After President Annette Oborn opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance, Bob Oborn, Program Host, followed with an invocation about youth.
Annette welcomed our guests, Nami and James Miller, Susan Colville Hall and Maelle Gorisse and thanked Sgt.at Arms Steve Dunton and his helper Dave Renninger for welcoming us this morning.
HAPPY BUCKS:
Tony Malorni thanked the club for being part of the collection of over 700 books that he used as Santa when he visited early learning programs in Akron.
Maria Ferrara announced that she received her black belt in Tae Kwon Do after 30 years of effort.
CELEBRATIONS:
Rotary Anniversary: Ray Evans is observing 19 years as a Rotarian.
Birthdays: Mike Kostyack, Annie Hanson-Hilaire and Andy Denton all have birthdays this week. We sang to Mike and Andy.
The Rotary Foundation: Dave Renninger announced that we have collected more than $15,000. He also presented a Paul Harris +Five to Tom Loepp and Paul Harris + Four Awards to both Annette and Bob Oborn. Thanks for your support!!!!
Drawing: Maria had the winning ticket but drew the queen of diamonds so the pot will continue to grow.
Bulldog Bags: Items for January are: Ramen noodle packs, Nutrigrain bars, toothpaste and toothbrushes,boxes of granola bars, 8-pack boxes of hot chocolate mix and Manwich sloppy joe mix. Please drop off your items by January 10 in the lobby of City Hall or at the library.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Board Meeting: There will be no Board meeting this Friday.
Foundation Board: Our Foundation Board is looking for a new member, who is a person not on the club's board. Please contact either Christina Gary at 330-607-3033 or christinamgary@gmail.com or Annette Oborn at 330-813-2059 or aoborn@att.net to discuss the responsibilities or to volunteer.
Next Week's Meeting: We will have our Holiday Party so be sure to wear your ugly sweater for the ugly sweater contest. Also bring some extra money that we can donate to our Bellacino servers. This is our chance to say thanks to them.
Holiday Helping Hands Wrapping Party: John Pribonic reported that the drive is going very well. We only need five more gifts and the $250 that has been donated should cover that. We will meet in the Council Chambers of City Hall at 5:30 on Monday, December 11 to wrap and get ready for the distribution. Food will be catered by Bellacinos. John also explained that the library will be donating age-appropriate books for each child.
Holiday Helping Hands Delivery: John Long is in charge of the gift delivery which will take place on Saturday, December 16. He could still used a couple more delivery teams. If you are able to help, contact John at either 330-571-7809 or johnjlong@longshoes.com.
Salvation Army Bell Ringing: This continues to go well. Ringers for this Saturday are Roger Cline and Dave Christman from 10:00 until 12:00, Carrie Malotte and Annette Oborn from noon until 2:00 and De-De Mulligan and Ray Evans from 2:00 until 4:00. Stuff the Bucket will be December 16 so either bring your donations to the meeting next week or drop by Acme in Stow to donate there.
Food Bank: Our volunteer time is next Wednesday, December 13 from 4:30 to 6:30 at the Foodbank. Please help if you can.
Teacher Supply Closet Delivery: Next Wednesday, after the meeting we will deliver items from the closet to various schools in the district. Please help if you can.
Membership Committee: Brad Ruth reported that the Membership Committee has begun to solidify their plans. There will be an evening event on February 29, 2024 hosted by the club where we hope to have 30-40 membership prospects in attendance. He asks that each club member think of someone to invite. The committee is also working to attract area business leaders. Maria Ferrara has created a PowerPoint presentation about the club which will be used at the event. More details to follow:
Thank Yous: The school system wrote a note expressing appreciation for the donations to the schools from the Teacher Supply Closet.
Dictionary Project: Annette gave information from a letter from Rotary International reporting that we are part of some pretty large numbers. At this point over 35,000,000 students world-wide have received dictionaries through this program.with 18,360.00 being handed out since 2002.
Caps for Benches: You don't have to save your caps anymore for now. We have done such a good job collecting them that there is no more storage room left. Thanks to all who participated.
PROGRAM: Susan Colville-Hall, who is a Rotarian with the Akron club and very involved in the Youth Exchange Program for our district, presented Maelle Gorisse who is a student from France and who is now at Stow High School. She explained that "Malou" is having a very successful experience here and encouraged Rotarians to think about hosting a student for next year.
Malou is 17 years old and she has been involved with hockey, drawing, reading, piano, acting and travel. She has already graduated from high school in France because they start school a year younger than we do. As she graduated she explained to her mother that she did not want to attend college right away but wanted an experience that would give her a broader basis in college of following her goals. She wants to be an English teacher in France and wants the ability to talk with anyone. anywhere. She is finding that she loves the people she has met here and is anxious for her two trips which will cover many highlights in the United States. She, along with other Rotarian Exchange students will visit cites like Boston, New York and Washington D.C. on her eastern trip and then will travel out west where she will see many of the national parks.
One of her surprises here is how early dinner is served. In France, they would not eat until after 7:00. School schedules are another surprise. In France they attend from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. and do not have choices in the classes they take until their last year. College is emphasized from they time they are very young, but there are also trade schools available for those who choose them. She misses her younger brother and will be excited about sharing her experiences with him and others when she returns home. Her experiences here are very valuable to her in reaching her goal.
Susan encouraged our club to think about hosting a student next year.
Annette sent us out with the Four-Way-Test and encouraged us to go out and create hope.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Saturday, December 9, 10:00-4:00 Salvation Army Bell-Ringing at Acme.
Monday, December 11, 5:30 at City Hall, Holiday Wrapping Party
Saturday, December 9, Salvation Arm Bell Ringing at Acme
Wednesday December 13, 7:30 a.m. Morning meeting at Bellacinos for our Holiday Part and Ugly Sweater Contest.
Wednesday, December 13 right after the morning meeting, make deliveries for the Teacher Supply Closet.
Wednesday, December 13, 4:30-6:30 p.m. Foodbank Volunteer time
Saturday, December 16, Delivery for Helping Hand items.
Wednesday December 20 and December 27, no morning meetings
Saturday, May 11, 2024, Heroes Day
Friday, June 14, Golf Outing at Fox Den
Submitted by Andy Denton
Andrea Denton
330-474-7265
330-414-1934