Next Meeting
When............ February
17, 2009, at noon
Where.......... The
Franklin Hotel
Program...... RFA Social Action Corp. (Rotary
Interact) — Nancy Neiley
Coming Events
Feb 13.......... RRC Board Meeting, noon at The
Savoy
Mar 03......... Delta Lake State Parks — Laura
Tully
Mar 07......... RFA Academy of Sciences
Science Fair
Mar 10......... Mohawk Valley Heritage
Corridor — Tracy Montoni
Mar 13-14... PETS (President Elect Training
Seminar)
Mar 17......... Technology Challenges in
Cyber Space — Dr. Kamal Jabbour (AFRL)
Mar 24......... Mr. Gillison — DFAS
Director
Apr 04.......... Rotary Leadership
Institute at BOCES
Apr 07.......... Syracuse Symphony — Daniel
Hege, Conductor
Apr 18.......... District Assembly
Dec 04......... Rome Rotary’s 90th
Anniversary Celebration at The Beeches (PDG Mike Occhipinti)
Attendance: Total Membership: 101. Absent
or [Excused or Exempt]: Adamo, Bauer, Bird,
[Boguhn], Burns, Cantor, Carey, Carnevale, Casadei, Conway, Coon, Corbett,
Costianes, DeSimone, [DiPerna], [Donovan], Evans, Faldzinski, Fariello,
Foreman, Geller, Glasso, Graves, Hairston, Henry, [Kryczkowski], Lockwood,
Mattson, McMahon, Mercurio, Miller, Mitchell, Moore, Neiley C,
Neiley N, Nolan, O'Hair, Pabon, Panara, [Pfendler], Puma, Ramineni, Ramos,
Reames, Recco, Roubian, Rouillier, Schonewetter De, Schonewetter Do,
Simons J, Simons K, Skogland, Smith, Speicher, Taylor, Trela,
Tuthill K, Versace, Vescio, [Zaleski]
Guests and Visiting Rotarians: Guests:
Nick Matt (speaker). Rotarians: none.
After-Work Meeting 2/5/09: Rome Rotarians: Carey, Corbett,
Fusco, Mattacola, Ramos, Schonewetter De, Schonewetter Do, Townsend, Tuthill K,
and Tuthill W.
50/50: Joe Fusco won the 50/50
but drew the Eight of Clubs. You have to play to win!
Make-ups: Conway (Waterville
RC 1/29); Mattacola (RMHF 2/4); Conway (Waterville RC 2/5); Tuthill K, Tuthill
W (SSO 2/4); Packer, Tuthill K (R Reader 2/5); Weber NRHS 2/3); Burch (Urban
renewal Mtg 2/5); Latimer (Twigs 2/9); Butters (R Reader 2/9); Winberg (R
Reader 2/2); Occhipinti (Rome Character Initiative 2/4).
Happy Birthday in February to: Donna Burch (11);
Ron Cantor (20); Jackie Corbett (14); Dick Kahler (10); Dave Kobernuss (16);
Jon O’Hair (2); Herb Skogland (25); Karin Tuthill (25); and Phil Vescio (25).
Anniversaries of Rotary Membership
in February: Nathan Boguhn (2004); Jim
Donovan (2001); Joel Gray (1990); Dick Kahler (1980); Rosellen Mattson (2005);
Joe Riley (2008); Clark Speicher (2005); and Bill Wolf (2006).
Quote of the Week: "Gossip
is the worst form of judging. The tongue is the most dangerous, destructive,
and deadly weapon available to man." — N. Eldon Tanner.
Rotary News
Rotary Interact — (A
little background for our program next week) Interact, a Rotary-sponsored youth service club, was launched
by the RI Board of Directors in 1962. The first interact club was established
by the Rotary Club of Melbourne, Florida, USA. Interact clubs provide
opportunities for young people of secondary school age to work together in a
world fellowship of service and international understanding. The term
“interact” is derived from inter, for
international, and act, for action.
Every Interact club must be sponsored and supervised by a Rotary club and must
plan annual projects of service to its school, to its community, and in the world.
In 2006, there were more than 10,500
Interact clubs with 242,000 members in 119 countries. Interactors develop
skills in leadership and attain practical experience in conducting service
projects, thereby learning the satisfaction that comes from serving others. A
major goal of Interact is to provide opportunities for young people to create
greater understanding and goodwill with youth throughout the world.
(Rotary ABC’s, RI 2006, p. 31))
Announcements
·
The Rome Rotary Club winter party is a Beach Party this year, 28 Feb at 6 PM
at the Rome Elks Club. Cost is $5 plus pot-luck—the club will furnish the meat,
pasta, greens, roasted potatoes, soda, beer, and wine. You are asked to bring
appetizer, salad, dessert, plastic ware, or paper ware. Please indicate your
intention to attend and what you will bring on the sign-up sheet circulated at
each meeting until the event.
·
The Rome Academy of Sciences will hold their
annual Science Fair at RFA on 7 Mar. If you are interested in being a judge and
have not served previously in this capacity, or merely want a judging "refresher,"
The Rome Academy of Sciences will have another short orientation sessions at
RFA at 7:00 p.m. on 18 Feb. Paul Phister and/or Larry Pless will conduct the
meetings. Meet in the RFA lobby. You need not be a scientist. For more information
contact Harry Winberg at 339-2175, Keith Butters at 336-5437, or Dave Kobernuss
at 336-2808.
·
Rotary Leadership Institute will be offered this
spring on 4 Apr at BOCES. The content of this program is useful for life in
general and is not limited to those who aspire to leadership roles in Rotary.
Those who have attended report that it is well worth your effort. Club pays
tuition. See PP Dennis or President Ron.
·
Rome Rotary Club attendance has been down for
the past several months. We miss you when you are not with us! It is reasonable
to assume that we all eat lunch. Why not eat at the Franklin and take advantage
of some fine programs! (Check them out on the preceding page.) Rotary
fellowship and information exchange are important. They are primary reasons why
all Rotary clubs meet weekly. Rome Rotary is an excellent connection to the
things that are happening in our community and the people who are making them
happen.
·
President Ron received a letter from the Jervis
Public Library, thanking us for the three books we provided them from our
Polio-Plus Dinner. They have been marked as gifts from Rome Rotary and are on
the shelves now.
·
Response from the members to PP Greg’s plea for
more support for the annual Legends of the Diamond Dinner was insufficient, so
this event will no longer be a Rotary co-sponsored project, but only Lions and
Kiwanis. Any individuals who would like to personally be involved should
contact Greg for information, as his personal involvement will continue.
·
With our loss of the Legends of the Diamond Dinner
and the Calendar fund-raisers, Rome Rotary now has only one major fundraiser—Canalfest. Members should keep this is mind
and plan to provide full-hearted support, perhaps even more than we have in the
past if possible.
·
Board meeting this Friday at the Savoy, 11:45
AM. Any additional agenda items should be provided to Secretary Dennis prior to
the meeting.
Program
F.X Matt Brewing
Company — Nick Matt
Nick’s
brother F.X. was at a brewer’s convention some years ago, and at the end of the
morning session, he had occasion to join some of the larger brewery
representatives for lunch. He went with August Busch from Anheuser-Busch,
makers of Budweiser, of course; Leonard Goldstein from Miller Brewing Company,
and Peter Coors from Coors. When they got to lunch, the waitress recognized Mr.
Busch and asked him if he’d like something to drink. He asked for a Bud Lite.
She turned to Mr. Goldstein from Miller Brewing. He said, “I’ll have a Miller
Lite.” When she got to Peter Coors, he said, “Bring me a Coors Lite.”
Finally she turned to F.X. Of course she
didn’t recognize him, but asked, “Sir, would you like anything?”
He said, “Well, I guess I’ll just have a
glass of water.”
The other brewers turned around to him in
amazement, and F.X. explained, “Since you guys aren’t drinking beer, I didn’t
want to embarrass you!”
Nick’s grandfather left his native Germany at the
age of 18 with a dream—to use his experience at a brewery in Germany to build a
successful career in America, maybe even have a brewery someday. He settled in
Utica and eventually became involved in the West End Brewery, the smallest of
ten brewers in Utica. He believed that, if he worked very hard and made a great
product, he could be successful. He was making a German pilsner lager,
different from the English ales typically being made by others at that time.
By 1919 he had been right and was quite successful,
with brewery sales just under $2 million, a huge sum in those days. But 1920
brought Prohibition. F.X. chose to follow the law and replace his product with
malt syrup (complete with label instructions on how to turn it into beer after
purchase) and soft drinks under the new name of Utica Club. But the business
really collapsed, declining 59% the first year, and 27 % the next. Through
sound management and perseverance, the company survived the Prohibition years.
This trial in the early history of the company
perhaps explains what has happened to Utica Club since the fire last year. Nick
termed this fire “just a speed bump for us,” but drew parallels to Prohibition
for this era.
Two employees had been welding in the canning area.
Sparks fell upon a plastic conveyer. This type of plastic burns with invisible
flames. The fire was carried twenty feet down the conveyer and caught some
packaging material on fire. Unfortunately, this was near a reciprocator, an old
hand elevator, and the fire made its way up to the next floor, a full floor
storing packaging material, with a wooden roof.
Company response to the fire was “how much we have
to be thankful for.” No one was hurt, partly because of some heroic rescues.
The fire was limited, thanks to the Utica fire chief decision to ask early for
outside help. And it was announced to cheering employees the next morning that
the company would rebuild. Also fortunately, the company’s insurance agent had
over the years monitored the policies closely, so the company was appropriately
insured when the loss occurred.
The fire cost a month of production—the month of
June, a big month in the beer business; it cost the canning operation—they are
still shipping their beer to Rochester to have it packaged; and it cost the
stored packaging materials and that floor area.
The replacement canning operation will be a
significant improvement over what existed, such as being capable of various
sizes besides the standard 12-ounce can. A new packaging warehouse will be
built, not on the third floor over the canning operation. Earth-friendly
designs are engineered into the new facility, such as use of geothermal energy
to reduce energy consumption, and possibly an anaerobic digester to process
waste water and retrieve methane as a fuel. “Long-term, we will be a much
better company for having had that fire.”
Utica Club has
to make beer that consumers choose to
drink. Small brewers cannot go head-to-head with the major brewers with
advertising. Each and every day Anhauser-Busch makes as much beer as Utica Club
makes all year long. Utica Club has to survive by making beer that people like.
Independent businesses are really, in many ways,
the backbone of this country, and the reason for that is that you can make
decisions for the long-term, decisions that will have impact for a generation,
not decisions to optimize the current quarter or maximize the CEO’s salary. In
the current economic situation, in many corporations leadership is correctly
making decisions for the long-term viability of the company, even taking
personal salary cuts before cutting staff.
Since what is good for Utica is good for Rome and
vice versa, our region is very fortunate to have the kind of business that
Utica Club Brewery represents.
PP Glen Bahr, Guest Editor
Cindy Roubian, Editor
PP Dennis
Schonewetter, Technical Editor
