June 5 2024 Newsletter

After she led us in both the Pledge of Allegiance and the Invocation, President, Annette Oborn opened the meeting.  She thanked Steve Dunton and Dave Renninger for getting us checked in this morning.  She welcomed our visitors, Reggie Rooks Jr. from the Champion club, JoAnne Loparo and Kara Lapso, our speaker.

 

Ron Taggart said that if you know anyone looking for a sitter this summer, get in touch with him at 330-807-7925 and he can refer you to his experienced niece.

 

Mary Dula expressed her appreciation to Wes from Bellacinos who helps her every week with her breakfast.

 

Wedding Anniversaries:  Congratulations to Bob and Annette Oborn who are celebrating 37 years of marriage.

 

Birthday:  We sang really well to Ron Taggart whose birthday is today.

 

Drawing: Carrie Malotte's table had the winning ticket but drew the 9 of diamonds, so the pot will still grow.

 

Former Rotarian, Jerry Young passed away last fall.  There will be a committal service for him on Wednesday, June 26 at Lakeside Chautauqua, Ohio.  See the attached announcement and respond as soon as you can to the e-mail listed there, if you will attend.

 

A.Z.Baker Award:  Every year we are asked to calculate the points that the club has earned in service to the community and participation in efforts of Rotary International.  For a club of our size, we were to have a minimum of 5500 points to qualify for the award.  This year we earned 16,250 points or almost triple what we were required to have.  AMAZING!  This just shows how important the efforts of everyone can be when they are all combined.  Thanks to everyone! 

 

Golf Outing: Chairperson, Scott Miller stated appreciation to his committee, the volunteers and those who have donated toward the prizes for the June 14 event at Fox Den.  He will be e-mailing those who have volunteered to help to give them their assignments.  Registration will go from 7:15 to 8:00 with the shotgun start at 8:30 for the 27 teams of golfers . It is estimated that dinner will begin between 1:30 and 2:30.  If anyone is interested in a steak dinner without golfing, let Scott know at 234-788-7498 by this Friday.  Cost is $30.00 per person.  50/50 raffle tickets are available now and will be sold that day as well as at the meeting next week.   Cost is $5.00 each or 5 for $20.  Thanks too to Scott for the great job he has done in coordinating the event.  

 

Membership Committee: Brad Ruth will be hosting an event primarily for the Membership Committee including a boat trip to Kelly's Island.  He still has room for 4-5 people and would be glad to include you if you are interested.  Contact Brad at 330-524-8205 right away for more information.

 

Foodbank: Next Wednesday is our volunteer time at the Foodbank.  Please help if you can from 4:30 to 6:30 with dinner as a group afterwards.  Wear your blue work shirt if you can.

 

Shirts: And speaking of shirts, we are ordering new blue workshirts.  New members will receive one for free and anyone else who wants one will be charged in the $10 vicinity, depending on the number we order.  There is a sign-up sheet where you sign in, so be sure to sign with your size.  Money will be collected later.

 

Adopt-A-Spot:  Marty Tass thanked Scott Miller, Cyle Feldman, Jennifer Ramsey, John Pribonic, Dave Christman,  Ray Evans, Bob Sweitzer, Julie McLain, Rich Bedell, Linda Trevorrow,  and Steve Dunton for helping with the planting.  These folks, along with Marty will get a make-up for their work.

 

Make-Ups: Although attendance is not the strict requirement that it once was, it still matters.  When things like the A.Z. Baker award is applied for, there are always attendance questions.  So, if you chair a committee, or are in charge of people at an event, give their names to Karen Monbeck or Andy Denton so that you are credited with your service. 

 

Interact:  Dinah Henderson, Club Interact Advisor, reported that next week two people from the club will attend RYLA Camp for leadership at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea. Both will be officers of the club next year.  There will be a dinner to celebrate their efforts Thursday evening, June 13 at 6:00. If you would like to attend and need further details, contact Dinah at 330-689-5300 or 330-612-2100(c)  no later than this Friday.  

 

Facebook:  Great news!  Our Facebook page is back after it was taken down because we were impersonating Rotary International.  The problem has been resolved and you can look for more of Annie's great posts!  

 

Club Assembly next week:  For our program, Carrie Malotte who is Program Chair and one of our past presidents, will lead us through a discussion of the club activities, particularly for the enlightenment of our newer members.  Everyone should have received a copy of the revised by-laws.  They have been approved by the board and will be presented for ratification to the entire membership at this meeting.  

 

Bill Choler's Bench Dedication:  Several Rotarians, along with his family,  attended the dedication of the bench in memory of Bill. It is located at the Stow-Munroe Falls Library.  

 

Bulldog Bags:  If you would like to help pack the bags for June, mark Thursday, June 27 on your calendar.Set-up will begin at 6:00 with packing at 6:45.  Then on Friday, June 28, fresh/frozen packing will begin at 2:00 with delivery drivers doing their work between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m.  This will take place at First Christian Church, 3493 Darrow Rd.in Stow.

 

Zoom Meetings:  If you cannot attend a meeting in person, use the zoom link attached to these minutes and join us.  We miss you when you are not here.

 

Board Meeting:  The board will not meet at the regular time in June, but instead will have a retreat the evening of June 24 at the FOP Lodge to plan for the following year.

 

Annette introduced Kara Lapso who is an Ohio native and two-time Ohio State University alumna.  She is a social worker and adjunct professor for the University of Denver's Graduate School of Social Work.  Recently she founded Open Trail collective, a nonprofit promoting inclusivity in outdoor adventure through local meet-ups and special events.  The first annual Northeast Ohio Adventure Expo will be coming this fall and a directory of opportunities will be launched soon.

 

Kara was here specifically today to talk about ShelterBox, which is an international non-profit organization created to assist people whose lives have been changed by climate or other natural disasters.  They seek out the most vulnerable population after an event and try to help.  Over 225, 000 people are sheltered annually and this is accomplished thanks to a staff of 150, 120 response team members and their global partners.  

 

Some changes have come to ShelterBox.  Formerly, everyone received a well-equipped tent following a disaster.  Slowly it was discovered that no everyone needed all of the items in the tent, and so some items were being wasted.   Not everyone needs pots and pans and not everyone needs tools, so much of the waste is eliminated by targeting the needs of individuals.  For instance, not everyone needs a tent. Some need to fix their homes and only need the tools. Others need cash grants for medicine, school supplies, etc.  Needs are now being addressed on a more individual basis which means that the supplies go further.

 

In order to be a ShelterBox volunteer, there is an application process, then an interview, then an 3-4 day trout disaster simulation to see how the person reacts.  After that, there is a 10-day training.  When that is completed, the volunteer can generally count on 2-3 deployments per year.  Right now, volunteers are in Cameroon, Chad, Ethiopa, Mozambique, Somalia, Gaza, Palestine Pakistan, Syria and Yemen among others.  They have been in Ukraine.  They do not enter a country unless their help is requested.  Their main funding comes from organizations such as Rotary International along with private donations.

 

Kara is also working on establishing the Open Trail Collective which will become a hub for outdoor activities in our area, giving special attention to diverse groups.  For more information about that see the attached flier and click on the QR code there.

 

Annette closed the meeting by leading us in the Four-Way-Test.