President Annette Oborn opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Christine Faranda, Program Host, followed with the invocation.
Annette then welcomed our visitors, Denise Green, Pilar Parsons, Aurora Cooper, Matthew Agular and Judge Jenifer Towell our speaker. She thanked Sgt. At Arms Steve Dunton and his assistant, Dave Renninger for checking us in.
CELEBRATIONS:
Rotary Anniversary: Dinah Henderson is observing two years as a Rotarian.
Birthday: Brad Ruth is celebrating his birthday this week and we did a good job of singing to him.
Raffle: Todd Hearty's table had the winning ticket but Matthew Agular pulled the 7 of clubs so we will all get another chance at winning our half of the 50/50,
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Four Way-Speech Contest: The speeches given by the students were exceptional this year. Be sure to be at the meeting next Wednesday, March 20 to hear the first, second and third place winners use the Rotary Four-Way Test to examine a topic. The two top winners will then compete at the district contest. Thanks to De-De Mulligan, chairperson, for her work on this.
To look at the exceptional work of our high school's Speech And Debate Department, go the high school from 7:00, to 9:00 on Monday evening. See the attached flier for more information. You will be so proud of "our" students.
President Elect Training (PETS): Our Co-Presidents for next year, Jeff Film and Steve Dunton will be in Columbus this weekend for training. We wish them a good weekend and safe travels.
Scholarship Committee: Each year we grant several scholarships. A committee to review applications will meet Wednesday,March 27 at 5:00 at City Hall.
Board Members: We are looking for four new board members for the term that starts on July 1. Jeff Film will move to the co-president slot and Mary Dula, Pat Messmore, Brad Ruth and Linda Trevorrow will complete their terms. Let Annette know as soon as you can if you are interested in running for a position with a text at 330-813-2059.
Board Meeting: Our Board met last Friday. Minutes of that meeting are attached to these minutes.
Membership: At the board meeting three applications were approved for membership by the board and now are open for comments by the membership in general for the next two weeks. After that an installation time will be arranged. The applications from Eric and Denise Green, Julie McClain and Pilar Parsons are attached to these minutes for your review.
Maria Ferrara is being asked to write up something for the district's newsletter about the presentation she designed for our membership event. Congratulations, Maria and thanks for what you accomplished.
Foodbank: Our next Foodbank volunteer time will be Wednesday, April 10 from 4:30-6:30 at the Akron-Canton Foodbank.
Grants Meeting: Jeff Film, Scott Miller and Bob Oborn attended the District Grants Committee meeting. That fulfilled the requirement for us to be eligible to apply for a district grant next year.
Bunny Trail Hop: Steve Dunton reminded us that the Bunny Trail Hop will be on Saturday, March 23. We will be providing treats to the egg hunters and will need Rotary members to help, along with Interact members from 9:30-1:30. The first shift will be from 9:30-11:30 and the second shift from 11:30 to 1:30. The times allow for set-up and take down of our table. Please text Steve at 330-618-0368 if you can help. You are particularly needed for the second shift.
District Conference: It will be held this year on April 26 and 27 at Sheraton Suites in Cuyahoga Falls. The club will pay registration fees of any members who wish to attend. More information will follow.
Interact Project for the District Conference: Club Interact, the high school arm of Rotary, is collecting items for the District Conference. They are collecting cleaning items and baby-proofing things for a refugee project. A list of the requested items is attached to these minutes. Donations can be brought to a weekly club meeting and place in the appropriate laundry baskets. Or, you may use the following links to Amazon and the donations will go directly to the high school.
Cleaning Items
Baby Proofing Items
Golf Outing: This year's event will be Friday, June 14 at Fox Den. Registration and sponsor forms are ready and the committee will begin to meet shortly. If you are interested in serving on the committee, please let Scott Miller know at 234-788-7498.
Bulldog Bags: The following items are requested from us by April 10: Microwave pasta cups, fruit cups, shampoo, 3-5 packs of microwave popcorn, boxes of CapriSun drink pouches and boxes of macaroni and cheese. Bring your items to a meeting or drop them off in the lobby of City Hall.
PROGRAM: Christine Faranda, Program Host, introduced Judge Jennifer Towell, a member of the Summit County Court of Common Pleas. She received her undergraduate degree from Miami University and her Juris Doctorate from The Ohio State University. After serving in and receiving many awards from the U.S. Navy, her career path has taken her to her current court position. She also is the Mom of three children and is passionate about women, veterans and people who have disabilities.
Judge Towell began her talk by sharing the Prayer for Judges which was written by St. Thomas Moore, and she finds meaningful in her career. She gave special thanks to those who serve as jurors and the difference they make. She explained that in order to have a more diverse jury pool, jurors are now recruited from those who have drivers' licenses. She also explained that Municipal Court manages misdemeanors, some civil cases and lower level crimes while Common Pleas Court handles felony level cases and larger civil matters. At any one time the judges in our courts have between 500 and 600 cases on their dockets, so they rely heavily on the expertise of their staffs. In order to help manage the shortage of deputies in the jail, many times the judges can interview people by video which leaves the deputies free for other duties.
Judge Towell explained that many times drugs, mental health issues and poverty are often the combination that lead to crimes. That gives us work to do in managing those issues in a better way. 90% of the defendants who come before the court acknowledge that they have a weapon. When she asks why they need a gun, the answer most commonly is "because everyone else has one." She explained that visitors are welcome to visit the courtrooms for hearings and suggested that many of our members may wish to attend a session. Monday is her call day. She essentially has to reapply for her job every four years as she is an elected official.
Judge Towell also is heavily involved in advocacy. She is on the United Disabilities Board and has worked diligently to make inclusion the norm rather than the exception for those with disabilities. Inclusion beginning in preschool can make a huge difference for both the disabled individual and his or her peers. She understands these issues first hand, as she has a son who has Down Syndrome. She believes that special education is a service and not a location. "Buddy Up Tennis" is an example of this as she started the Akron Chapter of this program which matches high school students without disabilities with those who have disabilities as they play tennis together. Thank you Judge Towell for all that you do.
Annette led us in the Rotary Four-Way Test to close the meeting.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Monday, March 18, 7:00 Speech and Debate Team Showcase at the High School
Wednesday, March 20, 7:30 Morning Meeting at Bellacinos with the Four-Way Speech Contest winners as our program.
Saturday, March 23, Bunny Trail Hop 9:30-1:30 at Silver Springs Park
Wednesday, March 27, 5:00 at City Hall, Scholarship Committee Meeting
Wednesday, April 10, Bulldog Bag items due
Wednesday, April 10, 4:30-6:30, Foodbank Volunteer Time
Friday, April 12, 7:15 a.m. Board Meeting at City Hall
Friday and Saturday, April 26 and 27, District Conference at Sheraton Suites.
Saturday, May 11, Heroes Day
Friday, June 14, Golf Outing at Fox Den
Friday, June 21, Board Retreat
Wednesday, October 9 in the evening, Reverse Raffle/Silent Auction
Andrea Denton
330-474-7265
330-414-1934