobbing for donuts. Rotary thanks event sponsors, St. Lawrence Federal Credit Union and Midwife Sunday's Birthing and Wellness Center, for their support. In recognition of World Polio Day, the club also collected donations for Rotary’s PolioPlus Fund. Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 35 years. Its goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever. As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Rotary has reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent since its first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979. All donations are matched 2:1 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, tripling the impact.
The Rotary Club of Potsdam recently hosted a four-club Dodge Pond Committee fundraising dinner. During the event, the Rotary Clubs of Canton, Massena, Ogdensburg and Potsdam presented a check for $8,500 to The Arc Jefferson - St. Lawrence CEO Lynn Pietroski in support of its summer 2024 summer camp for children with disabilities. Pietroski and Rotary District 7040 Governor Teresa Whitmore spoke at the dinner, which raised more than $800.
Nathan Keleher of Potsdam Central School, a student in the Automotive Technology program at BOCES Seaway Tech, is the September recipient of the Potsdam Rotary Club’s “Rev. William R. and Crystal E. Cuthbert Vocational Excellence Award Sponsored by Brookfield Renewable U.S.” At a Rotary luncheon honoring Keleher, he met with Potsdam Rotarians and was commended for his academic excellence by Seaway Tech School instructor Michael Ells. The Potsdam Rotary Club meets at noon at the Potsdam Town Hall community room every Wednesday. Guests are welcome. Find out more at potsdamrotary.org. Left to right: Potsdam Rotary Vocational Service Chair Duane Pelkey, Keleher, Ells and President Sunday Smith.
The Rotary Club of Potsdam recently made a $400 donation to the Potsdam Fire Department in recognition of the department’s support of the club’s annual Rubber Ducky Pluck. The proceeds from the event send children with disabilities to summer camp at Dodge Pond and benefit other Rotary community projects. Above, Potsdam Fire Department Chief Mark Bradish (center) accepts a check from Rotary President Sunday Smith (left) and Treasurer Shawn Seymour.
Emily S. Bristol of Norwood was recently inducted as a member of the Rotary Club of Potsdam. She is a commercial lending officer at AmeriCU Credit Union.
Laura J. Perry of Parishville was recently inducted as a member of the Rotary Club of Potsdam. She is the director of academic technology and support at Clarkson University.
The Rotary Club of Potsdam has earned the 2023-2024 Rotary Citation, the most significant award a Rotary club can achieve. This past year, our club demonstrated a commitment to achieve our goals, which ultimately helps strengthen Rotary and shape our future. Only 13 clubs in our district achieved this honor! Congratulations to all of our members and our 2023-24 president, Duane Pelkey! (Pictured: 2024-25 President Sunday Smith and Duane Pelkey.)
The Rotary Club of Potsdam is a Gold Sponsor of the Potsdam Back to School Fair, presented by the Potsdam Snack Pack Program. Above, Potsdam Rotary President Sunday Smith (right) presents a $250 Rotary donation to Lynzie Schulte of the Potsdam Snack Pack Program. The event will be held at the Potsdam High School Gymnasium on Saturday, August 24.
Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Potsdam and the Rotary Club of Massena volunteered on August 3 at The Arc Jefferson - St. Lawrence Dodge Pond to stain two cabins. The clubs are part of a four-club committee that supports Dodge Pond and sends children with disabilities to summer camp, each summer.
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St. Lawrence County Dairy Festival Parade
St. Lawrence County Social Services building parking lotJun. 07, 2025
12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. -
Potsdam Rotary Pres. Changeover & Awards Dinner 2025
Lobster HouseJun. 11, 2025
5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. -
Board Meeting
Potsdam Town Hall Community RoomJun. 17, 2025 5:00 p.m.
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Rotary International Convention
Calgary, AlbertaJun. 21, 2025 – Jun. 25, 2025
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Rubber Ducky Pluck 2025
Ives ParkJul. 12, 2025
9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. -
Board Meeting
Potsdam Town Hall Community RoomJul. 15, 2025 5:00 p.m.
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Board Meeting
Potsdam Town Hall Community RoomAug. 19, 2025 5:00 p.m.
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Board Meeting
Potsdam Town Hall Community RoomSep. 16, 2025 5:00 p.m.
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Board Meeting
Potsdam Town Hall Community RoomOct. 21, 2025 5:00 p.m.
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Board Meeting
Potsdam Town Hall Community RoomNov. 18, 2025 5:00 p.m.
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Potsdam, NY 13676
United States of America