Our “On the Road” series will continue Wednesday at United Returning Citizens, 611 Belmont Ave., Youngstown, 44502 (same building as Coleman Health Services). Led by Rotarian Dionne Lacey, URC supports formerly incarcerated persons with housing, employment and educational needs as they rebuild their lives. Lunch will be served by Chef Christopher Bonacci.

The club awarded six $1,000 scholarships to seniors from city high schools who will enroll at Youngstown State University. RCY established a permanent endowment with the YSU Foundation to make these awards possible. Congratulations to the recipients:

La’Tonya Harper, of Rayen Early College, a member of the National Honor Society who is interested in forensic science and nursing; 

Jazlyn Alvarez, of East High School, who plays volleyball and will major in Public Health; 

Mary Baker, of Cardinal Mooney High School, a four-year tennis team player who will study Hospitality Management; 

O’ryan Dukes, of Chaney High School, who was captain of the varsity football team and will study Exercise Science; 

Theresa Garono, a National Honor Society student at Ursuline who will study Biology and plans to become a physician assistant; 

Zoey Newell, of Valley Christian, a volunteer at her church and the Purple Cat day program for adults with disabilities, will major in Art.

Annually, one of these scholarships is given in memory of the late Edward J. Hulme, a long-time member and past president of RCY. Members of the Hulme family attended the April 17 awards luncheon.

RCY also welcomed Joey Constantine, an eighth-grade student at Lakeview Schools in Cortland. For the third consecutive year, Joey will be the Mahoning Valley representative at the Scripps Annual Spelling Bee in late May in Washington, D.C. He won the WFMJ Regional Spelling Bee on March 9. He was presented with a gift of $100 toward his travel expenses. 

Representatives of RCY and the Lions and Kiwanis clubs of Youngstown met April 18 at the Downtown YMCA for lunch and a baseball talk by Bob DiBiasio of the Cleveland Guardians.

Here, George Nelson recaps the President-Elect Training Seminar that took place March 15 and 16 in Columbus.

The weekend kicked off with pre-PETS sessions for the individual Ohio districts. The sessions for our District 6650 featured an appearance by Rotary International President-Elect Stephanie Urchick, who fielded questions from the District PEs and previewed her keynote speech. Her three priorities: 

• Growing membership through her action plan; 

• Healing a divided world through positive peace; and 

• Focusing on continuity of leadership by incorporating both past and current leaders and continuing to support successful programs (i.e. eradicating polio) as we develop new ones (such as Operation Pollination, which aligns with Rotary’s newest area of focus, support for the environment). 

Under incoming District 6650 Governor and RCY member Elayne Bozick, initiatives will include restarting the Rotary Leadership Institute to grow the next generation of club leaders, with another Youngstown Rotarian, District Governor Designate David Stillwagon, participating. We also aspire to establish Peace Builder Clubs, an effort being led by Peace Chair Tom Carlisi of District 6690.  

Throughout the weekend, we heard from inspirational speakers, including:

• Jason Browne of the Rotary Club of State College Downtown (PA), who urged us to “Go Further” to be irresistible; 

• Dustin Dale of the Rotary Club of Reynolds Corners, who encouraged us to not just be Good but to be Elite; and

• Jenny Stotts of the Rotary Club of Athens Sunrise, who addressed mental health issues.     

In sessions, we discussed topics such as alternative membership models, including several I’m interested in exploring. Satellite clubs may meet the needs of people who can’t attend the noon meeting regularly but want to serve their communities. Impact clubs are cause-based satellite clubs. An expanded Rotaract could incorporate young professionals. RCY member Maureen Drummond is our district Membership Chair as well as DGE Elayne’s collaborator on alternative memberships.

I met with PEs of neighboring clubs, and we already are discussing ways to collaborate. One possibility is a joint mixer that may serve as a kickoff for a local project (as the club did with Operation Warm at a 2016 Beers, Cheers & Gears event).

Looking forward to the 2024-2025 Rotary year with all of you!

If your solar eclipse experience was so good that you regret not purchasing any souvenirs, then Rotary is here to help! 

Buy a Rotaryclipse pint glass ($10) for enjoying craft beer, iced tea, lemonade and more. T-shirts also are available in limited quantities at $15 each for youth sizes, $20 for adults.

Contact George Nelson or Aimee Fifarek now to purchase. Remaining inventory will be sold Wednesday during the club meeting.

Rotaryclipse will kick off with a special event Friday, April 5, at Penguin City Brewing Co. At 4 p.m., we will tap the Black Moon IPA that Penguin City has brewed for us and begin sales. Remember, $1 of each Black Moon pour will go to support our fundraiser for STEAM education. We also will preview some of the merchandise to be sold at the main event. Invite friends!

Join us again from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 7, at Penguin City for the full Rotaryclipse experience. It will be a family-friendly event with fun, educational exhibits to include movie props from the science fiction and fantasy museum under development in Warren. Buy your NASA-approved eclipse-viewing glasses and be ready for the total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8.

Ra’Cole Taltoan is one of seven new members of the League of Women Voters Greater Youngstown Women’s Hall of Fame. They were inducted on March 20. Read about it here: League of Women Voters of Greater Youngstown Hall of Fame | Mahoning Matters

Thousands Of Hummingbirds Are Headed For Ohio During Their Migration This Spring

By April Dray

Is there anything more beautiful than spring in Ohio? Well, yes, actually, yes there is: Hummingbirds in Ohio! Thousands of joyful, colorful hummingbirds, like a miniature feathered rainbow fluttering through the air. Each spring, the hummingbird migration in Ohio will have thousands of these beautiful little birds appear in the skies over the Buckeye State. 

Are you wondering, “When do hummingbirds come back to Ohio?” You can usually start to catch them in late April, during their annual migration. They’ll be easy to spot in quiet yards, especially those armed with hummingbird feeders, all across the country. Read on to find out more about these bejeweled birds.

In February, hummingbirds began migrating from Mexico and Central America to the U.S. and Canada.

Fun fact: There are more than 300 recognized species of hummingbirds, but only about a dozen migrate to the U.S. and Canada.

Ohio hummingbirds are ruby-throated hummingbirds. The males are particularly easy to spot, with their bright red throats that give the species its name. The ruby-throated hummingbirds, in fact, are the only type of hummingbird that breeds east of the Mississippi River.

Male hummingbirds typically arrive about two weeks before the females on the hummingbird migration in Ohio. Males usually arrive in early April. Visit the Hummingbird Central website to stay up to date about their migration patterns and the best time to see hummingbirds in Ohio.

At just under four inches long, the ruby-throated hummingbird is tiny but mighty. In fact, they flap their wings an average of 53 times every second and fly up to 25 miles an hour.

If you'd like to spot some hummingbirds in your yard this year, it's a good idea to put your feeders out a few weeks before their expected arrival. You don't have to purchase anything fancy, just a basic hummingbird feeder like those from an online retailer like Bed, Bath and Beyond will do.

Get your sugar water ready, have your camera on hand, and sit back and wait for the hummingbirds to arrive in Ohio! It will put a big smile on your face, we promise.

And if you’re feeling major spring vibes, be sure to check out this butterfly house in Cleveland — it’s stunning!