President Mary Parr opened the meeting by leading in the Pledge of Allegiance. Will Sumser, Program Host, followed with an invocation about Rotary service being an opportunity.
PROGRAM:
Will explained that the best thing going on for him right now is that he and his wife are in the midst of the adoption process. In addition, he is officiating at his sister's wedding this weekend.
Mary Parr then introduced Dave Jones who was the Past District Governor in 2022-2023. He is a past president of the Northampton Rotary Club and has held many district offices. Currently, he is District 6630 District Foundation Chair and leads the Major Gifts Subcommittee. He was speaking with us today about The Rotary Foundation's opportunities.
He explained that the Rotary Foundation giving is funneled into three basic areas: The Annual Fund, the Endowment Fund and Polio Plus. The annual fund comes from contributions from individual donors or individual donors through their club dues. A goal is to have donations of $25 from every member every year. World-wide only 28% of Rotarians contribute at that level. Annual Fund contributions come back to the clubs every three years in the form of grants. Half of the money raised goes to global projects and the other half to local projects.
The Endowment Fund donations generally occur when people give through their wills or through checks, stocks or qualified charitable deductions from tools like IRA's or 401K's. The special benefit from this type of giving is that money is given prior to that income being taxed. Letting Rotary know ahead of time that the donation is coming allows the donor to decide a designation for the funds from among Rotary's areas of focus.
The third fund is the Polio Plus Fund. Not only do these donations continue the fight toward eradication of polio, they can also be used to provide safe water and for monitoring stations around the world.
Our club is embarking this month on its Rotary Foundation donation campaign. Dave Renninger and Maria Ferrara are the people who can answer many of the questions about how to accomplish each of our goals through the type of giving each person wants to do. They will also be explaining the Paul Harris awards for donations.
In conclusion, Dave Jones thanked our club for empowering communities and fostering change around the world as last year our club raised almost $18,000. Dave Renninger added that 75% of our members donated.
BUSINESS MEETING
Mary Parr thanked Todd Hearty and Dave Renninger for checking us in this morning and for welcoming our visitors, Dave Jones and Erin Holland, who is Don Coughlin's daughter.
HAPPY BUCKS:
Dick Hall acknowledged how hard Interact worked on their float for Homecoming last week-end. He especially recognized Rotarian Matt Aguiar for his help on their recent projects.
Bob Sweitzer said that they have been in their new home now for 2 weeks and the best part is that the grandchildren are right down the hall.
Julie McLain said that they have had a big family celebration with folks from various parts of the country, It was a “celebration of zeroes” with family members celebrating birthdays that ended in zero from 10 through 80.
Liz Kargbo shared that her youngest son has just started a new job as Director of Minority Health and Social Justice for the City of Cleveland Public Health Department.
CELEBRATIONS:
Wedding Anniversaries; Julie and Jeff McLain, Bob and Jill Sweitzer, Scott and Diane Miller, and Brad and Kelly Ruth are all celebrating wedding anniversaries.
Rotary Anniversaries: Tina Gary, Annie Hanson-Hilaire, Marty Tass, Felisha Gould, Ray Evans and Bonnie Housley are all observing another year as Rotarians.
Birthdays: Pilar Parsons, Maria Ferrara, Eric Green and Karen Perch all are celebrating birthdays. Annette Oborn led us in singing well to Pilar.
Drawing: The 2 of clubs was drawn, so the pot will continue to grow.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Reverse Raffle/Silent Auction: Gale Stawiery, Chair thanked everyone for their cooperation. The tickets are gone and the committees are finishing up their tasks. Setup help is needed at 2:30 at The Center the day of the event which is next Wednesday, October 14. Committee members should call if there are any questions.
Andy Denton discussed seating for the event. When you check in, you will be given your table assignment number. It is important that you sit only at that table until after dinner. If a seat is empty, it may be that the person is working or they are coming late, so please do not take someone else's seat. If there are problems, please see Andy Denton. Also, when you check in, you will be given drink tickets. Only use those tickets when you go to the bar for alcohol. Soft drinks and iced tea are included with your meal. The club pays for drink tickets that are turned in for the alcohol. Thanks!
Gail Moseley is finalizing items for the Silent Auction. If you have not gotten your basket to her, now is the time so that the bid sheets can be prepared. To make arrangements to do so, contact her at 330-907-4241.
Football Books: Dick Hall shared that club members who won for Week 4 were Maria Ferrara, Gail Moseley, and Todd Hearty. For Week 5, the winners were Steve Dunton, Cyle Feldman, Ray Evans and Dick Hall.
Senior Welfare Check Program: Mike Dunton reported on the Senior Welfare Check Program that was activated on September 26 at the Senior Center. The Rotarians who volunteered to check on seniors after an extended power outage were at the meeting in their neon vests this morning. More Rotarians are needed to work on this project, so if you are interested, please either sign up or contact Mike at madunton@gmail.com. Training will be given for how to manage this. President, Mary Parr congratulated Mike and thanked the volunteers. She said that she is creating a measurement tool that can be used as part of this pilot project.
Standard Operating Procedure: Officers and project leaders should have received an e-mail on September 16 from Brad Ruth about documenting your responsibilities. There is a specific form to be used which is attached to these minutes.
Board Meeting: Our board will meet this Friday at 7:15 at City Hall. Minutes of the September meeting are attached to these minutes.
Bridge Opening:Julie McLain said she learned at Munroe Falls City Council meeting last night that the route 91bridge should be open soon after October 18. Linda Trevorrow then shared that the Rotary Rock should be placed in Brust Park soon after the bridge opening,
Community Showcase: Julie share that the date of the next Community Showcase will be March 13, 2027.
President Mary closed the meeting by leading in the Rotary Four-Way Test.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Friday, October 9, 7:15 a.m. Board Meeting at City Hall
Saturday, October10, Beerfest at Heritage Barn
Wednesday, October 14, No Morning Meeting
Wednesday, October 14, Reverse Raffle/Silent Auction at the Center. Cocktail Hour begins at 6:30 and dinner is at 7:30.
Wednesday, October 21, 7:30 a.m. Regular morning meeting at The Center. Marty Tass is the Program Host.
Friday, October 23, 9:00 until noon, Senior Welfare Check Program at the Senior Center
Wednesday,November 11, 4:30-6:30. Volunteer time at the Akron Canton Foodbank
Saturday, March 13, 2027, Community Showcase