AM CLUB —Meets at 7:30 am on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month on Zoom or in person at Northwest Arena
FALCONER — Meets on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month at 7 AM at the Falconer Fire Department Exempt Hall located at 1 Coleson Drive Falconer NY, 14733.
WESTFIELD / MAYVILLE — Currently meeting on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 5pm via ZOOM. Contact Janese Berkhouse at 716-397-8801 for Zoom details.
FREDONIA/DUNKIRK —
Meet Thursdays at 12:00 PM - Zoom Teleconference Meetings - Effective until further notice - Fredonia, NY 14063
Committee meetings or social events can also be used as make-ups.
Rotarily Yours – March 31, 2025
President Marion Beckerink opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the Star-Spangled Banner, led by Caitlin O'Reilly.
Wally Wollenzien then gave this week’s invocation, which included the recitation of a poem called "Me and Jim" as part of his call to remember and honor the service men and women who've laid down their lives to protect and defend the freedoms of their fellow countrymen.
President-elect Michelle Jones then recognized the many visiting guests, which included: Michael Billoni from Grand Island Rotary; Michael Dobbins, guest of Ruth Lundin; Bruce and Julie Dudgean, guests of Russ Diethrick; David Meekins from Falconer Rotary: Darlene O'Connor from the Downtowner; and Hadley Weinberg, former Jamestown Rotary Club member and current member of the Brookline, Massachusetts Rotary Club.
For announcements, Ruth reminded members about Pre-Pay Lunch, which allows members to pay upfront the cost of their lunches for the months of April, May, and June. Ruth noted that anyone who prepays for those three months will get all ten lunches covered the price of nine. The fee would be $180 cash, or $189 if paying with a card. She also noted that there will be no reimbursement for those who prepay, and then fail to attend a lunch. The prepay lunch is intended to help expedite the weekly lunch registration and payment process.
Ruth also asked Rotarians to "save the date" for May 17 and consider helping out with Hands on Jamestown. The Rotary Club's DEI Committee is organizing an "Extend the Welcome" effort on that date and will reach out to local residents, helping them clean up the section of North Main Street from the city line south to Love School. She is hoping to have at least 20 members to sign up to assist by picking up litter along the sidewalks and terrace. There will also be an effort to plant new flowers in the raised flower bed at Love School. Ruth also noted that the DEI committee is also reaching out to local companies to consider membership. And she noted that member Patricia Graves is working hard to get North Main Street area designated as an historic district so the homes in the area can be eligible for additional funding and preservation assistance.
John Felton also gave an update on the Mock Interview program, which involves members meeting up with students from local high schools to help them prepare for job interviews. Last week, several members went to Falconer High School to conduct interviews with students, and there is another opportunity to meet with students from the Jamestown Tech Academy next Monday morning, April 7. Anyone available to help is encouraged to sign up by responding to the email that was sent out on Friday.
And Marion noted the club is working on creating a Hospitality Ad Hoc Committee, which would work to create a hospitality weekend and welcome out of town guests. In addition, Emily Cama is working on an upcoming social event focusing on a "traveling meal" that involves various members hosting various portions of a dinner at their home. She is looking at May 5 as a potential date, and more details were available in an email sent out on Friday. Marion also announced that comment cards will be available next week for any member who wanted to give feedback and suggestions for future lunches at the Doubletree. Finally, Marion also announced the Governance Committee will soon be reviewing the organizations bylaws, and anyone with recommendations on updates or changes is asked to pass them along.
Following the announcements, the 50/50 drawing was held and won by visiting Rotarian Hadley Weinberg.
Sergeant at Arms Doug Conroe levied fines against Becky Robbins and Chris Anderson, due to their employers (BPU and The Resource Center) being recognized as ranking among the healthiest places to work in Western New York. Tory Irgang was fined for being in the news as a JCC Trustee, learning more about the Remote Area Medical (RAM) program, while John Healy was fined for recently being in the news as the new board member of the County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency and Chautauqua Region Economic Development Corporation. Greg and Sue Jones were also given a "welcome back" fine after returning to the area following their winter retreat in Mexico.
For Happy Bucks, Tory Irgang and Jason Sample each provided a donation in recognition of a successful Join CHQ event at the Reg Lenna over the weekend. Tory also donated in recognition of a great performance of Cinderella at Washington Middle School. Hadley Weinberg donated in recognition of his financial group adding two new employees to its office in Brooklyn Square. Exchange student Heath Bounday also made a donation in recognition of his new host family, the Caswells. Cheri Krull donated in recognition of fellow member Dick Johnson helping Heath get home from the airport. She also reminded members of the upcoming Youth Exchange Weekend, which is still in need of some host families. Sue Jones donated to recognize the Lucille Ball Little Theater of Jamestown's upcoming production. Russ Diethrick donated to recognize his wife June Diethrick and the Rotary Club. And Marion Beckerink donated to recognize the upcoming district conference and the local members who will be attending with her.
Doug introduced this week’s guest speaker, Michael J. Billoni. Since 1999, Mike has served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Billoni Associates, specializing in Communications, Rainmaking and Publishing. Mike is also deeply connected to the Western New York Community, as a long-time Rotary Club member, a Recovery Options Made Easy and Boss BeCause Foundation board member, and a volunteer at several organizations and churches, including his primary philanthropic entity, St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy on the far East Side of Buffalo.
A graduate of the State University of New York at Morrisville with a degree in journalism, Mike spent 12 years toiling in the newspaper business as an award-winning sports reporter and editor for the Tonawanda News, Buffalo Courier-Express and the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. He currently practices his storytelling craft as a free-lance writer for several publications and as an author and book publisher.
Most recently, Mike was associate editor, writer and publisher of "The Seasons of Buffalo Baseball 1857-2020." In 2000, he wrote and published "Robert E. Rich: Memoirs of an Innovator", the biography of the Rich Products Corp. and in 2017, he managed and published "All In," the biography of local businessman Ronald Zoeller, who helped keep the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo in the late 1990s.
Mike resides on Grand Island and is a devout Christian. His wife was called by The Lord on August 22, 2024, and upon her death, he began the “Deb Billoni Food Fund” to support St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy’s free daily meals to those in need.
Mike may be best known in Western New York for his connection to the sport of baseball. In 1983, he began a 13-year career with the Buffalo Bisons, working with the Rich family in developing and constructing a downtown ballpark and helping promote the team to the elevated status of the only franchise in minor league baseball history to sell more than one million tickets in six straight seasons. Upon retirement from the Bisons in 1996, Mike was inducted into the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame. He also is a member of the Cardinal O’Hara High School Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame. In the mid 90s, Mike also helped in the effort to relocate the Single A Niagara Falls professional baseball team to Jamestown after it was announced that the Jamestown Expos were leaving for Vermont. That effort resulted in a new professional team, the Jamestown Jammers, playing in the city for the next two decades.
The effort also led to Mike meeting and developing lasting friendships with many local individuals, including Russ Diethrick. Mike came to Jamestown last fall to celebrate Russ's 90th birthday, but was unable to present him with a gift due to a production delay. However, during Monday's meeting, Mike was finally able to present the belated birthday gift - a customized baseball bat with Russ's name inscribed on it. As part of presenting the gift, he thanked Russ for his years of community service and dedication to keeping baseball alive in Jamestown, including making it a regular location for the annual Babe Ruth World Series tournament.
Much of Mike's presentation focused on an incident that happened to him over 30 years ago, but which has stayed with him ever since. On September 17, 1992, a drunk driver, traveling at 60 mph on the back roads of Pt. Abino, Canada, struck Mike from behind while he was riding his 10-speed bicycle. By the grace of God, he was wearing a bicycle helmet - given to him only earlier that year - which saved his life. He noted that at one point during the ordeal, his family was told that he wasn't expected to survive. He credits Prayer and God’s intervention for transporting him from the side of Pt. Abino Road and surviving this near-fatal accident because of the amazing medical professionals across the Peace Bridge in the ECMC Trauma Unit.
While the accident has left him with a traumatic brain injury, Mike has made it his life’s mission to use his God-given talents in working tirelessly to eradicate all stigmas associated with mental illness through a book he is currently writing, "My Miracle: How the Power of Prayer Saved My Life.” He noted that while one in four people some sort of Mental Illness, only 40% will actually seek help to deal with it, due to the stigma associated with it. His hope is that his book will result in helping to lift the stigma and encouraging more people to seek the help they need. He is working to get the book finished by September of this year.
.png)
