Batavia Rotary Club

The Batavia Rotary Club carried on its annual pre-Christmas tradition Tuesday with a visit from Santa and players who will participate in the Club's annual basketball tournament at Genesee Community College after the New Year.

The tournament this year tip's off at 6 p.m., Jan. 2 with a game between Notre Dame and Wellsville followed by a 7:45 p.m. game between Batavia and Cal-Mum.

The consolation game will be Jan. 4 at 6 p.m. with the championship game at 7:45 p.m.

Attica will not participate in the tournament this year because the school's marching band is participating in a New Year's Day parade and members of the basketball team are traveling with the band and they may not back it back in time for the tournament. So Wellsville is playing this year but that team's players and coaches were unable to attend Tuesday's luncheon.

Meet the captains:

Santa's visit is filled mostly with gag gifts for Rotary members. This year he recognized three members who embodied "service above self" through their volunteer efforts.

Callie McCully, Notre Dame, Ryan Stefaniak, Batavia, and Baylee Miller, Cal-Mum.

Press release:

The Batavia New York Rotary Club has a long history of making significant capital contributions to local projects which are typically multi-year commitments.

Due to circumstances beyond our control, the most recent and major fundraiser –The Annual Corvette Raffle – was put on hold while the State of New York’s elected officials in Albany reformed outdated 1950s laws with regards to nonprofit/charitable gaming raffles. Specifically: to whom, where and when tickets could be sold.

In the 21^st century of Internet, credit card and remote sale transactions, the current NYS limited raffle laws continue to be a major constraint on Batavia Rotary Club ticket sales necessary to cover the previous cost of the car, 10 other $500 winners, the expenses to run such a raffle, and net proceeds to satisfy our financial commitment to donations.

These donations go toward the UMMC operating room renovations, YMCA/UMMC wellness center and our annual $18,000 college scholarship program for three deserving high school graduates from Batavia High, Notre Dame and Genesee Valley Educational Partnership.

All that said, the Batavia Rotary Club is pleased to announce they are reentering the game with a 100-percent NYS Raffle Laws-compliant Cash Raffle having a $20,000 top prize.

Only 999 tickets will be sold at $100 each and the vast majority of the tickets will be sold here in WNY -- in the counties of Genesee, Orleans, Wyoming, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara and Erie (as is still required by antiquated NYS Lottery laws).

The Batavia New York Rotary Club – 85 members strong -- will be soliciting and reaching out with tickets through a limited distribution and face-to-face contacts starting today, July 6.

The top prize winner will be selected as part of our Annual Brew Fest Event on Sept. 29 at the Batavia Downs Gaming. Five other lucky ticket holders will receive $100 cash prizes.

Contact any Batavia Rotarian for tickets. Tickets will also be available at:

• Lawley Insurance at 20 Jefferson Ave.
• Michael Kubiniec, DDS, at 180 Washington Ave.
• WBTA at 113 Main St., Suite 1

For further information:

Cash Raffle Event Chair, Sharon Kubiniec at (585)356-2771 or sharonKubiniec@gmail.com

Or at www.bataviarotary.com

Thank you in advance for your support! -- Laurie Mastin, president, Rotary Club of Batavia

Press release:

The Batavia Rotary Club’s popular annual Fly-in Breakfast is scheduled for Sunday, June 17, 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Genesee County Airport, 4701 Saile Drive, Batavia.

As in years past, the event is expected to attract more than 1,500 guests from across Western New York, as well as numerous private aircraft pilots from across the state and beyond. Residents throughout Western New York are invited to enjoy breakfast, meet the pilots, and view their aircraft.

The Fly-in Breakfast menu will feature sausage, eggs and omelets, pancakes, and beverages. Adult tickets are $8. Tickets for children ages 4 through 12 are $5. Children under the age of 4 are admitted free.

Tickets for the event may be obtained from any member of the Batavia Rotary Club or at the door.

Saile Drive is located just north of the City of Batavia and the Batavia exit of the New York State Thruway, off Route 98.

Over the years, members of the Batavia Rotary Club have turned the event into a well-oiled machine. Co-chair Edmund Leising and a team of almost 50 Rotarians will check people in, cook and serve a delicious breakfast, and clean tables after guests leave, all quickly and efficiently.

The event attracts families celebrating Father’s Day, people coming from church, or area residents wanting to enjoy breakfast in an unusual location. The event also attracts many people curious about aircraft. Guests can see airplanes landing and taking off up close, and talk with the pilots.

Proceeds from the event benefit the Batavia Rotary Club’s youth programs. The Batavia Rotary Club, founded in 1919, provides financial and volunteer support to numerous community service organizations, with a special emphasis on service to young people.

Batavia High School beat Attica 10-4 in the championship game of the Rotary Tournament on Saturday evening at Dwyer Stadium.

Earlier in the day, Batavia advanced behind the one-hit pitching of Hunter Mazur as Batavia beat Oakfield-Alabama, 7-0.

Jake Humes was the winning pitcher in the nightcap. Humes pitched 5 2/3 innings of no-hit ball before giving up four runs and three hits with two outs in the sixth inning

Tournament MVP was Batavia’s Griffin Della Penna, who went 4 for 7 with five RBIs over the tournament's two games.

Attica advanced to the final by beating Notre Dame 17-1 in a game shortened to five innings. Sam Cusmano picked up the win for Attica.

Thanks to Paul Spiotta for providing the information for the recaps of the games.

Press release:

The 20th Annual Batavia Rotary Club High School Tournament will take place tomorrow at Dwyer Stadium.

Due to the threat of rain, there has been a change in the schedule of games.

Attica will play Notre Dame in the first game at 1 p.m followed by Oakfield-Alabama vs. Batavia at 4 p.m. with the championship game scheduled to start at 7 p.m. There will be no consolation game.

Admission is $5 for an adult all-day pass and $2 for a student all-day pass. All proceeds from the tournament will help benefit Batavia Rotary Club charities.

Attica, Notre Dame, Oakfield-Alabama, and Batavia are the four teams participating this year in the 20th Annual Rotary Baseball Tournament at Dwyer Stadium.

Attica and Notre Dame play at 10 a.m. and Oakfield and Batavia play at 1 p.m.

The consolation game is at 4 p.m. and the championship game is at 7 p.m.

The consolation game and championship game will be broadcast and streamed by WBTA.

Photo: Front row, Chandler Baker, Hunter Mazur, and Jordan Schmidt. Back row: Damien Bush, Tylor Ohlson, Christian Cleveland, Brendin Klotzbach, Sam Cusmano, Joey Aguglia, Matt Travis, and Logan Veley.

The Batavia Rotary Club hosted its second annual meat auction Saturday night at the social hall of Ascension Parish on Swan Street in Batavia.

The event was sold out. Participants bought chances to win packages of meat, from hamburger to bacon and steaks to shrimp. Some tickets had more than one chance to win, with each prize often being available to more than one winner.

In a rematch of last year's Rotary Tournament finale, Notre Dame, this time, was the more dominant team, beating Cal-Mum, 43-35.

"We didn't really have an identity early in the season last year and it showed," said ND's head coach Tom McCulley. "They were a mature team and we weren't really there yet. This year I think we probably had the edge maturity."

The star of the game was Stevie Wilcox, who scored 17 points and seemed in command of her game from the start. She was named tournament MVP.

"We were ready to bring it and play as a team and work together because when we do, we're unstoppable," Wilcox said.

The Lady Irish are always tough on defense and McCulley said that's what he saw from his team again, especially in the first half, when Notre Dame held the Lady Raiders to six points. Guard Morgan Rhodes was a big part of that, he said.

"Morgan was steady all throughout," McCulley said. "She got some steals and helped us with ball pressure so we weren't allowing them to get comfortable in their sets, maybe not as quickly as they would like. I think most of the time, when I looked up, by the time Cal-Mum got in their sets there was 16 seconds off the close. I was shocked by that. That puts a lot of pressure on the offense to execute."

Margret Sutherland and Natale Thornton also had big games. Sutherland scored 10 points and Thornton scored nine. Both were a strong presence under the boards.

Callie McCulley added six points.

For Cal-Mum, Elyse Van Auken scored 12 points.

Besides Wilcox at MVP, the all-tournament team was Taylor Gadd, Attica, Ryann Stefaniak, Batavia, Elyse Van Auken, Cal-Mum, Margaret Sullivan, Notre Dame, and Callie McCulley, Notre Dame.

To purchase prints, click here.

It will be Notre Dame and Cal-Mum facing off tonight in the championship match of the Batavia Rotary Club Girls Basketball Tournament.

After Batavia delivered an uninspired performance leading to a loss to the Red Raiders 43-40, the Lady Blue Devils will face Attica in the consolation game at 6 p.m.

NOTE: the games have been moved from Friday night to tonight because of the anticipated cold snap tomorrow.

The Lady Raiders will face a motivated Lady Irish team that had two of the squad's top players both in sync Wednesday night, with Callie McCulley scoring 22 points and Margaret Sutherland scoring 16 to help lead a dominating 64-42 win over Attica. Natalie Thornton added 13 points.

Attica was led by Taylor Gadd with 13 points and Kacey Pearce with 10.

Top scorer Wednesday night was Cal-Mum's Elyse Van Auken, who scored 24 points. Makenzie Wilson scored eight points.

For Batavia, Ryann Stefaniak scored 13 points, Bryn Wormley, eight, and Kenzie Reigle, seven.

Two Batavia players missed the game due to illness.

A newcomer to watch with Batavia is 5' 11" sophomore Emma Krolczyk, who scored six points. 

To purchase prints of pictures, click here.

For the 29th year, the Batavia Rotary Club will host its annual girl's basketball tournament at Genesee Community College starting at 6 p.m. tomorrow.

The club hosted a tip-off luncheon today the Arc Community Center in Batavia.

First game tomorrow pits Notre Dame against Attica and the nightcap matches Batavia and Cal-Mum, the defending champions.

The consolation and championship game will be Friday at GCC.

UPDATE: Because of anticipated bad weather, the finals will be played on Thursday.

Photo: Margaret Sutherland, Notre Dame, Taylor Gadd, Attica, Mackenzie Wilson, Cal-Mum, and Bri Janes, Batavia.

Below, the Attica players who attended the luncheon pose for a group selfie after the event.

Press release:

Members of the Batavia Rotary Club are just about ready for the Club’s annual Fly-In Breakfast. It's at the Genesee County Airport, 4701 Saile Drive, Batavia, Sunday, June 18, from 7 a.m. to noon.

Co-Chair Edmund Leising said that the event has become a Father’s Day tradition for many local families. Fly-In Breakfast patrons enjoy a home-cooked breakfast and catch a rare glimpse of aircraft up-close. 

The event is expected to attract more than 1,500 guests from across Western New York, as well as dozens of pilots of small aircraft from across the state and beyond.

Residents throughout Western New York are invited to enjoy breakfast, meet the pilots, and view their aircraft. If the morning is clear, more than 50 pilots are expected to fly their airplanes in.

The Fly-In Breakfast menu will feature sausage, eggs and omelets, pancakes, and beverages. Adult tickets are $8. Tickets for children ages 4 through 12 are $5. Children under the age of 4 are admitted free. Tickets for the event may be obtained from any member of the Batavia Rotary Club or at the door.

Saile Drive is located just north of the City of Batavia and the Batavia exit of the New York State Thruway, off Route 98.

The Batavia Rotary Club hosted its first meat auction Friday night at the social hall of Ascension Parish on Swan Street in Batavia.

About 300 people turned out, bringing their own snacks and meals, eligible for a cup of free beer with their entry ticket, and the chance to win packages of meat, from hamburger to bacon and steaks to shrimp. Raffle tickets could only be bought with single dollar bills and some tickets had more than one chance to win, with each prize often being available to more than one winner.

The event replaces the Rotary's Corvette Raffle, which was a major fundraiser for the club for years before concerns arose about tickets sales that were deemed in violation of state law. 

Members of the Batavia Rotary Club were introduced to a new fundraising concept at their lunch meeting today that as far as anybody knows hasn't been tried in Genesee County before.

It's called a meat raffle and Andrea Aldinger, pictured, has participated in such raffles in Wyoming County.

She demonstrated the raffle for members today because the club will be hosting one April 7 at the Sacred Heart Social Center.

How a meat raffle works is, people pay to attend, in this case $5, and then they can buy raffle tickets for each item as it becomes available. For example, the person running the raffle holds up five pounds of bacon and says the bacon will go to the next auction winners.  Participants then have five minutes to buy raffle tickets, each numbered from 1-7, for $1 each. Then the person spins the raffle wheel and each person with the winning number (yes, there can be more than one winner) wins five pounds of bacon.  

There will be 20 such raffles, including not just bacon, but steaks, chickens, turkey, roasts and ribs.

Aldinger said participants need to bring a cooler to hold their meat, because they will win meat.

She also recommended making it a social event, getting a table of 10 as a group and bringing your own snacks and food dishes to eat during the three-hour raffle. The club will provide two kegs of beer, free until it runs out, and sodas will be free. There will also be a hosted bar, hosted by the church.

Raffle tickets will only be sold at the event, but there are separate prizes, including a wheelbarrow of booze and a freezer filled with meat, that people enter to win. See a local Rotarian for tickets.

Cal-Mum won the annual Rotary Basketball Tournament at Genesee Community College on Friday night with a 51-34 win over Notre Dame.

Gillian Flint of Cal-Mum was the tournament MVP. She scored 20 points in the final.

For Notre Dame, Callie McCulley scored 14 points and Natalie Thornton scored 11 points.

In the consolation game, Batavia beat Attica 61-55 in overtime. For the second game in a row, Ryann Stefaniak scored a season-best point total, after getting 26 on Wednesday; she scored 31 last night.

Stefaniak, along with Notre Dame's McCulley and Margaret Sutherland, were named to the All-Tournament Team.

To purchase prints, click here.

Notre Dame’s Lady Irish met Attica at Genesee Community College for the second game of the Batavia Rotary Club Girls Basketball Tournament. Coming into the game, Notre Dame was the favorite, but very quickly the game was in doubt for them as Attica came off the bench and started strong. By the end of the first quarter, Notre Dame had scored just two points on free throws and Attica led by 13 to 2. 

The second quarter was not that much better, even though Notre Dame tripled the amount of points they scored in the first quarter. Half time began with a score of Notre Dame 6 Attica 17.

Notre Dame's Head Coach Tom McCulley had a short meeting with his team in the locker room and they returned to the court to get ready for the second half. Whatever he said must have been effective because Notre Dame quickly took control of the game at both ends of the court. They were able to score consistently and shut out Attica’s offense. At the end of three quarters, Notre Dame led 23 to 17. 

Callie McCully (pictured above) led the scoring in the third for Notre Dame and continued the trend into the fourth quarter, ending the night with 15 points. Attica threatened to come back with a few nice plays but was not able to sustain a rally. Final score: Notre Dame 33 Attica 25.

Notre Dame moves on in the tournament to face Cal-Mum Friday. More pictures of the game are here.

For coverage of the Batavia -- Cal-Mum game, click here.

Notre Dame's Hannah Bowen, Gillian Flint, Cal-Mum, Emily Weber, Attica, and Melissa Mountain, Batavia, are all ready for the annual Rotary Basketball Tournament, which tips off tonight at Genesee Community College at 6 p.m.

Notre Dame's Head Coach Tom McCulley, pictured below, said the annual tournament is a great showcase for girls' basketball.

"It's a great atmosphere," he said.

Marty Hein, Batavia's head coach, said he and his players always look forward to the tournament. 

"It’s just nice to do it right here at GCC," Hein said. "Big gym, big floor, big crowd. It’s just a good time."

Batavia enters the tournament at 2-7, Notre Dame is 4-2, Attica is 4-4 and Cal-Mum is 7-1.

Several hundred people were at Batavia Downs on Saturday night for the Batavia Rotary Club's annual Octoberfest.

To purchase tickets to Rotary's Oktober Brew Fest, please click here.

Batavia Rotary Club’s 14th annual Father’s Day Fly-In Pancake breakfast will be from 7 a.m. to noon this Sunday, June 19, at the Genesee County Airport, 4701 Saile Drive, Batavia. The menu consists of pancakes, scrambled eggs, omelets, sausage, coffee, tea, milk and juice.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children 4-12; children under 4 are free.

"We normally serve about 1,500 people but expect over 2,000 people because it coincides with the grand opening of the new Genesee County Airport terminal," said breakfast Chairman Paul Marchese.

Presale tickets are available from any Rotarian, Marchese Computer, or can be purchased at door for the same price.

All of the proceeds are used by Batavia Rotary to support many local agencies as well as help fund our college scholarships given to three outstanding high school graduates from Batavia, Notre Dame and Genesee Valley Educational Partnership.

Treat your dad, grandpa and yourself to a great breakfast at the Genesee County Airport this Father’s Day.

Pictured from left, Rotarian Susie Ott, Paul Marchese, chairman of the breakfast event, and Batavia Rotary Co-President Paul Saskowski.