The Bulletin -- July 15, 2009 (#999)

Program: John Jablonski – New Clinton Community College President

DR. JOHN JABLONSKI (LEFT) AND ROTARIAN STEVE FREDERICK LISTEN TO ROTARIAN RONNA BOSKO AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE MEETING.

Prior to coming to Clinton Community College, John served at Fulton Montgomery College in Johnstown NY for 23 and half years. He is a proud community college graduate and believes in community colleges and how they transform lives. He is also a small town guy who lived in Philadelphia for about three years in his 20’s, and although he did learn the city life, he is please to live in the upstate New York area.

How he got to Clinton Community College: President Jablonski served for 23 years at Fulton Montgomery in his hometown area. In May of 2008, he was in his office when the phone rang. It was a consultant with a search firm calling him to see if he knew of anyone who might be qualified to fulfilling and interested in the President’s position at Clinton Community College. Active in the Chief Academics Association, the representative of the search firm asked him if he was looking for a job and more importantly he asked him if he should be looking.

This probing question remained on President Jablonski’s mind and he thought maybe he should be looking. He and his wife, Kelly, drove to Plattsburgh in June 2008 to get a feel for the community. They made various stops along the way, and, needless to say, they feel in love with Plattsburgh and the North Country. In particular, President Jablonski said he mostly loved the warm feeling he got from the people here.

On July 29th 2008, he applied for the position and around Christmas time, he was appointed president of Clinton Community College. President Jablonski said that even though the process is lengthy, the best part of it is that there was no doubt that coming to Plattsburgh and serving as president of the local community college would be a good fit for him. He thanked everyone in the room for that welcome feeling.

President Jablonski thanked Bob Parks and the media for the great opportunities showcasing Clinton Community College. He mentioned programs at the college including The China 150 Initiative last year and said the college was following up on recruiting efforts again this year. He said that there are many wonderful programs at the college including the nursing, wind energy and aeronautical programs. President Jablonski said he was looking forward to taking the college from “good to great.” He told the club members to look for amazing things to come. President Jablonski invited everyone to visit Clinton Community College sometime.

Q: Are there any new programs coming in the future to CCC…for example wind energy tech, manufacturing tech or electrical tech?
A: There are new programs already started.

Q: With the economy as it is today are there any courses offered as a retraining for employees in their 40s or 50s?
A: There are many non-credit short courses that are available for a needed skill. A Microsoft Office course is offered along with general computer courses, just to name one.

Season Member Talk David Napolitan David Napolitan grew up in West Springfield, Mass and loves sports. He currently lives in Peru with his wife, Debbie. He has two sons, Chris and Nicholas, both of whom are active in sports. Chris is in his first year of college, and Nicholas will be going to North Hampton Prep school next year. David has been with Champlain Centres now for 5 years and has a demanding job with Pyramids. He works with leasing space at other Pyramid Malls in addition to Champlain Centres.

This Week:

• President Bonnie announced the Membership committee has a goal of 100% attendance and on the table was a paper showing us How to do a Makeup.
• President Bonnie updated us on the Fishing Tournament Committee and said that Bob Smith had a great idea: Weigh station captains who would be responsible finding people to fill the spots at their particular weigh station throughout the weekend. If you would like to be a captain at a specific weigh station, please see Bonnie.
• The Board Meeting for Monday, July 20, will be held at the Cougars’ Den on the Clinton Community College main campus, and President Bonnie reminded us that all committee chairs must attend.
• Next week’s meeting will be held in the Main Dining Room of the Elks’ Lodge. The lodge is polyurethaning the walls in our normal meeting area.
• Howard Lowe from the Program Committee spoke on commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock Festival. He would love to get everyone involved to share their stories and asked all to get out our old shoe boxes or photo albums and find a photo of ourselves from 1969. Put your name on the back of the photos and hand them over to the Program Committee. He is also looking for volunteers to help with photo scanning and doing a soundtrack.
• President Bonnie also mentioned the District Group Study Exchange Committee is looking for applicants to form the GSE team going to India this coming February 1-28. The candidates must not have any direct connection to Rotary, be 25-40 years old working a minimum of 2 years in their profession and an interest in finding out what their comparable professionals in India do.  If any of our members know someone who is interested, they can contact GSE co-chairs David McKellar or Susan Fisher at: davidmckellar@sympatico.ca or sue.fisher@sympatico.ca.

Visiting Rotarians:

• Katie Mulligan (Sunrise Club)
  

Guests:

• Marty Mannix spun the wheel for $3 for a photo in the press at a weigh station.
• Stan Ransom spun and costs the entire club $1 (all pay) for his photo in the press at the Quadracentennial and Founders’ Day in Willsboro.
• Steve Fredericks and Bob Parks had a photo in the press, but did not get fined since it was a Rotary award, and Bill McBride also had a photo in the press, but remained without a fine for mentioning Rotary in the article.
  

Bonnie’s Bucks:

• Bob Smith announced that he was attended his daughter’s graduation this past weekend, Her thesis was dedicated to her 91-year-old grandmother who was in attendance as well.
• Bill McBride mentioned that the auto industry is struggling right now but he wanted to donate $25 to thank Bob Parks for the ads that he ran, and $25 Paul Sands for the promotions that he ran. Bill is appreciates their help.
• Jack Prim said that Chuck Papke is doing well recovering at home after 5 days in the hospital with a liver abscess.
  

50/50 :

• The pot was worth $1,178 with 42 cards left and one joker remaining. Paul Grasso drew the joker and won $50.

Trivia: Rotary Fun Facts

What was Paul Harris’ profession?
Lawyer — Cathy Forget answered correctly and won a free Rotary window decal.

Upcoming Programs: Go to Membership Duties List