President Bob Sweitzer opened the meeting by leading in the Pledge of Allegiance. Ray Evans, Program Host, followed with a comprehensive invocation.
PROGRAM: Ray Evans told us a couple of jokes to get the morning started. Annette Oborn had the answer to the name for the piece of equipment in the middle of a tennis court. Think about it. Ray then introduced Zach Cowan who is the Planning Director for the Department of Planning and Development for the City of Stow. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University and was with us today for an update on Stow's $6 million amphitheater project. It is referred to as THE AMP, Your Stage, Your Story.
Zach shared that Plain Township has very freely shared their development of the Oakwood Square area and how it has become a major transformation for that city since 2017. Stow started working toward a similar project since the spring of 2024, which will be located in the area just east of Darrow Rd. and Norton Rd. It will include a parking lot, landscaping, an expanded bike and hike trail and Giant Eagle expansion.
This will be a family friendly, 3713 square foot facility facing nice restaurants, which will have the capacity of 2,500 people and will also hold concession stands and restrooms. Plans are to hold 10 ticketed events per year in addition to things like markets, open air festivals, outdoor movie nights and streaming of sporting events on LED Screens. Fifty-eight new trees will be planted along with 800 shrubs. A plan for a spur of the hike and bike trail going into the space is in the draft stage right now. Also included will be covered swings, a large gathering space and gas fire pits. Specific winter activities are planned including an ice rink.
With approval by both the Planning Commission and City Council, the goal is for this to be our new downtown, with the hope of attracting businesses, revitalizing the area and in general making this a family friendly place to be. There will be a DORA (Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area) with proceeds of the cup sales potentially funding the Community Improvement Corporation.
As far as the specific operation of the venue, the city's Parks and Recreation Department will take on the basic operation but with another entity in charge of the 10 large events. There will be a good deal of parking but if extra parking is needed for the large events, the new bus for the Senior Center can shuttle riders. The City owns the property and the amphitheater but the developer owns everything else. The plan is for the opening to be a year from now.
The project will be paid for through the cost of cell towers which recently sold for $6,000,000. Maintenance should be funded by profits of the ten ticketed events. It really seems that excitement is on the horizon for Stow! To contact Zach or the Planning Department for more information, call 330-689-2812 or by e-mail at Planning@stow.oh.us.
CELEBRATIONS:
Rotary Anniversaries: John Long (36 years), Tom Loepp (29 years), Bob Oborn (16 years) and Mary Dula (7 years) are all celebrating years of membership in the club this week. Wow, that adds up to 88 years!
Wedding Anniversary: Jeff and Jennifer Film are celebrating 33 years of marriage this week.
Drawing: Steve Dunton's table had the winning ticket but Annie Hanson-Hilaire drew the 4 of hearts, so the pot will continue to grow.
Happy Bucks:
Dave Christman was happy to announce that on August 31, his daughter and her new husband landed in Italy for their honeymoon.
Maria Ferrara is looking for people to sponsor her for the “Over the Edge” fundraiser presented by the Adoption Network Cleveland. If she can raise $1000, she can repel over the wall at the Browns Stadium on September 13. Look for the e-mail that she is sending to the membership today.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
President Sweitzer thanked Todd Hearty and Maria Ferarra for getting us checked in this morning, and he welcomed visitors, Zach Cowan, Susan Colville-Hall and Luciana Ortiz Anci.
Reverse Raffle/Silent Auction: Gail reminded us that the event will be the evening of October 8 at The Center. You may get your ticket from Gail and then pay when you return the stub to her. In the prize drawing for 2 tickets to "The Book of Mormon' at E.J. Thomas, Darren and Jenny Caldwell's name was pulled. Congratulations to them! Gail said that we need donations of wine, gift cards and gift baskets for the event. Sign up as you sign in for how to help.
Exchange Student: Susan Coville-Hall of the Akron Club introduced us to Luciana Ortiz Anci from Peru, who is now attending Stow High School. She invited us to include Luciana on any interesting sight-seeing events that we may be experiencing.
Football Pool: Dick Hall said that the list of winners for Week One is in. The only club members who won this week were: Keith Redmon, and Denise Green. The rest of the winners were people who members made happy because they sold books to them. John Long, treasurer, reported that the checks went out to the winners last Monday.
Foodbank: Our monthly volunteer time at the foodbank will be next Wed., September 10 from 4:30-6:00. Please help as often as you can because Interact will not have bus transportation available this year to be with us. Sign up as you sign in.
Summer Sunset Blast: Steve reported that the Summer Sunset Blast was a big success with the club and winner each receiving $1000 in profits. He thanked the people who helped him with the event: Gail Moseley, Dick Hall, Mary Dula, Leslee Salhany, Gary Salhany, Paul Lake, Pilar Parsons, Dinah Henderson, Dave Renninger, Todd Hearty and Denise Green.
District Governor's Visit: Next week for our September 10 meeting, District Governor, Bob Oborn will be our speaker. Let's be sure to give him a big wecome and show our vote of confidence with our attendance.
Board Meeting: Our next Board Meeting will be Friday, September 12 at 7:15 a.m at City Hall.
President Sweitzer closed the meeting by leading in the Four-Way-Test.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Wednesday, September 10, 7:30 a.m. Morning Meeting at The Center with District Governor, Bob Oborn as our speaker.
Wednesday, September 10, 4:30-6:30 p.m. Foodbank Volunteer time
Friday, September 12, 7:15 a.m. Board Meeting at City Hall
Wednesday, October 8 , 6:30, Reverse Raffle/Silent Auction at The Center. No morning meeting!
Respectfully submitted,
Andrea Denton