ATTENDANCE: Rotarians with us this morning were Tom Bahr, Rich Bedell, Bill Choler, Roger Cline, Andy Denton, Mary Dula, Steve Dunton, Ray Evans, Mark Ferguson, Christina Gary, Dick Hall, Brad Jagger, Mike Kostyack, Jim Laber, Gail Moseley, Annette Oborn, Bob Oborn, John Pribonic, Brad Ruth, Olivia Saltzmann, Bob Sweitzer, Marty Tass, Linda Trevorrow and Eric Weber. We also welcomed our speaker, Janet Palcko.
President Linda Trevorrow led us in the Pledge of Allegiance to open the meeting. Eric Weber followed with an invocation thanking those who have sacrificed our lives so we could enjoy today.
CELEBRATIONS:
Birthdays: We gave a Rotary birthday wave to Jim Laber and Rich Bedell who celebrate birthdays this week.
Wedding Anniversary: John and Cindy Pribonic will celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary this week.
HAPPY BUCKS:
Mary Dula told us how proud she is of the accomplishments of two of her grandchildren. Her granddaughter, who is at the University of Alabama received the Presidents Award for reaching a 4.3 g.p.a. in her first year there. Mary's grandson also was awarded at The University of Toledo for achieving a 4.8.
Bob Oborn told us that DiVitas delivered a nice meal to Ronald McDonald House from our club. When it is our time to serve again in September, we should be able to be there in person.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Resuming our meetings at Silver Lake: Next week we will resume meeting at Silver Lake Country Club, in person! It will be a time to thank Linda for her leadership this past year and to welcome Brad Ruth and John Pribonic as our co-presidents. Officers and directors will also be installed and recognized. The cost for breakfast will remain at $12.00 for members with the club subsidizing $3.00 of the actual $15.00 cost. Breakfast will be an enhanced continental breakfast. The 50/50 raffle and the happy buck fund raisers will continue. Annette said that there is a carry-over amount of over $300 in the 50/50 fund from the last time we were able to meet in person.
Prices at the country club have had to be increased, so our club is looking at options that might fit the needs and the pocketbook of the club and its members. If you are willing to serve on a committee to research this, please contact John Pribonic or Brad Ruth. They hope to have both seasoned and newer members participate. You can reach John at pribonic_john@yahoo.com and Brad at bruth@glbainc.com. Thanks to Linda Trevorrow and Mary Dula who have already volunteered.
The Reverse Raffle will be held in person this year on October 13 at Guy's Party Center.
End Polio Now , a district event by District 6630 will be held on July 22 when the Cleveland plays the Tampa Bay Rays. Join in for a great night of baseball. Bob Oborn has raffle tickets for that event. For first prize, you get to throw the first pitch at a future game. There are other great prizes, including box seats, as well. Bob will have raffle tickets at next week's meeting at a cost of $10 each or three for $20. If you are interested in attending the event, go to the District 6630 website for more information and ticket choices.
The OSU Football Pool fundraiser will resume soon. Pat Messmore will let us know when it is ready.
PROGRAM:
Happiness Moment: Program Host, Eric Weber said that his happiness in the last year has come from donating monthly directly to Bulldog Bags. He said that he is sorry that such a program is needed but happy that he can contribute.
Eric introduced Janet Palcko who managed NEO (now BASICNEO) until her retirement in 2017. That firm specializes in reimbursement account information.
After her retirement in 2017, she planned to go to Spain and Portugal for El Caminos De Santigo, a 500 mile walk that could either be looked at as a religious experience or an adventure challenge. A movie, "The Way" starring Martin Sheen portrayed this adventure and could be a good way to learn more about the trip. She took the trip as a way to recenter herself after retiring and moving in the same year.
Janet showed numerous photos about her travels as she explained about her experience. In 2019 more than 350,000 pilgrims walked the route but of course in 2020 everything shut down because of the pandemic. She trained by utilizing the Buckeye Trail in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, with her hikes including carrying a backpack that she added slight weight to every day. It is recommended that the weight a person carry on the trip be no more than 15% of their body weight so everything was very carefully decided. At the point she began her trip, she had never been to Europe and had never traveled alone.
Soon after she began, in St John, the trip was transformed from a trip to a pilgrimage for her. Walkers actually carried what was called a pilgrim passport.
The accommodations were usually a dorm with a clean bed and hot showers if you were lucky. There was a communal evening dinner with a chance to be with other walkers. During the various days, there were times when she hiked alone for a time of self-reflection and times she walked with others. She was grateful to a priest who had marked the trail pointing to Santiago with yellow arrows. Generally people were on the road by 7:00 a.m. and then were in bed by dark.
She told us how she walked through tiny villages, around farmlands, up and down mountain ranges and saw many monasteries. When she arrived at Santiago she attended noon mass at the cathedral there and witnessed the Butafumeria, 250 pounds of incense that was part of the ceremony and tradition. Santiago was still 87 kil. from Finesterre, which is Spanish for Land's End. She left her hiking shoes there.
The trip was so rewarding that the following year she went to Portugal with friends from Australia and the United Kingdom that she had met on the Spanish trip. Janet ended with a quote "The world is full of friends waiting to know you."
JOKE: Tina Gary told our joke for the morning about a woman who won the Vax-a-Million lottery. Ask her about it.
See everyone next week at Silver Lake!
Submitted by Andy Denton