SPIN FOR OCTOBER 10, 2016
DON'T MISS THIS!
Rotary’s 100th Little Free Library™ reflect club’s service roots at Byron Health Center
This Monday, October 10, at 4:45 p.m. pm, the Rotary Club of Fort Wayne will celebrate the opening of its 100th Little Free Library™.
“We are thrilled that the ‘milestone’ 100th Little Free Library is at the Byron Health Center because our club has strong roots with that facility,” explained Candace Schuler, president of the Rotary Club of Fort Wayne.
The Rotary Club of Fort Wayne helped to fund and establish the Irene Byron Sanitarium, which opened in 1919. Schuler explained that in the club’s early years, Martin Luecke, who served as first club president 1915, was a primary leader in securing funding and community support for the sanitarium. Indeed, one of the original buildings, which has since been razed, was called The Luecke Building. The Byron Health Center is located at 12101 Lima Road, Fort Wayne.
The Rotary Club of Fort Wayne decided to install 100 Little Free Libraries around greater Fort Wayne in honor of the club’s centennial year in 2015. Based on the concept of “Take a book, leave a book,” the free-standing Little Free Libraries provide a way to share books freely within neighborhoods, along trails, and at other gathering places, and foster fellowship, and promote literacy.
In addition to the local “Little Free Library” service project, the club erected the 22-foot Rotary Club of Fort Wayne Centennial Clock on the downtown Allen County Public Library Green along West Wayne Street as its “lasting legacy gift” to the city, and coordinated the funding and building of a new middle school in Togo, West Africa, as its international service project for the club’s centennial.
John Drebenstedt, Director of Marketing & Public Relations at Byron Health Center, said, “We decided to repurpose the old phone booth in our lobby as our Little Free Library. This location means the Little Free Library is readily accessible to our residents, staff and visitors. It’s already had a fair amount of traffic and book turnover!”
This 100th Little Free Library opening is part of a much larger celebration for Byron Health Center, Drebenstedt said. From 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, October 10, the health center will celebrate its 50th anniversary as a licensed nursing home.
The former tuberculosis sanitarium has evolved into a long-term care facility for adults with complex needs by offering physical, mental, emotional and neurological services. Byron Health Center is licensed to provide intermediate and skilled nursing care, and the Byron Residential Center provides services to individuals who are more independent and able to live in an assisted-living residential setting.
The namesake Irene Byron was a nurse who directed the city’s first tuberculosis camp and a free TB clinic within the city. Additionally, according to The Journal Gazette archives, Byron worked to establish the city’s “first fresh-air school, which was only the second in the state, for weak anemic children who easily could fall victim to TB.”[1] Tragically, Byron never saw the sanitarium which bore her name as she died due to illness while serving at a military hospital in Waco, Texas, during World War I.
Reaching 100 Little Free libraries
Schuler, who headed the Little Free Library effort, explained the route to reaching 100 Little Free Libraries has involved a wide variety of “library stewards” who maintain the structures and their content. “We had three Boy Scouts earn their Eagle Scout badge by building Little Free Libraries. Today, we have ‘little libraries’ in city parks, neighborhoods, schools, fire stations, apartment complexes, in Citizen Square and near many businesses. They’re proven to be a great way to promote reading as well as enhance community within a neighborhood. I’ve heard several Little Free Library users say they’ve met many neighbors that they otherwise would not have known.”
Drebenstedt added, “It provides a new gathering place and conversational focus for our residents and guests. We’re thrilled we could be the ‘100th’ Little Free Library, especially knowing how instrumental Rotary was in establishing this center.”
John Drebenstedt, Director of Marketing & Public Relations at Byron Health Center, and Nichole Miller, Director of Life Enrichment at Byron Health Center, stand by their new Little Free Library, which is a repurposed phone booth.
About The Rotary Club of Fort Wayne (Downtown Rotary)
Incorporated in 1915, the Rotary Club of Fort Wayne is an organization of more than 150 business, professional, and community leaders who open doors through service through local, national and international service projects, as well as international exchange programs. The Club is a member of the Rotary global network, comprised of 1.2 million members who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. The Rotary Club of Fort Wayne meets every Monday (except holidays) at Parkview Field (second floor suite level) at 12:00 Noon. For membership information, contact Jane Wilks at fwrotarysecretary@gmail.com., or visitwww.fortwaynerotary.org.
DON'T MISS THESE PROGRAMS!
October 10
Andrew Bourne
IVY Tech: The Causes and Consequences of High School Dropouts
October 17, 2016
Kristina Johnson and Marcia Haaff
The Lutheran Foundation
Look Up and and Regional Mental Health Coalition
October 24
Andrew Bourne
IPFW: Local Politics in Fort Wayne
Bruce Haines, Stories Author
News from the October 3, 2016 Club Meeting
Riverfront Plans Offer High Profile Opportunities for Rotary Sponsorship
There are a number of focus areas for the work of our club as it moves into its next 100 years of service; such as, continuing and expanding our relationship with Washington Elementary School, reinvigorating our own Rotary Foundation, serving the disadvantaged in our community, and developing more options for fun and fellowship. Following the success of the Centennial Rotary Clock Tower at the Allen County Public Library, our Second Century Planning Committee is also exploring options on the club’s next high profile project. The answer may be found among the plans for the city’s riverfront development.
At Monday’s Club Forum, Rotarians 
heard from Fort Wayne Parks Director Al Moll and representatives from Design Collaboartive on the first phase of riverfront development, an area encompassing both sides of the Saint Mary’s River between the Wells Street bridge and Harrison Street bridge. Highlights of the plans include a promenade, park pavilion, event lawn, entry plaza with sculpture/signage, urban bioswale, educational water feature, urban streetscape, central plaza, urban riverfront terraces, elevated boardwalk, dock, interactive sculpture, and children’s play area. The theme of making the area an interactive one for visitors was emphasized and will be focused on the public spaces in a park setting.The Parks Department will lead and manage the riverfront development efforts. View the current layouts and renderings of Phase I here. Anticipated future private riverfront development would occur in areas surrounding the public spaces. Design Collaborative is part of a larger team of developers called Riverworks Design Group, which is comprised of Design Collaborative, Forum Studio, Hoch Associates, Engineering Resources, American Structurepoint, and One Lucky Guitar.
heard from Fort Wayne Parks Director Al Moll and representatives from Design Collaboartive on the first phase of riverfront development, an area encompassing both sides of the Saint Mary’s River between the Wells Street bridge and Harrison Street bridge. Highlights of the plans include a promenade, park pavilion, event lawn, entry plaza with sculpture/signage, urban bioswale, educational water feature, urban streetscape, central plaza, urban riverfront terraces, elevated boardwalk, dock, interactive sculpture, and children’s play area. The theme of making the area an interactive one for visitors was emphasized and will be focused on the public spaces in a park setting.The Parks Department will lead and manage the riverfront development efforts. View the current layouts and renderings of Phase I here. Anticipated future private riverfront development would occur in areas surrounding the public spaces. Design Collaborative is part of a larger team of developers called Riverworks Design Group, which is comprised of Design Collaborative, Forum Studio, Hoch Associates, Engineering Resources, American Structurepoint, and One Lucky Guitar.As a new club project that would be visible and increase awareness of Rotary, David Bennett pointed out three possibilities for sponsorship and funding: 1) the children’s play area on the northside of the river, 2) the overlook seating on the Harrison Street bridge, 3) the fountains adjacent to the compass pavillion. All club members will be asked to offer input about these options in the coming weeks as a decision on our next project would want to be made before the end of the year.
Happy Birthday Venla Laurinseppa!
Dee Hoffman and Bob Wearley offered a present and a chorus of Happy Birthday to Venla Laurinseppa, our Rotary exchange student. Venla received some Northside Legends apparel in honor of her attending high school there. Dee reminded our club that if you have opportunities to include Venla in your plans to go to a sporting event, a theatrical production, lunch or picking up an ice cream cone somewhere to please reach out! Contact Dee for additional information! Best wishes Venla!
Support the Local Fort Wayne Rotary Foundation
Did you know that each club member pays $100 annually to support the projects of our local Fort Wayne Rotary Foundation? You will see this on your twice-yearly dues statement, billed at $50.00 on each statement. "Sergeant Fines" at the weekly club meetings and club fund raisers also go to the Fort Wayne Rotary Foundation. Here are some examples of projects paid for by our local foundation:
Washington School partnership
Excellence in Education
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards
Student Rotarians recognition & scholarship
Little Free Libraries
Rotaract
Interact (at New Tech Academy)
Early Act (at Washington Elementary)
Rotary Circle of Hope/Environmental
Centennial Clock Tower
Rotary Friendship Exchange
Rotary Youth Exchange program
Shelter box projects
Togo school projects
Togo latrine project (joint funded w/RI grant)
Rotary Youth Exchange
World Affairs Conference
Other locally held and supported projects by Rotary Club of Fort Wayne: Cleo Fox Music Scholarship (Funded by Cleo Fox Endowment). Our local Rotary foundation is a 501(c)3, not for profit organization, and all donations to this foundation are tax deductible. (Note: This is NOT the same as the Rotary International Foundation, which all members are also encouraged to support.)
SPIN October 10 2016
GREETERS: Dan Carr (The Towne House) & Dr. Norman Kempler (Retired Ophthalmologist )
CASHIER: John Hoffman (Star Excavating)
INVOCATION: Ruth Phillips (Plymouth Congregational Church)
SONG LEADER: Jeanine Herold (Phillips Financial)
SERGEANT: Jeff Peat (1st Source Bank)
SOCIAL MEDIA: Ruth Koontz (Literacy Alliance)
HOUSE: Evan Hyndman (Home Nursing Services)
SPIN EDITOR: Bruce Haines (PBS39))
PROGRAM: Andrew Bourne, IVY Tech: The Causes and Consequences of High School Dropouts
Menu: Soup and Salad, Swiss Steak, Strawberries & Pound Cake
UPCOMING PROGRAMS: Invite a guest to hear…………..
October 17: Kristina Johnson & Marcia Haaff: The Lutheran Foundation Look Up and the Regional Mental Health Coalition
October 24: Andrew Downs, IPFW: Local Politics in Fort Wayne
October 31: TBA
November 7: Rick Fuson, President, Pacers Sports, and Tim Bawmann, President of the Mad Ants: New Pacers-Mad Ants Management & Our Commitment to Ft. Wayne
COMMITTEE MEETINGS
October 10: Membership Committee, 11 am
October 10: RYE, 11 am
October 10: Program Committee, 11:15 am
October 25: Board Meeting, 8 am
ANNOUNCEMENTS…Mark Your Calendar
October 19: Happy Hour, University of St. Francis’ Keith Busse School of Business (Old Chamber of Commerce Building, 5:30-7:00 pm, $10
November 10: World Affairs Conference, ACPL