Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Rochester Rotary

Ernie Clement, Brighton native who is now an MLB player for the Toronto Blue Jays, is our featured speaker with his story of how failure made his success popular.

Next generation McDonald's Franchisee. Louis presents on their focus around their core values Serve, Inclusion, Integrity, Community, Familyand how they bring them to life in the restaurant.

Rochester Rotarian since 1996, Norm Silverstein. Don Alhart interviews Norm touching on his recent retirement announcement as President and CEO of WXXI Public Media. Norm has led the organization since 1995. He has seen the organization grow from one television and two radio stations to a public media organization that now includes four public television stations, one cable channel for the city of Rochester, and six public radio stations.

The rise of partisan animosity—the tendency of Democrats and Republicans to dislike and distrust one another—is one of the most notable developments of 21st-century American politics. Jamie will discuss how animus influences a wide range of political behaviors including issue positions, evaluations of political leaders, support for compromise, and support for democratic norms. That said, he will also explain why the growth of partisan animosity does not inevitably mean that democracy is eroding. 

Congressman Joe Morelle and his challenger, Gregg Sadwick, participate in a Rochester Rotary forum moderated by hall of fame broadcaster, Don Alhart.

Rochester Rotary's full Tuesday luncheon from 9/24/24 included an appearance by District 7120 Dave Demers (Spencerport Rotary) and a presentation by Judge John Ninfo II titled "The Deep Roots of Democracy"

Rochester Rotary's first meeting at its new home for Tuesday lunches, Comedy at The Carlson featuring guest speakers Mark Ippalito, Operations Manager of The Carlson, and Todd Youngman, stand-up comedian.

Tom has been a major equity shareholder, founding member, and/or senior leader with Vitamin Water, Bark Thins, Pirate's Booty, Momeez Choice, and several other businesses, most of which have gone on to be acquired by major food & beverage brands. Tom shares a few of those stories, including seeing Vitamin Water go from the start-up phase to the negotiation table with Coca Cola as well as finding a manufacturer with a unique idea for a chocolate snack that would lead to a sale to Hershey. Tom will share his insights on how businesses scale, the trials and tribulations involved in growing, and how they ultimately put themselves in a position to be acquired.

Award winning journalist Scott Pitoniak leads a panel of WROC-TV Sports Director Thad Brown and Rochester Rotary Prognosticator Tim Cook on the 2024 Buffalo Bills outlook.

Kitty Van Bortel, President, Van Bortel Auto Group.

As a trusted automotive dealership owner for nearly four decades, Kitty Van Bortel stays true to the values that drive her dealerships, keeping kindness, integrity, and the highest standards of service at every interaction with her automotive brand. Kitty’s strong commitment to her customers and employees is evident in the widespread success of her Subaru, Ford, and Chevrolet dealerships.

Alex Wilkes is the President of CVI Americas. Alex started with the company on June 14th, 2022, and is based out of the Victor, NY office. After seven years in management consulting at Deloitte and Accenture, Alex joined Luxottica in 2010 as Head of Strategy for LensCrafters. After leading the vision care team with responsibility for the Doctor network, contact lens sales and strategy, and eye care innovation, Alex took on Pearle Vision in 2016 as Senior Vice President and General Manager with responsibility for all aspects of Pearle Vision brand operations, marketing, and strategy. He’s passionate about leading change through innovation, culture shaping and curiosity while always keeping both the customers and patients front of mind.  

The 6th generation owner of Seabreeze Amusement Park addresses Rochester Rotary, covering the history of the park, the rarity of being a 6th generation family business, and the difficulties/advantages of operating a seasonal business.

Giovanni LiDestri, chairman of LiDestri Food & Drink, tells us about how he went from being a bottle washer at Ragu, to building one of the highest yielding sauce factories in the world.

President Pauly kicks off the 2024-2025 Rotary year on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 at Oak Hill Country Club

Continuing our "Celebrating Leaders" series with Past President Bud Rusitzky. He sits down with Past President Don Alhart to share his story.

Adam Gogolski, VP of Marketing at Vuzix is leading the way in one of the most advanced technology industries in the world. In the past 25 years, Vuzix has evolved from a military display solutions company to the premier producer of optical waveguide technology and augmented reality smart glasses. Get a chance to experience some of our revolutionary smart glasses all designed and manufactured in West Henrietta, and hear how we’ve helped transform workplaces from the surgical floor to field service, to supply chain management.

MicroEra Power envisions an on-site thermal energy storage system to decarbonize buildings, enhance the performance of heating and cooling systems, support grid resiliency and increased use of renewable energies.

Hear the second installment of our "Made in Rochester Series" that was held at Oak Hill Country Club on Tuesday, November 15th. Jim and Ray Isaac sat down with Donna Dedee to share the ISAAC story as a family-owned, multi-generational business;

Leadership lessons, and how the past and present have set the stage for a new future.

Bears Playgrounds designs, manufactures and installs nature-inspired, cedar log playgrounds across the US, Canada and beyond. Every playground is made custom to order, using whole round logs.

With their playgrounds, they have created a balance between the innocent, natural adventure of playing in the forest and the structure and safety required by today’s standards for children’s spaces. Their bold, strong and built to last architecture beautifies children’s spaces, while capturing a child’s imagination. Their nature inspired products and natural materials help stimulate a child’s enthusiasm for nature. In short, their products facilitate learning, create opportunities for exercise, help build social skills and help provide a unique connection to the great outdoors.

Fairport resident Clark King, charter member of the Association for Games and Puzzles International and member of the Strong Museum of Play's National Toy Hall of Fame selection advisory committee, speaks on U.S. board games through the decades, spanning 150 years of American families at play. He also displays many historic, unusual and rare games from his personal collection. Take a journey back to your childhood and beyond and learn about the current booming hobby of board gaming!

In May 1976, Jon Spacher (pronounced: SPAY-ker) was brought home from the hospital to an apartment above the Fee Brothers’ factory. No one imagined that he would become the 5th generation steward of the family business 44 years later. A Penn State graduate, Jon leveraged his Insurance degree to go far in the industry. His commitment to sustainable business solutions and a servant leadership style propelled him to become an officer of a national carrier. He retired from Insurance as a President, managing a region of more than 120 employees and 300 million in annual revenue. During his time there, he gained an appreciation for the unique distribution model of the independent agency system. Jon was able to transfer this knowledge to Fee Brothers’ global distribution model when he and his brother, Benn, became 50/50 owners of the family’s business on January 1, 2021. Since his arrival, Fee Brothers has increased its employee count from 12 to 33 and revenue has increased 74% with a disproportionate amount of growth internationally.

This was the first installment of our "Celebrating Leaders" series. We took a deep dive on Andre Godfrey, Past President, and Rochester Rotarian since 2003. Andre Godfrey is President/CEO of Entre Computer Services Inc. and a fixture in the information technology industry since the early 1980s. Andre joined Entre Computer Services Inc. as partner and president in 1994 after serving in a variety of executive positions at other IT firms. Under Andre’s leadership of 28 years, Entre grew into the largest independently owned IT provider in upstate New York and currently employs more than 100 technical people.

Nationally honored journalist and best-selling author Scott Pitoniak and 13WHAM-ABC sports anchor Jenna Cottrell talk about the Buffalo Bills chances of winning the Super Bowl, as well as other Bills/NFL topics in this annual Rochester Rotary football luncheon. Their conversation is followed by a Q-and-A with the audience.

About half of privately-held businesses in the United States are owned by entrepreneurs over age 55. As those business owners look to retire over the next decade, 12 million businesses are expected to change hands. What can we learn from some of Rochester’s oldest family businesses about planning for leadership and ownership transitions? Join us for a discussion with Genevieve Norris-Brown (6th generation at Seabreeze, founded 1879), Trevor Holly (4th generation at Sage Rutty, founded 1915) Jack Doyle (6th generation at Doyle Security, founded 1919), and Chelsea Conway (4th generation at Conway Beam, founded 1951). Moderated by Rotarian Andrew Brady (2nd generation at The XLR8 Team, founded 1996).

Dr. Jeffrey J. Bazarian, tenured Emergency Medicine and Neurology professor at the University of Rochester. He discusses current concepts in concussion management including blood testing, brain scanning, hyperbaric oxygen, nutritional supplements, brain cooling, and return to play protocols.

Elizabeth Williamson introduces herself and then speak a bit about her background. She also talks about Geva’s 50th Anniversary Season and her vision for the company’s future.

Dr. Shaun Nelms is Superintendent of the East High School and University of Rochester Educational Partnership. He discusses the ways in which, and particularly how, this partnership has positively impacted the scholars, parents, and staff of East High School.

John launched our "Made in Rochester" series - a monthly recognition and awareness series showcasing a variety of businesses and their manufactured goods and services that reach far beyond our community. You will learn how each has contributed to American free enterprise, advances in innovation, cultural enrichment, and the Rochester economy.

President Kathleen Pringle's first meeting outlines her goals for her year at the helm.

President Scott Rasmussen's Rotary year comes to an end with a celebration at Oak Hill!

How the journey of a Muslim-American woman in broadcast media is only a small piece of a paradigm shift in how we approach telling local stories to represent a wider range of viewers.

The Department of Orthopaedics has a rich tradition of excellence and innovation. Dr. Rubery will provide an update on the new Orthopaedics and Physical Performance Center at Market Place Mall; a comprehensive center unlike any other in the Northeast. Dr. Rubery is currently the Marjorie Strong Wehle Professor and Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing musculoskeletal care at all UR Medicine facilities. His goal is to provide patients with accessible, excellent care for bone, joint, ligament, and spine problems.

Compared with cities its size, Rochester ranks as the number one worst city in the United States for child poverty, with 48% of our city's children in poverty. We are first in the nation in the rate of extreme poverty, with 15% of the city's population living in deep poverty (2020 U.S. Census data, 2015 – 2019. ). Currently, we are coming off a year with the worst number of homicides in our city's history. We did not get here overnight, but we have a plan to turn the tide and bring our city back to the pride of upstate it once was.

Many people know Goodwill from donating or shopping in our local stores, but Goodwill does so much GOOD in the community… from teaching people with vision loss independent living skills to connecting our community members to valuable resources to employing people with disabilities to assisting people contemplating suicide and more. Jennifer Lake, CEO of Goodwill of the Finger Lakes will discuss how Goodwill is integral to our community.

Sebastian Maroundit, one of the Lost Boys resettled in Rochester, NY shares his incredible story of survival and how he’s transforming the lives of thousands of the people in his village of Mayen-Abun in South Sudan.

Tamera Denysenko was the General Manager/ CEO of the Ukrainian Federal Credit Union from 1986 to 2010. She currently serves as a board member of the Ukrainian Federal Credit Union. She gives a presentation on the past, present, and future of Ukraine and Ukrainians in Upstate NY.

·Pam Sherman, Actor, Lawyer, and Leadership Consultant

·Erica Fee, Founding Producer and Board President, Rochester Fringe Festival

·Thomas Warfield, Director of Dance, NTID Department of Performing Arts

·Chuck Cerankosky, Restaurateur, Designer, and Hospitality Consultant (Co-Owner of Good Luck and Cure)

Now is the time to boldly invest in new technologies and scientific research that will reestablish our nation as the global leader of innovation. With our world-class local universities, robust manufacturing infrastructure, and highly specialized workforce, Rochester is in a strong position to benefit from these investments, grow our regional economy, and ensure America can out-compete China and any other nation in the world.

Malik D. Evans is the 71st Mayor of Rochester. As the leader of the City’s executive branch, Mayor Evans is committed to promoting positive, systemic, and structural change by providing transparent and collaborative leadership, offering equitable access to essential municipal services, enabling productive intergovernmental, private, and non-profit partnerships, and promoting increased quality of life through investments that create vibrant neighborhoods and employment opportunities, making Rochester a hope-filled city with an exciting future.

Monroe County Executive Adam J. Bello is a lifelong Monroe County resident who has spent his life working to make our community a better place to live. Before being elected County Executive in November 2019, Adam served as Monroe County Clerk and prior to that was the Irondequoit Town Supervisor.

Deb joined Bivona Child Advocacy Center in April of 2017. Deb is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has focused her career on the needs of children and families involved in child welfare, foster care, juvenile justice, and behavioral health systems. She earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin and previously held positions as a medical social worker, a child and family therapist, Director of Out of Home Care for the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare, Director of Child and Family Services in Monroe County, and Managing Director of Strategic Partnerships at Hillside Family of Agencies.

Matt and his team of economic development experts have managed hundreds of business growth projects since the organization was founded 20 years ago. Over this time, these companies have spent more than $3.5 billion on new capital investments constructing and outfitting new manufacturing plants and operation centers or updating existing facilities while hiring more than 17,000 people. Matt’s presentation includes insights into what it takes to land a business attraction or expansion project and why the Greater Rochester, NY region is poised for even more business growth in 2022.

Geoff gives a brief history of Three Heads and how they came to be followed by discussion on where they see the business moving into the future.

Bret joined Home Leasing in 2017. He provides executive leadership and oversees the day-to-day operations of the company.

Tourism and hospitality is a major economic driver in Rochester and the Finger Lakes, accounting for an annual impact of more than $1 billion, prior to the pandemic. Learn about how Visit Rochester markets and promotes our region to the nearly 2 million visitors who visit Monroe County every year.

Jim and Lanie present the outlook of the Rochester real estate market.

La'Ron Singletary, Candidate for Congress, and Moses Robinson, Community Liaison Officer with the Rochester Police Department discussed the effects of demonizing, demoralizing, and defunding law enforcement agencies in communities across the United States.