The Rotary Club of Fort Wayne is back to
in-person meetings at Parkview Field!
Zoom meeting attendance continues as an option.
Please attend via the means that works best for you!
MONDAY MEETINGS at Parkview Field and via Zoom
11:30 AM – NETWORKING
12:00 - 1:00 PM MEETING
DON'T MISS THIS!
May 3, 2021
Paul Harris Award Presentations & Celebration
President Jeff Peat
Zoom meeting link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/7145544439
INSPIRATION: Randy Roberts
ROTARY IS... Randy Roberts
SPIN AUTHOR: TBA
House: Kathy Callen
AV: Jonathan Busarow
PROGRAM: Special Paul Harris Award Presentations & Milestone Celebrations
MENU: Soups and Salad, Chicken Teriyaki, Fried Rice, Steamed Broccoli, Cake
Programs coming up…. Remember to invite guests to hear our great programs!
May 10: RYE, Former Inbound Students Reflections on their experience
May 17: Jaki Schreier, The Jewish Federation, Education on the Holocaust
May 24: Brenda Gerber Vincent & Barry Schrock, Greater Fort Wayne Inc.
May 31: NO MEETING IN OBSERVANCE OF MEMORIAL DAY
ANNOUNCEMENTS...
- May 21: Community Service Award Nominations due
- June 24: Annual Celebration Dinner at Parkview Field
- September 14: Big Easy Feast, Parkview Field
- Rotary International Virtual Convention - June 12-16, 2021, Taipei, Taiwan
- The Peace Committee's Book Club is held on the 1st Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m.
- If you attend club meetings on Zoom, don’t forget the support for service fee! Send a check to Rotary, PO Box 11141, Fort Wayne IN 46856 ($3 per week) or pay using paypal: https://paypal.me/FWRotaryFoundation?locale.x=en_US
- The Zoom Room is available for committee meetings. Schedule with Jane.
- To get to the Fort Wayne Rotary Club home page, use https://portal.clubrunner.ca/4164 or www.rotaryfortwayne.org
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE APRIL 26, 2021 MEETING:
Spin Author - Lisa Long
Attendance summary for April 26th: 42 + 14 guests at Parkview Field; 19 + 1 guest on Zoom
Moment of Inspiration - Carol Fuller
On June 24 at Parkview Field, your Rotary Celebration Committee is inviting you to attend a dinner ushering out one president and welcoming in another one. We will say goodbye to President Jeff and his team and we will give a warm welcome to President Lynne Gilmore.
Every Rotary Club in every community has faced their own set of challenges this year. This worldwide pandemic has tested us all to our limits. President Jeff and his team have helped us make it almost to the end of a most difficult year. I find him and this a source of inspiration. A world-class guy who learned how to navigate this new normal, and we call that Zoom, I am inspired by how many committees forged ahead and thought of ways to execute several projects this year. I’m inspired by diverse programs that continue to present a wide spectrum of topics to educate and still engage our club. I’m inspired by our international service projects such as building hospitals and schools in some of the most remote areas of the world, including global grants that is making our club a leader in this area. I’m inspired by local commitment to service projects such as Go Baby Go!, Wellspring and Washington school. I’m inspired by our club’s membership committee who has challenged and is seeking out new members during these restricted and troubled times.
Please mark your calendar for June 24and join us for an evening full of celebration and inspiration.
Thank you all for what you do for our club and Rotary and let’s stay inspired.
Hope to see you then.
“Rotary is…Interact” – Lori Stinson, chair of the Interact Committee
“So what is Interact? Interact is a combination of ‘international’ and ‘action,’ so Interact and its students 12-18 who are making a positive change in their schools. In fact, in the fall of 2015, our own Dick Conklin back there was talking with Liz Bryan at New Tech High School about this program. And she was super-excited about it and they actually had a committee of students that were doing things for the community and thought this would be a great framework for it. So in 2016, that fall we had our Interact Club at New Tech started. So we’ve been doing that for five years strong. And just two years ago we were able to get one over at Homestead as well. So we’re excited to have two high schools that are impacting Fort Wayne.New Tech this year is a little bit challenged as far as the students are kind of split, going to school Monday and Tuesday but they're still doing some great things. I know they’re doing an event this weekend too. So Dee Hoffman is in charge of the Homestead group and we’re going to find how they’re impacting Fort Wayne.”
Dee Hoffman: “Interact started at Homestead two years ago and we have a presentation … but first I’m going to introduce you to again to the school counselor and she’s going to tell you a little bit about Interact at Homestead.”
Lyla Dean is sponsoring the Homestead Interact Club. Students from the club presented the history of the club and some of its projects - Leaders of the Homestead Interact Club offered an inspiring and detailed account of their many service projects since the club’s founding. President Jazzmyne Swenson explained the club’s early projects included:
- Aid for Hurricane Dorian victims in the Bahamas: “I couldn’t believe we raised $800 in our first project! I was just blown away,” Jazzmyne exclaimed.
- Purple Pinkie Day: The clubs raised $120–and a lot of awareness about Rotary’s quest to “End Polio Now”--by painting the pinkie fingernail purple of each student who contributed to the effort. The Bill and Malinda Gates Foundation’s two-to-one match grew the club’s contribution to $360.
Other Interactors Rebecca Lucky, vice president, and members Christine Abeysekera and Veronica Beifus, emphasized that the COVID-19
pandemic did not dampen their zeal. for service. During the past year, Homestead Interactors completed these projects:
- Made blankets for Indiana Foster Care, which are given to children as they enter foster care.
- Organized shelves and did yard cleanup at the local Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore.
- Made tissue flowers for Creative Women of the World’s display windows.
Congratulations Homestead Interactors! Your high standards and dedication to service provide an inspiring example of Service Above Self and “doing good in the world.”
And, a huge THANK YOU to Dee Hoffman for her leadership and support of the Homestead Interact Club!
President Jeff said the group will be receiving a check from Rotary to help them as they leave for college soon.
Student Rotarian of the Month
Jasney Combs, a senior at South Side High School, spoke about her experiences. She’s happy to have transferred in her sophomore year from Homestead to South Side High School where “you can tell the staff and students really love each other.” It’s much more of a family atmosphere, and she enjoys the more diverse population. Several students volunteer in the community through school groups.She’s been involved in volleyball, basketball, track, French Honor Society and National Honor Society. She’s treasurer for her school’s National Honor Society and received an Academic All-State Honor Mention in basketball. She’s also a volunteer for Windsong Pictures and Always 100 Basketball. Jasney plans to go to Ball State in the honors program, majoring in pre-med, and then to medical school to become an oncologist.
Rotary Proud
“I’m Rotary proud because I want to be a member of an organization that makes a significant difference in our community, country and the world. I became a Rotarian.”
-Dick Conklin, retired, joined Rotary in 1985
“I am Rotary proud because our club is able to make a global impact even though we are located in Fort Wayne. Rotary also enables me to make an impact locally through the local service committee, the Big Easy Feast committee, whether it’s a service project or collaborating with a local nonprofit to make a financial impact, Rotary is opening doors.”
-Dave Dyer, Tonn and Blank Construction, joined Rotary in 2019
-Dave Dyer, Tonn and Blank Construction, joined Rotary in 2019
The PR Committee of the Rotary Club of Fort Wayne welcomes (and longs for!) your "Rotary Proud" statements. Please take a moment to think why you are “Rotary Proud.” Then write or record your statement of 40 words or fewer. (Please limit videos to 60 seconds.) Send your statements and videos to:
If you’re not sure how to make a video, or don’t have the technological savvy, we’d be happy to help!! Mike Weber and Nichole Thomas will stick around after the Rotary meeting on Monday, May 3, and will be ready to video record your statements. Just stay after the meeting and we’ll handle the rest! Well, you’ll still have to know why you’re Rotary proud and have to say it on camera, but we’ll do the recording, editing and submitting for you!
If you’re not attending meetings in-person yet, stay tuned! We’ll have a Zoom video option coming soon.
Thank you so much!
In service,
Nichole Thomas
PR Committee, Rotary Club of Fort Wayne
PR Committee, Rotary Club of Fort Wayne
Annual Rotary Celebration Dinner
The 2021 Annual Rotary Celebration Dinner will be held Thursday, June 24, 2021 at Parkview Field. Lynne says this will be a date in history you will not want to miss!
High Fives!
Rotarian Lisa Waterman on Zoom congratulated Rotarian Holli Seabury on her Cable Foundation Award for service to the Rotary International Foundation that was announced during the District Conference. The Fort Wayne club had also nominated Holli for the Jack and Kay Kissinger Award established by the Elkhart Rotary Club. Holli is district-governor-nominee-elect and will serve District 6540 in 2024-25. Rotarian Dick Conklin sent her flowers.
Jim Cress has two grandsons who’ve had birthdays in the past week, ages 11 and 9. Campbell, the third-grader was selected by his school to join the math bowl, one of three third-graders with fourth- and fifth-graders. Their team won the city bowl and all the math questions were high school level.
Rotarian Rick Zolman was lauded for his work at the district level as chair of the New and Innovative Club Committee. Despite COVID-19 he’s helped get six clubs in different phases of creation, but all are active, Tim Gibson said. The furthest along is Huntertown.
Ron VerLee gave a high-five to his wife, Lorelei, who in a week would be headed for Lebanon to work with Syrian refugees. She will be working with a Lebanese nonprofit called Together For the Family on behalf of the Syrian refugees. They will be doing food distribution because of the current food crisis. She will also be doing product development and business training with women who have been trained in sewing skills. TFF has invited her to give her business training to their leaders.