The

Handclasp

The Newsletter of Schenectady Business & Professional Women

An organization supporting

women helping women

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Volume LXXXV Number 1 Founded in 1927 January / February 2018

Calendar

Jan 2 Board Meeting—5:30 pm First National Bank of Scotia Boardroom 1476 Balltown Rd. Niskayuna NY 12309

All members welcome

Jan 23 Business Meeting—5:30 pm The Glen Sanders Mansion Dinner/$33 member or $36 non-member Eyes Wide Open Debbie Fowler

Feb 6 Board Meeting—5:30 pm First National Bank of Scotia Boardroom 1476 Balltown Rd. Niskayuna NY 12309 All members welcome

Feb 27 Business Meeting—5:30 pm The Glen Sanders Mansion Dinner/$33 member or $36 non-member Books for the Troops, Ellen Keegan

Mar 6 Board Meeting—5:30 pm First National Bank of Scotia Boardroom 1476 Balltown Rd. Niskayuna NY 12309 All members welcome

Mar 27 Business Meeting—5:30 pm The Glen Sanders Mansion Dinner/$33 member or $36 non-member Nutrition, Ellie Wilson

Apr 3 Board Meeting—5:30 pm First National Bank of Scotia Boardroom 1476 Balltown Rd. Niskayuna NY 12309 All members welcome Apr 24 Business Meeting—5:30 pm The Glen Sanders Mansion Dinner/$33 member or $36 non-member City Mission Speaker, TBA May 1 Board Meeting—5:30 pm First National Bank of Scotia Boardroom 1476 Balltown Rd. Niskayuna NY 12309 All members welcome

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2018’

Happy New Year BPW Members! Thus far the New Year has seen temperatures in the single dig-its. I have had my heat turned up high with extra blankets on the bed as well as wearing layers of clothing. As I write this side bar message, we do have a January thaw approaching with warmer temperatures for a couple of days.

The BPW February meeting is scheduled for Tues-day, February 27, at the Glen Sanders Mansion. Robin Quintin, 2nd Vice President & Hospitality Chair, has sent an invite for the meeting. RSVP is due Wednesday, February 16. The program will be presented by Ellen Keegan, Executive Director, “Books for Troops.” Do you have a friend or col-league from work who would be interested in at-tending? Pass along the information about the meeting to them.

I always enjoy my issue of “THE HANDCLASP.” Catherine (Cay) H. Raycroft was instrumental in putting this publication together and served as Ed-itor for many years. “THE HANDCLASP” was sent to members as hard copy and then distributed to members on-line. Cyndie Powell followed in Cay’s footsteps as Editor. Now, Donna Christensen has taken on the challenge of Editor. It will be a bi-monthly publication.

Thanks to all the members who take on the leader-ship roles of committee chairs/members to assist in accomplishing our mission.

—Submitted by Linda Rolfe

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Birthdays January February March 8 Lori Snyder Reffue 4 Claire Pugliese 3 Susan Daly 10 Tanya Hull 17 Judy Schultz 11 Anneke Bull 11 Bonnie Keller 23 Donna Gosier 28 Sandra Orminski

Hi Ladies, February 2018 As we start a new year again, I tend to reflect on the events of the past. What were the highlights, the low lights. What would I change going into 2018. My self-reflection showed me many moments of joy, a few of sadness, but overall I wouldn’t have changed anything. In this same vein of thought, I reflect on our year at Schenectady BPW. Joyous moments from our monthly programs, Fashion Show, Frugal and our Holiday Party. Once again we came together to raise scholarship monies, spread cheer to the women of the Heritage Home and laugh during our auction at the Frugal. All of this being the core of women helping wom-en, our mission at Schenectady BPW. While we enjoyed fun we also experienced loss. Cay Raycroft, a pillar of Schenectady BPW will be deeply missed. Her guidance and support of our club exemplify the true meaning of what it is to be a member of Schenectady BPW. I would like to ask each of our members to reflect on their involvement in our club. Are you supporting Schenectady BPW the Cay way? As this is my last year, actually only five months left, I am charging each member of our club to exam-ine your role and contribution. We come together each month to hear programs to enrich our lives and rely on each other for friendship and support. We also need to keep our focus on our mission of Women Helping Women. Our fashion show needs every member to participate in order for it to be a success. Which in turn helps young woman with their goal of college. Status of Women is our outreach program providing programs to women who have traveled before us, paving the way for successes. Youth Leadership is our opportunity to mentor young women showing them all that lies before them. My charge to each and every member of Schenectady BPW is to get involved; stay involved. Attend our programs (remember to respond yea or nay. We pay if you don’t reply.), take an active role on a committee, and think about being an officer. The best way to be active is to be active. “Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.” - Elizabeth Andrew. Do you have the heart to make Schenectady BPW the best club in your life? Lori S Reffue Schenectady BPW President

Schenectady Business & Professional Women's Club, Inc.

Invites you to join us at our next business meeting

Where: The Glen Sanders Mansion

When: Tuesday, February 27, 2018

5:30pm – Meet & Greet 6:00pm – Dinner

Guest Speaker Ellen Keegan Books for the Troops

Cost: $33.00 Members $36.00 Non-Members

Menu Assorted Wild Baby Greens , Sliced poached Pears,

Crumbled Blue Cheese & White Balsamic Vinaigrette Chicken Francaise, Chopped Plum Tomatoes, Lemon

White Wine Sauce & Chef’s Choice of Sides Mixed Berry Trifle, Pound Cake, Vanilla Custard,

Fresh Berries

Please R.S.V.P. By: February 16th 2018 to Robin Quintin at 518-331-9064

Please remember that if you are a member, your reservation is automatically made for you. If you are unable to attend, you must contact Robin Quintin at the phone numbers or Email above, so that the club will not be charged for your dinner.

Thank you for your consideration.

Kim Bellizzi, our member and owner of Invisible Fence of the Tri-Cities and Hudson Valley, has agreed to be our “pro bono” guest speaker at the Estherville Animal Shelter annual fundraiser.

Estherville is an organization that my sister-in-law, Bar-bara Kerker, and I have been supporting for many years.

This is a real example of BPW sisters helping each other out. Kim will be speaking about Project Breathe. Invis-ible Fence has a program that donates specially designed pet oxygen masks to local fire departments to help save the lives of pets suffering from smoke inhalation.

—Valerie Kerker

Tips & Tidbits

Scholarships/Linda Rolfe, Chair Members of the committee are Martha Asselin, Anneke

Bull, Donna Christensen, Jane Schramm, and Katherine (Kate) Toombs. Christina Meier is Advisor to the com-mittee. There will be two scholarships awarded this year—The Janet Calise Memorial Scholarship (for high school girls entering college) and The Catherine H. Raycroft Scholarship Award (for young women 25 and over who are continuing their education). Committee members are reviewing the application, letters, forms, and school listings for changes/additions. The goal is to dis-tribute the application by February 28th.

2017– 2018 Schenectady BPW Board Members and Directors

President—Lori Reffue 1st Vice President—Robin Quintin 2nd Vice President—Lorrian Gagne Secretary—Nedine Yagan Treasurer—Kris McConville Directors—Elena Alvarez Jane Schramm Dee DuBois

Immediate Past President—Cyndie Powell Parliamentarian—Jane Osterhout

Fashion Show/Cyndie Powell, Chair

BPW Foundation/Cyndie Powell (liaison) Check out the Foundation’s new and improved

website at www.bpwfoundation.org

Career Development/Elena Alvarez, Chair Elena is out of the country. The board has discussed possi-bly a Disaster Preparedness Seminar in place of Career De-velopment, which is usually held in the month of April. We would need to get the planning done ASAP regardless of what we do. The board will discuss this with Elena as soon as possible, and will keep membership updated.

Schenectady BPW is a legacy partner of BPW Foundation. We pay a small fee to use the BPW logo and name. Although BPW Foundation is not a member organization, it is very supportive of women and military women in the workplace.

There is a page called Career Center that shows how your business might benefit by branding itself as women and vet-eran friendly. Here is an excerpt from the website: Brand your company as women and veteran friendly Employers and Recruiters The BPW Career Center is the only job board that gives you instant access to a target market of women and veterans. Highlight your women- and veteran – friendly workplace pol-icies! See what jobseekers value most. Find your next leader and promote an equal opportunity workplace!

Job Seekers BPW Career Center provides career opportunities for a range of experience levels from young careerists to executives. It is a customized job board featuring employers with policies that support women and veterans like you. There is no cost to job seekers who want to post their resume and/or create a profile. Receive email alerts when an employ-er matches your profile and selected criteria. NEW: Subscribe to our updated Green Jobs RSS Feed. There is no fee to post your resume and/or create a pro-file. Search for jobs using the promising practices of our em-ployers. Featured workplace policies: There are also tools for employers and recruiters, as well as tools for job seekers.

The BPW Foundation website address is: http://bpwfoundation.org/career-center/

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.” - Helen Keller

This past year’s fashion show fundraiser brought in approximately $7500.00 for our scholarship fund. The numbers this year were down from past years. Our attendance fell by about 50 guests and our vendors were down about 10. As you all know, I am a numbers girl and strive to make our event grow each year. Although I am a bit disappointed with the numbers, it makes me want to work even harder for our next one. Of course we will need each of you to help us in any small way you can. We will be holding a short fashion show wrap-up discussion at our January meeting. I want to hear from you about what you think worked and what we need improvement on. Please keep these things in mind as we start planning our next Fash-ion Show.

People in attendance add tremendously to our numbers. Invite your friends and family or better yet try to fill a table of 10.

Make sure that you SAVE THE DATE of the event. Many of our members didn’t show this year. We need our members to be excited about this event to get others to attend.

Talk about our event to local businesses and vendors. They can support us by donating something for the silent auction or pur-chasing a vendor table.

Think of and offer ideas for fun ways to raise money at this event. Some of our most successful ideas came from members making suggestions.

Please know that I appreciate any help that you can offer. One per-son taking on a small responsibility and following through, really makes a difference and helps to avoid a few people having to do so much that they are overwhelmed. Remember that women working together can accomplish great things!!!

SAVE THE DATE: Our next Fashion Show is scheduled for Sunday, November 4th 2018.

Membership/Robin Quintin, Chair As of April 1st, 2016, our club has 59 members. We are always open to new members. If you know of someone who might be a good fit for our club, please direct them to our website at www.schenectadybpw.org.

Welcome New Member:

I have enjoyed chairing this committee because it has always been part of my nature to connect people and now I get to spread the good news of Schenectady BPW! As of January 1, 2018 , our club has 49 members.

We have welcomed several new members since our last edition of the Handclasp

Harline Andrus---a Licensed Real Estate Broker and owner of Homes by Harline LLC, a property management & residen-tial leasing company

Carol Bohl---A licensed Real Estate broker with Keller Williams Realty-encouraged to join BPW by member Dee DesBois;

Valerie Kerker---Attorney –at- Law, Owner of Kerker and Gleeson, P.C.—encouraged to join BPW by members Bonnie Keller and Christina Meier;

Kathleen Pierone---Retired NYS employee and Founder and Creative Director of Rosewood Fanning Inc.—encouraged to join BPW by members Jane Schramm, Tammy Krisher & Heather Peterson

Katelyn Galbraith—Sr. Assistant Manager Trustco Bank—encouraged to join BPW by member Valerie Kerker

Jacqueline Sheffer---Financial Advisor with Merrill Lynch-encouraged to join BPW by members Christina Meier & Valerie Kerker

Mary Sieder--Advisor with Creative Memories and Consultant for Legacy Republic; encouraged to join BPW by mem-ber Robin Quintin

Kathleen Toombs--- Attorney, Law Office of Kathleen Toombs, encouraged to join BPW by member Kris McConville

Joanne DeVoe—owner of DeVoe Associates Marketing & Pub-lic Relations—joined at our 2017 Fashion Show

Bonnie Choy—retired bank manager; owner Choy Estate & Moving Services—encouraged to join BPW by member Mary Sieder

We are always open to new members. If you know of someone who might be a good fit for our club and would enjoy meeting and serving our community with other dynamic women, please invite them to attend a meeting . You can direct them to our website at www.schenectadybpw.org to complete an application and also find out about our upcoming events .

—Sincerely submitted by Robin Quintin

Programs/Lorrian Gagne, Chair

Please mark your calendars for these meetings dates.

Ellen Keegan will be our speaker at our February 27th dinner meeting. Ellen will speak on “Books for the Troops.” At this point they have a pressing need for puzzle books, books on word searches and cross word puzzles. If everyone could please bring 2 or 3 items from the Dollar Store we will be able to present a nice gift to Ellen for our service men and women.

For more information on any of our programs, please visit our website at

www.schenectadybpw.org

We are always looking for speakers/topics for our meetings. If you know of someone who would be appropriate, please

et Lorrian know by email at lsggem@gmail.com

Woman of the Year/Jane Osterhout, Chair It is that time again to nominate someone to be honored as Woman of the Year. This year we have decided to honor one qualified woman to receive this honor.

The application is on our Website. The due date to sub-mit the application is May 1, 2018. Please be sure that the application is complete when you submit it.

I am sure you all must know someone who is qualified to be our 2018 Woman of the Year.

—Jane Osterhout

Status of Women Committee/Susan Daly The committee is working with Heritage Home for Women and is planning on hosting an Afternoon Tea on March 10th. The theme will be “Leap Into Springtime.” Be on the lookout for an email from Jane Schramm with pertinent details. FYI: Schenectady BPW is sponsoring the Heritage Home for Women’s Anniversary Celebration.

Youth Leadership/Kim Bellizzi, Chair Kim spoke with Kaitlyn Gailbraith about partnering with Girls Inc, or another Youth Organization that already puts on a program. Kim will keep membership posted.

If you have ideas, you can reach Kim at kimbellizzi13@gmail.com or 518-859-8254

Member Spotlight

A note from Carolyn Sabol... Have you ever asked yourself why you joined BPW?

Back in 2000, I was invited to the BPW Fashion Show then held in the spring. I had such a good time, I went the next spring. I sat next to a member who told me you could participate as little or as much as you’d like. I de-cided then to join BPW in September. I soon became very involved at the local level and attending district and state meetings.

I was part of the committee to revise the Bylaws back in 2013. It was a task that I wasn’t looking forward to do-ing but I stepped out of my comfort zone and volun-teered. We had a fantastic time laughing and questioning what the true meaning of BPW is. If you haven’t read (or re-read) the Vision & Mission statements recently, you really should.

Why did I join BPW sixteen years ago? I joined BPW for the friendships and camaraderie. But BPW is so much more than that. It’s a group of fabulous, strong, dedicated, hard-working women who want to make a difference. As a group, we can make a difference in our community. As individuals, we are there for each other. Women helping Women.

Next week John and I are heading south for the winter. I’ve been thinking of what I’ll be missing the next seven months. Funny how it all seems to revolve around BPW. I’m missing all the fabulous programs Loriann and her committee have arranged for the year. I’ll miss being your auctioneer for the Frugal. I’ll miss the Christmas Party. I’ll miss the Fashion Show and all the Board meetings. But most of all I’ll miss you, the members.

Thanks for the friendship each and every one of you bring to Schenectady BPW. See you next May.

Among our Members / Announcements

Sharon Carter asked us to share the following:

SICM is looking to fill two positions: Staff Accountant/Business Manager (24-28 hours per week) and Summer Camp Director.

Staff Accountant/Business Manager performs the overall financial management and office/HR/facilities management for the SICM. Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in accounting, business management or related field, and two years of nonprofit accounting/bookkeeping related experience. An Associate degree and 4 years of progressive related experience may be substituted.

Summer Camp Director works from June to August 2017 and directs a six-week program (from July 2 to August 10) for youth aged 7 to 12. The Director will supervise camp counselors who are college or mature high school students. The camp enrolls up to 30 campers, but the number will vary (could be less) so that the ratio of campers to staff is kept at 1:4. Applications: Please submit cover letter, resume and salary requirements to: (POSITION TITLE) , SICM, 1055 Wendell Avenue, Schenectady NY 12308; or by email: information@sicm.us. Please, no phone calls. All resumes submitted will be reviewed, however only those whose background and qualifications most closely match the requirements for the position will be contacted. The position is now available and SICM will continuously recruit until the position is filled. More information on SICM’s website: http://www.sicm.us/Employment%20Opportunities.html

Carolyn Sabol has relocated to a warmer climate for the winter. She will be back in the spring. She asked us to share her addresses with membership. (Dates are approximate) October 1st to May 1st: May 1st to October 1st 1409 Willoughby Park Court PO Box 665 Wilmington, NC 28412 Mayfield, NY 12117

Carolyn can be reached by cell phone at 518-495-2825 or on her home phone at 910-833-7368. Kim Bellizzi, owner of Invisible Fence of the Tri-Cities and Hudson Valley has been awarded the Circle of Excellence Award for 2017. The Circle of Excellence: Award is given to dealers who continually excel throughout the calendar year, not only in metrics, but also in network engagement and performing in a way that betters their area and the image of the brand as a whole. Less than 1% of the dealers achieve this award. Way to go Kim!! Not to mention that this is usually a male-dominated field.

Our member, Kim Bellizzi, was at the Voorheesville Volunteer Fire Department donating to equip their trucks with pet oxygen mask kits. Bentley helped to demonstrate how to utilize the masks in the event of smoke inhalation on an animal during a fire.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

Name _____________________________________________________________ Street Address ___________________________________________________________ City ________________________________ State ________ Zip Code ___________ Birthday (MM/DD)_______Home Phone_______________ Cell Phone:_______________ Employer________________________________ Job Title_________________________ Work Phone___________________ Email Address:_______ _______________________ What would you like to gain by joining the Schenectady BPW?_______________________ How did you learn about us? _________________________________________________ People would be surprised to learn that I ________________________________________ If I had to do it all over again, I would ___________________________________________ This year, I am going to learn _________________________________________________ Who encouraged you to join? _________________________________________________ Signature ________________________________________ Date ___________________

By signing this form I am acknowledging and consenting that my contact information will be shared with other club members on the membership roster, as well as posted in the Club’s Newsletter which will be available to the public on the Schenectady BPW website.

********************************************************** Which committee(s) would you like to serve on? (see next page for descriptions of committees)

__ Foundation __ Membership __ Status of Women __ Fashion Show ___ Programming

__ Public Relations __ Youth Leadership __ Scholarship __ Fundraising __ Career Development

********************************************************** For more information, please contact our membership- chair: Robin Quintin at 518-331-9064 or email at rquintin@nycap.rr.com

Dues - $72 per year

Please make your check payable to Schenectady BPW and mail to: Schenectady BPW, 2215 Nott St. #117, Schenectady, NY 12309

www.schenectadybpw.org

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Schenectady Business & Professional Women’s Club, Inc.

Schenectady Business & Professional Women’s Club, Inc.

COMMITTEE DESCRIPTIONS

Foundation Committee - to promote interest in and support of the Business and Professional Women's Foundation by reporting updates at board meetings. Membership Committee - to promote, expand, stabilize and orient the membership.

Prepare and perform the induction ceremony of new members as needed. Status of Women Committee - to support women through community involvement for women facing hardships, including,

but not limited to, economic and domestic. Fashion Show Committee – to assist in the planning of our largest fundraiser of the year. All members should assume that they are part of the planning and implementing of the various activities to raise money for our Scholarship Fund. Programming Committee - to plan and implement a well-coordinated program calendar. Public Relations - to market the club through available news media, the Club website and newsletter. Youth Leadership Committee - to encourage recruitment of young people into membership; organize and coordinate

youth leadership programs; and promote activities that involve the participation of young people. Scholarship Committee -to allocate scholarship funds which have been authorized by the board. a. Prepare applications and determine recipients. b. Prepare and perform the award ceremony. Fundraising Committee – to present ideas for fundraising for the operating expenses of the club and implement them once approved by the board. Career Development – to create ideas and implement continuing education for women in the club and the community to help them to advance in careers and life. Meeting Information for Members of Schenectady BPW

We usually hold our business meetings on the 4th Tuesday of each month, except for July and August, .Meetings are

held at The Glen Sanders Mansion. Meet & Greet starts at 5:30 and dinner is usually at 6 pm. Our hospitality committee works with the restaurant directly and has to provide a number count for each meeting by the Wednesday before each meeting. Please be aware that as a member, your reservation is automatically made for you for each meeting. You would only need to contact our Hospitality Committee if you cannot make it to a meeting by either emailing Carolyn Sabol at cwsabol@hotmail.com or by calling Robin Quintin at 518-355-9064 by the Wednesday before each meeting. (Also, please be aware that occasionally our business meetings will be held at an alternative location. You can check our website any-time to find out where and when the next meeting is being held.) Our Board of Directors Meetings are held on the 1

st Tuesday of each month (except July and August) at the First Na-

tional Bank of Scotia Board Room at 1476 Balltown Rd. Niskayuna, NY 12309. Only Board Members are required to attend these meetings, but all members are welcome to attend if they choose. This is when we discuss the recent and future busi-ness of the club. No reservation is needed to attend the board meetings, but do realize that if you have something to bring to the board that you should contact Cyndie at cyndie@nycap.rr.com to be added to the agenda. (Also, please be aware that occasionally our board meetings will be held at an alternative location. You can check our website anytime to find out where and when the next board meeting is being held.)