The

Handclasp

The Newsletter of Schenectady Business & Professional Women

An organization supporting

women helping women

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Volume LXXXIV Number 7 Founded in 1927 _____ March 2016

Calendar

Mar 1 Board Meeting—5:30 pm

NBT Boardroom-433 State Street, Schenectady

All members welcome

Mar 12 Life Unplugged—8:30am to 3:30pm

Schenectady High School

An interactive program for students to learn

about life choices for careers and money.

Mar 22 Business Meeting—5:30 pm

The Glen Sanders Mansion

Dinner/$32 member or $35 non-member

Women’s History Month—Mary Pritchard,

Shirley Readdean and Rowie Taylor will discuss

“The YWCA's Domestic Violence Support

Services Beginnings- Schenectady Women

Making History 40 Years Ago”

Apr 5 Board Meeting—5:30 pm

NBT Boardroom-433 State Street, Schenectady

All members welcome

Apr 12 Fashion Show Wrap-up/Kick-Off Meeting—

5:30 pm

NBT Boardroom-433 State Street, Schenectady

All members welcome

Apr 26 Business Meeting—5:30 pm

The Glen Sanders Mansion

Dinner/$32 member or $35 non-member

Autism Awareness Month, Sara Mae Hickey,

owner, Puzzles Cafe & Bakery

Officer Elections

May 3 Board Meeting—5:30 pm

NBT Boardroom-433 State Street, Schenectady

All members welcome

March is “Women's History Month”

and fast approaching—March 8th is

International Women’s Day. The

official definition can be found using

Google Wikipedia—(the Free Encyclopedia). During the

month, women are recognized for their contributions to

historic events and contemporary society. Many companies

and organizations have special events such as speakers and

exhibits to honor women who have made significant contri-

butions.

As members and women of Schenectady BPW, we have

made significant contributions to BPW that benefits the

community such as:

Support of the annual fashion show; proceeds are

awarded to high school seniors/returning students in

the form of scholarships.

Educational programs at meetings.

Sponsor the “Life Unplugged” program for junior and

senior high school students.

Recognition of “Women of the Year.”

Prepare women for leadership roles and the opportuni-

ty to participate on committees or serve as an officer.

Reaching out to women in need through collection of

personal care items, food for local food pantries.

Let’s give ourselves a “pat on the back” for these accom-

plishments!

Did you know...the actress who portrayed the housekeeper,

Alice Nelson, on “The Brady Bunch” is Schenectady native

Anne B. Davis. She also appeared in the “Bob Cummings

Show “ – Linda L. Rolfe

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Birthdays March April 1 Donna Anscombe 22 Christine Frith 3 Susan Daly 26 Elena Alvarez 11 Anneke Bull 28 Janet Calise

16 Louise Frances

Hi Ladies, March 2016 With much anticipation, I think we are all ready to welcome springtime weather back to the Northeast. Even though we have been spared our usual amounts of snow and ice, I think we are all tired of the cold and can’t wait to enjoy the warm sunshine again.

We will be very busy in the coming months.

“Life Unplugged” is scheduled for Saturday, March 12th at Schenectady High. Thank you to all of the students and volunteers who are excited to be attending this year. We will be celebrating Women’s History Month at our March meeting, where we will have guest speakers from the YWCA Domestic Violence Shelter who will share with us, the history of the shel-ter and how it serves women in our community. April will bring Officer elections, and we will be hearing from Sara Mae Hickey, owner of Puzzles Café, an employer supporting employees with special needs. Jane is leading the Status of Women Committee and working on a special project celebrating Equal Pay Day on Tuesday, April 12th. More details will follow as they become available. We will also be holding a Fashion Show Wrap-up and Kick-Off meeting to start planning our 2016 Scholarship Fundraiser. I look forward to seeing everyone at a meeting soon.

With much 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, March 22, 2016

5:30pm – Meet & Greet

6:00pm – Dinner

Women’s History Month Guest Speakers: Mary Pritchard, Shirley Readdean and

Rowie Taylor

“The YWCA's Domestic Violence Support Services Beginnings-

Schenectady Women Making History 40 Years Ago”

Cost: $32.00 Members

$35.00 Non-Members

Menu

Assorted Wild Baby Greens, Sliced Poached Pears, White Balsamic Vinaigrette with Crumbled Blue Cheese on the side

Chicken Piccata, Egg Battered Chicken, Lemon Caper Sauce, Rice Pilaf, Butter Green Beans

Mixed Berry Trifle, Pound Cake, Vanilla Custard, Fresh Berries

Please R.S.V.P. By: March 16th, 2016

to Carolyn Sabol at cwsabol@hotmail.com

or call Robin Quintin at 518-331-9064

Please remember that if you are a member, your reservation is au-

tomatically 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

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 Schenectady BPW is a member of the

Capital Region Chamber of Commerce. As a member, you are able to attend events as a member, if you are

attending as a representative of our club.

Here are some upcoming events that might be of interest.

CHAMBER NEWS March 30, 2016, PECHAKUCHA NIGHT/ALBANY 20X20 Presented by the Tech Valley Young Professionals Network

5:15-7 p.m. | $10 Brown's Revolution Hall, 425 River Street, Troy

Join local professional leaders for a PechaKucha Night: Your

Personal Passion in 6 Minutes, 40 Seconds. Pechakucha 20×20

is a presentation format in which the audience sees 20 images

for 20 seconds each, during which the presenter speaks about

each image. The format was invented by an architecture firm in

Tokyo in 2003 and has spread to more than 700 major cities around

the world. Pechakucha Nights are informal, fun gatherings for crea-

tive people to get together and share ideas, work and thoughts.

PRESENTERS:

Michael Burns and Kat Koppett, Artistic Directors, Mopco,

Home of the Mop & Bucket Theatre Company

Antonio Civitella, CEO, Transfinder Corporation and BizLab

John Curtin, Owner, Albany Distilling Company

Corey Jamison, President & CEO, Corey Jamison Consulting

and XperienceU Training and Leadership Development

Daquetta Jones, Executive Director, YWCA of the Greater

Capital Region

Philip Morris, CEO, Proctors, TheRep and UPH

Sabrina Mosseau, BS, RN, OCN, Administrative Director,

Cancer Services - Acute Care Troy, Samaritan Hospital/St.

Mary's Hospital: St. Peter's Health Partners

GOOD NEWS AWARDS LUNCHEON Thursday, April 14th, 2016

11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. | $50

River Stone Manor, 1437 Amsterdam Road, Glenville

For nearly 20 years, The Chamber of Schenectady County's

Good News Awards have been recognizing organizations and

individuals in Schenectady County which have survived

through economic ups and downs, shown extraordinary com-

munity support, undergone major growth or expansion,

launched a unique project or service within the past year, or

are simply a true success.

Member Spotlight Lori Snyder Reffue Branch Manager/Key Bank Member Since 2014 Lori Snyder Reffue joined BPW January 28, 2014.

On January 8 Lori celebrated a birthday. Lori was raised in Fultonville,

New York—right across the river from the Fonda Speedway. Lori point-

ed out that Fultonville and Fonda are actually two different villages but

many think it is all one. After college, Lori lived in Norwich, New York

for about seven years, returning to Fultonville, and five years ago bought a

house in Johnstown, New York with her husband.

Lori is a graduate of Fonda-Fultonville Central School (hence the confu-

sion with people thinking it is one town). She received a Bachelor of Sci-

ence degree from Syracuse University at Utica College majoring in Public

Relations/Communications.

Throughout life Lori has had many “careers” starting with working for a

funeral home during high school and college. Lori mentioned that she

really wanted to be a funeral director. Other jobs included advertising

sales; corporate payroll and benefits; sales and marketing for a golf glove

company; a stay-at-home daughter to her father with Alzheimer’s disease,

and lastly banking. Currently, she is the branch manager for KeyBank at

the Bellevue branch at 1708 Broadway, Schenectady, New York. This is

a recent promotion. Congratulations, Lori!

How did Lori get into banking? Lori said that after the death of her father

and waitressing/bartending at a local family restaurant, a friend asked

what she was going to do now that her father had passed. Lori replied, “I

guess I will get a job,” and she asked if Lori wanted to work with her at

KeyBank. The branch was literally 2-1/2 blocks from her house so Lori

applied, got the job, and the rest is history.

Lori is a newlywed and she was asked how does it feel to be a recent new-

lywed? Lori was married on the 4th of July 2015 (her favorite holiday) to

her husband whom she has known for 30 years. He has two sons and four

grandchildren whom Lori adores and spoils as often as she can. Lori also

mentioned that the reason they married after 30 years is to make the dog

legitimate—they claim.

Charlie, their beagle, is a big part of our family. He came to us April 15,

2012 after being found wandering in the woods in Georgia. A family fos-

tered him, we found him online, and adopted him.

What does Lori like to do in her spare time? Thankfully, her passion for

traveling is shared by her husband. They love to take cruises in the win-

ter, and they have a motor home that is used all summer long. Even Char-

lie loves to travel and is well known in their camping circle of friends.

Lori has seen all 50 states, all the territories of Canada that border the US,

Mexico and 15 countries so far. In 2016, Lori and her husband have plans

to visit five more countries. In addition, Lori loves doing genealogy, not

only for family, but for friends as well. She volunteers with an organiza-

tion called, “Find A Grave,” which links people who are willing to walk

around cemeteries with people who can’t get there. We photograph the

grave/marker and upload it to the website. This is a great Sunday summer

activity, and we usually find a good place to eat in the area.

Weekends, when the Reffue’s aren’t camping, Lori loves to cook and will

plan a week’s worth of meals so that she doesn’t come home and wonder

what to make. Lori also likes planning their future vacations. Lori works

so that she can travel.

(Cont’d on next page)

(Lori Snyder Reffue, Cont’d)

Besides working and traveling, Lori is involved with the Town

of Glenville Oktoberfest, and is the vendor coordinator for this

event. Lori is an active member of the Family Motor Coach

Association. This is an international organization of families

with motor homes that meet up for weekend events and travel.

Lori’s parents joined when she was six months old.

Kris McConville asked Lori to join BPW, and she referred to it

as “girls scouts for grown-ups,” and Lori has used this to attract

others to BPW. For the last two years, Lori has served as Busi-

ness Fair Chair and has been involved with the Life Unplugged

event.

Lori’s future goals seem to revolve around where the next visit

will be. She likes taking family and friends along so that they

can explore and discover new worlds right along with her.

Lori truly enjoys Schenectady BPW with the meetings, events,

and friendships that she has formed through the group.

Scholarships/Christina Meier, Chair To honor our dear member who has passed away, the

Scholarship Committee has decided to name the 2016 High

School Scholarship

The Aldona Vaitulis Memorial Scholarship.

The committee and board have also agreed that the scholarship

monies will be paid out to the recipients at the Scholarship Cer-

emony, rather than at the end of the student’s first semester.

This year’s scholarship applications have been revised to reflect

current information and are now located on the website under

the Scholarship Tab.

If you know of a deserving student in Schenectady County,

please direct them to our website.

Applications must be postmarked by April 24th, 2016.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Charlie, the dog is

now legitimate!!

Fashion Show/Cyndie Powell, Chair The wrap-up meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday,

April 12th at The NBT Bank Boardroom at 433 State

Street, at 5:30 pm. Please let Cyndie know if you will be

able to attend. If you are not able to attend and have an idea

or suggestion to make this event even more successful,

please email your thoughts to cyndie@nycap.rr.com, before

the meeting.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Programs/Carolyn Sabol, Chair

Please mark your calendars for these meetings dates.

03/22/16 – Women’s History Month—Mary Pritchard,

Shirley Readdean and Rowie Taylor will discuss

“The YWCA's Domestic Violence Support

Services Beginnings- Schenectady Women

Making History 40 Years Ago”

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

er, Puzzles Cafe & Bakery

05/24/16 –Installation of Officers and New Member

Induction Ceremony / Guest Speaker - Mary Cheeks, General

Manager, The Rivers Casino, Schenectady

06/28/16 –Scholarship Awards Banquet

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 let Carolyn know.

BPW Foundation/Bonnie Keller (liaison) Bonnie is asking our club members to promote “Equal

Pay Day” on Tuesday, April 12th, by wearing RED,

and to recognize that it takes women 469 days to make

as much money as a man would make only working

365 days.

Check out the Foundation’s new and improved

website at www.bpwfoundation.org

Carter Opens All Military Occupations,

Positions to Women By Cheryl Pellerin, DoD News, Defense Media Activity

Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that beginning in Janu-

ary 2016, all military occupations and positions will be open to

women, without exception.

For the first time in military history, as long as they qualify and

meet specific standards, the secretary said women will be able to

contribute to the Defense Department mission with no barriers at

all in their way.

Even more importantly, he said, the military services will be bet-

ter able to harness the skills and perspectives that talented women

have to offer.

Though more than 111,000 positions had opened to women in

uniform since 2013, nearly 10 percent of military positions or

220,000 positions had remained closed to women. These included

infantry, armor, reconnaissance, and some special operations

units, the secretary said.

“Fully integrating women into all military positions will make the

U.S. armed forces better and stronger but there will be problems

to fix and challenges to overcome,” he said. “We shouldn’t di-

minish that.”

United States Army First Lt. Shaye Haver, center, and Capt. Kristen Griest, right,

in August after becoming the first female graduates of the Army's demanding

Ranger School. —Credit John Bazemore/Associated Press

Membership/Kim Bellizzi, Chair As of February 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.

Woman of the Year/Jane Osterhout, Chair Jane reported at the January meeting that there have been

so many excellent applicants for 2014 and 2015 that the

committee will chose two worthy candidates from that pool

of applicants. The names will be announced by July 1.

Career Development/Elena Alvarez, Chair Elena is working on a program to help local leaders become

more effective by attending a seminar entitled “Mastering

Meetings Using Roberts Rules.” Scheduled date is Thursday,

5/5/16 from 5:45pm to 8:45pm at the Stockade Inn.

Speaker is Attorney Andrew Howard. Proposed member cost

is $40 and non-member is $45. More information to follow

as it becomes available.

Status of Women Committee/Jane Osterhout Jane and Bonnie will be working together to find a way to

celebrate “Equal Pay Day.” They will be looking for a way

to get local women in the community involved to bring

awareness to the fact that pay equality is still an issue,

whereby women still earn less than men in similar profes-

sions.

Jane and Bonnie will keep the club members posted on

their ideas as they become available.

Youth Leadership/Kim Bellizzi, Chair

Life Unplugged is scheduled for Sat March 12th at

Schenectady High School. Kim reported that there are

50 volunteers to date and approximately 40 student ap-

plications.

The event has been posted on both The Schenectady

and Niskayuna School districts websites. Kim has met

with several local school administrators to discuss their

staff and student participation. Barb Ortiz from CDTA

has offered to get free CDTA passes for students that

need transportation to and from the event.

Kim reported that the following sponsorships have

been received already: Bonnie Keller (NBT Bank),

Frist National Bank of Scotia, Janet Calise (Allegra

Printing), Christina Meier, Cyndie Powell (Raymond

James Financial Services, Inc. ), Kim Bellizzi (Invisible

Fence of the Tri-Cities and Hudson Valley, Heather Pe-

terson and Susan Watson (Watson Peterson, CPAs.

LLC), Amy Aldrich (State Farm Insurance), Lia Mo-

tors, and The Schenectady Kiwanis Club.

Pam Moore from Price Chopper will supply food and

snacks. Stewarts Shops, Bruegger’s, Panera Bread, and

“A Magical Tea” have donated breakfast items. Shelle

Hamil will be there to video the event to put together a

promotional commercial for future use.

Maria Kagas will be there with her new TREEBU

program for career planning, with hopes that the stu-

dents will be able to participate as beta “Discovery Us-

ers” and also asked that our members log on to the site

to become beta “Enterprise Users.” Dean Skarlis will

also be there as a college planner and Anna Williams,

from Pens Ink, will be there as a speaker at lunch to ex-

plain her business.

Thank you to all who have donated or volunteered to

make this year’s event possible.

You can reach Kim at kimbellizzi13@gmail.com

or 518-859-8254

Tuesday,

April 12,

2016

Among our Members/ Announcements Cay Raycroft, past president of Schenectady BPW, is recuperating well from her bout with “shingles” that did a number on

her this past fall. Ear, left eye, and lips were badly affected and eventually developed into Bell’s palsy. As of now, she is fully recuperated from that setback.

Her assisted living facility is splendid in New Hampshire, which is 35 miles from her daughter and family. David lives with daughter in Hebron, NH and is enjoying “Live free or die.”

If you would like to contact Cay, here is her information: Cay Raycroft Room 215 Golden View Health Care Center Phone: (603) 677 4347 19 NH Route 104 Meredith, NH 03253

Jane Schramm from Heritage Home for Women would like to announce: “CALLING ALL BAKERS” The Heritage Home for Women 7TH ANNUAL CAKE WALK is planned for April 7th, 2016 at the Home located at 1519 Union Street in Schenectady. This is a wonderful fundraising event that eve-ryone can participate in to help raise funds for personal care items for the Residents, our Ladies. To participate, you can either bake or donate a cake (or 12 cupcakes), buy a raffle ticket ($5) for a chance to win a cake in the cake walk, or come and cheer on our ladies who will be walking the walk. For more information, please visit online at www.heritagehome4women.net or jschramm@heritagehome4women.net

Elena Alvarez would like to remind our club members that The Rotary is having a fundraiser Karaoke Night at the Van-Dyke Restaurant on Thursday, March 10th at 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM. An evening of fun, food, a silent auction and celebrity judges - all to support the Schenectady Rotary Club's service in our community. Cash prizes and trophies awarded to the top three Singers. Tickets are $25 per person. Call 518-421-9680 or go to karaoke@schenectadyrotary.org —please support Rotary events.

Kris McConville is happy to announce that she has joined Home Instead Senior Care in Schenectady as the 'on-call coordi-nator' for the agency. She will be handling scheduling of caregivers when the office is closed by covering the phones in the evenings and weekends on a 3 week on/1 week off basis. She will also be working in the office there on Wednesday after-noons and every other Saturday. She intends to still operate her law firm on a limited part-time basis."

Two of our members who have had some health-related problems recently.

First is Dee DesBois. Dee had a small heart attack last month. Dee wanted to let us all know that she is doing okay and will most likely have a small procedure in the near future to repair her heart’s electrical system.

Then we have Rayn Boncie. Last week, Rayn took a fall down her stairs and broke her tail bone in two places. She is in a lot of pain, but is still managing to get into her crisis center and is trying her best to not miss a beat.

Both of these ladies need our positive thoughts and prayers

June 30, 2016

Dee DeBois 3581 Guilderland Ave. Schenectady NY 12306 Cell: (518)894-7355 Dnd1947@gmail.com

Rayn Boncie 1O1 Cheyenne Road Glenville, NY 12302 W 518-630-6137 W: 518-630-5143 rboncie@tomvo.org

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.)