The bell was rung by President Arnold and Dave Hartman gave his usual amazing invocation. Stacie Cook lead us in the Pledge to our Flag as well as in the singing of God Bless America and R-O-T-A-R-Y.
Our sole guest was Jason Johnson with Johnson’s Furniture, brought to us by John Deason, and hopefully will become a new member of our club. Jack Browne from the Southwest Rotary Club was also a visitor.
President Arnold introduced our own Benay Ayers for an important announcement about our improvements to Rotary Park. Our Rotary benches have now been installed next to the play area on the south side of the park (which is adjacent to the Southwest Boys & Girls Club on Hughes Street). A really cool “zip line” ride is in the works to be installed, and it is NOT too late to contribute to this project.
Stacie Cook enthusiastically promoted our Brag Bucket receiving several brags and donations. Speaking of donations, Stacie informed us that this relatively new part of our meetings has already accumulated $172 (primarily from $1.00 “brags”) which will go towards our community projects.
John Deason thoughtfully introduced our Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Month, Jaden Prince. Jaden represents the Northwest Branch and is in the 8th grade at Kirby Middle School. Bright and impressive, Jaden takes on leadership roles at home, at school and at the Club and is proving to be an amazing young man! Congratulations Jaden!
Dave Hartman was called on to introduce our program on “What’s Happening at the Y” which was given by our own member, John Dearolf. John is the VP of Mission Advancement for the YMCA and moved here with his family from Florida, having grown up in Tampa. John is also in the National Guard, and his military background made him a perfect fit for his new role at the Y. The YMCA’s primary functions are youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, and John touched on each of these areas. There are currently 7,000 kids being served through the Y’s youth sports efforts, which is outstanding! The Dillard Early Learning & Youth Development Program, offered through the Bill Bartley Branch is also an amazing outreach effort. The Y offers after-school programming with a focus on academics. Under the guise of healthy living, the YMCA’s “Live Strong” program was created for supporting the needs of cancer survivors. In the area of social responsibility, the Y implemented and supports the Miracle League Baseball Program for those kids who ordinarily would not be able to participate in traditional area sports programs. This program brings together many mentally and physically challenged children with lots of volunteers for exercise, fun and inclusion in American’s National Pastime. The Y also provides opportunities for kids, through their Safety Around Water program, to learn how to swim and form long-lasting life skills regarding water safety. John is obviously passionate about his role at the Y and continues to carry out the strategic plan of strengthening long-term sustainability, expanding the reach of the YMCA and creating growth leaders.
Our speaker’s gift this week in John’s name went to City View School Library and our meeting concluded with the Rotary Four Way Test.