Thursday 12:10 p.m. Radisson Hotel Vol. 85 No. 48 121 Members

June is Rotary Fellowship Month

IN THE WINGS

Jun 12, 2014 Spellerbration! Sriram Hathwar

Corning's Scripps Spelling Bee Co-Champion for 2014 Tells His Amazing Story!!

Jun 19, 2014

Ellen Neuser, Our Rotary Exchange Student

Ellen reviews her year as an exchange student in Corning, NY. Introduction by

Rotarian Dr. Gerry Wolfe

Jun 26, 2014 Rotary Changeover Dinner

Michele Donegan Hands Over The Helm To Andy Taylor

June 5th, 2014 About 100 Rotarians and Guests crowded the Seneca and Keuka rooms, entertained by Jim Hudson on the Piano. After a brief invocation by Father Lew Brown, we dined on soup and salad or chicken and rice, and lemon mousse. It being the first Thursday of the Month, President Michele called for a round of Happy Birthday to honor the June babes in the room.

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

Christy Kager asked the various hosts to introduce their guests. John Brown introduced his one and only Margo, and Rich Negri was accompanied by his wife, Cissy. Our exchange student Ellen welcomed her host sister Jen Roche. Dick Pope at the head table introduced Elaine Farwell at the rear of the room. "Y" Executive Director Gail Hostuttler was the guest of Paul Rossi, and Peter Winnett brought his colleague Sue

Stephens, John Ullman hosted a group including his wife Bobbie and Steve Albertalli, who proceeded to introduce his son Curt and Daughter Linda, with their spouses, and his grandson Brian. Gerry Wolfe, Kate Danforth and Nancy Latour escorted our five scholarship winners and family members, about which more later. Member Announcements Only one announcement this week because of program pressure: Don't miss next week's special

Spellerbration! Sriram Hathwar and his family will be our guests for the second year in a row, and Sriram will tell us what it takes to become a National Champion Speller Recent Club Activities

The Scholarship Committee consisting of Nancy Latour, Gerry Wolfe, Ted Goldwyn, Don Keck and Kate Danforth have been busy recruiting and interviewing community service oriented students who can qualify for one of the $1000 scholarships we award each year. Today, we honored five outstanding students and their parents. Kelly Bonomo graduated from Corning Community College a few weeks ago. She attended Corning East High School and volunteered as a teacher's aide in a special education Some of our guests today

music class working with Judy Harriman-Carlson. She would take attendance, get to know the students and their specific situations and disorders, and encourage them to express themselves through music. Kelly volunteered at various community events through Coming's Gaffer District working with Kristen Stewart. She worked on the "Clean Up the Neighborhood" campaign and cleaned and beautified areas behind Market Street businesses. She also helped out with various festivals

on the Fourth of July, the summer festival, the Parade of Lights, and even Sparkle. Kelly also volunteers at the Corning Children's Center where she worked with infants age five to fourteen months. Kelly is planning on attending Delaware Valley College to earn a Bachelor's and then a Master's degree in Counseling Psychology. She plans to work as a clinical counseling psychologist and hopes to consult on certain police cases at the precinct level. Francis LaLomia just graduated from Corning Community College as well,

where he was a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and served as the Auditing Treasurer of Student Association Executive Board. He was an RA in our new Perry Hall this in augural year. He was the recipient of the 2014 SUNY Chancellors Award for Student Excellence. Francis is an Eagle Scout and Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 41 in Horseheads. In Keene NH he was involved with Boy Scouts and Rotary Interact. For five years-three as a student and two as a chaperone-he traveled to El Salvador to build homes for the poor and visit orphanages. While in Keene he was a catechist teacher to third graders and served on the Keene Habitat for Humanity Board. The year after graduating from high school, Francis lived in Belgium with the Rotary Youth Exchange learning French and European culture with volunteering in a Belgian daycare center. Francis is currently managing the Glass Menagerie store, plans to attend SUNY Binghamton in the fall to study Finance, and will be returning to El Salvador next year. Andrew Hoover is graduating from CPP West High School. He is a dedicated supporter of Food Pantry and spent almost 5 years going door-to-door collecting canned or dry boxed food for the Corning Pantry. He has also volunteered at Kingsbury

Our 2014 Scholarship Winners

Cemetery Haunted House, building sets with the goal of bringing in money to support the Food Pantry. So far this project has donated over 9000 canned goods and $1800 in cash to the Corning Community Food Pantry. In addition, Andrew carried out an Eagle Scout project that benefited Spencer Crest Nature Center. Service above Self to Andrew means giving unselfishly of one's time and unique skill set to those around you who may be in need in any way. Andrew is planning on coming to Corning Community College and earn an Associates in High Performance Computing and transfer to a four-year school to get a degree in Computer Hardware Engineer Samuel Chavin is also graduating from CPP West High School. Has been a strong advocate for Children's Cancer Research and for 4 years has participated in St. Baldrick's Charity events. In the year that he organized the event, he helped raise over $23,000 for children's cancer research. In addition, he has volunteered in summer reading program at the Corning Library. Samuel is a member of the West High Interact Club. Service above Self to him means making small sacrifices to ensure the betterment of the community.

Samuel is going to attend Cornell University and go into medicine to become a doctor. Tristin Ponáder, our third West High School graduate, has participated in a wide range of community service activities. As an Eagle Scout, has been involved with services projects such as Scouting for Food, ringing the bell for the Salvation Army, and working with other Eagle scouts on their projects. He completed his own Eagle Scout project doing maintenance work on a local hiking trail. Tristin is a member of the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) robotic team. An element of the FTC program is community outreach. He has taken a lead role in his team's efforts in demonstrating and instructing the team's robot, which he has done in a variety of settings. He has also served as a volunteer at the semi-annual library book sale, unloading and sorting books and working as a cashier. Tristin plans to enroll at RIT in the fall, to study engineering and robotics.

Julia Knapp Albertalli

Stephen and Julia Albertalli

Today, our Club posthumously honored Julia Knapp Albertalli with a Paul Harris Fellow recognition. This special recognition is awarded to select members of The Rotary Club and members of the community who have served the community through volunteerism and philanthropy. Jim Hudson outlined the history of the Paul Harris Fellowship program, which was established in 1948, after the death of the founder of Rotary, Paul Harris. John and Bobbie Ullman sponsored the recognition of Julia Albertalli, a proposal that was unanimously endorsed by the Paul Harris nominating Committee. John Ullman continued: Julia Knapp Albertalli was born in Elmira. She was a direct descendant of Jacob Lowman -

who was one of the first settlers in Chemung County. Jacob received a Revolutionary War Related Land Grant in the 1790's for 10,000 acres of farm land. The deed to the land was signed by New York State Governor Clinton. The tenant house where Julie lived was built in 1819 is still in existence and is the residence of Julie's brother. After graduating from the University of Rochester, Julie moved to Vermont to teach elementary education. Julia went on to receive her Master's Degree from Elmira College and started teaching at the Hoffman Street School and then moved to the Booth School where she taught for more than 20 years. Julie met her husband, Steve, at a local International Dinner in February 1973. They were married at the farm in August, 1973. Julie's passions included children and animals. Approximately 1991, Julie, on behalf of the Elmira SPCA, brought "critters" to schools in the Elmira, Horseheads, Corning areas, teaching between 1000 -1500 students per year, in presentations that numbered typically between 50 -75 year. She continued these efforts until shortly before her passing in 2014. Other significant interests and activities included Church Choir (First Congregational United Church of Christ) since 1994, teaching Sunday School for about the most recent 10 years.

Julie was also the President and Treasurer of Delta, Kappa, Gamma, Honorary Teachers' Organization (Elmira Chapter). Also, for the most recent 10 years, Julie served as the Treasurer for the Riverside Cemetery in Lowman. Julie enjoyed sports, often being seen cheering for the Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, Elmira College , and Horse Racing. Julie also participated in Habitat, and serving meals at the Salvation Army. She has been generous with charities, as well, providing gifts to organizations focused on children, animals, underdeveloped countries, and to assist women.

Hobbies have included her serious vegetable garden, participating in various events with neighborhood children, traveling all over the world (biking, hiking, bird watching), antiques, opera, picnics, cooking, and providing some of the growth from her garden to others each year.

While her husband, Steve, also a Paul Harris Fellow, was a senior officer at Corning Glass Works and held key community positions, Julie was extremely active in a less visible way, conducting tremendous passion and support for our community. She touched the lives of countless individuals and families and made a real difference. For her full life of such community commitments, the Rotary Club of Corning is proud to present a Paul Harris Fellow to Julia Knapp Albertalli. Steve and Julia have two children Curt Albertalli (Virginia) and Linda (William Kenner), grandsons Brian (Rebecca) and James (Leandra Hable) and great grandchildren Owen, Cyris and Lulu. Steve Albertalli responded, thanking the Club and the Ullmans on behalf of himself and his family. Julie never sought recognition. She was a saver - everything from Aardvarks to Zebras, except Snakes. He referred to his long friendship with John and Bobbie Ullman, and in fact Steve and Julie were godparents to John and Bobbie's daughter, Lindsay. Steve revealed that Lindsay has just announced her engagement to be married, an event which brought an instant fine from the president's chair..

Our Paul Harris Presentation

Last Week's Program Our speaker, Robert Pringle, was a retired Foreign Service Officer and author with primary experience in Africa and Southeast Asia. He was US Ambassador to Mali from 1987 to 1990. His other Foreign Service assignments included Indonesia, the Philippines, Burkina Faso, South Africa and Papua New Guinea. He returned to Mali in 2004-2005 to study the success of its democracy for the US Institute of Peace and the US Agency for International Development. His wife, Barbara Cade Pringle, a secondary school teacher, accompanied him on all his foreign assignments. The Pringles live in Alexandria Va.

Our Speaker

Mr. Pringle gave us a guided slide show tour of Mali, home to the northernmost elephant herds in Africa, and home to friendly, generally happy people with a conservative culture and lifestyle. Mali is a poor, landlocked African country with a long history and vibrant culture. It was the seat of three West African empires, Ghana, Mali and Songhai, that for centuries controlled the main trade route across the Sahara from Africa to the Mediterranean coast and Europe.

The Mali Empire reached its height in the 14th century, and its cities, including Timbuktu and Jenne, became centers of commerce and Islamic learning. The slave trade, linked with rising, coastally based European power, ended the trans-Saharan route, and Mali's power waned along with it. Mali became a French colony in the late 19th century and achieved independence in 1960. Modern Mali is almost twice the size of Texas, with a population of about 16 million people. But rainfall, or lack thereof, divides the country into two fundamentally different zones, north and south of the Niger River. South of the river there is generally adequate rainfall for farming and cattle-raising. Bamako, for example, the capital city receives about the same rainfall in an average year as Washington, DC. But in the great empty spaces of the desert north, habitation is possible only during a brief

and unreliable rainy season, or within a short distance of widely scattered oases, or near the Niger River. The population is ethnically diverse, but overwhelmingly Muslim. The picture at left shows the great mosque of Djenne, the world’s largest Mud Brick Building. The palm bundles projecting from the structure not only reinforce the structure, but also provide a form of scaffold for the annual repair of rain damage to the exterior surface. Mali's first two regimes after independence were both dictatorships, the first left leaning and aligned with the Communist bloc, the second military and politically conservative. The latter was replaced in 1991 by a democracy under which civil liberties were fully respected. It resulted in five elections and three peaceful, democratic changes of power, a rarity in Africa.

The Great Mosque of Djenne

Mount Homboni, Mali

Periodic unrest on the part of a small minority living in the desert north has persisted since Mali's independence, and in 2012, in combination with an weak elected leader, it led to a rebellion which was captured by Islamic extremists, resulting in a military coup. At this writing Mali's democracy has been restored, thanks largely to French intervention, and new elections were held in July 2013. So far, so good. Mali is one of the World's 25 poorest countries. Despite the recent revival of a gold mining industry with ancient roots, it remains heavily dependent on subsistence agriculture and foreign aid. Gold, cotton and cattle are the primary exports. High population growth (three percent annually) continues to inhibit education and per capita economic growth. HIV/AIDS prevalence is relatively low. Mr. Pringle and his wife are big supporters of a charity in Mali that helps children with heart disease. The charity even sends some children to London for heart surgery. The Pringles' good friend in Mali is a Rotarian and is a leader of this charity. The Pringles hope Corning Rotary Club can be a financial supporter of this worthwhile endeavor. 50/50 will resume next week.

DMP

Photos by: Dick Perry, John Ullman, On-Line Sources