Bob Sweitzer shared THREE Happy Bucks!!  He and Jill celebrated 36 years of marriage last week; he has 6 years of employment at Timken under his belt; and ... he and Jill will celebrate their daughter Julie's wedding --- October 10, 2020.

 

Best wishes to the daughters of our Club members who were married in the past few weeks.  We all wish you many, many years of wedded bliss!!

 

Annette Oborn told us that we collected $480  in breakfast money during September for each of our favorite hunger organizations, the Akron-Canton Foodbank and the Bulldog Bags program.  Our special holiday projects will also benefit from the donations.   Way to go ROTARIANS!

 

Carrie Leising proudly told us that our Club received a Rotary Citation for 2019/2020!  A Rotary Citation is awarded for achieving goals that strengthen Rotary and our club. Goals include increasing club membership, developing sustainable service projects, giving to The Rotary Foundation, and building awareness of Rotary in our community.  Thank you Carrie for leading the way!

 

Carrie also explained that her daughter Keeley was named one of the 30 under 30 soccer coaches selected from a national application pool of over 500 persons. 15 men and 15 women were chosen. 

 

Program Host, Elizabeth Eaken was delighted to tell us of her "Happiness Moment". She is involved with a group of 12 women who meet each month for friendship and special projects.  The members of the group take turns hostessing and choosing their group's 'charity of the month'.  Ladies --- Rock on!!!

 

Elizabeth introduced Demetrius Lambert-Falconer, Chief of Community Engagement for Summit Metro Parks.  She serves with the purpose of connecting residents of Summit County to parks. Demetrius has more than 26 years of experience in creating outreach and in-house programs for special populations. Her years of experience were served in the National Park Service, Cleveland Metroparks, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, and Summit Metro Parks.

 

The annual Fall Hiking Spree was at the center of her talk last week.  The pandemic has caused many, many, many more persons to visit the Metro Parks --- a VERY pleasant outcome during a difficult year.  It is wonderful to know that more and more people are becoming familiar with this TREASURE in our community!  This year, the Fall Hiking Spree celebrates the rich history of the properties proudly managed for our enjoyment and their successful return to nature. Take a journey on this year’s spree and explore the former farms and fields that are now forests. 

 

The annual Fall Hiking Spree is the largest and longest-running event of its kind in the nation.  57 years and going strong!! Trails range from easy to challenging.  One of the goals of hikers is to receive their walking staff (first timers) and annual shields for the staffs.  Shields are earned after completion of 8 designated hikes.  President Linda proudly showed off her walking staff with 20+ shields. 

 

Information about the hiking spree, qualifying hikes and shield awards, as well as COVID-19 guidelines, is available at hikingspree.summitmetroparks.org. 

 

Demetrius, we thank you for spending time with us.