Kiwanis Club of Sand Lake, NY

President Joseph M. Behson                                                                              Secretary David E. Booker

President-Elect Gerald Tysiak                                                                      Treasurer Robert S. Pasquarelli

Vice President Sarah M. Tripp                                                         Immediate Past Pres Robert R. Loveridge
BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Christopher R. Blais, Roland B. Wagner, Eve M. Ward

Bryce E. Cutler, Deborah McSherry, James E. Rogers

John C. Brownrigg, James M. Colabelli, Margaret R. Weiss

CLUB BULLETIN COMMITTEE

Sandpiper Editor Margaret R. Weiss        Photographer -  Jim Rogers       Web page Editor  David E. Booker

MEETING OF FEBRUARY 11, 2008

PRESIDENT Joseph M. Behson presiding

GREETINGS & INVOCATION by Jerry Tysiak

GUESTS:  Of Mikki McSherry & Community Services Committee, 5 of 8 APCSD School Nurses

             (Shown with Mikki on far left)

           Of the Club, Speaker Donald Stake from Rensselaer County Community Hospice

                 (Shown with Program Chair VP Sarah)

    Of the absent Botsy, prospective members on 3^rd visit, Ray Turner & Archie Robinson

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Ø       DOORS OF HOPE:  Unloading food truck tomorrow, Behson, Booker, Parslow, Pasquarelli.  Next date is Friday Feb 22^nd:  Chris Blais and AP Key Clubbers

Ø       Town of Sand Lake Bicentennial (2012) Committee requests SLK representatives at its first meeting at the Town Library on Tuesday Feb 19^th from 7 to 8 PM:  Mikki & Pres Joe.

Ø       Membership Committee meeting tonight after regular meeting with Archie & Ray.

Ø       DIVISION COUNCIL Thurs March 6^th 6 PM at Casey’s Restaurant hosted by Rensselaer:  Behson, Booker, Colabelli, Rogers so far.

Ø       SUMMERFEST committee meeting next week following the regular meeting.

Ø       Eve presented the Club with 2 more bags of Kiwanis Kritters from Kohl’s, taken by Joe Trupia for the GOOFS to sew on Kiwanis logos.

Ø       Anyone needing to charge supplies at Hannaford’s MUST see Sec Dave or Treasurer Bob for the charge card and pin number.

FRIENDS OF KIWANIS

          President Joe and Community Services Chair Mikki introduced the five Averill Park school nurses present, and thanked them for the years of assistance they have provided by discreetly selecting the families needing help at holiday times.  For this service, they were each presented with a framed certificate:  Cathy Tworek, RNP, Department Chair; Rose Glikes, RN & Johanna Flanigan RN, AP High School; Cathy Wager, RN, WSL Elementary School; and Joanne Fivel, RN, Poestenkill Elementary School.  Mrs. Tworek accepted the certificates for the other 3 nurses.  Many thanks, ladies—our project would falter without you!

PROGRAM

          Sarah Tripp introduced Donald Stake from the Rensselaer County Community Hospice, headquartered on Valley View Drive in Defreestville.  Mr. Stake is a retired Presbyterian pastor, who was an old friend of Dick Johnsen’s in Schenectady, and he alluded to some youthful antics, but chose not to elaborate.  Hospice is a misunderstood service by the general public.  Most people don’t want to know about it—we are a youth-oriented society, and the inevitability of death is to be avoided.  The real purpose of Hospice is to assist in making the end of life as comfortable as possible for the patient AND the family.  Laughter is valuable, and a sense of humor is a real asset.  Mr. Stake sought to correct some of the misconceptions people harbor.  Hospice is NOT expensive.  Medicare, Medicaid, and most insurance programs cover its services.  No one is turned away due to financial problems—something can usually be worked out to everyone’s satisfaction.  Hospice is NOT a place.   Although such as St. Peter’s Inn exists at the hospital, it is more of a transition from one type of treatment to another, and patients usually stay only a short time.  Most care is given in the patients’ homes, where they are in familiar surroundings with their pets, family, grandchildren. 

If the patient is in a nursing home, Hospice goes there, too, to augment the home’s services.  There is a team of multi-talented helpers that relieve the heavy burden of the family caregiver:  doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains, counselors, therapists, aides, and volunteers help with whatever problems there are.  Sometimes just stress relief helps the patient get better, even if for a short while.  Evaluations are every six months, and sometimes patients are discharged because they are better.  They can be readmitted whenever necessary.  Cancer is NOT the only disease needing hospice care.  Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, ALS—any serious and possibly terminal condition is reason enough to enlist the assistance of hospice care.  ALL ages from infancy to old age are eligible.  Hospice aids the family too, by relieving the burden of care, and answering many questions.  The primary focus is on symptom management for quality of life enhancement, and is NOT engaged in any form of euthanasia.  They assist with final arrangements, getting affairs in order, and help families celebrate special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries.  Grief counseling is available to anyone, whether related to a hospice patient or not.  Support groups, even for pet loss, memorial services, educational programs, and community crisis counseling, are all available to the public, and no charge is made for any of them.  Volunteers are always needed, and there is a 25-hour training course, updated annually.  Just call 285-8100 for details.  Jerry Tysiak presented Mr. Stake with our Certificate of Appreciation for a most informative program.

HAPPY DOLLARS

$       Eve, for the nice picture and article in the Advertiser about her grandson Drew Edmans, this week’s Most Dedicated Athlete!

$       Dick Johnsen:  A rambling comment concerning Carol, their Honda, and the engine light going on, resulting in a checkup which hopefully saved him much money!  Also thanks for the enlightening program on Hospice.  Don recognized me before I realized who he was!

$       Chris:  Also for Drew, who really IS dedicated!  And for the nurses, who perform a great service to our students.  Sometimes they’re TOO popular!

$       Ken James:  Son Tim’s new Bookbinder Museum in San Francisco is on the internet—I’ll bring the address next week.  Great program—I intend to become a hospice volunteer!

$       Laurie Leckonby:  To Dick:  my husband’s specialty is catalytic converters!  Also for Hospice, which was a great help in my mother-in-law’s last days!

$       Jim Rogers, for Hospice--our family benefited from their services too!

$       Scott Paul:  Met my Kindergarten teacher who had just retired and she looked great!  Had a massage for my birthday and to my surprise, I liked it!  Went out to dinner afterward, and…..(no further comment)!  Took a trip to Montpelier, VT to get a dog, and by following my wife’s directions, we got lost, and it took many more hours than it was supposed to!

$       Bill Whipple:  Something about the Bicentennial Committee, and a nurse, supposed to be a GARY-atric nurse!  {There are times when I think I’m really losing it!!!  ED.}

DOOR PRIZE, provided by Sarah, was won by one of our guests, Johanna Flanigan!

50/50 for $21 was won by Jerry Tysiak!

MEGA 50/50 worth $398.60 defeated Chris Blais tonight—he picked the 3 of Clubs from the remaining 25 cards!

NEXT WEEK    PROGRAM:  Woodie Hacker presents Kathy Buckley who will talk about “Military Moms in Action” 

FEB 18          GREETER/INVOCATOR/CERTIFICATE:  Botsy Rosenberger    

FEB 25          PROGRAM:  Scott Paul   

                   GREETER/INVOCATOR/CERTIFICATE:  Pablo Martinez

MARCH 3       PROGRAM:  Eve Ward, Social Committee Chair

                   BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

                   GREETER/INVOCATOR/CERTIFICATE:  Jim Colabelli

MARCH 10      PROGRAM:  Clayton Besch

                   GREETER/INVOCATOR/CERTIFICATE:  Ron Wagner   

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK:

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”                  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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