At Your Service(formerly RadioRotary)

Rotarian Doug Martin Sturomski discusses the Worldwide Peace Bells Foundation and the work it does to promote peace. Mr. Sturomski believes strongly in Rotary’s message of achieving peace through service. His Peace Bells across the Hudson this year, where symbolically people on two sides of the bridge will meet in the middle, is a fund raiser supporting Family Promise, a non-profit organization th...

Pleasant Valley Rotarian Dave Kruger, Chair of District 7210’s Vocational Training Team, a professional exchange program, discusses how this program promotes international goodwill and understanding. Mr. Kruger describes Rotary’s positive impact in the world with its various successful humanitarian programs throughout its 100+ year history, starting with Rotary’s influence in the formation of the...

Carolyn Klocker, Senior Water Resource Educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension in Dutchess County (CCEDC), discusses important updates about our water supply, describing and emphasizing watersheds and their importance. She provides easy methods that will conserve and protect our water supply and corrects misinformation about our knowledge of water. Ms. Klocker also describes the vital work of t...

Girl Scout Leader Kristen Reid and two teenage Ambassador Level Girl Scouts from Troop 10452 of the Millbrook Service Unit, Heart of Hudson Council, discuss its mission: to provide leadership training to girls, empowering them to connect with others in making the world a better place. Today’s girl scouting experience retains many traditional programs, such as badges, Silver Award, Gold Award, and...

West Point-Highland Falls Rotarian John Willis discusses his position as Director of Research Operations at the Institute for Innovation and Development at West Point’s U.S. Military Academy. A retired Lieutenant Colonel, Mr. Willis describes several of the 37 research centers and programs as well as his family’s history of three generations in the military. Pointing out that West Point is not onl...

In an on-site interview at the Apple a Day Diner where Red Hook Rotary meets weekly, Dutchess County Fair Board member Lou Ruge and Fair Operations Manager Andy Imperati describe exciting events at the world famous Dutchess County Fair (Aug. 21-26, 2012). Of special interest are the new exhibits devoted to local agriculture and to educational programs showing how food gets from local farms to our...

Highland Rotarian Don Verity discusses this year’s events at Hudson Valley’s annual celebrated RibFest on August 18-19, now in its 8th year. The RibFest is the region’s largest and most unique food event, attracting people from around the country. Visitors enjoy delicious culinary experiences, cooking demonstrations and competitions, popular music, and various entertainment for the entire family....

Sara-Elizabeth Clark’s interview was selected in June, 2012, by the New York State Broadcasters Association to receive the prestigious Broadcasting Award for Excellence in the category of Public Affairs in a Program/Series. In Sara-Elizabeth’s interview, which aired in October, 2011, she discusses her life with epilepsy and how at age 16 she has developed her philosophy: “I will not let my epileps...

Giorgio Balestrieri, a Rotary UN Representative in the International Service Division, epitomizes Rotary’s passion for peace through service. He discusses examples of Rotary’s effectiveness in worldwide efforts such as polio eradication and clean water. In one very emotional segment, he describes how Rotary’s efforts brought peace and understanding between Armenians and Turks in 2005.

Penny Hickman, Distribution Coordinator for the humanitarian organization Hunters Helping the Hungry, discusses the process by which this program brings thousands of pounds of game (venison and birds) to soup kitchens, churches, food pantries, and other food distribution sites. She describes how the local deer population would breed themselves out of existence without controlled hunting. Volunteer...

William BreMiller and John Roger, physical therapists with extensive medical and academic credentials, discuss the benefits of physical therapy, especially orthopedic therapy. Therapy is commonly used for treating movement disorders caused by aging, arthritis, injuries, and so forth. But there are also a wide variety of conditions that physical therapy addresses, including post-trauma rehabilitati...

Rotary International’s long-term Youth Exchange Program provides students ages 15-19 with the opportunity to live in a different country for a full school year. Enjoy this lively interview with current Inbound and next year’s outbound students participating under the direction of Rotary District 7210’s Inbound Co-Chairs Nan and David Greenwood and Outbound Chair Donna Bemiss. Inbound students desc...

Rotarian Stan Martin (Warwick Valley Rotary) describes a highly successful humanitarian initiative of his Rotary club working with the Warwick Reformed Church to provide weekend food to needy families. Called the Backpack Snack Attack, the program originally served the needs of one school district and 20 student families. Today, in these harsh economic times and supported by a Rotary district gran...

In this week’s program, Millbrook Rotarian Rona Boyer, Food Editor of The Millbrook Independent, offers gourmet cooking tips and, as an added bonus, easy-to-follow delicious, healthy gourmet recipes. Here is an example: to prepare a tasty and tender chicken dish marinate chicken parts in the refrigerator skin-side down in equal amounts of peanut oil (or other light oil) and lemon juice from 45 min...

Lynne Versaci, Community Director of the March of Dimes, Northern Metro Division, describes the original purpose of the organization in 1938, which was to eradicate polio in America, and its current mission today. Now The March of Dimes focuses on ways to improve the health of mothers and babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. Using her own personal history of g...

Louise Quartuccio, Director of Social Work at Elant, a nursing facility that provides housing for seniors, and Roger Risko, Rotary District 7210’s Elderact Chair, discuss Elderact, a Rotary-connected club for senior citizens similar to Rotaract for young adults and Interact for high-school students. The Elderact club is an example of how society benefits from humanitarian efforts by its senior cit...

Don Fleming, Vice President and Public Relations Manager of Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, famous for its air shows, discusses the history of the airport and the fabulous entertainment available to the public in the shows featuring antique aircraft. Mr. Fleming describes the necessary expertise of the pilots who fly the older planes and his own experience with airplanes. Besides the air shows (from June...

Joe Ryan, Outreach Coordinator for the Division of Aging Services, provides many interesting statistics and other facts about the many ways this agency assists seniors. Approximately 57,000 seniors, defined as anyone over 60 years old, live in Dutchess County, and residents between 40 and 60 years old total about 90,000. Other Hudson Valley counties provide similar services, which include help wit...

Executives from PARC (Putnam Achieve, Reach, Connect), Nancy Miringoff, Associate Executive Director, and Pepi Diaz-Salazar, Director of Day Habilitation, discuss PARC’s many services to children and adults with developmental disabilities and brain injuries. Based in Putnam County but covering a huge geographical area beyond, PARC provides a variety of services, including preschool for children wi...

Award winning producer and host of a new program called Vets Chat Show Trent Love, retired U.S. Army Captain, brings veterans and the community together to address the needs of returning veterans and their families. The intent is to help listeners become aware of the veterans’ problems and about the ways they can help, sometimes as simple as telling a vet: “Thank you for serving.” Mr. Love discuss...

Rotarian Eben Yager (Poughkeepsie-Arlington) discusses the Renegades baseball team, now in its 19th season. General Manager Yager describes the many reasons for the team’s enormous and growing popularity, which includes the enthusiastic energy of the players and the extensive forms of family entertainment available at each game. In addition, the raccoon mascots are loads of fun: Rookie (dad), Rene...

Bill Bassett shares his goals for his year as District Governor, which will start July 1, 2012, and describes the intense training that Rotary provides for district governors. He plans to focus on supporting local literacy projects. The district exists to support its more than 60 clubs; these know the needs of their communities and meet them through local humanitarian projects. District clubs also...

Ed Hengel, District co-Chair for the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), discusses the significant effects on the lives of young adults selected for this unique program. Students acquire self-confidence as they learn about the fundamentals and ethics of positive leadership during several days together at the RYLA workshop. Groups are assigned tasks. As they work together on these projects, they...

Rotarian Lenny Nathan, President and Founder of HealthSav, a training center for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), discusses the need for public awareness about how to save a life when faced with someone who suddenly goes into cardiac arrest. Mr. Nathan describes the difference between a heart attack, when blood flow through the heart is blocked, and cardiac arrest, when the heart stops beating...

Steven Pressman, Executive Director of Mid-Hudson Addiction Recovery Centers, Inc. (MARC), discusses residential treatment and recovery services for individuals and families in recovery from alcoholism and other drug addictions. Few addicts can stop drinking or using on their own, so nearly all need help both to stop and also to re-enter normal life. MARC’s services include a Crisis Center, halfwa...