Friends of the Albany Roundtable

2009-10 Annual Report and Preview of 2010-11 Luncheons

The following are highlights of the Luncheons and activities of the Albany Roundtable
Civic Lunch Forum during its 31st season:

2009-10 LUNCHEONS

Kirby White, community development consultant and writer and a founder of the
Capital District Community Loan Fund, kicked off the season in October by
discussing alternative approaches to the ownership of land as well as his two
mystery novels set in upstate New York, The Long Stair and Wilder Ponds. The
Roundtable Raffle was from the Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza.
Kevin O’Connor, CEO of Tech Valley Communications, visited the Roundtable
in November to discuss advances in telecommunications services available to
businesses and residents throughout the Tech Valley region of New York State.
The Round Table Raffle was a gift certificate to Empire Wines in Albany.
Albany Mayor Gerald Jennings returned to give his annual talk about the state of
the city at the January luncheon, which drew a capacity crowd and was sponsored
by KeyBank for $2,000. The Roundtable Raffle was a gift certificate to Pearl
Grant Richman’s in Stuyvesant Plaza.
Kirsten Keefe of the Empire Justice center addressed the February luncheon and
discussed the subprime and foreclosure crisis as it relates to New York State, as
well as outlining the innovative steps the state has taken to help homeowners in
terms of foreclosure prevention. The Roundtable Raffle was a pair of “helping
hands” salad servers created and donated by Peter Leue.
SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher visited the Roundtable in March to outline her
vision for a statewide planning process for the SUNY system that will serve as a
model for statewide collaboration for public education in New York State and
beyond. The Roundtable Raffle was an overnight stay at the Morgan State House
donated by the proprietor, Chuck Kuhtic.
A last minute meeting with the Governor prevented Gavin Donohue, Chair of the
Albany Convention Center Authority, from addressing the April luncheon, so
Duncan Stewart, the authority’s Executive Director, provided an update on the
plans to build convention center in downtown Albany in his stead. NAI Platform
Realty sponsored this luncheon at the $750 level, and the Roundtable Raffle was a
$25 gift certificate to Capital Wine.
The Albany Roundtable hosted an annual meeting in May with an evening
cocktail reception with author, blogger and environmentalist Colin Beavan a.k.a
“No Impact Man” as the featured speaker.

GOOD PATROON AWARD

Roger and Maria Markovics, Albany housing and social justice advocates, received the
prestigious Good Patroon Award in October for their efforts to ensure that Albany

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residents have access to decent and livable housing – regardless of their income. Susan
Cotner provided the introduction.

STUDENT GUESTS

The Albany Roundtable was delighted welcome 15 students from Albany High School’s
International Baccalaureate Programme to attend luncheons as our guests. The IB
Programme prepares students for university and encourages them to ask challenging
questions; learn how to learn; develop a strong sense of their own identity and culture;
and develop the ability to communicate with and understand people from other countries
and cultures. IB Program Coordinator Thomas McGurn, organized the student’s
participation, and Ms. Carrie Barown served as chaperone. Student guests were:

Student Teacher Stephanie Buono, Rachel Dias-Carlson, Barbara Leibo, and Brianha
Phillips, Melanie Mabee, Lauren Schaeffer, and Casey Waterson, Maya Carasquillo,
Samantha Cramer, and Emily Neuffer, Matthew Chamberlain, Lauren Ha and Rebecca
Vaughn, and three students in January whose names I did not have in advance!

2010-11 LUNCHEONS

The Luncheon dates for 2009 and 2010 are: October 13th, November 10th, January 12th,
February 9th, March 9th, April 13th and an evening event in May, date TBD.

The first Albany Roundtable luncheon of the 2010-2011 season will take place on
Wednesday, October 13 and will feature a presentation from Global Foundries on
Fab 2, a new semiconductor manufacturing facility located at the Luther Forest
Technology Campus in Saratoga County.
Michael G. Breslin, Albany County Executive, will be the speaker for the
November 10 luncheon, and will provide an update on the state of the county.

2009-2010 ACHIEVEMENTS

Grew membership by approximately 20% through membership solicitation at

each meeting, membership mailings in December and June. Support now stands at
approximately 100 members across all categories.
Friends membership (business and individual) totaled $4,520 from 9/09 to 9/10.
Friends and Misc. donations totaled $975 in 2007, was not itemized in 2008, and
was $2,805 from 9/08 – 9/09.
Fostered the organization’s financial stability by maintaining assets of
approximately $10,600 ($5,812 in bank, $4,800 in Community Foundation
account.)
Contributed $1,000 to The Stakeholders Foundation to join the Center for
Economic Growth and others to bring renowned urban theorist Richard Florida to
Albany on September 24, 2009.
Attendance at Roundtable luncheons has grown by approximately 33% over the
past year, with several meetings exceeding 100 participants.

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