Happy first official day of summer to everyone!
President Gail Moseley opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and then Jim Laber, Program Host followed with the invocation. Gail thanked Steve Dunton and Dave Renninger for getting us checked in and welcomed our speaker, Amina Hall, and Bob Sweitzer and Olivia Saltzmann who were with us on zoom.
CELEBRATIONS:
Wedding Anniversary: John and Cindy Pribonic will celebrate 41 years of marriage next Monday.
Birthday: Rich Bedell will celebrate his birthday next Monday and Annette led us in singing to him.
Thank you: Dinah Henderson read a letter from a parent of a student who went to RYLA. The parent was so impressed with the camp and the students there that she said it gave her hope for the future. We sent two students to the camp and Club Interact sent an additional person.
Raffle: As we begin another raffle with a new deck of cards, the 5 of hearts was the first one out of the deck so we have plenty of chances to win in future weeks.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Self-fine: Ron Taggart confessed that he volunteered to help at the Golf Outing and then did not show up. So, he fined himself $20.00.
Golf Outing: And speaking of the golf outing, chairperson, Scott Miller reported that our profits should be somewhere around $15,000 once all the bills are in. He said that Fox Den was amazed by the number of hole sponsors and memorial recognitions. Things went so well that Friday, June 14 has been reserved for our 2024 outing at Fox Den. The membership thanked Scott for the excellent job that he did as chairperson.
Foodbank: Our next volunteer time at the Foodbank will be next Wednesday, June 28 from 4:30-6:30 at the Foodbank. Remember that Interact will not be participating during the summer, so it is important that club members be there to help.
Fourth of July Parade: Carrie Malotte is asking for help on July 3 from 10:00 to noon at the high school when we will be attaching fliers to pencils for distribution at the parade.
Board Retreat: Gail reminded the board that the retreat will be at 6:00, Monday, June 26 at the private room in The Basement restaurant, where Beef O Brady's formerly was housed.
Induction Service: Our next weekly meeting will be the Installation of Annette Oborn as president as we say good-bye and thanks to Gail Moseley for her presidency. All other officers and club members of the club will be installed as well. This is a meeting that all members should attend if at all possible.
July 5: There will be no meeting on July 5, but we should try to help at the Fourth of July parade if possible.
PROGRAM: Jim Laber gave his Rotary Moment as he talked about how in his family he has a wife and three daughters. Professionally he heads IT Consulting Company with the goal of helping people solve their problems IT for their businesses.
He then introduced Amina Hall who is Vice-President of Fundraising, Development and Marketing for the Urban League, located in Akron. She has had senior leadership positions in the past for other non-profits. With Urban League's purpose of serving minorities in the Summit County area, Ms. Hall was a great fit as she came here at age 11 from Bosnia. Neither she nor her parents spoke English and she went on through Stow schools and now is the Mom of an eight and an eleven year old. She is a Tallmadge resident and is also a member of that Rotary club.
The major concentrations of the Urban League, which is nearly 100 years old, are workforce development, education, entrepreneurship,and advocacy. The workforce efforts focus on getting people 16 years of age and older ready for jobs. This includes resume building, computer and digital literacy, interview skills and post incarceration barrier removal. Their education efforts involve people as young as six years of age, Right now there are 75 students in their building participating in a STEM-focused summer camp. Her job is to seek grants for projects such as these. Scholarships were provided to 22 seniors with $400,000 raised for partial or full scholarships.
The Entrepreneur Empowerment Center focuses on minority owned businesses and contractors, including those by led by women and veterans. This area offers great chances to partner with other businesses. Some of their main partners include, Goodyear, First Energy, and the Akron Zoo. The Urban League's advocacy work weaves through other programs, as they become story tellers for people who don't have their own voices. They find themselves often linking participants with needed services.
Amina said that there is always a need for volunteers to function at their many events or to provide a business skill set for entrepreneurs. Generally 60-100 people participate in their business training events. Tutoring is another need. Basicically people who are willing to donate their time and talents are a big part of the organization.
President Gail closed the meeting by leading in the Four Way Test.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Monday, June 26, 6:00, Board Planning Retreat at The Basement
Wednesday, June 28, 7:30 morning meeting at Bellacinos for our Installation of Annette Oborn and the other officers and board members of the club.
Wednesday, June 28, 4:30-6:30 p.m. Foodbank volunteer time
Monday, July 3, 10:00-12:00 at the high school, put fliers together for the Fourth of July parade
Tuesday, July 4, participate in the parade
Wednesday, July 5, No Morning Meeting
Friday, July 14, 7:15 a.m. Board Meeting at City Hall
Wednesday, October 11, evening, Reverse Raffle/Silent Auction
Friday, June 14, 2024 Golf Outing at Fox Den
Submitted by Andy Denton