ATTENDANCE: Joining us this morning were: Rich Bedell, Bill Choler, Dave Christman, Roger Cline, Jenny Coleman, Andy Denton, Mary Dula, Steve Dunton, Elizabeth Eaken, Ray Evans, Jeff Film, Christina Gary, Dick Hall, Brad Jagger, Carrie Leising, Pat Messmore, Karen Monbeck, Gail Moseley, Annette Oborn, Bob Oborn, John Pribonic, Dave Renninger, Brad Ruth, Olivia Saltzmann, Amanda Steinheiser, J.T. Stimler, Steve Stimmel, Bob Sweitzer, Marty Tass, Kelly Toppin, Lisa Toppin, Linda Trevorrow, Marissa Williams, and our guests, Michael Kostyack of Stow-Munroe Falls Schools and Alex Pavloff, our speaker.
MEETING OPENING: President, Linda Trevorrow called the meeting to order and then led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Jenny Coleman, program host, then led us in a meaningful invocation about purpose and priorities.
CELEBRATIONS:
Wedding Anniversaries: Congratulations to Jeff and Jennifer Film on 37 years of marriage.
Happy Bucks: Bob Oborn thanked Dick Hall for the 40 tickets he has already sold for our virtual Reverse Raffle. AMAZING! In total 85 tickets are already gone for the Nov. 7 event. Please get in touch with Bob or Annette Oborn at either boborn@kentelastomer.com or aoborn@att.net as soon as you can to request your tickets. Tickets are $100 each.
Mary Dula thanked the four people who have volunteered to help at the Foodbank tonight from 4:30-6:30. She still has a spot available for one more person. Let her know if you can go at 330-715-6358.
Roger Cline is thankful he is recovering from a 3-day hospital stay. We are thankful too.
Marty Tass is thankful that Adopt-a-Spot is looking so good. Remember to let Marty know if you take a turn at weeding so you can get a make-up.
Dave Renninger explained that when he worked on Saturday for Stow's Clean-up Day that there was not as much trash as he thought there might be. Mayor Pribonic said that 125 people volunteered for the event. Christina Gary said that her husband, Ethan filled a whole dump truck with bags full of the cleaned up items.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Breakfast Money: Annette reminded us to send in our breakfast money for September. Mail your check to Annette at 381 Silver Valley Blvd, Munroe Falls, OH 44262. There are 5 Wednesdays in September so you might want to give $65, instead of the usual $52. But any amount is welcome. For August, Bulldog Bags, the Akron-Canton Foodbank and the Stow-Munroe Falls high school band each received $325. We have contributed over $5000 so far with this fundraiser.
PRESIDENT ELECT FOR NEXT YEAR IS NEEDED NOW! Please contact Linda at 330-760-5848 to discuss the possibility of being our leader. It really is a rewarding position to have in our community and you will be well-trained. Training will begin shortly so it is important that we have someone step up and say yes to this unique opportunity for service above self.
Teacher Supply Closet: Carrie Leising explained that very shortly the information for the fundraiser for the closet should appear on Facebook. It is very important that everyone share the information to offer this opportunity to the wider community.
PROGRAM:
Jenny Coleman, program host, began by explaining how she is spreading happiness. She is a Master Gardener and is now harvesting her crops. She shares with her neighbors and co-workers.
She then introduced our speaker, Alex Pavloff who is the regional liaison for Ohio Secretary of State, Frank LaRose. He shared with us what Ohio is doing to make sure our elections run smoothly this fall. In February of 2019, the staff acknowledged the need for a higher level of cyber security. As a result, Boards of Election have gone through multiple areas of updates including, updated testing, phishing training, and have updated e-mails. In Ohio people can vote safely 100% by mail thanks to the good Boards of Elections we have. The intention is to have voting be as safe as possible whether it is in person or by mail.
The pandemic has put a whole extra layer of safety into the process of voting. The state is in the process of securing masks, face shields, gowns and gloves for those working the polls. There will be plenty of hand sanitizer and precautions in place because the average poll worker is 61 years old.
There is an active effort to recruit younger persons to help at the polling places. Veterans throughout the state are being asked to help through an effort called "Defend Democracy." "Youth at the Booth" recruits high school students age 17 or older to help on voting day. "Work a Day Donate Your Pay" occurs when the workers donate what they would have been given to work at the polls back to a charitable organization. CPS's, attorneys and realtors are among the professions receiving credit for time spent working at the polls. To contact the Summit County Board of Elections, call 330-643-5200 or e-mail them at Summit@sos.state.oh.us.
Workers are preparing double the number of mailed in votes. However because the post office will probably be flooded with ballots it is strongly suggested that plenty of time is allowed and that the absentee ballots be requested NOW and then that the ballots get mailed in or taken to your local Board of Election as soon after October 6 that you receive the ballots. In case you have further questions for Alex, you can reach him at Pavloff@ohiosos.gov.
JOKE TIME: Steve Dunton entertained us with a joke about two old friends named Ted and Ned who loved baseball. Steve let us know that baseball really does happen in heaven. Ask him to tell the joke to you.
Next week's joke will be by Bob Sweitzer.
Linda dismissed us by wishing us a great week and suggesting that we think about working at the polls.
Submitted by Andy Denton