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 - November 24, 2025
President Michelle Jones opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the National Anthem. The invocation was given by Sharon Hamilton, who focused on Thanksgiving.
GUESTS & VISITORS:
Vice-President Zach Agett welcomed this weeks' guest: Shannon Rinow (guest of John Healy) and Jim Casini (guest of John Felton).
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
For announcements, Greg Jones and Deb Kathman shared details about this year's Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign and the need for bell ringers. Greg noted that as of Monday, all but six Rotary time slots for Tops supermarket on Washington Street were filled. Mike Roberts also explained that even if the Rotary's time slots were filled, the Salvation Army is still looking for Bell Ringers at other locations and anyone who can help out, even if just for an hour, is invited to go to the Jamestown Salvation Army website to sign up. He said this year's goal is $120,000. Michelle Jones also noted that Northwest Bank in Lakewood also has a Red kettle set up for anyone bank customers wishing to donate there.
In other announcements, Michelle announced that the club's JHS A Cappella Luncheon will take place this year on Dec. 8 at First Lutheran Church, starting at 11:30 a.m. RSVPs will be required and will go out a week prior to the performance. Club members are invited to bring along a spouse or family member. And Emily Cama announced that this year's Holiday Dinner will take place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 16at Sauce restaurant in downtown Jamestown.
Members were reminded that the club's Annual Meeting is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 22. At least 1/3 of all club members need to be in attendance in order for it to qualify as our annual meeting, so please make a point to attend if you are in town that week.
Finally, John Felton, along with his guest Jim Casini, announced that the Southern Chautauqua Federal Credit Union (SCFCU) will once again provide mock job interviews for high school students in Falconer and also possibly at Jamestown. The interviews will take place onJanuary 13, 14, 15, and 16 at Falconer and volunteers are needed. John and Jim reminded members that if you do plan to volunteer, it would be worthwhile to also take part in a brief training session, held by the SCFCU at a date and time to be announced.
50/50 and HAPPY BUCKS
Matt Clark sold the winning 50/50 ticket to Marion Beckerink, this week's winner!
Sergeant at Arms Doug Conroe levied fines against St. Bonaventure University alumni, whose men's basketball team won a recent tournament. He also levied fines against any member whose college football team won the past weekend. Doug also posed a couple of trivia questions tied to the Thanksgiving Holiday, including asking of the 82 million Americans who travel during the holiday, how many travel by air (answer was 8 million). He also asked when the first apple pie recipe was published (answer: in 1381 by Geoffrey Chaucer).
Happy bucks were paid by Michelle Jones for having a very enjoyable vacation and cruise. She also mentioned that she saw herself as an extra in the recent Halmark Holiday movie that took place in Buffalo. And she was also appreciative of the team for helping to hold meetings while she was away.
Diane Meckley paid a happy buck in memory of local resident Pete Carlo, who recently passed away. Prior to his death, Pete was very active in the community and was known for his work in passing out flags and placing American flags on the graves of our local veterans.
Ken Omeruo paid a happy buck for the club members who stepped up to help out during the day's meeting.
Ruth Lundin paid a happy buck for the Cleveland Browns finally winning a game.
And David Troxel paid a happy buck for his annual trip to Southeast Asia, where he and his wife are heading on Wednesday. He also paid for participating as a bell ringer in the Red Kettle campaign, and also for the privilege of being a Rotarian.
John Felton introduced the day's speaker, Patricia Graves, who shared details about the Chadakoin Valley Project. Patricia currently works at Project Management Institute, in their Global Talent Department, where she focuses on Board and HR data analytics. Driven by personal commitment to supporting community growth and positive change, Patricia dedicates much of her time to volunteer service. She is passionate about empowering communities, advocating for equitable opportunities, and helping to create environments where all individuals can thrive. Patricia serves on several local boards and committees, including the YWCA Jamestown and the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation. In her free time, Patricia enjoys traveling and reading.
Patricia explained that the Chadakoin Valley Project is an effort to research and record the history of the African American community in Jamestown, with assistance from the Fenton History Center. She explained that African Americans have lived in Jamestown since its earliest days when it was just a village. However, there is not a lot of recorded history or stories about the community. In the early days, the African America community in Jamestown was referred to as "Africa" or "Little Africa" and Patricia noted that this was initially going to be the name of the project. But she said that the Chadakoin Valley Athletic Club was very prominent in the community during the 1960s and 1970s. It was founded by Ray Hodnett and Wayne Leeper, two members of the Jamestown African American community. As a result, the title of the project borrowed from that club's name. Incidentally, the Chadakoin Valley Athletic Club eventually became Chautauqua Striders.
Patricia said the project's goal is to tell the full history of the African American community in Jamestown, building off of work that has previously been done by other community members, including Vivian and Lula Taylor. Research includes a survey that is being conducted among African American residents, asking about their connection to the community, including where their families lived. This data is then compiled, with the help of interns and volunteers, to provide a comprehensive set of information about the community that will be used to identify African American neighborhoods within the city. It will also help to make a case for another historic district to be created within the city, which can then be used to help preserve homes and other buildings associated with the African American Community. Patricia noted that this work is especially important because when the city's other historic districts were established 30+ years ago in 1993, there were 13 buildings that would have qualified for the program, had they been located within one of the historic districts. Today, only two of those residences still stand. Patricia said an ideal area to be made into a qualifying historic district would be the northside of the city, from Sixth Street north to 23rd Street, and between Washington and Main Streets.
Patricia also noted that this work is important because it is difficult to record and preserve our local African American history because so much of it is oral and sometimes it is not always accurate. An example is the first African American Church in Jamestown, which had erroneously been attributed to being started by Catherine Harris, a well known African American woman from Jamestown who assisted with the underground railroad prior to the end of slavery in the United States. For generations, many community members believed Harris also founded the first African American Church. It was only through research from another church in the community that it was discovered she hadn't actually been a founder of the church in 1881.
As the research effort continues and more information is known, the eventual goal of the Chadakoin Valley Project is to create a website that provides an interactive map, where key locations can be located and information provided about them. This information can include notable residents who lived in these homes, as well as the buildings themselves being notable among the community. She said that anyone interested in helping with the project is welcome to do so, either through volunteering their time or even making a financial contribution.
