The

Handclasp

The Newsletter of Schenectady Business & Professional Women

An organization supporting

women helping women

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Volume LXXXIV Number 4 Founded in 1927 _ December 2015

Calendar

Dec 1 Board Meeting 5:30 pm

NBT Boardroom-433 State Street, Schenectady

All members welcome

Dec 8 Holiday Party—5:30 pm

Glen Sanders Mansion, 1 Glen Ave, Scotia

Jan 5 Board Meeting 5:30 pm

NBT Boardroom-433 State Street, Schenectady

All members welcome

Jan 26 Business Meeting—5:30 pm

The Glen Sanders Mansion

Dinner/$32 member or $35 non-member

Women Helping Women Panel Discussion

Panelists: Nicole Snow—Darn Good Yarn Shop

Ellie Von Wellsheim- Moon Catchers

Maria Kagas—Treebu Career Discovery

Socio-Media

Feb 2 Board Meeting 5:30 pm

NBT Boardroom-433 State Street, Schenectady

All members welcome

Feb 23 Business Meeting—5:30 pm

The Glen Sanders Mansion

Dinner/$32 member or $35 non-member

Eric Flutey, Detective/Schenectady County

Sheriff's Dept. Drug problem in Schenectady

December Holidays The holiday season has officially kicked off with Thanksgiving dinner already

under our belts. Thanks to holidays like Christmas and Hanukkah, December stays

jam-packed with parties and festive get-togethers. Got all your holiday festivities

planned out? Or do you need a little reminder of all the holidays you get to look forward to this month? Check out all the holiday fun and observances you can take

part in this December!

Hanukkah: December 6th - 14th Hanukkah, which is the Hebrew word for dedication, honors the victory of the

Jews over the Greek Syrians in 165 BC. After their victory, the Maccabees, sons of the family that led the revolt, entered the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and dedi-

cated it to the service of their God. When the Maccabees entered the temple, they

found only enough lamp oil to last one night, but the oil somehow managed to burn for the whole eight days it took to go in search for more oil. Therefore, Ha-

nukkah is observed over eight days.

Winter Solstice: December 22nd Winter solstice is the beginning of winter. It's also the shortest day of the year.

Because of the earth's tilt, the Northern Hemisphere is as far away from the sun as it can be. Therefore, the first day of winter has the shortest amount of sunlight. In

2015, the winter solstice falls on December 22nd.

Christmas Day: December 25th Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. No one knows the exact date of Christ's birth but in the 4th Century, Pope Julius I chose

December 25th as the day of celebration. It's a holiday that's celebrated in a variety

of ways around the world. In recent times, Christmas has become a holiday that is largely commercial, with everyone eagerly anticipating the arrival of St. Nick, but

for Christians around the world, Christmas is a special and holy time to celebrate

the birth and life of Jesus Christ.

Boxing Day: December 26th The first Boxing Day is believed to have started in the Middle Ages. This is just a guess because the exact date isn't known. How Boxing Day started is a question as

well. Some say it started with the giving of Christmas boxes, while others think it

was named after the tradition of opening charity boxes placed in churches during the Christmas season. Either way, it's now known as one of the biggest shopping

days of the year.

Kwanzaa: December 26th - January 1st Although some people believe this holiday is a substitute for Christmas, it is not a religious holiday. It is celebrated every year on December 26th. Kwanzaa, which

means "first fruit of the harvest" in Swahili, is a time to focus on the traditional

African values of family. It is based upon the celebration of seven principles or beliefs called the Nguzo Saba and was created by Ron Karenga in 1966 to cele-

brate African-American heritage.

New Year's Eve: December 31st The celebration of the New Year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed

in Ancient Babylon about 4,000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, Babylo-nians celebrated the beginning of a new year on what is now March 23rd, although

they had no written calendar. It wasn't until 153 BC that the Roman senate de-

clared January 1st to be the beginning of the new year.

What will you be doing for the holidays this year?

Excerpts in content from Kidzworld website KW (www.kidzworld.com)

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Birthdays December January 5 Terri Loudermilk 8 Lori Reffue 8 Donna Massoud 10 Tanya Hull 20 Yvonne Matthews 11 Bonnie Keller

31 Zenobia Lewis 28 Sandy Orminski

December 2015 Hi Ladies, As 2015 comes to a close, I am reflecting on all of the bessings that each of you bring to our club. I am so impressed with the way that our club seems to work toward our common goals with happiness and ease, always re-sulting in another successful year. I know that there are some times when there is a glitch, but it just seems that if a ball gets dropped, someone is there to pick it up and keep it going. I am also reminded at each meeting, when we recite The Col-lect, how those words resonate with me and I truly take them to heart. This practice helps me to remember what is important and to bring myself through whatever I am facing without per-sonalizing and blaming others for what is happening. I know that as the New Year begins, when I make my resolu-tions, I will be thinking of the words in The Collect and striving to be a better person. My wish for you, during this beautiful holiday season, is that you take time for yourself, to relax and reflect and to make the time to spend with those that you love., truly enjoying the spe-cial moments this time of year brings. Don’t forget to make some beautiful memories. With much love and appreciation, Cyndie President Schenectady BPW

Schenectady Business & Professional

Women's Club, Inc. Invites you to join us at our next business meeting

Where: The Glen Sanders Mansion

When: Tuesday, December 8th, 2015

5:30pm – Meet & Greet

6:00pm – Dinner

Cost: $40.00 (Spouse/Guest welcome)

Holiday Party Entertainment by: HUSH

See website for dinner choices

Please R.S.V.P. By: December 2nd, 2015

to Carolyn Sabol at cwsabol@hotmail.com

or call Robin Quintin at 518-355-9064

Please remember that if you are a member, your reservation

is automatically made for you. If you are unable to attend,

you must contact Carolyn Sabol or 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.

2015– 2016 Schenectady BPW

Board Members and Directors

President—Cyndie Powell

1st Vice President—Carolyn Sabol

2nd Vice President—Kim Bellizzi

Secretary—Amanda Jeffes

Treasurer—Tammy Krisher

Directors—Christina Meier

Robin Quintin

Susan Rice

Immediate Past President—Bonnie Keller

Parliamentarian—Jane Osterhout

Tips & Tidbits

The Collect The Collect was written as a prayer for the day, not for any

particular person or group and was published as a Collect for women’s organizations. Adopted at the 1920 national conven-

tion of BPW:

Keep us, 0 God, from pettiness; Let us be large in thought, in word, in deed.

Let us be done with fault-finding And leave off self-seeking.

May we put away all pretense and meet each other face to face,

Without self-pity and without prejudice, May we never be hasty in judgment,

And always generous. Let us take time for all things;

Make us to grow calm, serene, gentle. Teach us to put into action our better impulses,

Straight forward and unafraid. Grant that we may realize it is the little things that

create differences, That in the big things of life we are at one.

And may we strive to touch and to know the great, common human heart of us all,

And, 0 Lord God, let us forget not to be kind! —Mary Stuart

Mary Stewart wrote the Collect in 1904 as a member of the Fort-

nightly Club, the forerunner of the Longmont Colorado BPW

club. The Collect was written as a prayer to instill a sense of unity

among women working together with wide interests and im-

portant goals.

Mary Stewart worked for women's suffrage nationally and attend-

ed the meeting in St. Louis, where the National Federation was

launched. She was elected its first corresponding secretary and

thereafter took an active part in the growth of the young organiza-

tion by service as chairman or member of a number of national

committees.

This author, who until 1910 signed the Collect with her pen

name, "Mary Stuart," remained involved in BPW until her

death in 1943.

Member Spotlight Kris McConville Attorney at Law Member Since 2013

Our December Spotlight member is Kris McConville who has been

a member since March 26, 2013. This is the first time Kris has

been spotlighted since becoming a member. A native of the capital

district, Kris was born and raised in Halfmoon, New York. Aside

from living in Delaware for three years to attend law school, Kris

has lived in the capital district. In August 2004 Kris moved to her

current home in Scotia.

After graduating from Catholic Central High School in Troy, New

York, she attended Siena College in Loudonville and graduated in

1992 with a bachelor’s of science degree in biology. Kris then at-

tended SUNY at Albany School of Public Health where she gradu-

ated in 1994 with a master’s degree in public health with a concen-

tration in health research and management. Kris graduated from

Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware in

1998 with a law degree with a concentration in health law.

During graduate school at SUNY Albany, Kris completed two in-

ternships with the Injury Control program of the New York State

Department of Health. The first research project was on the subject

of traumatic brain injuries and involved compiling data from medi-

cal records from 11 hospitals. Kris worked closely with Kevin

McConville (who would later become her husband) who was the

computer programmer handling the research database. While in

law school, Kris did not work. Her next job was as an associate in

the health law department of a small law firm located in Clifton

Park, New York named Overton, Russell & Doerr. Kris worked

there for 6-½ years, 5 as an associate and 1-½ as a partner at the law

firm. Then she decided to take a break from the practice of law to

pursue a career in writing. Over the course of the next few years,

Kris wrote a romance novel, authored a legal issues for writer’s

blog called “The Writer’s Court,” taught workshops both online

and in person on the subject of publishing contracts, and represent-

ed a group of authors to successfully get their rights to publish their

books as E-books.

Kris married Kevin McConville on May 20, 1995, just before start-

ing law school. Together they raised three wonderful children of the

four-legged feline variety. Their oldest daughter Tigger, an Ameri-

can Shorthair (born in Delaware) came into their family in July

1997. Their youngest daughter Calie, a Norwegian Forest Cat

(cousin of the Maine Coon) was born in Maryland on February 14,

1998, and adopted into their in April before graduation. They

wouldn’t adopt their son Riley (purebred peke-faced Persian) until

2001.

Kris’ life changed forever on April 29, 2012 when Kevin had a

massive heart attack and died three weeks before their 17th wedding

anniversary. Her sporadic income as an author couldn’t pay the

bills so she decided to go back to what she had always known

‘law.’

(Continued in next column)

Kris McConville—Cont’d

Kris opened her own law firm in February 2013 which

she currently operates out of her house. Kris said “My

office consists of my laptop and cell phone. Because I

deal primarily with elderly clients, I offer home consulta-

tions and will travel to meet my clients anywhere that is

required. I offer representation for preparation of wills

and trusts, traffic tickets, landlord/tenant, business for-

mation and other civil matters. I do not practice family

law or criminal law.”

In her spare time, Kris enjoys reading, writing, watching

New York Giants football, and spending time with her

two kids. Although Tigger passed away in January 2014,

Calie and Riley are still keeping her busy at ages 17 and

14 respectively.

Kris is a member of the New York State Bar Association

and the Glenville rotary. She also is a communicant at

the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Glenville,

New York.

In summary, Kris loves being a member of BPW and

have found that the ‘sisterhood’ that BPW provides has

been a great support over the past couple of years as she

has dealt with a number of challenges in her life. BPW

really is the ‘Girl Scouts for Grownups’ as she like to call

us. It is a wonderful organization that she hopes to be

involved in for many, many more years to come.

Scholarships/Christina Meier, Chair We will be announcing our 2016 Scholarships in the

new year. Tammy is busy tabulating the Fashion

Show receipts and will let us know the amount of

Scholarship Money that will be available.

Fashion Show/Cyndie Powell, Chair There will be a Fashion Show Wrap-up meeting

after the New Year to discuss the 2015 event, what

worked well, and what might need tweaking.

We will also kick-off planning the 2016 event.

Date and Location TBD.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Cyndie Fashion Show Chair

Programs/Carolyn Sabol, Chair

The programming committee met over the summer to

brainstorm and plan program speakers for this BPW year.

Carolyn and her committee took suggestions from mem-

bership into consideration when deciding on which speak-

ers to choose to speak at our meetings. We hope that our

membership finds the topics interesting and meaningful.

Please mark your calendars for these meetings dates.

12/08/ 15 - Holiday Party

01/26/16 – Women Helping Women Panel Discussion

- Nicole Snow, Darn Good Yarn

- Ellie von Wellsheim, Mooncatchers

- Maria Kagas, Treebu Career Discovery

Socio-Media 02/23/16 – Eric Flutey, Detective/Schenectady County

Sheriff's Dept. Drug problem in Schenectady.

03/22/16 – Network to Connect Event

04/22/16 – Autism Awareness Month, Sara Mae Hickey,

owner, Puzzles Cafe & Bakery 05/24/16 –Installation of Officers and New Member

Induction Ceremony / Guest Speaker - TBD

06/28/16 –Scholarship Awards Banquet

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

www.schenectadybpw.org

Rayn Boncie (left) and Martha Jo Asselin (right)

Schenectady BPW Women of the Year 2015

Membership/Kim Bellizzi, Chair As of November 1st, 2015 our club has 56 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(s)

This month we welcome the following new members:

Martha Jo Asselin—Vice President

Schenectady County Community College and

2015 Schenectady BPW Woman of the Year

Martha learned about our club after being named our 2015

Woman of the Year. She is very excited about her member-

ship, and says that “all of the beautiful women in BPW”

encouraged her to join our club. Welcome Martha!

Katrina Koren—Clinical Director

New Choices Recovery Center

And Self-Employed: Premier Designs Jewelry

Katrina learned about our club via the Internet. Welcome

Katrina!

Woman of the Year/Jane Osterhout, Chair Jane and her committee have chosen two well-deserving

women as our 2015 Women of the Year.

Dr. Martha Asselin, Vice President of Student Affairs,

Schenectady County Community College

Rayn Bonce, Founder and President, Things of My

Very Own.

Please join me in congratulating both of these ladies! We

honored these ladies at our Fashion Show and Woman of

the Year Celebration on Sunday, November 8th.

Dr. Martha Asselin Rayn Boncie

Status of Women Committee We are looking for a Chair for this committee.

It is the duty of the Status of Women committee to support

women through community involvement for women facing

hardships including, but not limited to, economic and

domestic.

If you are interested in chairing this committee, please con-

tact Cyndie at cyndie@nycap.rr.com

Thank you to all of our members who volunteered to serve

lunches at miSci for the kids in our community. It is so

nice that Schenectady BPW is visible out in the community

as a resource.

Career Development/Elena Alvarez, Chair Elena is planning to sponsor a Network to Connect Event

during our meeting on March 22, 2016. She will be invit-

ing several local speakers to talk to our club about ways

that Schenectady is developing economically.

She will be announcing the agenda formally, once it has

been confirmed.

\

BPW Foundation/Bonnie Keller (liaison)

Check out the Foundation’s new and improved

website at www.bpwfoundation.org

Foundation plans on the new website becoming

available after Sept 10th, 2015.

Youth Leadership/Kim Bellizzi, Chair

Schenectady High School and Mission Accomplished

Transition Services will be co-sponsoring Life Unplugged

2016. The date and venue for Life Unplugged has been

confirmed. It will be held at Schenectady High School on

Saturday, March 12, 2016. There will be no fee to rent this

space and this will also help with the transportation issues

we have dealt with in the past.

Carmen Duncan, CEO and Founder of Mission Accom-

plished Transition Services, will be collaborating with her

interns to help with volunteer coordination and student

application processing. The interns will get credit for

their work. It will allow them to experience interacting

and communicating with several organizations and give

them insight as to the amount of work that goes into host-

ing an event.

Caesara Pirrone, a teacher from Schenectady High,

has been working hard to find food donations. Cae-

sara and Kim went to see the space at SHS and it is

perfect for LU. Two large rooms that adjoin, one for

booths and the other is the cafeteria. SHS is also

equipped with computer labs which can be used

for Career Discovery Zone.

We are off to a great start. Kim will let us know

when and where the next committee meeting will be

held.

You can reach Kim at kimbellizzi13@gmail.com

or 518-859-8254

Among our Members/ Announcements

Jane Osterhout has moved. Her new address is 1727 Tower St. Apt 105, Schenectady NY 12303. Her home phone number will remain the same as 518-393-0452.

We wish Jane and Richard all the best in their new home.

Christina Meier has a new office address.

Her office is now located at 16 Wade Road, Latham, New York 12110 W: 518-313-7809 C: 518-986-0250 Fax: 518-313-7815 You can email Christina at christina@meierlawpllc.com

.

June 30, 2016

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: Kim Bellizzi at (518) 859-8254 or email at kimbellizzi13@gmail.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

______ scanned ______added to Roster ______added to email ______welcome email

______emailed to board ______added to Shutterfly _____emailed to Committee Chair(s)

For Office Use Only

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 NBT Bank

Board Room at 433 State Street in Schenectady. Only Board Members are required to attend these meetings, but all mem-bers are welcome to attend if they choose. This is when we discuss the recent and future business of the club. No reserva-tion 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.)