As is our custom, President, Annette Oborn, opened our meeting by leading in the Pledge of Allegiance. After that, Mary Parr presented an invocation related to using the gifts that we have.
Annette then welcomed guests Susan Colville-Hall, and Olivia Pilon of the Akron Rotary Club and Kari Suhadolnik. She also thanked Steve Dunton and Dave Renninger for getting us all checked in this morning.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Foodbank is tonight from 4:30-6:30. Mary Dula asks that you be there if it is at all possible for you to do so.
Reverse Raffle/Silent Auction tickets are available from Gail Moseley. The $125 ticket includes two dinners, but there is also a virtual ticket for $100 that does not include meals. You may choose your ticket now if you have a lucky number, but pay later. The committee is also in need of items for the Silent Auction, gift cards and bottles of wine.
Adopt-A-Spot is looking great, thanks to our most recent weeders, Annie Hanson-Hilare, Dave Christman, Todd Hearty and Brad Ruth. Marty Tass expressed his appreciation and said that weeding time by Ray Evans and Wendy Waskovich over the next couple of weeks should wrap up the season.
Teachers' Supply Cupboard: Carrie Malotte reports that the cupboard is well-organized, stocked and ready to go. However, a new problem has surfaced...that of delivery of the supplies. The schools' delivery service is unable to handle it. Her hope is that Rotarians could go to the high school after our meetings, pick up the items and deliver them to a particular school. This will begin on September 13. In the true Rotary spirit, many volunteered. Carrie will have a sign-up sheet next week. She also reported that she has dropped off 2 book bags filled with supplies for students in need at each school. This was made possible due to the wonderful collections from the Stuff the Bus campaign.
Football Books: Pat Messmore says that there are only 30 books remaining. Get yours now because the first game is on Sept 2. Don't waste a chance to win.
Changes in our Kitchen: Brad Ruth explained that Denise Green who has been in charge of our breakfast since we have been here has purchased Sto-Nut Donut with her husband, Eric.
Bulldog Bags: As Bulldog Bags gets back in full swing, they need the following items from us by September 13: fruitcups, microwave pasta cups, toothpaste and toothbrushes, 24 or 32 ounce jars of pasta sauce, 1 pound boxes of pasta and 18oz. jars of strawberry or grape jelly. Bring your items to a meeting or drop them off in the lobby of City Hall or at the library.
SPECIAL NEED FOR A HOST FAMILY: Susan Colville-Hall from the Akron Rotary told us that an exchange student from northern France has started school at Stow Munroe Falls High School. She is with her first host family now, but 2 more families are needed during the year. If you are interested in having more information, contact Susan at: 330-714-3765.
DRAWING: Annie Hanson-Hilaire drew the 4 of spades so the pot will continue to grow.
PROGRAM: Dr. Mary Parr, a Stow-Munroe Falls Rotarian and professor at Kent State University presented our program this morning on her field, Recreation, Park and Tourism Management through the College of Education, Health and Human Services. She grew up in Iowa, received her undergraduate degree from The University of Iowa and ultimately her PhD in leisure studies from The University of Indiana. She has been with Kent State for 31 years.
Her program is a very hands-on type of education as they train students for fields such as recreation, park rangers, cruise lines and resorts. Part of their education involves trips and real life experiences. They may also choose a problem within a particular community and work to resolve that particularly in the fields of leisure and recreation.
This past summer, Dr. Parr taught in Florence, Italy where Kent State has a branch. People walked everywhere, as much as 5 1/2 miles per day, and visited places such as the Murano Glass Museum and surrounding mountains. There was some travel on gondolas. Valuable lessons learned on the trip included recognizing differences in cultures, learning that the work day consisted of more fluid time and wondering about sustainability in a system taxed by tourists. The culture also recognizes the value of rest and self-care as everything pretty much shuts down for the month of August. We were grateful that she shared many pictures of her experience with us.
President Annette closed the meeting by leading us in the Four-Way-Test and telling us to go out and create hope!
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Tonight: 4:30-6:60 Volunteer Time at the Foodbank
Wednesday, August 30,7:30 Morning Meeting at Bellacinos when Ilene Shapiro, County Executive, will be our speaker.
Friday, September 8, 7:15 a.m. Board Meeting at City Hall
Wednesday, October 11, Reverse Raffle/Silent Auction in the evening.
Friday, June 14, 2024, Golf Outing at Fox Den
Submitted by Andy Denton