Club President Josh Prest expressed his appreciation for members’ great participation and achievements during the first 6 months of his term. Among his highlights:
Rotarian Dionne Dowdy’s presentation on the experiences of returning citizens in rebuilding their lives in their home community. Her organization, United Returning Citizens, received a RCY grant in support of its work;
An enjoyable field trip to SMARTS Art School, led by Rotarian Becky Keck;
Thanks to a final donation by First Energy, Operation Warm’s fundraising drive ended with $25,000 to purchase warm coats for city school children;
The Put Kids First mentoring program is active again and being led by Samantha Turner and Barbara Brothers;
Operation Pollination, introduced by Elayne Bozick, continues to grow as other clubs join the movement;
The happy announcement in September that Elayne Bozick will be the District 6650 Governor in 2024-25;
Fourteen new members joined RCY in 2021, a result of the work of the Membership Committee (Mike Latessa, with Geri Jenkins). Five more prospective members are in the pipeline.
Club Treasurer Dave Stillwagon reported that the club’s bank balances – both general accounts and the club’s foundation account – are healthy. Members’ luncheon payments at weekly meetings have been “fantastic,” he said, and the travel fund hasn’t been tapped during the pandemic. Three members will represent RCY at the annual Rotary International Convention in Houston in June, he noted.
Club Secretary George Nelson said the $450 raised at a “Pints for Polio” mixer in October was matched dollar for dollar by the Youngstown Rotary Foundation and at a 2-to-1 ratio by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The club’s annual grantmaking program is winding down, with an awards announcement anticipated during February, he added.
In other news, Groundhog Beerfest Co-Chairs Kevin Chiu and Samantha Turner continue to seek volunteers for setup, guest registration, beer pouring and teardown on Saturday, Jan. 29. Thanks to the efforts of members Troy Rhoades and Rich Bernacki, RCY’s Beerfest will feature only local and regional brewers. All brewery slots have been filled!
Rotarians also can support Beerfest as follows:
Sell tickets (4 per Rotarian recommended);
Solicit sponsors;
Like, comment on and share social media posts from Rotary accounts to increase public awareness;
Make pretzel necklaces! (See below for more info)
Volunteer to help with setup, registration, beer pouring or teardown on Jan. 29.
In its first three years, Groundhog Beerfest raised $43,000 that Rotary put back into the community in the form of community projects and grants to support the good work of local organizations.
Also, President Josh presented a gift card to Avalon Pizza to Mike Latessa, who was the winner of the Guess the Baby photo contest during the Club’s Christmas Party on Dec. 15.
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