Welcome to Lake Placid New York and the beautiful Adirondack State Park
"SERVICE ABOVE SELF"
If you are not a member of our club but would like to visit us as a guest, please email rotarylakeplacid@gmail.com and we will contact you.  Our meetings are held at the Courtyard by Marriott, 5920 Cascade Rd., Lake Placid NY and in line with current public health guidelines.  Meetings are each Thursday at 7:20am unless a special event/meeting is planned.
A Lake Placid Trolley rider waiting on her ride at the Cascade Acres shelter
Bus Shelter in place at the Four Seasons Apartment location
Side view of shelter at the Four Seasons location.
From an idea to concept to design to construction, two of the three initial bus shelters from our club's major community project are in place.  Signage and glass panels have to be installed, but the thoughts, plans and hard work of our bus shelter committee have become a reality.  We thank our many donors who funded this project, especially the Uihlein Foundation, for their generosity.  We know these shelters are a welcome and useful convenience, to be used by town/village residents and visitors alike.   Sometimes good things take a little time to happen but we did it!  
Home Page Stories
A tasty Ethiopian feast was held as a fundraiser for our International Service Committee on March 23.  James Beard semi-finalist chef Alganesh Michael prepared spiced beef, curried chicken, curried lentils, shiro, collard greens and injera.   This delicious food was enjoyed by all with one guest proclaiming it "the real deal."  Chef Alganesh zoomed in to talk about her background and discuss the dishes she had prepared.  Paired with several wines (including an Ethiopian variety), it was an enjoyable evening with great conversation.  Truly a different kind of fundraiser and a successful one at that.  Visit chef Alganesh at http://atasteofabyssinia.com  Dinner photo credits Andy Flynn / The Lake Placid News.
Thanks to all our players who helped raise over $700 to benefit area literacy projects.  It was a fun, past-paced event.  Here are the final scores (one team did not finish).
We heard from Brian Woods, Exec. Director of the Adirondack Rail Trail Association http://adirondackrailtrail.org who took us through this major all season recreational plan in the North Country.  Built over the former NYCRR trackage from Lake Placid to Tupper Lake, the trail will provide an accessible location for all sorts of activities in a healthy lifestyle.  It's sure to bring new visitors and economic opportunities to the area as well as relieving some pressure on existing trails that are being impacted by overuse.  Brian presented a demo of a local business guide and trail map highlighting things to do and see on the trail as well as businesses in the tri-lake area via this project to further connect our communities.
A glimpse into the scope and activities of the US Secret Service was provided this morning by our guest, retired Secret Service Special Agent Andy Orringer.  Andy took us through the origin of the USSS (to track down and arrest counterfeiters) through its expansion into the protective details of the President and Vice President, candidates for these offices and foreign dignitaries.  The USSS employs about 6,000 people: 3,200 special agents, 1,300 uniformed officers and >2000 technical and support personnel.  We learned about the different types of crimes the USSS investigates and the USSS organizational structure.  Andy was posted to several field offices in the USA and also served as a liaison officer in Canada and other countries.  Andy also answered members' questions as he provided a very informative presentation.  If you'd like to find out more about the Secret Service, sign up for their newsletter https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSSS/subscriber/new?qsp=CODE_RED
 
The mission of the Barkeater Trails Alliance (BETA) is to build, maintain and advocate for a system of community and backcountry trails for ski touring, mountain biking and other human-powered activities in the eastern High Peaks region of the Adirondack Park.  At this week's meeting we heard from Josh Wilson, Executive Director.   Your favorite story poster wasn't at the meeting but using something called the Internet, the best thing to do is refer you to BETA's website for the full story and picture gallery.  Trails through our park don't get there by themselves you know.  So please visit https://www.betatrails.org/, check out their activities and see the ways you can participate.
Final scores from this month's event.  Over $500 was raised for the Literacy Committee.  A fun evening with some very challenging questions.
Coming off a fun virtual trivia contest the night before (raising money for literacy efforts in our area), our club proudly presented a check for $1,500 to Catherine Bemis, Principal of St. Agnes School.  Catherine will be using the funds to order new reading materials to introduce and further enhance student experiences with the joy of reading.  Shown presenting the award are Mary Liz Alexander and Randy Quayle of our Literacy Committee.  We also welcomed back a former club member, Carolyn Walton.  Carolyn briefed us on a program she is developing with area schools to introduce the positive aspects of wilderness experiences via hands-on camping experiences.  Please visit her website (parts of which are under construction) to learn more about what interesting experiences await participants http://www.thewoodsprogram.com  and as featured in the Lake Placid News https://bit.ly/3XprXT8
From Rotary International:  

Rotary International President-elect R. Gordon R. McInally called for members to capture the world's attention and lead the way toward possibilities far beyond our current expectations.

McInally, a member of the Rotary Club of South Queensferry, West Lothian, Scotland, revealed the 2023-24 presidential theme, Create Hope in the World, during the Rotary International Assembly in Orlando, Florida, USA, on 9 January. He urged members to promote peace in troubled nations, help those affected by conflict, and maintain the momentum of initiatives begun by past leaders.  For the complete story ; https://bit.ly/3ZqlngM 

Our first meeting of 2023 was a busy one.  We welcome Greg McNally as our newest club member and we look forward to his contributions to our many projects.  We also heard from Laura Coffin on receiving an award from the Educational Opportunity Fund and how Laura is restructuring the LP Elementary School reading program to further the joy of reading while improving literacy levels.  Jeff Erenstone presented on Operation Namaste which provides technology and support to deliver prosthetic services to underserved areas of the world.  Learn more at https://www.operationnamaste.org/
The Rotary Club of Lake Placid NY brings gifts to residents of Elderwood along with pizza for the staff. A group of Rotarians and members of the Northern Lights Choir joined together to sing some Christmas carols.
 
 
The Ecumenical Food Pantry is located in a space which is difficult for the loading / unloading of food and supplies.  The Thrift Shop is in a cramped area which doesn't provide a good experience when shopping there.  There's always a need for some folks to be able to obtain used furniture at no or minimal cost.  Mayor Devlin has an ideal to utilize space on the grounds of the Shipman Youth Center to have a building which would house the Pantry, the Thrift Store and have a furniture "depot."  Mayor Devlin has already scoped out the design for a building which would have easy access, good parking and have a welcoming atmosphere.  It's all conceptual now and the cost has to be dealt with (in light of increased expenses everywhere).  Our club was very interested in what Mayor Devlin had to say as he mentioned what possible sources of funding could be obtained.  This is a great, forward-thinking idea and our club looks forward to helping bring this to a reality for the betterment of our community.  
Speaking to our club today, Ed Dempsey called our attention to ADK Bridges to Empowerment, an alliance which establishes a structured program of volunteer mentors to provide guidance to families who need a little direction.
Mentoring activities include financial literacy counseling, helping people navigate community services, and teaching life skills such as time management, organizing, and parenting.  This is a developing program in our area and Ed is looking to hear from persons who might like to be among those who offer a "helping hand" to others.  Ed can be reached at eddempsey99@hotmail.com
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Ways You Can Help Our Community
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Celebrating Four Lake Placid Rotarians
 
A short video celebrating four of our club members who are 80 years old in 2022
 
Shelter Box
Emergencies don't take holidays
Floods, earthquakes, severe storms happen 24/7/365.  A gift to ShelterBox, a Rotary sponsored program. can provide several different types of urgently needed emergency equipment.    Just use the link on the left side of this page to download the ShelterBox gift form showing many ideas . Your one gift will bring much help and aid to those in need.  Learn about ShelterBox by visiting https://www.shelterbox.org 
 
 
 
A Statement from Rotary International
As a global network that strives to build a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change, Rotary values diversity and celebrates the contributions of people of all backgrounds, regardless of their age, ethnicity, race, color, abilities, religion, socioeconomic status.  https://www.rotary.org/en/about-rotary/diversity-equity-and-inclusion
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