Co-President Brad Ruth opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and Bob Oborn, Program Host, followed with an invocation about Ukraine.
Brad then thanked Gail Moseley and Steve Dunton for getting us checked in this morning and welcomed our visitors Aristea Tzouloufis who is our speaker, Mary Parr, Matt Baker and Maria Ferrara.
CELEBRATIONS:
Birthdays: J.T. Stimler's birthday is Saturday, May 7 and Scott Miller celebrated his on May 2. Brad led us in singing to Scott.
50/50 DRAWING: John Pribonic had the winning ticket but Maria Ferrara drew the jack of hearts. Maybe next week the joker will show up.
HAPPY BUCKS:
Brad welcomes Mark Lucco, one of our founding members, back after a long absence due to health concerns. It was great to see him again.
Don Coughlin reported that his granddaughter, Fiona Coughlin, is a finalist for the Dazzle Award in the Best Supporting Actress category. She is a student at Akron School for the Arts at Firestone CLC.
Sue Figler shared that her daughter Mary, who attends The Ohio State University, ran 10 relays in track last weekend and was part of the group that broke an Ohio State record for time.
Dairy Queen awarded the club for their participation in the dine in event, with a check for $149.05.
Mary Dula appreciated being able to be at the Interact recognition event last evening. She said she will be back at other events in person soon.
John Pribonic talked about the Interact Dinner last night, recognizing seniors and the incoming officers. He said that it was such a good evening that he left feeling really energized. We don't need to worry about the future of our country with students like these in leadership positions. President, Natalie Katzenmeyer has contributed over 2000 hours of volunteer time to the club. Rotarian, Dinah Henderson, who is the club's advisor is now known as "Dynamite" for the inspiration she has been to the students. Parents of the students who attended were rightfully so proud of the students.
Carrie Leising thanked Bob Oborn for the wonderful District Conference that he chaired at the Sheraton Suites in April. She said that it was not only well-organized but beneficial as well. Carrie encouraged all of the club members to attend next year when he will again be the conference chair.
INSTALLATION OF NEW MEMBERS: This morning Carrie Leising led us in the installation ceremony for two new members, Matt Baker and Maria Ferrara. Matt said that he is the new Manager of Direct Sales for Summacare,. a position he will start shortly. He and his wife live in Cuyahoga Falls with their two children who attend Stow Schools. His sponsor is Bob Oborn.
Maria Ferrara moved to Stow when she was a sophomore at Kent State. She is Partnerships Manager: Title and Escrow for Notarize, an on-line company based in Boston. She also is a performer as she both sings and plays with a band. She called herself a "nerd by day and a rick star at night." She wants to make an impact in her corner of the world. Her sponsor is Andy Denton.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Foodbank: Steve Dunton reminded us that tonight is our time to volunteer at the Foodbank in Akron. Our shift is from 4:30-6:30. More people are needed for tonight.
Golf Outing: Scott Miller, Chair of the event, reminded everyone that the brochures are availble. Rotarians received them by e-mail earlier this week and Scott has a supply as well. The committee is still accepting sponsorships and is collecting $25 gift cards and golf balls to use as prizes. Of course golfers are needed too.
Bulldog Bags: Items to deliver to the lobby of City Hall by May 11 for packing this month are macaroni and cheese cups, juice boxes and money for sunscreen.
PROGRAM: Bob Oborn welcomed Aristea Tzouloufis, Chief Development Officer for Ronald McDonald House of Northeast Ohio. She is excited about the support of our club, from Kent Elastomer and from Club Interact at Stow-Munroe Falls High School. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, she painted a picture for us, with words, of a family who used Ronald McDonald House while their son went through treatments for leukemia, culminating in a stem cell transplant. The family was their guest from Thanksgiving Day through late February.
In our area, there are houses both in Akron and in Cleveland. Families are welcomed from all over the world with 185 houses in the United States and 300 throughout the world. Ohio is fortunate to have 6. The goal is to offer anyone connected with the child, who is a patient, to receive the support that they need so that they can focus on the health of the child. Families are not charged but are offered the opportunity to give a $20 per night donation. They are never given a bill. They do not have any state or federal funding but rely a great deal on donations to meet their $6 million per year budget.
Discussing the Akron House in particular, Aristea said that there are about 250 volunteers who work to keep them open 24/7. McDonald's restaurant is their founding partner and provides about 15% of their budget. Proceeds from their shamrock shakes goes to the funding. The homes are self-governed locally and need to meet a strict set of standards to keep the homes open. There are 42 rooms at the Akron site and 53 in Cleveland. There are different size rooms that meet the needs of families.
JOKE: Scott Miller had this week's joke, appropriately about golf balls. He asked us how golf balls and eggs are alike. You can ask him for the rest of the joke when you bring your donation for the golf outing.
Next week's joke will be by Tom Loepp.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Tonight: 4:30-7:30 Volunteer time at the Foodbank.
Saturday, May 7, help Interact with the Memorial Gardens at the high school
Wednesday, May 11, Morning meeting at Bellacinos where the program will be the winners of the Four-Way Speech contest from the high school.
Friday, May 13, 7:15 a.m. board meeting at City Hall
Saturday, May 14, Heroes Day
Monday, June 6, Golf Outing at Silver Lake Country Club
Wednesday evening, October 12, Reverse Raffle/Silent Auction
Thursday evening, December 12, Holiday Helping Hands
Submitted by Andy Denton