Events

Registrations for the 19th annual Potsdam Rotary Scholarship Golf Tournament are now being accepted online or via our mail-in form.

There are also many levels of sponsorships for area businesses and individuals available.

Contests are planned for longest drive (men and women), closest to the pin (men and women), closest to the center line, beat the pro, and putting, as well as mulligans, skins and a 50/50. The format is Captain & Crew.

Check-in will begin at 9 a.m. with a 10:00 shotgun start and lunch at the turn. The event will culminate in an award reception with hors d'oeuvres. The $85 per golfer cost includes greens fees, carts, lunch, and hors d'oeuvres.

The event will take place weather permitting, keeping golfer safety and course maintenance in mind as well.

Proceeds from the tournament support Potsdam Rotary's BOCES Vocational Scholarship Program, Potsdam High School Scholarship, Rotary Youth Leadership Award, and other projects.

Please print out and share our poster.

Please contact event chair Tanya LaShombe at 315-244-6652 or golf@potsdamrotary.org with any questions. Register online here or use the attached forms on the left.

Please register your team and submit your sponsorship by April 30.

Founder and President of Melanoma Education Foundation

The Rotary Club of Potsdam will honor Duane Pelkey of Madrid and Sunday Smith of Potsdam as Paul Harris Fellows, and Bobby Gordon of Potsdam with the Service Above Self Award at its annual dinner on Thursday, June 8, at the Lobster House in Norwood. Pelkey will also be installed as the 2023-2024 president at the event.

Pelkey and Smith will be honored as Paul Harris Fellows for their demonstrated commitment to the goals and purposes of Rotary and "in appreciation of their tangible assistance given for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world."

Gordon will be honored with the Service Above Self Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the Potsdam community.

All Rotarians; family, friends and colleagues of the honorees; and community members are invited to attend the dinner.

A social hour with a cash bar gets underway at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6 p.m. A selection of seven entrees will be available to order at the dinner: prime rib, beef brisket, chicken parmesan, haddock (broiled or fried), maritime platter (broiled shrimp scampi, fish filet, fried clams, and fried shrimp), vegetarian ravioli, or pasta primavera.

Tickets are available by advance purchase only for $40 per person. To pay online, go to potsdamrotary.org, click on "Donate," and select "Use this donation for Annual Dinner."

Or checks can be mailed to “Potsdam Rotary” at PO Box 912, Potsdam, NY 13676. (If you mail a check, please email your RSVP to info@potsdamrotary.org for a guest count.)

All reservations must be received by Monday, June 5. Please email info@potsdamrotary.org or call 315-265-5584 with questions.

The Rotary Club of Potsdam will hold its annual Rubber Ducky Pluck during the Potsdam Summer Festival on Saturday, July 15, at 2:30 p.m. at Ives Park in Potsdam.

The majority of 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 here by clicking above on "Donate." 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 $150 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 $50 in Potsdam Chamber Dollars from Pinto, Mucenski, Hooper and Van House CPAs; sixth prize is $50 in Potsdam Chamber Dollars from North Country Savings Bank; seventh and eighth prizes are two Clarkson University men’s exhibition hockey game tickets; ninth prize is a $25 gift certificate from Harris Medical; and tenth prize is a $15 Dunkin' Gift Card from a friend of Rotary.

Prioritizing mental health is one of the presidential initiatives of 2023-24 Rotary International President R. Gordon R. McInally. He is encouraging Rotary clubs around the world to undertake activities that erase any stigma associated with discussions of emotional well-being, raise awareness of mental health needs, and improve access to mental health services.

The Rotary Club of Potsdam will again host an annual scholarship gala to benefit BOCES Seaway Tech programs, after a hiatus during the pandemic.

The Midnight Masquerade Gala fundraiser will be held on Saturday, September 16, at the Elks Lodge in Potsdam. RSVP BY SEPTEMBER 6.

A 5 p.m. cash bar will be followed by a buffet dinner, prize drawings and dancing to tunes by DJ Myke LaVarnway. The cost is $35 per-person advance purchase with a limited number of tickets. If available, tickets will be $40 at the door.

The evening also includes a 50/50 raffle, chance auction, prizes for best costumes and a trivia contest.

Tickets can be purchased above by clicking on click on "Donate" or from any Potsdam Rotarian. Tickets may also be purchased by mailing a check for $35 per person to "Potsdam Rotary, PO Box 912, Potsdam, NY 13676." If purchasing by mail, please include attendees' names or email them to gala@potsdamrotary.org.

Please email any questions to gala@potsdamrotary.org.

This event raises money for the end-of-the-year awards, one to a student in each program.

Potsdam Rotary thanks the local businesses that generously donated scholarships to outstanding graduating Seaway Tech students in 2023: Foster’s Collision, TJ Toyota, Waddington Hardware, Glow Skin Care and Spa, Northern Insuring Agency (two), SUNY Potsdam LETI, North Country Savings Bank, Midwife Sunday, Northern Mechanics, Putney Tree Service, Core Access Therapies, Community Bank, and Scoops.

The Rotary Club of Potsdam was founded 95 years ago on the basis of community service by business leaders in many professions. A monthly award for BOCES students, named the Rev. William and Crystal Cuthbert Vocational Excellence Award, after its founder, has received several district awards. The club presents the monthly award to Seaway Tech students in each of 14 programs.

Don is director of the Institute for Learner Centered Education, headquartered in Potsdam since 1995 . Our Institute has built an organization of close to 100 people focused on what we call our Autism Initiative. Our purpose is to provide information about autism to people who may interact with people with autism and have little or no information to guide them. 

Help Canton Rotary with their semi-annual highway clean-up.