June 30, 2021 Newsletter

As the club gathered for its first in-person meeting after meeting by zoom during the pandemic, President, Linda Trevorrow led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance to open the meeting.  She then gave our invocation encouraging us to make the most of each day.

 

GUESTS:  Interact Advisor, Dinah Henderson and Judge Lisa Coates were with us this morning

 

HAPPY BUCKS:  Linda presented a Happy Buck saying that she finally got to ring the Rotary bell to call the meeting to order since her entire presidency until today has been on zoom.  She was happy that we were together in the same place.  

 

Wedding Anniversaries:  Eric and Lauran Weber are celebrating their 14th anniversary today.  

 

Rotary Anniversary:  Steve Stimmel will have been a member of the club for 2 years on July 3.  

 

Beer Tent for Western Reserve Racing Endurance Run  Christina Gary, Foundation President, explained that our foundation has an opportunity to operate the beer tent for their run on Saturday, July 24.  It will be held at the Oak Tree Shelter of Silver Springs Park and will go from 10:30 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.  Christina passed a clip board for people to sign up and will have it available again at next week's meeting.

 

Adopt-A-Spot:  Marty Tass reminded everyone that weeding needs to be done at our spot in front of the doughboy at the corner of Graham and 91.  When you have 20 minutes to 1/2 hour stop by and weed and also deadhead the marigolds.  This weekend it is getting cooler and the rain will make the weeds easier to pull.  

 

Stuff the Bus:  Carrie Leising explained that several entities in the community will work together to stuff the bus for our Teacher Supply Closet on August 6, 7 and 8 during the tax free weekend.  There will be two locations, one at Giant Eagle and the other between Target and Office Max.   The drop-off will be from 10-4 each day so many volunteers will be needed.  Look for a clipboard next week.  

 

FoodBank Volunteering:  Mary Dula told us that our next time to volunteer will be on Wednesday, July 7 from 4:30-6:30 at the Akron-Canton FoodBank.  She will have a clip board to sign up next week or you can call her at 330-715-6358 to let her know you will volunteer or for more information. 

 

Raffle Drawing:  With money still left in the pot from last year, the first and last drawing for Linda's presidency was held.  Annie Hanson Hilaire had the winning ticket but the four of hearts was drawn.

 

Committee for a Meeting Place:  Today at 4:00 there will be a conference call looking at a future meeting place for the club.  We are at Silver Lake for the time being but need to weigh the options.  Let Brad know if you are interested in being on the call.  330-524-8205.

 

INSTALLATION: Judge Lisa Coates gave an added touch to our installation by donning her robe.   She then installed John Pribonic and Brad Ruth as Co-Presidents as they swore to faithfully execute the Office of President of the Rotary Club of Stow Munroe Falls and to also give their cooperation and support to District 6630 and to Rotary International.  Judge Coates then installed the other officers and directors of the club: Tom Bahr, Mary Dula, Steve Dunton, Mark Ferguson, Jeff Film, Dick Hall, Pat Messmore, Gail Moseley are the board members. In addition to the co-presidents, the other officers are:  Linda Trevorrow, Immediate Past President; Karen Monbeck, Secretary; and Annette Oborn, Treasurer.

 

Linda thanked the club for the trust placed in her over this past year as we worked together under the motto "Rotary Opens Opportunities".  In spite of the COVID Restrictions, we were able to still provide 12 families incuding 27 children with holiday gifts.  We found ways to thank veterans, first responders and caregivers.  We rang bells for the Salvation Army and planted flowers at our Adopt-A-Spot.  We mentored Interact students, volunteered at the Akron-Canton Foodbank and contributed thousands of dollars to the Foodbank and Bulldog Bags, gave $5000 in scholarships and contributed almost $14,000 to The Rotary Foundation.  New members continued to join as Mike Kostyack, Sue Figler and Milli Morrison became members while two others will be joining soon.  

 

Linda went on to thank the members of the Board of Directors for their service and guidance.  She gave special thanks to Dinah Henderson, Interact advisor for her service above self to the students, her co-workers and the club.  She remembered Mike Sekulich, long-time member who passed away in June.  She thanked our founding members and promised that they will still be honored at a celebration that had to be postponed.  She also looks forward to giving dictionaries to both the third and fourth graders this fall.  

 

As Linda happily passed the bell and gavel to Brad and John, she reminded the members to share happiness and kindness and to wear our pins with pride.

 

WORDS FROM JOHN:

John began by reflecting on the thought that he had been president 20 years ago.  As he looks back he sees what a great legacy this club has established.  While clubs in other places have struggled, ours has come together to produce great things and have a huge impact on the community.  This year he hopes that while we strengthen friendships and accomplish our goals, that we will also have fun.  John also recognized Mike Sekulich and his words "My Fellow Rotarians".  He said that we will be planting a tree in Mike's honor at Fox Den golf course, a place that he loved.  

 

Brad expressed his appreciation to Linda for leading us during the challenging times.  She learned technology and did everything that was necessary to lead the club.  He presented her with flowers and a gift from the club.  

 

Brad discussed plans for the future.  First of all, he wants every person who chairs an event or activity to create an outline of what to do.  It could be kept on Dropbox so that as a new person chaired an event, they would have the tools that they need to get started and thereby avoid mistakes.

 

He also talked about the grant project that he and John are initiating.  They will recruit business owners to partner with us and the Stow Schools Foundation to mentor students in Career Tech.  They will work with them on common skills like work ethic, communication, budgeting, etc. and lead the students to success while at the same time filling employment needs for businesses.  We will be hearing more about this as time goes on.

 

JOKE: Tina Gary ended the morning with a great mother-in-law joke.  She can tell you about it.