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.
NO NOON MEETING (Fifth Wednesday Event at 5 p.m.)
Apr 30, 2025 5:00 PM
Cactus Grill & Cantina (sponsored by Harris Medical and All About Me!)
BOCES Student of the Month (meet at Seaway Tech)
May 14, 2025 12:00 PM
Rev. William R & Crystal E Cuthbert Vocational Excellence Award Sponsored by Brookfield Renewable US
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Rotary Club of Potsdam, New York, U.S.A., District 7040
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.
Rotary District 7040 Governor Teresa Whitmore visited the Rotary Club of Potsdam on July 31 and shared the District Action Plan for 2024-2025. Above, Whitmore (left) presents this year’s theme banner (“The Magic of Rotary”) to Potsdam Rotary President Sunday Smith, while Smith reciprocates with the Potsdam club banner.
Adele Finazzo of Brasher Falls won the top prize at the annual Rotary Club of Potsdam Rubber Ducky Pluck in Ives Park during the Potsdam Summer Festival on Saturday, July 13. The $500 award was donated by Dr. and Mrs. G. Michael Maresca. Proceeds from the Ducky Pluck send children with disabilities to summer camp at Dodge Pond and benefit other Rotary community projects.
Thanks to the generosity of many local business sponsors, 14 students at the BOCES Seaway Career & Technical Education Center have received $200 Potsdam Rotary business scholarship awards. Luc Eddy of Massena Central School, a student in the Electrical Technologies Program, also was selected as the Potsdam Rotary Student of the Year from among all of the Potsdam Rotary “Rev. William R. and Crystal E. Cuthbert Vocational Excellence Award Sponsored by Brookfield Renewable U.S.” recipients for the 2023-2024 academic year. Eddy received a $500 scholarship award from Potsdam Rotary, funded by proceeds from the Potsdam Rotary Scholarship Golf Tournament.
It's that time of year again! The Rotary Club of Potsdam will hold its annual Rubber Ducky Pluck during the Potsdam Summer Festival on Saturday, July 13, at 2:30 p.m. at Ives Park in Potsdam.
The proceeds send children with disabilities to summer camp at Dodge Pond as well as benefiting other Rotary community projects.
Tickets are available from any Potsdam Rotarian for $5 per ticket. You can buy tickets online by clicking above on "Donate" and under "Use this donation for" select "Duck Pluck Ticket Donation." You can also order tickets via email at info@potsdamrotary.org. Ticket holders need not be present to win.
The top prize is $500 cash, donated by Dr. and Mrs. G. Michael Maresca; second prize is $100 cash from Plumley Real Estate; third prize is $100 cash from AccountAbility; fourth prize is $100 in Potsdam Chamber Dollars from Community Bank; fifth prize is a $50 gift certificate from Big Spoon Kitchen; sixth prize is $50 in Potsdam Chamber Dollars from Pinto, Mucenski, Hooper and Van House CPAs; seventh prize is $50 in Potsdam Chamber Dollars from North Country Savings Bank; eighth and ninth prizes are two Clarkson University men’s exhibition hockey game tickets; 10th prize is a $25 gift certificate from Harris Medical; and 11th prize is a $25 gift card from Stewart's Shops.
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District Conference
Infinity Convention CentreApr. 25, 2025 – Apr. 26, 2025
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Potsdam Rotary Scholarship Golf Tournament 2025
Potsdam Town & Country ClubMay 17, 2025 9:00 a.m.
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Board Meeting
Potsdam Town Hall Community RoomMay 20, 2025 5:00 p.m.
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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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Service Above Self
Potsdam, NY 13676
United States of America