Robert Burns, affectionately know as Rabbie Burns, is considered the first poet of common human-ity. He was the eldest son of a self-educated Scottish tenant farmer and began writing at the age of 15 to find a way out of working as a galley slave on his father's farm. His first volume of poems and songs was published in 1786. He dedicated himself to writing words for traditional Scottish

songs because he said that ‘a song without words dies’. In fact, he wrote the words to Auld Lang Syne, the song we traditionally sing on December 31st to usher in the new year.

For more than 200 years, tributes to Robert Burns have been held through the ritual of the Burns' Supper. Originally started a few years after his death by a group of his friends and acquaintances, to honor his memory, the sup-pers are now celebrated annually on the date of his birth, the 25th of January. Front and center at any good Burns' Supper is the iconic haggis, or as the bard himself described it, the 'great chieftain o' the puddin'-race’. We’ll have two on the buffet this year along with the traditional neeps and tatties-

more commonly known as turnip and potatoes- and lots of other delicious options (including salmon and chicken).

Join us for lots of food, songs, poems, laughter, and whisky. Sign/cash bar begins at 6 pm, followed by a bagpipe procession to the dining room for dinner at 7 p.m. Highland attire and black tie optional. Meredith Helgerson will host the event again this year and promises this year’s event will be even better than last. BE SURE TO MAKE YOUR RESERVA-TION EARLY! We sold out last year and had to turn people away. Tickets - $50 or 2 for $95 (proceeds benefit the University Club Foundation).

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Fiscal Cliff, Hurricane Sandy, Taxes and Spending...these are just a few of the issues facing our nation and our state and are sure to be among the top-ics as Governor Cuomo delivers his 2013 State of the State Address.

Join us for a $14* buffet lunch from 11:30 a.m.-1 pm, then watch the Gov-ernor’s speech on the Big Screen at 1 pm. Open to members and guests. Seating is limited and RESERVA-TIONS ARE NECESSARY. Call the Front Desk at 463-1151 if you plan to attend. Regular ala carte service will be available in the dining room. *Total cost, including tax and service charge is $17.50, beverages and des-sert additional.

Presented by Albany Torch Club. U Club members are invited. Cocktails at 5:30 p.m.; presentation at 6 p.m; dinner/discussion at 7 p.m. $30 per person (refunded if you become a Torch member). Make reservations through Pat Fishbaugh of the Torch Club at pfishdancer@verizon.net.

Help the University Club kick off its 4th year as a venue for “After 1st Fri-day” with singer-songwriter Russ Kennedy. This is his University Club debut, but Russ has been entertaining for over 30 years, playing to audi-ences in many pubs, restaurants and country clubs in the Capital District and beyond. Russ's rich vocals and strong guitar playing make up his trademark sound.

Russ has performed alongside “The Wanderer” Dion Dimucci, Don McLean, Aztec Two Step and Mick Avory of the Kinks. He brings his own style and sound to many of your favorite songs.

Since March, 2009, on the first Friday of the month, the University Club, through the generosity of the Univer-sity Club Foundation, has been pleased to celebrate the arts and cul-ture in Albany by serving as a 1st Fri-day venue, with free live music from 8 - 10 p.m. Join us for music, dinner and dancing in the Grille Room, dress is casual. Call 518-463-1151 to reserve a table for dinner, served until 9 p.m.

A native of North Albany, Mayor Jennings was elected the 74th Mayor of the City of Albany in 1993.

The Mayor will discuss the recently announced Local Waterfront Revi-talization Program (LWRP) under-taken to discuss the future of Al-bany’s waterfront as well as a number of other important developments in the city of Albany.

KeyBank N.A. is sponsoring the January 10 luncheon. “Key is pleased to provide charitable support to area cultural and educational resources, to volunteer efforts that help build local neighborhoods and livelihoods, and to civic leadership,” said Mitchell Miller, Senior Vice President, Key-Bank. “Key’s success – and the suc-cess of our communities – is one and the same.”

There will be a hot and cold lunch buffet from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m., with the program commencing at 12:30. The luncheon is open to the public and University Club members are welcome to attend. The cost for the luncheon is $20, which may be paid at the door. The Roundtable is also offering its guests the option of paying in advance with a credit card at www.albanyroundtable.com. Reservations are required by Mon-day, January 7 and should be made by prepaying online, by calling 518-431-1400 (the Albany-Colonie Re-gional Chamber of Commerce) or by sending an e-mail to albanyroundta-ble@yahoo.com.

Join us Friday, February 1st for ALIEN FOLKLIFE in the Grille Room from 8-10 pm.

A shared passion for contemporary and traditional folk music brought Paul Mercer and Joan Kosby together. Joan's warm contralto and Paul's clear tenor combine to produce a vocal blend reminiscent of sibling duos. Their fingerstyle guitar work is crafted to support the lyrics without overshadowing

them. Joan adds textural variety to Alien Folklife's sound with English concertina and percussion. Stop by and experience their quirky blend of offbeat humorous pieces and heart-rending story songs, or "wrist-slitters and side-splitters." Dinner will be available from 5-9 p.m. Please call the Front Desk at 518-463-1151 to let us know if you will be there.

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Welcome New Members!

The Membership Committee takes great pride in welcoming the following indi-viduals to the University Club family:

Therese Daly

Jonathan McAully

Bob Sheehan

Kathy Sheehan

Therese Daly is a 2012 graduate of Siena College. Her application for membership was sponsored by Colleen Ryan and Richard Conti.

Jonathan McAully is a 1995 graduate of the University of Maryland. He was sponsored by Colleen Ryan and David Hochfelder.

Kathy Sheehan is the City of Albany Treasurer and a 1985 graduate of Bowl-ing Green State University.

Bob Sheehan, is a Sales Executive with The Wercs and a 1995 graduate of Niag-ara University. Mr. and Mrs. Sheehan were sponsored for membership by Col-leen Ryan and Eric Hoppel.

With Sadness...

It is with great sadness that we note the passing of Marjorie Jakovic and Harry McDonald.

Mrs. Jakovic was a member of the Uni-versity Club for almost 45 years and as her son Jay notes, “was rather possessive of her club”. A true lady, her quiet, kind ways will be missed. Mr. McDonald joined the club in 1990 and remained a loyal member despite health and mobility issues that kept him from coming to the club in recent years. He will be remembered, and missed, most for his generosity and kindness We wish to extend to their families and friends our deepest condolences.

The Board of Directors, staff and management would like to take this

opportunity to express our deep gratitude to the University Club mem-

bers who so graciously contributed to the Annual Employee Holiday

Fund thus far. Available funds were distributed to the employees on the

Thursday before Christmas. The remainder will be distributed in Febru-

ary once all pledges have been fulfilled. There is still time to give if you

haven’t already done so, or if you would like to give an additional gift. A

number of donations were received after Christmas. Those, and any oth-

ers received during January, will be distributed in February. Donation

cards are available at the club or by contacting Ellen at 518-463-1151 or

Ellen@universityclubalbany.com.

Family can defined in many ways. One of my favorite quotes by Kendall

Hailey sums it up well:

“The great gift of family is to be intimately acquainted with people you

might never even introduce yourself to, had life not done it for you.”

In many ways the University Club is like a big, extended family. Your

membership connects you to so many people that you might not other-

wise have ever met. And that is the case for those of us who work at the

club as well. It is such a pleasure to be included in the occasions of your

life, both big and small and to get to know you and your friends and

families. We look forward to doing so in 2013 and for many years to

come.

Happy New Year,

It’s been a challenging year for many organizations and the same is true

of the University Club. Perhaps the single most important reason why we

are still here and moving forward, even in these difficult economic

times, is the LOYALTY and SUPPORT of our members. We owe a debt

of gratitude to the Board of Directors for their dedication and their will-

ingness to “think outside the box.”

We are also extremely grateful to those who donate time, energy and

financial resources to the University Club Foundation. They raised thou-

sands of dollars this past year through its fundraisers, events and requests

for donations and that would not have been possible without the generos-

ity of those who participated, gave and volunteered.

Another big thank you goes out to AT&T for their very generous dona-

tion of $5000 to the Foundation. That donation will allow us to fund

some great educational programs in 2013 which will free up other funds

for ongoing maintenance and repair of our historic building.

Officers: Warren Abriel, President Colleen Ryan, Vice President Amy Hines-Kramer, Secretary Matt Badalucco, Treasurer Tom Pandick, Past President

Directors: Joseph Brady Kevin Clancy Jeffrey Hill Meredith Helgerson Geoffrey Hoderath

David Hochfelder Nathan Maloney Frank Nemeth Timothy Varney

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

JANUARY 1 HAPPY NEW YEAR Club Closed

2 Lunch 3 Lunch 4 Lunch & Dinner Grille Room

RUSS KENNEDY Grille 8-10 pm

5 CLUB CLOSED

6 CLUB CLOSED

7 Lunch & Dinner

Torch Club Speaker Chelly Heagan 6 pm

Yoga - noon Bowling - 7 pm

8 Lunch & Dinner Grille Room Yoga - 5:30 pm Mixed Bowling - 7 pm

9

STATE OF THE STATE LUNCEON

12:00 Noon

10 Lunch Roundtable

Lunch Speaker Mayor Jennings

noon

11 Lunch & Dinner Grille Room

12 CLUB CLOSED

13 CLUB CLOSED

14 Lunch & Dinner Grille Room Yoga - noon Bowling - 7 pm

15 Lunch & Dinner Grille Room Yoga - 5:30 pm

16 Lunch 17 Lunch 18 Lunch & Dinner Grille Room

19 CLUB CLOSED

20 CLUB CLOSED

21

CLUB CLOSED Martin Luther King Day

22 Lunch & Dinner Grille Room Yoga - 5:30 pm Mixed Bowling - 7 pm

23 Lunch 24 Lunch 25 Lunch Grille

BURNS SUPPER no ala carte dinner service

26 CLUB CLOSED

27 CLUB CLOSED

28 Lunch & Dinner Grille Room

Yoga - noon Bowling - 7 pm

29 Lunch & Dinner Grille Room Yoga - 5:30 pm

30 Lunch 31 Lunch FEBRUARY 1 Lunch & Dinner Grille

ALIEN FOLKLIFE Grille 8-10 PM

2 CLUB CLOSED