President Annette Oborn opened the meeting by leading in the Pledge of Allegiance. Leslee Salhany followed with a meaningful invocation about acceptance and peace.
Annette thanked Sgt. at Arms, Steve Dunton and his ticket helper, Dave Renninger for welcoming us this morning. She welcomed our visitors, Kari Suhadolnik, Will Sumser, Laura Trevorrow and our speaker Jeffrey Reale.
HAPPY BUCKS:
Mary Dula was happy to announce that her daughter-in-law has been cancer free for 5 years. She was also happy to say that the toys have been returned to her grandchildren that a delivery person mistakenly took, thinking that they were trash to be thrown out. She praised the police for their work and said no charges were filed.
Don Coughlin shared that his granddaughter, Martha Coughlin, has been named Design Editor of the Firestone High School's yearbook for 2024.
Mary Parr praised her daughter, Francine's performance in Sweeney Todd, now playing at the Civic Theater in Akron. She is an excited Mom.
Laura Trevorrow praised her Mom, Linda Trevorrow, for having completed her last tax season and now moving into retirement. Congratulations, Linda.
CELEBRATIONS:
Rotary Anniversaries: Tina Gary is celebrating 11 years as a Rotarian this week and Jenny Coleman 4 years.
Wedding Anniversaries: Scott and Diane Miller are celebrating 28 years of marriage and Brad and Kelly Ruth are celebrating 27 years.
Drawing: Gail Moseley's table is celebrating today as Gail had the winning ticket and then she pulled the joker. So, next week we start all over again.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Reverse Raffle/Silent Auction: Thanks to everyone who helped make last week's event a success. The final tally is not in yet, but people had a good time.
Membership Committee: Brad Ruth is looking for some people to be on a committee to attract new members with him. Let him know if you can help with a text at 330-524-8205.
World Polio Day: Next Tuesday is World Polio Day. In honor of the day, our area clubs have purchased over 200 dozen purple frosted donuts from Dunkin Donuts in recognition of children having their pinkie finger marked with purple as they receive their polio vaccine. Proceeds go to fight polio. Now two people are needed from 8:00-10:00 next Tuesday to distribute the donuts at our local Stow location. Let Annette know if you can help. Text her at 330-813-2059.
Speech and Debate: As our local Stow-Munroe Falls High School hosts an event on Saturday, October 28, they are looking for some help from us to do things like pass out trophies. Contact Annette if you can help. See the number above.
GriefCare Place event honoring Bruce Redmon will be on November 16. Annette has a couple of tickets left. Contact her if you are interested.
Bulldog Bags: Annette read a thank-you from them. Items they are requesting from us by November 8 are: Cups of soup, mini goldfish bags, lip gloss, kleenex, 1 box of 3-5 packs of microwave popcorn, box of capri sun drink pouches and boxes of macaroni and cheese. Bring your items to a meeting, or drop them of at the library or the lobby of City Hall.
Best People: We know that the club is full of some of the best people in the area but in a Beacon Journal poll, Leslee Salhany was voted best realtor and Christine Faranda was recognized for her efforts in employment law.
Teacher Supply Closet Delivery: Carrie Malotte was asking for drivers to take supplies to various schools after the meeting today.
Dictionary Delivery: Carrie also is recruiting people to go to the various schools on November 1 to deliver dictionaries to third graders. If you did not get to sign-up today, contact Carrie with a text at 330-607-3210. Also thanks to Kelly Ruth's class for putting the stickers in all of the dictionaries.
New Dispatch Center: Chief Film said that the opening of the new area-wide dispatch center was yesterday and went very smoothly. 75% of the county's communities are now based there and it is expected that in a couple of years, all of the county's dispatch services will be based there.
The Rotary Foundation: November is Foundation Month for our club when we support Rotary International with our gifts. Maria Ferrara handed out pledge forms that also let everyone know what they needed to give to go to the next level as a Paul Harris Fellow.
New Paul Harris Fellow: Gail Moseley was presented a Paul Harris Fellow Award today in recognition of her past presidency.
New Member Induction: Annette led in the induction of Kari Suhadolnik as a new member, who was sponsored by Carrie Malotte. She told us that she has 4 students in Stow-Munroe Falls schools, and is a member of the Board of Education. We are glad to welcome her as our newest member.
New Member Application: At last week's Board Meeting, Will Sumser's application, which is attached to these minutes, was reviewed and the board recommended him for membership. For the next two weeks, you may give any comments to Annette. Minutes of that Board Meeting are attached to these minutes.
PROGRAM: Leslee Salhany, Program Host, presented Jeff Reale of Project: St. Nicholas Returns, Inc. He holds a Masters Degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Iowa and is at Novacare Clinic in Hartville. He has four adult children.
Mr. Reale explained that his efforts began when in 1993 he wondered what happened to letters to Santa that went to the local post office. The post office gave him some of those letters so that he could answer them. He saw wishes that were not the usual child's wish list requests and began to respond those. One of the first was a young boy who wanted a rocking chair for his mother who had cancer. That was provided. As things progressed, he was encouraged to develop a non-profit and Project St. Nicholas Returns was born. People can put in a request, and if a decision is made to grant the wish, they are given a gift card which goes in a Bible, along with the suggestion to help someone else when the recipient is able. All gifts are anonymous, including the scholarships they give. They try to spend all of their money within the year. Their goal is to continue the St. Nicholas legacy.
An auction, dinner and casino night is their main fundraiser. At last year's auction they had 200 items for sale, all of which were donated. All of their work is volunteer and is not geographically limited although most of it is in the Summit and Stark areas. To find out more information about the project go to psnr-oh.org or e-mail them at psnrinc@gmail.com.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Remember you can join us by zoom if you can't be present in person. The link is attached below.
Tuesday, October 24: World Polio Day. Help at Dunkin Donut
Wednesday, October 25, 7:30 a.m. Morning Meeting at Bellacinos with our speaker from Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Wednesday, October 25, 4:30-7:30 Foodbank Volunteer time at the Akron-Canton Foodbank. After this, our volunteer time changes to the second Wednesday of the month.
Saturday, October 28, Help the Speech and Debate students at the high school
Wednesday, November 1, Deliver dictionaries to the third graders in Stow after our morning meeting.
Wednesday, November 8, Bulldog Bag items due.
Wednesday, November 8, 4:30-6:30 Volunteer time at the Akron-Canton Foodbank
Friday, November 10, 7:15 a.m. Board Meeting at City Hall.
Tuesday, December 12, Holiday Helping Hands in the evening at City Hall
Saturday, May 11, 2024 Heroes Day
Friday, June 14, 2024 Golf Outing at Fox Den
Submitted by Andy Denton
Andrea Denton
330-474-7265
330-414-1934