President Bob Sweitzer opened the meeting by leading in the Pledge of Allegiance. Mary Parr followed with the invocation.
PROGRAM:
As the club's President-elect, Mary Parr led the group in a discussion about the club's future and how we might create OUR Rotary year. She has been a member of the club for five years and sees great possibilities for us. She explained that when she agreed to be the president that she had some misgivings about doing this. However, when she went to the President-Elect training in Columbus, a speaker changed her view of her term by suggesting thinking of it as an opportunity and not an obligation. Mary suggested we do this individually and as a club.
Mary outlined some very basic understanding of Rotary's structure in the form of a pyramid. Rotary International is a world-wide organization that is broken into zones. We are Zone 30. Zones are broken into districts. We are District 6630. Then districts are broken into clusters and we are part of the Summit County North Cluster and finally we are the Rotary Club of Stow-Munroe Falls. All parts of the organization are dedicated to service and as dues go out to support the larger organizations, we are able to have a portion of that money come back to our club when we apply for grants. As we participate, we are looking at the good of the community, benefits to the club and finally at self-growth through our leadership and the connections we make. She has created a spreadsheet of the various projects of the club including a description of each, that can help guide us in the years to come.
With the international theme for 2026-27, “Create Lasting Impact”, Mary gave examples of the people we have touched through our service opportunities and how we personally have also benefited from that service, since when we touch another life, it has an impact on each of us. She then had us work individually and in groups at our tables to assess what we feel is important about Rotary and what keeps us engaged. See the attached “Creating Our Rotary Year” document for the questions that people addressed.
Take-aways from the group discussions included:
1. Keep trying to move forward.
2. Give back to people who have less.
3. Recognize the importance of social times together.
4. The impact on everyone when we help others.
5. The need to engage both older and younger people and also help them work with each other.
6. Develop a signature project.
7. Create energy through great speakers.
She emphasized the need for a President-elect to begin their work now, and that people run for the board positions. Bob will put a description of board members' duties in his next weekly bulletin. If someone is interested in being the President-elect, they can talk with Mary or Bob about what is involved.
A couple of final thoughts that Mary shared were: Rotary works best when we share experiences. And, Rotary may be a global organization but it starts with each of us. This is YOUR Rotary year too!
BUSINESS MEETING:
Bob thanked Todd Hearty and his helper Scott Miller for checking us in this morning.
Happy Buck: Annie Hanson-Hilaire shared that the Stow Munroe-Falls Library's live auction is now open and will not close until Saturday at 5:00 p.m. There are wonderful items including baskets, gift card and other opportunities. Proceeds will fund capital improvements at the library.
Rotary Anniversaries:
Tony Malorni (17 years as a Rotarian and 2 years with our club), Leslee Salhany (9 years), Maria Ferrara (4 years), and Matthew Aguiar, Aimee Budnik and Jen Ramsey, each with 2 years.
Wedding Anniversary:
Marty and Debbie Tass are celebrating their anniversary on April 26.
Birthdays:
Karen Monbeck, Leslee Salhany, Linda Trevorrow and Scott Miller all have birthdays this week.
Thank You: Bob read a thank you note from Ronald McDonald House, thanking us for the $300 donation and the meal for the residents.
Board Member Elections: These will take place on May 6th, Bob will get the duties of board members out to the club in the next couple of days to see if anyone else is wanting to put their name on the list. Minutes of the April Board Meeting are attached to these minutes with my thanks to Steve Dunton for taking notes of the meeting while I was gone.
The District Conference: This weekend, April 24 and 25 will be the conference at The Marriott on Harvard Rd. in Warrensville Heights. Go to www.rotarydistrict6630.org for more information.
Foodbank: Our next volunteer time will be Wednesday, May 13 from 4:30-6:30 at the Foodbank. Steve Dunton explained that if you are interested in helping, sign up as you sign in. Go to the Akron Canton Foodbank's website and register. Then all you have to do is sign in when you get there. Recently our workers have been sorting Starbucks donations but new opportunities can present themselves each month. Generally the volunteers go to Dontinos for dinner afterwards.
Heroes' Day will be Saturday, May 9 this year but help is needed on Friday May 8 at 5:00 to assemble the gifts. If you can help, go to the FOP Lodge behind The Church in Silver Lake. Then on Saturday morning, May 9, again go to the FOP Lodge to pick up gifts to deliver if you can help with that. See the e-mail from Jeff Film earlier today for more details. Reply to Jeff at jfilm706@gmail.com if you can help on either day.
Social Event: Since April 29 is a fifth Wednesday, we will not meet that morning. However, that evening, we will gather at Cellar 59 at 5:00 for a social time. Beverages and small plates are available for purchase. Call or text Dick Hall at 330-328-2776 to let him know you can attend. Guests are welcome.
Golf Committee: The next meeting of the Golf Committee will be Monday, April 27 at the FOP Lodge at 6:00 p.m. See the attached sponsorship and registration form and invite a friend to golf today! Responses are arriving daily so it should be a great time!
Drawing: Nancy Binzel's table had the winning ticket but she drew the queen of diamonds so the pot will continue to grow.
Zoom In: If you can't attend a meeting, use the link attached to these minutes to zoom in to a meeting.
President Bob ended the meeting by leading us in the Four-Way-Test.
DATES TO REMEMBER
Wednesday, May 6, 7:30 a.m. regular morning meeting at The Center when Carla Bayonnet, Executive Director of Summit County's Adult Guardianship Services will be the speaker.
Friday, May 8, 5:00 Heroes' Day preparation at the FOP Lodge
Saturday, May 9, Heroes Day Delivery at 9:00 a.m. from the FOP Lodge
Wednesday, May 13, 4:30-6:30 Foodbank Volunteer time.
Respectfully Submitted,
Andrea Denton