The Rotary Club of LeRoy gathered virtually on March 10, 2021, with 17 members present and two guests, Jan Beglinger and Ellen Plossl. Jan is from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Genesee County. Past President Scott McCumiskey began the meeting in the absence of President Mary Margaret. Past President Scott briefly explained to the club why President Mary Margaret wasn’t present.
Past President Scott lead the club in the Pledge of Allegiance and was followed by Bob Carlsen who offered a wonderful prayer for the club.
Past President Scott began with missed meetings. Missed meetings were sanctioned to Martha Bailey (1), Bob Carlsen (1), Tracy Ford (9), Maria Valencia (1), Mike Tucci (2), and Phil Plossl (5). Martha and Maria were fined due to not having any make-ups. Tracy was surprised it was not a higher number of missed meetings and explained she has been participating in a best practice weekly seminar for battling the pandemic and nursing homes. She was fined accordingly. Bob C. shared he was on last week but was having technical difficulties. Past President Scott waved his fine. Mike also shared he had technical difficulties last week and had one make-up for the Big Game TV raffle. These were accepted by the Past President. Ellen Plossl graciously accepted the fines for her husband, Phil.
Past President Scott wasted no time and moved on to fining. Tracy Ford and Tony Gugino were fined for their discussion and possible bike ride that afternoon. Tracy stated she couldn’t wait to get out and enjoy the weather. Maria V. was fined for having a window behind her during the zoom call which made it hard to see her. Phil Plossl was fined for his increase in weekly tennis play. Phil has been working hard to increase his time on the court. Jason Karcher offered to pay the fine for Phil. Jason has also been playing tennis with Phil. Past President Scott moved on to fining of Mike Tucci. Mike was fined for being a great assistant softball coach. Mike’s been attending the LeRoy Youth Softball 8U clinics with his two daughters.
Today’s presentation by Jan Beglinger with a focus on the Master Gardener program within Genesee County. Throughout New York State, Master Gardeners are trained by Cornell Cooperative Extension in the science and art of gardening. They then go on to provide home and community gardeners with unbiased, research-based gardening information through a “neighbors-teaching-neighbors” educational program. Master Gardeners donate their time and talents to the program. In 2019, 85 Master Gardeners donated 4,318 hours to the group. Their help-line fielded over 500 calls and questions on topics ranging from insect identification to disease diagnosis. For more information check out their website: http://genesee.cce.cornell.edu/gardening/master-gardeners.
Past President Scott asked for questions and then thanked Jan for presenting to the group. The meeting was adjourned at 12:45. If you are interested in learning more about the Rotary Club of LeRoy, follow them on Facebook, Instagram, or www.leroyrotary.org.