August 14 Newsletter

Thank You Andy Denton for taking the notes this week!

Invocation: John Prusa quoted Albert Einstein for an inspirational invocation.

Guest Announcer:  Dave Renninger did a wonderful job as guest announcer as he told two jokes.  If you missed the meeting, ask Dave about the fisherman who found a talking frog and the person who was speeding on Route 8 with a van full of penguins.

            The Rotary Fun Fact:   Who was the first woman vice-president of Rotary International?  Jim Stewart answered that it was Pat Matthews and won a Handel’s Ice Cream gift card for the correct answer.

Visitors:  Amy Smith, Jerry Wagner (Akron Rotary Club), Roger Edwards (Northampton Rotary Club) and Henry Harper (Keller, Texas Rotary Club)

Special Days:    Mike Jabbor has been in Rotary for 25 years.  Lou Dirker celebrates his birthday on August 20^th and Andy and Doug Denton observe their 50^th wedding anniversary on August 17^th.

Drawing :   The jack of hearts was drawn so the contest continues.

Fines:   No pin, Marty Tass

Presidential Announcements: by Bob Oborn   

Tom Loepp will be the announcer for next week.

New member Brad Jagger was welcomed.

The Board made the decision that the Rummage Sale will be in the spring

The Silent Auction committee will meet this morning after the regular meeting.

There is an Adopt-A-Spot opening for this   Saturday.

Bob read a thank you note from Kimpton Middle School for Rotary’s part in sending students to Cincinnati to the Underground Railroad Museum.

Jim Callahan will be having a knee replacement.

Pat Messmore announced that there are only 4 books left for the football pool.   People who have books need to have the money turned in within the next two weeks as the season starts on August 31^st.

Preferred giving sheets for an automatic monthly deduction for The Rotary Foundation were available this morning.   Bob or Pat can give more information to anyone who is interested.  There is a $10.00 minimum for the monthly deduction.

Mike Sekulich announced that Reverse Raffle tickets will be available next week.   Date:  10/16/.

Bob presented a $1000 donation from the club to the city in support of the Summer Sunset Blast and also mentioned that Golf Ball Drop tickets are still available from anyone on the committee.

Member Moment : John Prusa told us that he and his wife moved to Stow from Rochester, New York in 1993.  They have two grown daughters.  Kelsey is a fashion design major at Kent State University and Taylor is nutrition major at The Ohio State University.

Speaker: John then introduced Amy Smith from OT On The Go, LLC.  She is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University with her degree in Occupational Therapy.   Her focus is ergonomic function in the workplace. She stressed this by the pens she distributed and explained how their structure is ergonomically kind to our bodies.   She based her presentation around working smarter and not harder by utilizing muscles properly.  She gave some practical tips for the workplace.   In an office, get an adjustable height chair and move it up and down an inch every hour.  Employers should look for injury patterns and try to address them.  It may be worthwhile to invest in some equipment in order to prevent injuries. She stressed four basic ergonomic principles:  1. Use equipment correctly.   2.  Take frequent rest breaks.  3.  Do basic stretches 4.Change positioning frequently.  Amy also listed the 5 risk factors in the workplace as:  1. Posture 2.Force 3. Repetition 4.Contact Stress 5. Vibration.   She also discussed how Baby Boomers are staying at work longer. Although they may have problems with bodies wearing out, they are 30% less likely to get injured because they work smarter.

She gave guidelines for lifting and told us how we need to lift by bending our knees and keeping the object close.    Legs are the strongest muscles in the body, so we need to use them.  Also pushing, rather than pulling, is better for our bodies.

In conclusion, Amy said that “Ergonomics is an attitude, a way of looking at the workplace.  It requires a cultural change.”