The Rotary Club of Potsdam will hold a Take-out-only Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser on Wednesday, April 28, from 4:30-6 p.m. at Helping Hands, 5868 State Hwy. 56 in Hannawa Falls. Each dinner will include spaghetti with meat sauce, a green salad, a dinner roll and dessert. Vegan sauce will also be available. Tickets are $12 each and must be purchased online before the event at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/takeout-spaghetti-dinner-rotary-club-of-potsdam-tickets-147874184667?aff=Webpage.
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Rotary Club of Potsdam, New York, U.S.A., District 7040
The Rotary Club of Potsdam invites you to its 17th annual Potsdam Rotary Scholarship Golf Tournament on Saturday, May 15, at the Potsdam Town & Country Club. Registration will begin at 10:30 a.m., with lunch at 11:00 and a shotgun start at 11:30. The event will culminate in a fun seafood & barbecue celebration and prizes. The cost includes greens fees, carts, lunch, and a seafood and barbecue dinner. Registrations for foursomes are now being accepted here at potsdamrotary.org (click on "Potsdam Rotary Scholarship Golf Tournament 2021" under Upcoming Events).
If you're looking for a service opportunity in the community, consider joining the Rotary Club of Potsdam.
Potsdam Rotary will host a virtual membership mixer "(Re)Discover Rotary" on Wednesday, March 3, at 5 p.m.
Please join us for a fun-filled informational virtual cocktail hour in the form of a brief Zoom meeting in which Potsdam Rotarians will address who they are, what they do and why it's beneficial to become involved. All community members interested in joining Rotary, as well as current and former club members are invited to attend.
You do not need a Zoom account to attend, but to get the meeting link, please contact President-elect Taylor Robertson at trobertson@stlawu.edu. For more information on the event, please contact Membership Chair Mary Sue Foster at foster.marysue@yahoo.com or 315-265-0623.
Thanks to the generosity of one major sponsor and many other local business sponsors, students at the BOCES Seaway Career & Technical Education Center have received scholarships, despite the cancellation of a major Potsdam Rotary fundraising event. The club's annual scholarship gala was cancelled this spring, due to COVID-19 guidance; however, the event's sponsors still followed through on their donations toward the scholarships. Northern Insuring Agency provided a gift of $1,500, matching scholarship donations by other businesses and organizations.
Brandon A. LaShomb of Parishville was recently installed as the 2020-2021 president of the Rotary Club of Potsdam during its first-ever online presidential changeover and awards ceremony.
Becky J. Tessier of Massena was recently recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Club of Potsdam during its first-ever online presidential changeover and awards dinner.
Sunday Smith of Potsdam recently became the newest member of the Rotary Club of Potsdam in its first-ever online induction ceremony. The event was conducted on Zoom and attended by other Potsdam Rotary members, including her new member sponsor, Mary Sue Foster. President Duane Pelkey conducted the ceremony during the club's weekly Wednesday noon meeting.
The Rotary Club of Potsdam has donated $1,000 to the Potsdam Neighborhood Center food bank for COVID-19 relief. The gift was made possible in part by a grant from the Rotary Foundation.
The Rotary Club of Potsdam invites the North Country community to its 16th annual Potsdam Rotary Scholarship Golf Tournament, which has been rescheduled from May to Friday, August 7, at the Potsdam Town & Country Club. Registration will begin at 10:30 a.m., with a shotgun start at 11:30, and a fun clambake celebration afterward. Registrations for foursomes are now being accepted at potsdamrotary.org (click on "Potsdam Rotary Scholarship Golf Tournament 2020" under Upcoming Events).
O'Dourghty Cunningham of Massena Central School, a student in the Metalworking program at BOCES Seaway Tech, is the Rotary Club of Potsdam BOCES Student of the Month for January. At a Rotary luncheon honoring Cunningham, he met with Potsdam Rotarians and was commended for his academic excellence by Seaway Tech School instructor Nanci Collins. Left to right: Potsdam Rotary President Duane Pelkey, Collins, Cunningham and Rotary Vocational Service Chair Paul McGrath.
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Stephen McCargar of Potsdam Central School, a student in the Natural Resource Management program at BOCES Seaway Tech, is the Rotary Club of Potsdam BOCES Student of the Month for December. At a Rotary luncheon honoring McCargar, he met with Potsdam Rotarians and was commended for his academic excellence by Seaway Tech School instructor John Morgan. Left to right: Potsdam Rotary President Duane Pelkey, Morgan, McCargar and Rotary Vocational Service Chair Paul McGrath.
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Makali Russell of Massena Central School, a student in the HVAC/R program at BOCES Seaway Tech, is the Rotary Club of Potsdam BOCES Student of the Month for November. At a Rotary luncheon honoring Russell, she met with Potsdam Rotarians and was commended for her academic excellence by Seaway Tech School instructor Mark Murphy. Left to right: Potsdam Rotary President Duane Pelkey, Murphy, Russell and Rotary Vocational Service Chair Paul McGrath.
The Rotary Club of Potsdam has donated $1,000 to the Potsdam Holiday Fund. The club will also provide about $1,000 in new books for the fund to distribute as holiday gifts to children. 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 can be sent to the Potsdam Holiday Fund, PO Box 827, Potsdam, NY 13676. Read more at http://www.potsdamholidayfund.org. Left to right: Rotary Club President Duane Pelkey and Potsdam Holiday Fund President Pam Yurgartis.
Rotary District 7040 District Governor Gerry Lambert (right) recently presented a 2018-19 Rotary Citation with Silver Distinction to Rotary Club of Potsdam President Duane Pelkey. The award was presented to the club "for helping Rotary be the inspiration in the lives of people all over the world."
Cora Capozzi of St. Lawrence Central School, a student in the Health Careers program at BOCES Seaway Tech, is the Rotary Club of Potsdam BOCES Student of the Month for October. At a Rotary luncheon honoring Capozzi, she met with Potsdam Rotarians and was commended for her academic excellence by Seaway Tech School instructor Richelle Cisco. Left to right: Potsdam Rotary President Duane Pelkey, Cisco, Capozzi and Rotary Vocational Service Chair Paul McGrath.
Brandon LaShomb was installed earlier this year as the 2019-2020 vice president of the Rotary Club of Potsdam. LaShomb graduated from Norwood-Norfolk Central School in 2008 and from SUNY Potsdam in 2012, where he received a bachelor of science degree in business administration with a minor in music business. After graduating from college, LaShomb worked locally at entry-level positions, and then moved to New York City. But it was not long before he decided Potsdam was his home, and he started with Community Bank N.A. in 2015. There, he advanced from Electronic Banking, through Trust Services, to Commercial Banking. LaShomb says he is a firm believer in community involvement and networking. He credits his success to his relationship with Rotary, the St. Lawrence Leadership Institute, and community support. He looks to augment the growing number of professionals in the area through chairing the St. Lawrence County Young Professional Network. LaShomb also serves as the treasurer of the Potsdam Community Dog Park and as a committee member of the St. Lawrence Leadership Institute. LaShomb is the son of Kimberly and John LaShomb Sr., and the grandson of Gordon and the late Eileen Perry, and Barbara and the late William LaShomb.
Duane Pelkey was installed earlier this year as the 2019-2020 president of the Rotary Club of Potsdam. Pelkey graduated from Massena Central in 1983 and SUNY Potsdam in 1989 with a degree in writing, minoring in psychology. He started his career with KeyBank in Watertown, got his first branch management assignment in the Binghamton area, and first joined Rotary in 1991. Pelkey managed a number of progressively larger branches for financial institutions throughout the Southern Tier. He was working for Fleet Bank in 2001, when Community Bank made one of its many acquisitions and he joined them as a commercial lender. Back in the North Country since 2006, Pelkey has sat on numerous boards and volunteered for many worthwhile organizations. He currently works as a commercial banker out of Potsdam, and he and his wife, Laurean, co-own a year-round ice cream and frozen yogurt shop in Potsdam.
Lindsey Besaw of Brasher Falls Central School, a student in the Criminal Justice program at BOCES Seaway Tech, is the Rotary Club of Potsdam BOCES Student of the Month for September. At a Rotary luncheon honoring Besaw, she met with Potsdam Rotarians and was commended for her academic excellence by Seaway Tech School instructor Juddy Plumb. Left to right: Potsdam Rotary President Duane Pelkey, Besaw, Plumb and Rotary Vocational Service Chair Paul McGrath.
Amber Clark was inducted as the newest member of the Rotary Club of Potsdam at its October 30 meeting. She has worked at 3 Bears Gluten-Free Bakery & Café since its inception and at Cubby T. Clown & Company, where she is known as "Rooster." She is also a personal care assistant / direct support professional / home health aide for Community Health Center of the North Country and the Resource Center for Independent Living. Clark grew up in the Brasher Falls area and was involved with Girl Scouts, theater (both on- and back-stage), Students for Environmental Awareness, Supporting Peers Options to Resist Tobacco, and anything pertaining to music. She was introduced to the Potsdam Rotary Club by her close friend Beck Tessier. "After realizing how similar its' goals are to my previous engagements, and how welcoming the other members are, deciding to join was one of the easiest decisions I've made all year," says Clark. Photo caption: Amber Clark was inducted as the newest member of the Rotary Club of Potsdam at its October 30 meeting. Left to right: President Duane Pelkey, Clark and her new member sponsor, Beck Tessier.
The Rotary Club of Potsdam recently made a $200 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 Timothy L. Jerome (center) accepts a check from Rotary Vice President Brandon LaShomb, while Jerome's grandson, Ryan Jerome, assists.
The Rotary Club of Potsdam drew 12 winners at its annual Rubber Ducky Pluck on Saturday, July 13, at the Potsdam Summer Festival in Ives Park. The winners are:
Romeyn Prescott of Potsdam was recently recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Club of Potsdam.
Chamil Perera of Potsdam was recently recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Club of Potsdam.
Kate Mikel of Norwood was recently honored with the Service Above Self award by the Rotary Club of Potsdam.
Emily Brouwer of Potsdam was recently honored with the Service Above Self award by the Rotary Club of Potsdam.
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Potsdam Rotary Scholarship Golf Tournament 2021
Potsdam Town & Country ClubMay 15, 2021
10:30 AM – 7:00 PM -
Dodge Pond Work Day 2021
The Lodge at Dodge PondMay 22, 2021
9:30 AM – 2:00 PM -
Presidential Changeover & Awards Dinner - 2021
Potsdam Town & Country ClubJun 08, 2021
5:30 PM – 8:00 PM -
Rubber Ducky Pluck 2021 (Tentative)
Downtown PotsdamJul 10, 2021
9:00 AM – 2:30 PM
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Service Above Self
Potsdam, NY 13676
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