President, Annette Oborn opened the meeting by leading in the Pledge of Allegiance. Carrie Mallotte followed with the invocation.
Annette thanked Sgt. at Arms Todd Hearty and his assistant, Steve Dunton for welcoming us this morning. She introduced Aurora and Austin Cooper as our visitors.
HAPPY BUCK: Linda Trevorrow shared that her daughter, Julianne Doerschuk received her Master's Degree in Education Leadership this past weekend.
CELEBRATIONS:
Wedding Anniversary: Congratulations to Christina and Ethan Gary for 20 years of marriage.
Birthdays: We sang really well to Todd Hearty and De-de Mulligan who have birthdays this week.
Raffle: The 9 of clubs was drawn, so the pot will continue to grow.
Blue Badge: Congratulations to Pilar Parsons who completed her blue sheet in record time and received her blue badge this morning. She was inducted into the club on April 3, so this is record time.
New Member Induction: Today we were happy to officially receive Aurora Copper into our club. Her sponsor is Tony Malorni and her husband, Austin was with us to witness her induction.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Club Assembly: June 12 will be the date of our next Club Assembly. At that meeting we will hear about he various committees and projects of the club. And, we will also vote whether or not to approve the most recent by-laws. They will be sent to everyone by the end of May so that members can review them prior to the Club Assembly.
Ronald McDonald House: We will have food delivered on Friday, May 24 for our turn at feeding the residents. Hopefully by our next time, we will be able to do this in person.
Bill Choler Bench Dedication: On Saturday morning, May 25, the bench we contributed in memory of Bill Choler will be dedicated at the library. Rotarians are welcome to attend and be there alongside his family.
Adopt-A-Spot: Following the bench dedication, our plot at the Doughboy will be planted. After it is planted, people will need to sign up to weed during the growing season.
Rubber Ducks Game: We will attend the May 29 game at a cost of $12. Today was when we were to have our money in. If you have registered and have not paid, but have reserved tickets, write a check to the club and bring it to the next meeting. Remember that there is no morning meeting on the 29th.
Our Foundation Board: Our board passed a motion at last Friday's meeting to add two people to the Foundation Board who are not members of the Club Board. Beginning July 1, those two new members are Dee-De Morrison and Annette Oborn. They will be joining Rich Bedell, Dave Christman, Christina Gary, Gail Moseley and Linda Trevorrow. The minutes of our club's board meeting are attached to these minutes.
Foodbank: Our next Foodbank volunteer time will be Wednesday, June 12 from 4:30 to 6:30. It is especially important that Rotarians volunteer since Interact will not be there during the summer.
Golf Committee: Last Monday's meeting was postponed to next Monday, May 20 and will be from 7:00-8:30 at the FOP Lodge. Chairperson Scott Miller said that golfers and sponsorships are coming in, but slowly. Members are reminded to guide their friends' attention to the outing and encourage their participaton. Remnd them that a steak dinner is included at the end. A form to register or complete a sponsorship is attached to these minutes. Gift cards, golf balls and business swag can be given to Todd Hearty to use for prizes.
Facebook Problem: Annie Hanson-Hilaire has been doing a great job of getting our presence out there on Facebook. However, we have been unpublished by Meta who uses AI to solve situations that arise for Facebook. The reason is that we are impersonating Rotary International by using their colors and logo. Annie was doing exactly what she was supposed to do by following RI's brand guidelines. We are not alone as many, many sites worldwide have been taken down for the same reason. Rotary International will attempt to resolve the situation with Meta. However since they use AI, it is difficult to have a person to speak with. So, although we don't have a Facebook presence right now, Annie requests that we still send her photos, so that when this problem is solved, she will be ready to put us out there again. By the way, for this serious infraction, we have been banned for about 10 years.
PROGRAM:
Today our program had two parts. Carrie Malotte discussed Rotary's Youth Protection Policy with us. Then Dinah Henderson followed with information about Club Interact and their accomplishments during the past school year.
Carrie explained that she is in charge of the program for the district and Jeff Film is our club's officer. There is training yearly for everyone who might be around youth at all in the context of Rotary. This includes being in a meeting when students come to visit or present. There is additional vetting for those who might be in an unsupervised situation with a child or youth. This protects us as well as the students. Carrie gave some examples of issues that have arisen in other clubs that have called for investigations so that we could understand the reasons for the training and seriousness of the situation. She also explained that every Rotarian will have to complete the training every July. Therefore, the new members do not have to complete this part of their blue sheet to become a full member.
Dinah Henderson, who is a Rotarian and also Club Interact's advisor, then went through a slide show that was shown to the Interact parents last night. She stated that what Interact does is not possible without Rotary and of course the activities of Rotary are greatly enhanced by the efforts of Club Interact. During the past year, the students participated in 43 events. When the students meet, requests are presented for their volunteer help and it is the students who decide whether or not they participate. All are not listed here, but their efforts with Rotary included, Foodbank, District Conference Project for Hope Refuge House, Salvation Army Bell-Ringing, Holiday Helping Hands, Community Easter Egg Hunt, Heroes' Day. Teacher Supply Closet, and the benches from recycled plastic. Other activities in which they volunteered included, the library's book sale, the baseball team's trick or treat celebration, Stow Foundation's car wash, leaf raking at the Mayor's request, Glow With Stow, Pizza Palooza, Kimpton Preview Night, One of a Kind Pet Blankets, Bulldog Bags Duck Race, Racoon Run, Holiday Card Making, Snack Drive for schools, Elana's Blessing Boxes and collecting pop tabs for Ronald McDonald House. What an amazing group and what a wonderful experience as they head into adulthood!
President Annette closed the meeting by leading us in the Four-Way-Test.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Monday, May 20, 7:00, Golf Committee meeting at FOP Lodge
Wednesday, May 22, morning meeting at Bellacino's with Matt Pallo of Edward Jones as our speaker
Saturday, May 25, 10:00 at the library, dedication of Bill Choler's Memorial Bench
Saturday, May 25, about 10:30, (after Bill Choler's bench dedication) Adopt-A-Spot planting at the Doughboy.
Wednesday, May 29 No morning meeting but attend the Rubber Ducks game in the evening.
Friday, May 31, 1:00-4:00 pack housewarming packages at NAMI, 150 Cross St. in Akron
Friday, June 14 Golf Outing at Fox Den
Monday, June 24, 6:00 Board Retreat at FOP Lodge
Saturday, August 17, Back to School Bash
Wednesday, October 9, Reverse Raffle/Silent Auction
Respectfully Submitted by Andy Denton
Andrea Denton
330-474-7265
330-414-1934