Rotary International asks us to Serve to Change Lives through its Focus Areas
This month Rotary International asks us to Serve to Change Lives through Rotary Fellowship. Explore the possibilities with us at our meeting Wednesday at noon at Wick Park or virtually via Zoom.
Reminder: There will NOT be a weekly lunch meeting Wednesday at Wick Park. Instead, Rotarians will gather that evening for the annual President’s Party to honor Sharon Letson for her leadership and accomplishments.
The deadline to RSVP for the President’s Party has passed.
Registrants are reminded to meet at Youngstown Country Club for a social hour at 6 p.m., with dinner at 7 p.m. and a program to follow. Business or cocktail attire is recommended.
Last Week's Meeting
Raising us up together – that was the overall message shared by Sharon Letson as she presided over the last meeting of her presidency. It was indeed a historic year, as Sharon served under the first female international president, Jennifer Jones, along with our District Governor Michelle Charles, and the all-female incoming presidents in our zone.
As we Imagined Rotary during the 2023 Rotary year, we accomplished a lot. Below is the year in review.
Club
9 new members joined the club for a net 4 new members, with 3 members approved who have yet to be inducted for a total of 12 new members
16 new Paul Harris Fellows; 2 new Paul Harris Fellows +1; 2 new Paul Harris Fellow +2; and 1 new Paul Harris Fellow +3; 1 new Paul Harris Fellow +6
1 new Bequest Society Level 5 member
Annual giving to The Rotary International Foundation was $11,456 of which $6,820 was contributed to the annual fund
Hosted a virtual seminar on Club Culture hosted by Rotary International President Elect Stephanie Urchick and Tom Gump
Record Beerfest raising $39,000 in revenues and $27,000 in profit
Successful Beers, Cheers and Gears, as well as return of annual Scrappers picnic and game for members and guests
Sponsorship of second annual international tour to “Jewels of the Alpine” with 2024 trip scheduled to Australia
Operation Pollination
We have 20 pollinator plantings in the Mahoning Valley since we started this work
Five Rotary Clubs have an Operation Pollination sign on their pollinator site.
We have 12 involved and dedicated community partners and many individual non-Rotarian supporters.
On a global scale there are 91 Operation Pollination Ambassadors from 7 countries, the most recent from Trinidad because of their relationship with District 6650.
T-Shirt and aluminum sign sales help raise funds for plants, mulch, seeds, equipment rental, etc. -- 31 t-shirt sold to-date (of 100)
12 speaking engagements - Dayton being the most far-reaching (Ohio Land Bank Association)
Operation Pollination now is a feature article in the District Newsletter
95 OP articles have run in our own weekly newsletter.
District 6650 grant supporting Wick Park which included an Operation Pollination site
Successful Trex Recycling, collection of plastic fibers totaling 907 pounds to date.
International
Hosted Manuela D’Alessio, exchange student from Pompeii, Italy and sponsored Rotary Youth Exchange overnighter
Participated in the “Night for Ukraine” District Fundraiser for The Rotary International Foundation with several members serving on the planning committee with the club raising over $ 10,000 for the effort, with our club being in the top club of all funds raised
Successful golf outing to benefit the Ukraine event
New Generation
Hosted 30 students for YSU Freshman Experience picnic
Packed pencil cases for CCD students at St. Angela Merici Parish
Participated in Put Kids First Spring Arts Festival
Distributed books to Harding and Taft school students
Awarded six $1,000 scholarships to YSU incoming freshmen from Youngstown’s public and parochial high schools as well as honored the spelling bee winner.
Community
Little Free Libraries - 46 since 2014
Field Trips to Gabba Camp and Williamson College of Business Administration.
Annual joint meeting with Lions and Kiwanis Clubs of Youngstown featuring Bob DiBiasio of the Cleveland Guardians
Operation Warm exceeded $20,000 raised and several hundred coats distributed
World Polio Day Pints for Polio Event
Salvation Army Kettle Drive raising over $730
Raised funds for personal care products for women and girls for District 6650’s effort for All Ohio President Elect Training Seminar service project
Sponsored two students to RYLA
Sponsored Rayen Avenue Clean-up and Bike Belmont community events
Distributed over $100,000 from Youngstown Rotary Foundation including annual earnings and profits from Beerfest to various organizations:
End Polio Now
Library Summer Reading Program
Youngstown Day Hurricane Relief for Ft. Myers, FL
Operation White Stork (IFAKS)
Dorothy Day House
St. John’s Women’s Coffee Hour
Wick Park Pavilion Phase II
Rotaryclipse
As her final message, Sharon shared these observations: “As I step down as The President of the Rotary Club of Youngstown I am still, energized, excited and proud of the accomplishments of our club for the past year. Critical to all that we do is positive involvement, inclusiveness and collaboration.
I began my year built on legacies of most recent past presidents. You, our club members have worked tirelessly for our club and our community you got behind projects and participated. You have continued to be workers, cheerleaders, encouragers, fundraisers, creative thinkers and put service above self every time. Thank you all for a wonderful year. The strength of our club is our membership along with a long history and proven track record of successful commitment and projects. Please remember to always Imagine Rotary.”
Attendance Perfection
Prior to the review of accomplishments, perfect attendance awards were given out. Please congratulate the following Rotarians when you see them: Deborah Esbenshade, 28 years Msgr. Robert Siffrin, 28 years Scott Schulick, 25 years Frank Kishel, 17 years Elayne Bozick, 15 years Linda Kostka, 12 years Sharon Letson, 10 years Bill Lawson, 8 years George Nelson, 6 years Bob Calvert, 5 years Dave Stillwagon, 5 years Barbara Brothers, 4 years John Fahnert, 4 years Deanna Rossi, 4 years Josh Prest, 4 years Aundrea Heschmeyer, 3 years Gerri Jenkins, 3 years Samantha Turner, 3 years Mike Latessa, 2 years Adam Lee, 2 years Luke Politsky, 1 year Stacia Erdos, 1 years
Whisk(e)y Club Proceeds to Benefit CityScape
The Youngstown Whisk(e)y Club, formed to bring whiskey lovers together to taste and share, will be donating the proceeds from their June event to Youngstown CityScape. The June meeting will be held on Thursday evening, June 29, at V2 in downtown Youngstown.
Why are there parentheses around the “e” in whiskey? According to the club, there is some difference in the spelling – is it whiskey or whisky? But any way it’s spelled, they are willing to try it! For more details, contact John Fahnert.
Rotary Ahead
The regular meeting of the Rotary Club of Youngstown on July 5 will include the installation of the 2023-24 club officers and President Deanna Rossi and the Annual Club Assembly. The event will be at downtown Doubletree Hotel, 12th floor. Parking has been donated by hotel management for this meeting. Anyone parking in Doubletree parking lot will receive a voucher from the attendant upon entering the lot.
IMPORTANT: DUE TO THE CHANGE IN VENUE AND CATERING REQUIREMENTS, RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED FOR ALL WHO PLAN TO ATTEND, INCLUDING ALL CLUB MEMBERS. PLEASE USE THE LINK BELOW TO REGISTER NO LATER THAN JUNE 28. (Please Click Here to Register)
Not All Pollinators Have Wings
It’s rare, but one such non-flying mammal pollinator is the Cape Elephant shrew (Elephantulus edwardii) [elephan-too-lus edward-e-i]), and it's maybe the cutest pollinator out there.
These little creatures are neither elephants nor shrews but actually belong to the order Macroscelidea which includes aardvarks, tenrecs, golden moles, hyracoids, sirenians and elephants. Elephant shrews are endemic to South Africa where they are found to pollinate many native plants such as the Pagoda lily and other members of the Massonia genus.
They can use their extremely long tongues to lick to the nectar found deep in flowers which then dusts their trunk-like noses with pollen to be brought to other flowers. Elephant shrews also love to snack on invertebrates such as ants, termites, millipedes, beetles, spiders and earthworms so they play an important role in controlling insect populations.
With little known about their pollination, there's much to be discovered about these creature’s important role in the ecosystem!
ROTARY DISTRICTS #6630, 6650, 6600 END POLIO NOW GAME AT PROGRESSIVE FIELD
Thursday, August 17 2023
Detroit Tigers vs Cleveland Guardians
Gates Open: 6:00pm / First Pitch: 7:15pm
Pregame Parade on the field
TERRACE CLUB EVENT INCLUDES
Access to Terrace Club 4th Floor
Dinner & Pepsi Products
Exclusive Raffles and Auction
Cash Bar
TICKET PRICING OPTIONS
Lower Box + Terrace Club --$80
Upper Box + Terrace Club ---$70
$5 off Kids ticket in Terrace Club
Lower Box Ticket Only --$35
Upper Box Ticket Only --$25
ALL TICKETS INCLUDE A CONTRIBUTION TO END POLIO NOW CAMPAIGN
For information, contact Rotarian Stew Buchanan at 330-607-1442 or stewb1898@aol.com
RCY LOOKS TO FINISH THE TREX RECYCLING CHALLENGE STRONG
RCY’s continued participation in the Trex company’s plastic film recycling challenge is closing in on the final days of our second collection period, running through July 31st. Please bring your recyclable plastic film to weekly meetings. Bags will be available at noon meetings as we move back home to Wick Park.
We are currently at or near our 500-lb. goal through July 12, so the club will earn a second park bench made of Trex recycled materials. Please bring in any plastic you have on Wednesday to push us over the top!
Plastic film recycling supports the broader goals of Operation Pollination and Rotary International’s recognition of environmental matters as an area of focus. Member participation is the reason for our success. In May alone, 108 lb. of plastic was gathered. We can do this!
In addition to the shopping bags, sandwich bags, case overwrap and newspaper sleeves that you have gathered, think about the plastic film that surfaces throughout the month. Did you order something online recently? Those air pillows inside Amazon boxes? Recyclable. Bubble mailers? Yes, too. Let’s finish strong!
Canfield Rotary Fundraiser
THIS WEEK IN ROTARY HISTORY
June 30, 2010: A “special” Rotary meeting was held at Henry Bertolini’s bedside with RCY Presidents Steve Kristan, Elayne Bozick, and Mary Womble to ensure Henry’s 63rd consecutive year of perfect attendance.
CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION
Birthdays:
Herman, Peter
June 27
Considine, Brendan
June 28
Anniversary:
Fifarek, Aimee
5 years
PROPOSED NEW MEMBERS
Ana Maria Torres
YSU Maag Library
Classification: Library Management
Sponsor: Scott Schulick
Ana moved to the U.S. in 1987 from Lima, Peru, and to Youngstown in 2004. She is co-director of Maag Library and in charge of library services and operations. She coordinates international group travel trips, sponsored by RCY and YSU. Her community service involvement includes YSU Hispanic Heritage Planning Committee and OCCHA. She supports inclusion, equality and advancement opportunities for all, especially underrepresented and minority groups. She has two sons, Felipe and Andrea Morales-Torres, and is married to Rick Hamilton, co-owner of Warren Concrete & Supply Co.
Catherine Schmitz
Sponsor: Elayne Bozick
Classification: Nonprofit Organizations
Catherine is a crisis worker for Help Network Northeast Ohio. In her free time, she enjoys crafts, cooking, family, and driving. She looks forward to volunteering and supporting Rotary.
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