This foggy morning, President Annette Oborn opened the meeting by leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Then, Program Host, Dave Christman led us in an invocation about the meaning of Rotary.
Annette thanked Sgt.-at- Arms and his helper Dave Renninger for welcoming us this morning and welcomed guests, Laura Trevorrow and Janet Newcomer, our speaker.
HAPPY BUCKS:
Bob Sweitzer had two Happy Bucks this morning. He told us that his daughter, Julie Karam, has received a promotion at Kent State University and that he is in his second week of semi-retirement.
CELEBRATIONS:
Rotary Anniversaries: Jim Laber has been a Rotarian for 14 years, Steve Dunton for 9 years and Olivia Smedi for 4 years. Thanks to all of you for making a difference.
Paul Harris Award: Brad Ruth was presented with his Paul Harris Plus 3 Award. Thanks you Brad for your donations to The Rotary Foundation! Dave announced that 32 members donated almost $15,000 to The Foundation in 2023.
Drawing: Brad Ruth had the winning ticket but drew the queen of spades, so the fund will continue to grow.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Bulldog Bags: If you have donations, please drop them off at City Hall's lobby or bring them to a meeting by February 7. For now, the library is no longer a drop off site. Items they want from us this month are: cereal cups, mini bags of pretzels, deodorant, 24 or 32 oz. pasta sauces, 1lb. boxes of pasta, 18 oz. grape or strawberry jelly. The next packing date is February 2 from 9:00-10:00 in City Hall's Council Chambers. Packing will also take place at the same time on March 1 and on February 14 from 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Coffee Collection: Before the donations collected this morning, there were 189 cans of our 250 can goal of coffee for Haven of Rest. By the end of the month, get your donations to Annette and Bob Oborn, 381 Silver Valley Blvd. in Munroe Falls, 44262. Amazon will deliver your order to them and if you want to them to know where it came from, complete the gift information.
Fifth Wednesday Event: Because next Wednesday is a fifth Wednesday, there will be no morning meeting but those who have tickets will attend "Cher the Musical" at E.J. Thomas Hall in the evening. If you wish to have tickets for only $15.00, contact Gail Moseley at 330-970-4241. When she has your money for the tickets, they will be available the night of the performance at Will Call.
Pizza Palooza will take place at the high school on Sunday, February 4 from noon until 3:00 p.m. Gail Moseley and Steve Dunton will be coordinating the event for us. If you are free to help, contact Gail at the number above or Steve at 330-618-0368.
Foodbank: Our next day to volunteer will be Wednesday, February 14 from 4:30-6:30 at the Akron Canton Regional Foodbank. When you read the information below from today's program, everyone will know how much our help is needed. Sign up! If you are not registered, it is easy to do on the Foodbank's Website: www.akroncantonfoodbank.org.
Membership Event:Brad Ruth and Scott Miller gave information about our Membership Recruitment event which will be on February 29 at the VFW Hall from 6:00-8:30 p.m. There will be refreshments, games and information about the club. It was suggested that we look for people who have a heart for giving and who live the "service above self" motto. Each member was given a card that can be used as a recruitment tool. A copy of the front and back of the card is attached to these minutes. Use the QR code to register or get a card from Scott Miller.
Cluster Grant: For this year's Cluster Grant we will be assisting with Housewarming Packages for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. On Friday, February 23 there will be a Work Day from noon until 3:00 when we will be packing new home baskets. At the end of the time the caseworkers will bring their clients to pick up their packages. Watch for further information but put it on your calendar now.
Grant Training: If we want to apply for a club grant for next year, we must have two people attend a grant seminar on zoom. The dates are February 10, form 9-11 a.m., February 21 from 6-8 p.m. and March 9 from 9-11 a.m.You only need to attend one of the sessions. To register, go to www.rotarydistrict6630.org. Click on District 6630 then scroll down to district calendar and click on the date for which you want to register. Let Annette know that you are going or contact her for more information.
Career Tech Month: For all of our February meetings we will again emphasize career tech programs in our community and in our schools. We are a part of the Six District Compact which offers opportunities in the six related districts of Kent, Stow-Munroe Falls, Tallmadge, Cuyahoga Falls, Woodridge and Tallmadge. For the first week, we will learn how physical therapy has changed in the last 37 years. Chris Miloscia will be featured.
Zoom Meetings: The link to zoom if you can't attend a meeting is attached to these minutes.
PROGRAM:
Program Host, Dave Chrisman shared that two events stand out in his service to Rotary. The first was pouring beer at Rockin' on the River. Second was his volunteer work with the Akron Canton Regional Foodbank which started about 12 years ago. He reminded us that our volunteer time is now the second Wednesday of the month from 4:30 to 6:30 at the Foodbank. Usually there is dinner afterwards.
Dave then introduced Janet Newcomer who in 2021 became the Major Gifts Officer at the Foodbank. She assists individuals and families in planned giving. Previously she worked for Rotary International at the Foundation and Rise Against Hunger. She is a member of Rotary Sunrise in Medina and is a graduate of Kent State University and has recently completed Leadership Medina County.
She began by thanking the club for their donations to the Foundation and stated that Rotary is the greatest humanitarian service organization in the world.
She said that Foodbanks really do operate much like banks. Food and funds are donated, then they are stored and made available when needed. Basically, extra food is deposited and then withdrawn by those who need it. LocallyThe food is given to neighbors in need through 600 partners in this Foodbank's 8 county (Carrollton, Holmes, Median, Portage, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas and Wayne) region. We tend to think of hunger being a problem in third world countries but it is a real problem here. When matched with the idea that so much food goes to waste here, people are able to be fed. The estimate is that nationally 80 million tons of edible food is wasted in the U.S. every year.
Last year the second phase of a capital improvement expansion program created more warehouse space in Canton so that the southern counties would not have to drive all the way to Akron. They ended up serving about 8 times more families than was projected.
In the Akron warehouse, there is 102,000 square feet of storage space which means they can store 4 million pounds of food. The inventory turns over every 4-6 weeks. 2023 saw an all-time high in use. Not including refrigeration and freezer space, enough food was processed for 27,000,000 meals. Some of the biggest providers of food are Giant Eagle, Sams Club, Walmart, Pepsica, Smuckers, Aldi's, Coke, Shearers, Buehlers and Target. Food drives are an important part of the inventory and although they are a small portion of what is received, they are a huge part in raising awareness of food insecurity.
The Foodbank is involved in programs to feed seniors and children who are challenged in finding enough food. Last year 417, 000 lbs. of food went to seniors in this area and 15,000 students were fed through school lunches, backpacks for weekends and take home bags. Locally 1 in 8 children in our service are face food insecurity and 67,000 people face this problem in Summit County.
The need is great and volunteer efforts are a crucial part of addressing the need. Last year over 64,000 of volunteer hours were given. That volunteer time translates into 1.6 million meals. As the need increases, so does the need for volunteers. We were challenged to tell our friends and neighbors about the importance of these volunteer efforts. To register to volunteer, simply go to www.akroncantonfoodbank.org and go to the registration tab. You are needed!
Annette closed the meeting by leading us in the Four-Way Test.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Wednesday, January 31, No morning meeting
Sunday February 3, Akron Club Chili Open at Hale Farm 9:00-2:00
Wednesday, February 7, 7:30 a.m. morning meeting at Bellacinos where Chris Miloscia will present "How Physical Therapy Has Changed in the Last 37 years." This will be the start of Career Tech Month
Sunday, February 4, Noon until 3:00, Pizza Palooza at the high school
Wednesday, February 7, Bulldog Bag items due
Friday, February 9, 7:15 a.m. Board Meeting at City Hall
Wednesday, February 14 Deliver Teacher Supply Closet items right after the meeting
Wednesday, February 14, 4:30-6:30 p.m. Volunteer time at the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank
Friday, February 23, Noon until 3:00 Cluster Grant Work Day
Thursday, February 29, Membership event 6:00 at VFW Hall
Saturday, May 11, Heroes' Day
Friday, June 14, Golf Outing at Fox Den
Submitted by Andrea Denton