At the meeting on February 2, 2018, President Amanda Tietze welcomed the 55 members and 6 guests to the meeting. President Amanda then asked everyone to please keep the following Rotarians in their thoughts and prayers :- Rotarian Pete Taflan, who lost his wife, Lenny, on Saturday, January 27th;
- Past District Governor Jim Russell, who is recovering from a heart attack;
- A sympathy card and a get well card were available to sign for these Rotarians;
President Amanda then asked anyone with a February birthday to please stand and be recognized.
Rotarian PP Paul White gave the Invocation.
Club Secretary Suzette Matthews welcomed the following guests to the meeting: Kitty Burgett (McKinley Speech Coach); Averi Allison (daughter of Rotarian Adrian Allison and Four Way Speech Contestant), Silvera Hayes, Emily Glover and Tavis Barton (Four Way Speech Contestants from McKinley Senior High School); Tim Blocher (guest of Theresa Blocher).
The "Happy News" was then provided by the following:
- President Amanda Tietze - to celebrate her daughter Victoria's 14th Birthday;
- - to celebrate her son Christian's recognition at the annual Eagle Scout dinner;
- - to recognize fellow Rotarian and Past President Scott Sandrock's "Outstanding Eagle Scout" Award;
- Bill Liber - to recognize his college alma mater, Purdue, Purdue graduate Neil Armstrong (also a past Rotarian of Wapakoneta, OH), and the success of the Purdue men's basketball team, currently 3rd in the nation...Go Boilermakers!
- Mark Clendenin - to celebrate son Logan's achievement in making the Dean's List at The Ohio State University - plus, getting a job at the Governor's office;
- Theresa Blocher - She and her husband are both proud OSU graduates and pointed out that the Purdue University team hasn't played the Buckeyes yet;
- Suzette Matthews - to celebrate getting Rotary license plates from her husband and fellow Rotarian, PP Dan Matthews.
Vice President Mark Rojek then took to the podium to announce the search for this year's "Rotarian of the Year". He stated there were nomination forms on each table and each Rotarian is entitled to vote once. Nominations should be kept private. Please turn the nomination form in to Mark or to the Rotary office. The deadline to submit your nomination is Friday, March 2nd. The form can also be found on the Canton Rotary webpage.
President Amanda then reminded everyone about the upcoming Fellowship Outing to the Canton Charge on February 21st. Please contact Shawn Dougherty or Tom Clevenger if interested. Deadline to purchase tickets is February 14th. She also reminded everyone about the upcoming North Canton Rotary Chili Open which is on February 17th. See Steve Fettman if you are interested in purchasing tickets;
Four Way Test Chairman Jeff Scott then welcomed the speech contestants and announced the judges (see article above).
President Amanda concluded the meeting with the following announcements:
- Next week's speaker will be Marion Coblentz, President, Hartville Marketplace;
- We will once again be in the back room of the Krassas Event Center.
The following Rotarians turned in a makeup at Friday's meeting: Mark Clendenin (Medina Sunrise); Jerry Ortman (Plain).