Week One at The Center was this morning. Everyone seemed to enjoy the new set-up with a nice group present. We also are trying a new format where the speaker goes first and then we have the business meeting. After a couple weeks, give your feedback to any board member.
PROGRAM:
Co-president Steve Dunton called the meeting to order by leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Program Host, Dave Renninger then followed with an invocation asking for clear thinking, before he introduced our speaker, Larry Lohman, who is a past District Governor a member of the Kent Rotary Club and expert on The Rotary Foundation.
The Rotary Foundation is the arm of this large, international organization that manages our giving that supports the work of Rotary in several areas: The Annual Fund, Disaster Relief Fund, Polio Plus, and Peace Fellows. Larry is proud of the fact that Rotary receives the highest recognition possible for being responsible with its charitable donations with over 90% of the money collected actually going to projects where it is needed.
For our club, November is Foundation Month, so it is valuable to have knowledge going in that helps us decide on the amount of our donation. There is a serious hope that each person in Rotary will donate $100 to The Rotary Foundation, but if that is not possible, the hope is that every person in the club will make some kind of donation.
Larry explained that the Annual Fund, also called the Share Fund assists communities locally and around the world. Locally, we can apply for part of our donated funds to come back to us for local projects with a match from district funds. Internationally, the fund supports things like water projects in El Salvador, heart surgeries in Haiti and help for a pediatric hospital in Pakistan. It cannot build structures but it can support what goes on in those buildings once they are created. Health and sanitation are priorities as these funds are utilized.
The Disaster Relief Fund includes ShelterBox which came out of the United Kingdom. It has changed as needs have changed. No longer are the huge tents routinely used. Instead, supplies are targeted to the needs of the area. A good bit of money flows out of the U.S. into other areas of the world, but other countries are also able to initiate a grant to support disasters here such as the recent hurricanes in the south.
Polio Plus has been so successful that polio is almost a thing of the past. Cases are still in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Part of the problem in those two countries involves the political climate, the beliefs of some religions and individuals who do not allow vaccines. Recently there was a small outbreak in Gaza. Polio Plus sent funds and Rotarians in the area administered the vaccines.
We can be proud to give our contribution during this next month to so many worthwhile causes. As the month proceeds we will learn about the rewards that are also part of this donation system. If you are new and have not heard the name Paul Harris previously, you will learn that name well in the next few weeks, thanks to Dave Renninger and Maria Ferrara. Today, they distributed pledge forms to get us started in thinking about our contributions.
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When Steve began the business portion of the meeting, he thanked Todd Hearty and Jen Ramsey for checking us in this morning, and welcoming our visitors, Larry Lohman, Mike Love and Kyle Herman. Mike is head of HR for the Stow-Munroe Schools and is planning on membership with us.
CONCERNS: The club's sympathy goes to two of our members who have lost parents in the last week. De-de Mulligan lost her father and Annette Oborn's mother passed away.
CELEBRATIONS:
Wedding Anniversary: Brad and Kelly Ruth are celebrating 28 years of marriage this week.
Thank yous: We received thank yous from Bulldog Bags and Highland School for helping both organizations.
Drawing: Gail Moseley's table had the winning ticket, but drew the nine of diamonds. The joker is still hiding so the pot will continue to grow.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Board Meeting: The minutes of last week's Board Meeting are attached to these minutes. In addition, other items that the board has been working on are attached. The next Board Meeting will be on November 8 at 7:15 a.m. at City Hall.
Reverse Raffle: Gail Moseley received a much deserved round of applause for her efforts in leading the Reverse Raffle/Silent Auction. According to the budget, our hopes were that we would raise $11,000 and our profits were more than $13,000. She thanked everyone who participated in the success of the event.
Membership: Brad Ruth says that the Membership Committee is beginning to plan for another membership recruiting event, probably in February. Text him at 330-524-8205 if you are interested in serving on the committee
Foodbank:.Our next Foodbank service time will be Wednesday, November 13 from 4:30 to 6:30 with dinner afterwards. Sign up as you sign in.
Football Pool Winners: Rotarians who won in the pool last week were: Will Sumser (X 2) and Pat Messmore. We had many more winners that club members sold books to.
Fifth Wednesday: We will not meeting in the morning on October 30 since it is a fifth Wednesday. Watch for news about what social event we will take part in that evening.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS NEEDS: Dinah Henderson has made us aware of an unusual situation where two students, one from Brazil and one from Thailand are at the high school and had to be removed from their host family. A teacher has taken the two girls into her home but is receiving no compensation for their needs. Next week we will pass the hat to support the teacher in caring for the girls' needs. By the way, these were not Rotary exchange students, but they still need our help.
Bulldog Bags: Let's see how many boxes of macaroni and cheese we can collect before the next Bulldog Bag day of November 6. Bring them to a meeting, or drop them off in the lobby of City Hall!
Steve ended the meeting by leading us in the Rotary Four-Way Test.
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DATES TO REMEMBER:
Saturday, October 19, District Experience at Mentor High School, 10:00-1:00. Our membership team will be on the program.
Wednesday, October 23, 7:30, morning meeting at The Center when Francine Parr will be our speaker, She is the Founder and Executive Director of The Millenial Project. We will pass the hat for the International Student situation as described above.
Wednesday, October 30, No morning meeting but a social event in the evening.
Friday, November 8, 7:15 a.m. Board Meeting At City Hall
Wednesday, November 13, 4:30-6:30 Foodbank Volunteer time
Andrea Denton
330-474-7265
330-414-1934