Dear Fellow Rotarian,
Co-President John Pribonic opened this morning's meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and followed with a meaningful invocation.
He then welcomed visitors Heather Tass, Jacob Marcinick, Maria Ferrara, John Heyduke and Mary Parr. John also thanked Gail Moseley and Dinah Henderson for getting everyone checked in this morning.
CELEBRATIONS:
Rotaty Anniversaries: Elizabeth Eaken is observing 8 years as a Rotarian this week and for Lisa Toppin it is three years.
THANK YOUS:
Ronald McDonald House and Stow Munroe Falls High School both thanked the club for their support.
50/50 DRAWING: Jim Laber had the winning ticket but drew the 8 of hearts.
HAPPY BUCKS:
Linda Trevorrow shared how good it is to see spring actually arriving
Dinah Henderson shared how proud she is feeling about her Interact students. Even though it is their spring break this week, they moved over 3000 books from a retired teacher's home and got them ready for the library's book sale. They are also helping the library prepare for the sale in other ways.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Scholarship Committee: John asked for a few volunteers to review the scholarship applications. Mary Dula, Annette Oborn and Linda Trevorrow volunteered to help.
Easter Egg Hunt: We still need a few more volunteers for the Easter Egg Hunt which will be on Saturday, April 9. Shifts are available from 9:00-11:00 and 11:00 to 1:00. Sign up as you sign in next week.
Foodbank: Our next Foodbank volunteer opportunity will be next week on Wednesday, April 6 from 4:30-6:30 at the Foodbank. Please text Mary Dula to let her know that you can be there to help. Her number is: 330-715-6358.
District Conference: Annette Oborn explained that to register for our District Conference, which will be April 22 and 23 at Sheraton Suites in Cuyahoga Falls, go to
www.rotarydistrict6630.org. If you register prior to April 13, give your information to Annette and she will send in a group check for the club's registrations. After April 13, please pay yourself and then ask her for reimbursement.
Haven of Rest: Annette also said that she will have a report next week on what we have donated to Haven of Rest.
Bulldog Bags: The group is particularly looking for donations of Ramen noodles, fruit cups and soap. Please take your items to the lobby of City Hall by April 13 so that they are available for packing.
Eat at Dairy Queen: Remember that Tuesday, Aprrl 12 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. we should plan to eat at Dairy Queen. If you go inside to order or to eat, and mention that you are there because of Rotary, 20% of the proceeds will go to our club. You do not need any special paperwork to reap the benefits, but you must order inside.
PAUL HARRIS AWARDS:
Dave Renninger, Chair of The Rotary Foundation Campaign, stated that the club raised over $12,000 this past year from over 30 individuals. He then distributed special recognition pins to the following people as they moved to new levels. A person can become a Paul Harris Fellow after donating $1000 to the Foundation and then increases their Paul Harris level with each additional $1000. A pin with different gem stones for each level is presented to the recipients. Ron Taggart has achieved a Major Donor level for our club, reaching the top level of donations.
In addition Bruce Redmon became a Paul Harris Fellow +8; Dave Renninger and Bill Choler earned a +6 award; Rich Bedell earned +5; Mark Lucco and Linda Trevorrow achieved +4 status, Tom Loepp earned +3 and Annette Oborn and Brad Ruth moved to the +2 level.
Two surprise awards were given. Marty Tass' contribution in honor of his daughter, Heather Tass earned her a Paul Harris Award. Dinah Henderson, through an anonymous contribution, became a Paul Harris Fellow because of her work as the Interact Advisor.
People around the world have benefited from these donations as they are used for the major projects of Rotary International including goals like eliminating polio from the world scene and finding ways for everyone to have clean water.
PROGRAM: John Heyduke who has been with Bulldog Bags as a board member and now fund-raising chair, for almost 6 years talked about the community project. He said that between 625 and 650 bags of food are distributed within Stow every two weeks for people who face food insecurity. Their budget is $125,000 per year. The project was begun by Jan Mather and Laura Root after a teacher appeared at their church looking for food for a student for a weekend. That started them looking into community needs and the project was born where students would receive food for weekend and breaks in the school year. Repeated studies have shown that students who are hungry just don't learn in school because of their focus being on hunger.
With growing needs, the project has now expanded into more areas. A box program helps people stretch their budgets over the summer months when they receive 75-100 pounds of food once a month. This is now going to 92 families per month, reaching over 200 children. Preschoolers' families have been added to the recipients as will as anyone, any age, living within the school district who is facing food insecurity.
John talked about their major fundraiser, "Buses for Bags" which will have its inaugural event on April 30 starting at 11:00 a.m. in the high school parking lot. A flier about the event is attached to these minutes, but know that there will be food, and family events while teams of 10 try to move a school bus. Opportunities to donate food items to the program will also be available. For a list of food items that are needed, go to
www.bulldogbags.org.
New Member Applications
The following people have applied for membership in our Rotary Club: Todd Hearty, Maria Ferrara, Mary Parr and Matt Baker.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Wednesday, April 6, 7:30 morning meeting at Bellacinos with speaker Brian Sullivan, District Sales manager from Lincoln Electric
Wednesday, April 6, 4:30-6:30 Foodbank Volunteer Time
Friday, April 8, 7:15 a.m. at City Hall, Board Meeting
Saturday, April 9, 9:00-1:00 Easter Egg Hunt
Tuesday, April 12 4:00-7:00 Dinner at Dairy Queen
Friday and Saturday, April 22 and 23, District Conference at Sheraton Suites.
Tuesday, April 26, Art Show by Teammates at the High School
Saturday, April 30, 11:00 a.m. Buses for Bags at the high school to benefit Bulldog Bags.
Tuesday, May 3, Dinner celebration to honor Interact at the Barn at Silver Springs
Saturday, May 7, Help Interact at the Memorial Gardens at the high school
Saturday, May 14, Heroes Day
Monday, June 6, Golf Outing at Silver Lake Country Club
Wednesday evening, October 12, Reverse Raffle
Thursday evening, December 15, Holiday Helping Hands
Submitted by Andy Denton
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