Rotary International asks us to Serve to Change Lives through its Focus Areas
This month Rotary International asks us to Serve to Change Lives by preserving access to fresh water and quality sanitation in our community. Explore the possibilities with us at our meeting Wednesday at noon at Wick Park or virtually via Zoom.
YSU President Bill Johnson will address the club at noon Wednesday at the Tyler History Center – Mahoning Valley Historical Society, 325 W. Federal St. (We will meet at theTyler for the next three weeks while the Wick Pavilion roof is under repair.)
The next Rotary After Hours gathering will be at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Bistro 1907. Can’t attend lunch-hour meetings? Want to introduce a future member to Rotary? Be there!
Bring a friend to the Rotaryclipse preview at 4 p.m. Friday at Penguin City Brewing Co., 460 E. Federal St. Rotarians Richard Bernacki and Aspasia Lyras-Bernacki will tap the Black Moon IPA that was brewed especially for Rotaryclipse. Throughout the weekend, $1 of each Black Moon pour will go to support our club’s fundraiser for STEAM education.
Meet again from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Penguin City for the full Rotaryclipse experience. Bring your family, check out the exhibits, and buy NASA-approved glasses for viewing the solar eclipse on April 8. Rotaryclipse chairman George Nelson needs volunteers to work 1-hour shifts at the Rotary table and to sell merch and 50-50 tickets.
Rotary Last Week
Our March 27 program by Western Reserve Port Authority was very informative. The meeting was at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, which also hosts the Youngstown Air Reserve Station. Anthony Trevena, WRPA executive director, said the airport has 111 miles of runway to maintain. Also, the air reserve base is Trumbull County’s top employer, and the second-highest employer in Mahoning County.
Our fellow Rotarian Josh Prest, executive director of the Eastern Ohio Military Affairs Commission, detailed how lobbying on the air base’s behalf will result in a full squadron of new planes (worth $1 billion) beginning in July and millions more in federal support to install new runways.
Mike Hillman, who owns a full-service company to support commercial aviation, discussed opportunities to own, charter or lease aircraft there.
Joe Deramo of Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics, which has a branch campus at the airport, emphasized rising demand for aviation technicians.
Atty. Joe Maxin, WRPA’s compliance officer and lead instructor of YSU’s new flight school, was introduced.
The meeting ended with a walk on the tarmac to view the flight school’s planes.
TAKING NEXTREX TO THE NEXT LEVEL
RCY’s third round of film plastic collection will launch soon. Bring your film plastic to the Rotary meeting on the second Wednesday of the month, beginning April 10. Nextrex Recycling Challenge is our national program partner, and they have raised the stakes! We need to collect 1,000 lbs of plastic at a minimum, and we have 12 months to do it.
Thank you to those who signed up to be part of the weighing and transporting team! Your service is essential to our recycling efforts.
Step 2: Put a bin labeled film plastic only at your workplace and/or home. Download and post the acceptable items poster and the unacceptable items poster. If you need a bin, Elsa Higby has one large cardboard bin remaining.
Step 3: Tell your co-workers to bring their plastic from home and put it in the bin.
Step 4: Bring your collection to Rotary on the 2nd Wednesday of the month. If you cannot do this, then email elsahigby@gmail.com and we'll find a solution.
Step 5: While at Rotary, be sure to replenish your bin liner supply. All film plastic must be collected in a clear film plastic bin liner (not black).
RECYCLING P.S.
RCY weekly lunch meetings will be at the Tyler History Center, 325 W. Federal St., on April 3, 10 and 17. The Mahoning Valley Historical Society Staff asks that you drop off your plastic on April 10 at the Tyler’s back door, in the alley, around the corner from the parking lot. Collection bags cannot be left in the lobby, as the museum will be open to visitors.
A TASTE OF ROTARYCLIPSE
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.
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!
Illustration by Andrew Holder 03-25-24
What "Qualifies"as a Pollinator Habitat
Habitat can be integrated into landscapes in a variety of ways and can incorporate permanent and temporary resources. Using the landscape above as an example, we’ve outlined areas where habitat can be added or managed to support pollinators. While we are using a rural agricultural landscape in this example, many of these features exist in other landscapes in some form another.
Hedgerows or Windbreaks
To create pollinator hedgerows, use a wide variety of plants that benefit bees and have overlapping flowering periods. This will provide food and nesting resources for bees throughout the growing season and strengthen populations of natural enemies of crop pests.
Riparian Buffers
Habitat along streams should contain a diversity of plants. Willows, in particular, will nourish bumble bee queens in the spring so that large numbers of workers are available when crops begin to bloom.
Natural or Undeveloped Areas
Nearby natural areas may harbor all the native bees needed to pollinate your farm’s crops. Consider inviting your neighbors to help with safeguarding these habitats.
Artificial Nests
Making bee blocks for wood-nesting bees is a good way to increase the number of native bees in your landscape.
Dead Trees, Snags
Keeping dead trees standing provides shelter for native bees. Some solitary bees build nests in abandoned beetle tunnels in snags.
Field and Road Borders
Leave areas next to fields untilled and unsprayed to support flowering plants and provide nest sites for ground-nesting bees.
Cover Crops
Flowering plants—certain legumes in particular—can be included in cover crop mixes to supply pollen and nectar.
Temporary Bee Pasture
Planting fields with canola or other inexpensive seed—or allowing crops such as lettuce, kale, basil, and broccoli to bolt—will supply bees with nectar and pollen.
Bare Soil
When you create a pond or ditch, leave the pile of excavated soil. Ground-nesting bees may build nests in stable, bare areas of this mounded earth. Planting clumps of native flowers will attract more pollinators.
Gardens
A vegetable, flower, or herb garden, with a diverse assortment of plants, is a good source of food for pollinators. Be wary of fancy hybrids that may produce little pollen or nectar.
Fallow Fields
Even small areas of fallow or unproductive land, especially when sown with native flowers, can offer important resources for native bees.
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