Co-President,Brad Ruth, opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and then followed with a meaningful invocation.
He welcomed District President, Larry Lohman, who will be our speaker this morning and thanked Steve Dunton and Gail Moseley for getting us checked in this morning.
HAPPY BUCKS:
Dick Hall told us that his son who is a Senior Project Manager for Disney has been in charge of the completion of a new cruise ship called "The Wish". There are two more ships that will be built under his guidance.
Mark Lucco seems to have a little soccer star in the family. She is five and a half years old and recently scored ten goals in 50 minutes. Grandpa promised her $1 per goal.
Ron Taggart has raffle tickets for $10.00 each for a chance on a deluxe ceramic grill. The proceeds will benefit CAMO. Contact Ron at renagua52@gmail.com if you are interested in tickets and did not have a chance to purchase some today. Only a limited number will be sold.
CELEBRATIONS:
Birthdays: Steve Stimmel will celebrate his birthday tomorrow and Ron Taggart on Sunday. We sang really well to Ron this morning.
50/50 Drawing: Don Coughlin's table had the winning ticket but drew the five of spades so that pot will continue to grow.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Foodbank: Tonight is our time to volunteer at the Akron-Canton Foodbank from 4:30 to 6:30. Dinner as a group will follow. Rotarians are especially needed tonight since the Interact students will not be attending since this is their last day of school. If you have questions, contact Mary Dula at 330-715-6358.
Golf Outing: Chairperson, Scott Miller, said everything is looking good. We have our full number of golfers at 100. He thanked the people who have volunteered to help at the outing on Monday and asked that they be at Silver Lake by 7:45. Also, on Friday, June 3, at 5:00 anyone interested should meet at the FOP Lodge behind the Church at Silver Lake to stuff goodie bags for the event. More non-perishable items are still needed for the bags along with golf balls and $25.00 gift cards to be used for prizes. All of those donations are needed by Friday at 5:00. If you call Brad at 330-524-8205 he will arrange to pick up your items.
Steve Dunton reminded everyone that he is still selling 50/50 raffle tickets for the outing. They are $5.00 each or 5 for $20. Be sure to contact him to have him save some for you, at 330-618-0368.
Adopt-a-Spot: Marty Tass thanked John Pribonic, Jeff Film, Ray Evans, Carrie Leising, Scott Miller and Mason from Interact for helping him plant the spot last Saturday morning. It looks great. Look for it at the corner of Graham and #91 by the doughboy.
PROGRAM: Brad then introduced District Governor, Larry Lohman of the Kent Rotary to share information from and about District 6630.
Larry is a fourth generation Rotarian who began his journey helping his father with Rotary fundraisers in Cambridge, Ohio. His, and the club's favorite was selling popcorn and pop during arts festivals and other events there where they would make $20,000 to $30,000 during the festivals. It was a great way for everyone to begin to learn about Rotary. Later, when Larry was in Kent, he was surprised that not everyone knew about Rotary. So, when there was an International Festival, he set up a booth about Rotary International and included a popcorn machine to attract people.
He feels that Rotarians forget to tell others the story of Rotary in order to entice them into membership. When they hear the story, they want to become involved. He has established a District Public Image Committee so that there are people who can help clubs tell their stories. He also explained that when people discover Rotary on line, they can register their interest. That information is sent to local areas so that the interested party an be contacted for membership. About half of the contacts lead to membership.
He also feels that the youth are the future, as well as our present. He feels that there is a need for an Interact Alumni Association to continue the volunteer interest that the students have established during high school. During this next year, such a program should be rolled out, thanks to Chelsea from West Geauga.
This Saturday, the Rotary International Convention begins in Houston. About 20 from our district will be attending. There is still room at hotels and for registration if anyone is interested in attending. He mentioned other dates as well, that are of more local interest: June 12-16 RYLA Camp will be held at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea. This camp trains youth to be future leaders, particularly in Interact. July 6, the District Awards Celebration will be held at the Pavilion at Front St. in Cuyahoga Falls. A.Z. Baker awards will be given at that time. Then, on July 13, it will be Rotary Night to End Polio at the Cleveland Guardians Game. Last year it raised about $5000 for the project. Look at the District Website www.rotarydistrict6630.org for more information about these events.
It is important for us to remember that we are the largest volunteer organization in the world with 2.4 million members nationwide. Our purpose is to raise money to give it away.
We did not have a joke to close our program today, but Mark Lucco will be in charge of the joke for next week.
Apologies to those who tried to sign in for the virtual meeting this morning. Things just happen in the world of technology sometimes.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Today: 4:30-6:30 Volunteer time at the Akron Canton Foodbank
Friday, June 3, 5:00 Meet at the FOP to stuff goodie bags for the golf outing
Monday June 6 at 9:00 a.m. (Volunteers report at 7:45) Golf Outing at Silver Lake Country Club
Wednesday, June 8, 7:30 Morning Meeting at Bellacinos
Friday, June 10 7:15 a.m. Board Meeting at City Hall
Wednesday, June 15, morning meeting at Bellacinos
Monday, June 20 5:00-9:00 Planning Retreat for old and new Board Member at Lakeview Pavilion of Silver Springs Park
Wednesday, June 22, morning meeting at Bellacinos
Wednesday, June 29 morning meeting at Bellacinos with installation of Gail Mosley as Club President, along with board members and officers of the club.
Monday, July 4, Fourth of July Parade
Wednesday, July 6 Evening district awards at Pavilion in Cuyahoga Falls
Wednesday, July 13, Rotary Night at the Guardians Game
Wednesday evening October 12, Reverse Raffle/Silent Auction at Guys Party Center
Thursday evening, December 15, Holiday Helping Hands
Submitted by Andy Denton