Photo Briefs: First vaccines, community volunteer awards & Ithaca Rotary
Area frontline workers vaccinated
Cayuga Health officials announced Dec. 21 that Dr. Keith Lambert, ER physician (shown above), Kate Rosa, RN, and Dr. Sushilkumar Satish Gupta, pulmonologist/critical care specialist, were among the initial Cayuga Health employees to receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The frontline providers received the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, as part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Phase I approach, on Dec. 18 at Arnot Ogden Medical Center in Elmira. Vaccinations of additional Cayuga Health frontline providers will continue this week. Recently, Gov. Cuomo outlined a phased approach regarding vaccine distribution and administration. In Phase I, supplies are limited to those who may be at the most risk to include frontline, patient-facing healthcare providers. The first shipment of the vaccine for Phase I individuals meeting the criteria in our region was received by Arnot Ogden Medical Center last week. As of Dec. 23, Cayuga Health officials have received both FDA Approved COVID-19 vaccines and began administering them to their frontline providers employees early that morning. “We are pleased to have received both the Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna vaccines at Cayuga Medical Center,” states Martin Stallone, President & CEO of Cayuga Health. “We have strategically identified patient facing clinical and non-clinical employees as part of this first phase and much like our attention to increased testing, we will remain vigilant with our administering of the vaccines in accordance with county and New York State Department of Health guidelines.” For additional information about vaccines, cases, or recent exposures, visit: www.tompkinscountyny.gov/health. To view statistical data and official numbers as they are released by the Cayuga Health Sampling Centers visit: https://cayugahealthsystem.org/coviddata/ To register to at any of three Cayuga Health County Sampling Sites: visit https://cayugahealthsystem.org/ Locations are in Ithaca, NY (2) and Montour Falls, NY (1).
Tompkins Trust Company honors community volunteers
Tompkins Trust Company honored two individuals and four groups with James J. Byrnes Awards for Excellence for their outstanding volunteer service to the community. Twelve thousand dollars was donated to local charitable organizations from the bank’s endowment fund through the Legacy Foundation of Tompkins County. The honorees each designated their monetary awards to not-for-profit organizations of their choice. This year’s honorees are Martha K. Preston, the Gemm Shop Board of Directors, Richard and the late Rev. Eunice Tabor, the 2019-20 Volunteer Tutors and Mentors of the College Discovery Program, Ken Mudge and David Swift, and Richard Krizek. The honorees were presented their awards at a virtual awards ceremony on Dec. 18. View the ceremony here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLmEnyJOzc0&feature=youtu.be. “COVID-19 has had a tremendous impact on our community, and now, more than ever, it is important to honor and support the organizations that are dedicated to improving our community,” said Tompkins Trust Company President and CEO Greg Hartz. “The Trust Company, through the Legacy Foundation, is proud to recognize this year’s recipients who have promoted the arts, culture, education, helped those in need through volunteerism and have improved the quality of life for so many in Tompkins County.” The James J. Byrnes Awards for Excellence program was established during the bank’s Sesquicentennial Celebration in 1986 as a means of sharing its success with community members who have helped to enrich the quality of life in Tompkins County. In 2014, the Awards for Excellence program was renamed the James J. Byrnes Awards for Excellence to honor the retirement of Jim Byrnes, a longtime Ithaca resident and leader of Tompkins Financial Corporation. The endowment is administered by the Legacy Foundation, a local not-for-profit trust. The vision of the Legacy Foundation, which began in 1945, is a commitment to “improving the quality of life in Tompkins County for those who come after us.” Since 1986, the Awards for Excellence program has recognized more than 259 individuals or groups with awards totaling more than $372,000. A capsule look at this year’s recipients: Martha K. Preston, for her tireless work volunteering with The History Center and centering her life’s work on local history and preservation; Gemm Shop Board of Directors, an entirely volunteer Board, for its incredible efforts to the Trumansburg community as well as surrounding areas; Richard and the late Rev. Eunice Tabor, for their remarkable service to several organizations; 2019-20 Volunteer Tutors and Mentors of the College Discovery Program, for providing regular and ongoing tutoring and mentoring for a diverse population of youth in the program; Ken Mudge and David Swift, for their outstanding work as Program Mentors with Outings, a program of the Ithaca Youth Bureau; Richard Krizek, for his 27 years of service as the volunteer treasurer for the Special Olympics serving the Southern Tier, Tompkins, and Cortland Counties. In this photo: members of the Gemm Shop Board of Directors.
Ithaca Rotary launches 4th Annual Dozen Dinner Draw
If you’re looking for a unique holiday gift, consider a ticket to the Rotary Club of Ithaca’s Dozen Dinner Draw. Winners of the fundraiser receive gift certificates to the finest restaurants in the Ithaca area while also supporting local and international nonprofits. The 4th Annual Dozen Dinner Draw Raffle is expected to raise $15,000 to support Family and Children’s Services of Ithaca’s KINECT program, the Alternatives Impact AFCU Small Business COVID-19 Relief Fund and the Digital Literacy Solar Project at the UNIFAT Primary School in Gulu, Uganda. The drawing’s first prize is 12 $100 gift certificates to a wide range of restaurants in the Ithaca area. Nine other prizes include dinner, theater and concert packages, and gifts from local wineries and cideries. Tickets cost $50. Purchase information can be found at the event’s website www.rotarydozendinnerdraw.org or by contacting Rotarian Ray Brisson at brisson.ray@gmail.com. The Rotary Club is selling only 300 tickets in the raffle, so the odds of winning are exceptional. “This year, the Rotary Club is directing the majority of the proceeds from the fundraiser to the local community because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic,” said Juliet Gibbs, a Rotary Club member and organizer of the event. “In prior years, the prizes have been generously donated by the sponsoring restaurants, wineries, cideries, entertainment venues and local shops. This year, in recognition of the immense challenges facing our community and local businesses, Rotarians purchased and donated the gift certificates as our way of supporting the businesses that have supported us in the past.” The prize drawing will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 10, at the Rotary Club’s weekly meeting, which begins at 12:15 p.m. Anyone who wants to attend the meeting can request a Zoom link on the club’s website at
www.IthacaRotary.com.
