2020 Men Who Cook
2020 Men Who Cook is on April 25th.  Tickets are now available. You can pay through our website, or via check. Past attendees will also receive an invitation in the mail.  Reservations are a must as this event sells out quickly!
 
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2020 College Scholarship Applications Now Available
Patterson Rotary's 2020 College Scholarship applications are now available. We are providing $6,000 of scholarship funds to local high school students who will be attending college in the fall.  Applications are due by April 15th, 2020.  The scholarships are broken down into two components:
 
A total of $4,500 in scholarships available under Community Service Scholarships
A total of $1,500 in scholarships available under the Geoffrey L. Reinwald Inventiveness Scholarship.
 
 
 
 
2019 Blues and BBQ
The 2019 Blues and BBQ Festival is right around the corner!  September 14th and 15th. Join us for some outstanding bands, great food and to celebrate our community!  Find out how to sponsor or attend the festival by clicking here!
 
The Feast of Camp Sundown

 
It is the time of year where we get our summer feast hats on for the young men, women, boys and girls of Camp Sundown.  Each year, Patterson Rotary donates food and resources to create a summer feast for the young campers.  Camp Sundown, or as we call it - XP, is a special place for kids that have a life-threatening sensitivity to the sun. Because they only go out after sundown, they have a diminished ability for social and recreational activities. This camp is a great opportunity for kids and families with this rare disease to come together and celebrate, eat and just have fun.  
 
If you would like to contribute to Camp Sundown and the Xeroderma Pigmentosum Society, CLICK HERE!
Apply for a Peace Fellowship

While the world hopes for peace, Rotary International - a humanitarian service organization dedicated to world peace and understanding – works to make it a reality by training the next generation of peace leaders. The Rotary Clubs of District 7210 (Hudson Valley) are recruiting for the Rotary Peace Fellowship, a program that gives up to 100 fellows the opportunity to obtain professional development certificates or master’s degrees in Peace and Conflict Resolution at no cost to the recipient.

“Today, there are still far too few mediators who are experienced practitioners in conflict resolution. There is an urgent need to produce another generation of people who can play a mediating role in the future,” said Professor Paul Rogers, University of Bradford. “This program is the most significant development in graduate work in conflict resolution in decades.”

Launched in 2002, Rotary’s Peace Fellowship program provides academic and practical training to prepare scholars for leadership roles in solving conflicts around the world. Up to 100 fellows are selected every year in a globally competitive process based on personal, academic, and professional achievements. Fellows embark on one to two years of study to earn a master’s-level degree or a professional development certificate in peace and conflict studies at one of six Rotary Peace Centers at leading universities in Sweden, Australia, England, Japan, the United States and Thailand.

To learn more about the program, applicants are encouraged to visit the Rotary Peace Centers website at https://www.rotary.org/en/our-programs/peace-fellowships or email for information at rotarypeacecenters@rotary.org

Interested applicants can also contact immediately their local Rotary Club representative or

District Chairperson: William J. Bassett

Email: wbassett@hvc.rr.com

Number: 845-361-4732

845- 800- 3532 cell

Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide who provide humanitarian service and help to build goodwill and peace in the world. There are approximately 1.2 million Rotarians who are members of more than 31,000 Rotary clubs in over 165 countries. For more information, visit www.rotary.org.

What is Rotary?
 
In this story, I hope to answer some of the deep, dark and mysterious things about Rotary that perhaps you were afraid to ask or maybe just didn't know who to ask!  
 
Click this link to get some in-depth information about Rotary. But I will also give you some real Rotarian insights! 
 

Who is Rotary?

Every year, 1.1 million people around the world work hard to improve their communities through Rotary.  Rotary is people. Plain and simple. People who want to get together and do something for their community. Rotarians are people of actions who want to become part of a larger group to make a bigger splash in a big pond. 
 

What is Rotary?

Rotary is broken down into clubs.  Each club is a local organization that is made up of local people who want to do good in their community! 
 
In the age of making money and the soft sell, let me confirm to you what it is NOT!  It is not a pyramid scheme or way to make money. We are not going to ask you to sign up a friend, so they can sign up a friend. We don't sell makeup, groceries or anything else.   
 
We perform service.  It is an organization that wants to give back to the community.  To join, you must be committed to helping your neighbors, friends, and community and make that fabric stronger, tighter and more connected through service tasks, fundraisers and community outreach.
 
Our particular club meets on Tuesdays for breakfast at 7:30 am.  If you asked any of our 30 something members what Rotary is, you might get 30 answers.  We would, however, all agree on one thing - it is a place where we start off our day laughing, hooting and hollering about something  - sometimes meaningless and trivial and other times serious.  I've been in this Rotary for a few years now and I was hooked from day one. Mostly because I left the meeting laughing and giggling.   People have often told me - "that's insane, 7:30?  I can't do that".  But in the few years I have been a member, almost everyone who has expressed an interest leaves laughing and comes back to join. Of course, each club determines when and where they meet. Some for dinner, others for lunch.  Find a club that meets in the time frame you need!
 

Where are these "so called" clubs?

Ok, let's not get the wrong idea.  There are no secret passwords.  No funny hats. You do get some very fine pins though.   There are tens of thousands of clubs worldwide. In the US, there over 7500 clubs!  You can always find one at Rotary.org, but as you drive around - look for signs with the Rotary wheel on it!  They will usually tell you where and when the club meets.  Our little club meets at the Patterson Rec Center with a great breakfast!
 

Do I have to sell cookies or raffles?  Do I have to tell you the name of all my friends? What are you going to ask me to do?

The short answer is - you do have to be engaged in what your club wants to achieve.  You give what you can.  For me, sometimes I make a joke or I laugh. I don't claim to have any special talents so I volunteer to keep our events clean by taking out the garbage.  It might not be glamorous for sure -  but you would notice if you came to an event and it was strewn with junk!  Ok..I digress.
 
What do you have to do? We don't want any of your friends and families names.   The fact is, some clubs may sell cookies or raffles. Others have events like dinners, music events with food or something to raise money so that we can give it back to the local non-profits that need it.  You will be asked to help at those events - wherever your talent lies!  Of course, if you want to take on a club function you can! If you join our club, you may even become president by just looking presidential - so watch out! 
 
Whatever club you join - your role is governed by what YOU want to do - but you will have to do something.  In reality, when you see the reward of giving away money or personal assistance to those that need it most - you will want to do more!  And because it is local, you really feel connected to what is happening.
 

So What Else?

If I haven't convinced you to go to your local club or you have any unanswered questions - contact us!  We are always looking for new members.  Send an email to pattersonrotaryny@gmail.com or just show up Tuesday morning if you are in Patterson, NY or at ANY rotary club.  You will be welcomed and ready to start on something big!
 
For more information about Rotary, see the link below:
 
Thanks for reading! Bob D..
 
Our Fall Giveaway Makes our Community Stronger
 
Why join Rotary? What good can I do? What does Patterson Rotary do with the money they raise?
There are a lot of reasons why you shouldn’t show up at our 7:30AM meetings on Tuesdays. You could sleep in after all! Perhaps you are just to busy.
 
But when you give that hour a week you become part of a infectious group that strives to be People of Action. If that sounds like something of interest - take a look at what we did for our community during our Fall Giveaway.
 
Our small club is all about making our community stronger. To do that, we vet qualified groups that help our community and neighbors. These are all staffed by special people that want to help and feed the homeless in our community, provide resources for battered women, offer camp scholarships for those that can’t afford it, help our environment, stock a food pantry and so much more. Our giveaway may indeed touch thousands of lives in our community. Because of the funds we raise through our events, The Patterson Rotary was able to provide funds to the following groups:
 
Carmel FBLA
George Fisher Middle School "Camp Herrlich" Scholarships
Hospice Care of Putnam/Visiting Nurses
Love Holds Life
Matthew's Hearts of Hope
Matthew Patterson Elementary School "Camp Herrlich" *5 students*
Patterson Community Center Church Food Pantry
Putnam County Sheriff's Cadets
Putnam Dental Associates - Putnam Dental Missions
Putnam Ridge Christmas Gifts
Xeroderma Pigmentosum - Camp Sundown
 
We are proud to provide support to these many great causes and the people they help. Just as important to us is to keep our community involved. Come join us for breakfast on Tuesday’s! If you can’t - contact us at pattersonrotaryny@gmail.com to see what you can do to help. It takes a lot of effort to organize, staff and make our great events happen to raise money for these very worthy causes.
 
We are an all volunteer organization that wants to do good things and are always looking for new members to help!
Congratulations to all recipients of our Fall Giveaway. We thank you for all that you do for our community.
 
Welcome to our Club!

The Rotary Club of Patterson

Patterson

Service Above Self

Our club meets the 2nd through last Tuesday of each month at 7:15 AM.
Patterson Rec Center
65 Front St
(Side entrance on left )
Patterson, NY  12563
United States of America
Email:
pattersonrotaryny@gmail.com
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President
Jason Maxwell
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PorkChop Toscano
Secretary
Paula Hernandez
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Catherine Purdy
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John Wagner
Director 2019-2021
Carl Ern
Director 2019-2021
Mary Cay Nilsen
Director 2018-2020
Allan Twitty
Finance
Dan Horkan
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PDG Penny Byron
Sergeant-at-Arms
Kenneth Kolski
Immediate Past President
Carrie Hernandez
Vocational Service
PDG Penny Byron
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David Frost
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Carl Ern
Club Service
Madelyn White
Membership
Paula Hernandez
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Jason Maxwell
Program Director
PDG Penny Byron
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Mary Cay Nilsen
Vetting Committee
John Wagner
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Bob Dumont
Charter President 1987
Richard Henke
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Susan Matra
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Lorraine Major
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John Wagner
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Bob Dumont