The Rotary Club of Kent

July 11, 2023

 

President Asad called the meeting to order at 12:15. Our patriotic song was our National Anthem led by David Dix, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the invocation by Amanda Senn. The fun song was “The lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.”

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Asad said that location changes were coming, though next week’s meeting is at the same time and place. Please see Amanda Senn’s comments in the Program section for more details. Roberta O’Keefe is looking for prayer leaders.

 

HAPPY BUCKS

Todd Kamenash gave happy bucks for David Dix and Lee Higgins’ birthdays. Tom Myers gave a happy buck for losing a bet (no details given). Tom Hatch gave a happy buck for winning a bet (said it had to do with the A/V equipment working perfectly). Randy Smith celebrated his daughter’s winning the Akron 8K, John Flynn and Bill Childers both gave happy bucks for the life of Emilio Ferrara, Dave Myers gave happy bucks for not having to wear a tie, as did Asad Khan and George Joseph, while Paul Organ gave a buck because Asad was NOT wearing a t-shirt. Anne Moneypenny gave multiple happy bucks because the month of June (and its many associated appliance/electrical problems) is over.

 

PROGRAM

Asad led the program on meeting the new board members by saying he wanted to focus on service. He also liked focusing on the messaging and how we can tell Rotary’s story to our community. As an example of a future service opportunity, he mentioned that the district grant that we received for Safety Town has a requirement that Rotarians need to do some of the work/service on the project. He pointed out that on the meeting tables he had put scraps of paper to share fundraising/general ideas with the board. A potential fundraiser could be having a bike ride where Rotarians asked for donations for each mile they rode.

 

Asad also quickly mentioned some of the programs/projects Rotarians have been involved in over the years, including: The Lord’s Lunch, the Fall senior service day, downtown family-friendly Halloween, cookie walk, the Heritage Festival, the annual club auction, the literacy programs (including Rough Rider Reads and reading to elementary students), the 4-way speech contest, the gazebo cleanup, the toy drive, the Salvation Army bell ringing, the book club, Students of the Month, and happy hours.

 

In terms of programming and meeting ideas, Asad had a few ideas for the group. He said that our Youth Exchange person from Brazil will be coming in August, and that he hoped she could share her experiences to the club sometime later in the year. He suggested that the club could institute an every third Tuesday table mashup where Rotarians sit at a different table. He announced that the birthday question would be: What (job or profession) did you want to do when you grew up? And if you could live your life all over again, what would you choose to do as a job?

 

Amanda Senn then talked about upcoming programming. She announced that the meeting dates of 7/25, 8/15 and 8/22 would all be someplace other than the Methodist Church. The 8/15 meeting will be at Stanton, but the others are all TBD for now, so watch for more information to come. She also said our new district governor, Julie Brandle, will be speaking on 8/1, and Mary Beth Harper would be doing the September programming, with a focus on friendship/camaraderie. October will be headed by Larry Lohman, and January will focus on the plans for the new year from the City of Kent, the Jaycees and the Chamber of Commerce. February will be organized by Bill Childers, March by Cathy Myers, and April by Todd Kamenash, and a possible program in May or June on traveling.

 

Jen Lennox talked about membership initiatives, including a three-pronged approach that focused on bringing in new members, serving members we already have and connecting new members. She shared ideas of increasing membership by working with the Jaycees, having contests, and having specific guest days for the meetings. For serving the members we already have, she mentioned happy hours, hikes and targeting members who haven’t shown up with notes/calls. Finally, to connect new members, she thought we could suggest to the new members 3 things to do now that you’re a new member, assign a Rotary buddy and provide some social media language about joining Rotary. She emphasized she’s open to other ideas and said that we’re looking to have a happy hour at the Lake House, maybe a charcuterie board making session, and a fall hike at a park.

 

Carol Crimi introduced the Rotary foundation board:

Nancy Whitehead -- Foundation Chairperson

Matthew Carroll -- Treasurer

Lauren Talion -- Secretary

Dr. Christopher Martin -- New Trustee

 

Carol said it has been an honor to serve as Rotary Foundation chair and that she was delighted Nancy Whitehead had agreed to take over as chair.

 

RESPONSE

Roberta O’Keefe said she was so glad to hear about the focus on service and hands-on work, and that she was particularly looking forward to hearing from our youth exchange student. She thanked everyone for their planning and service in the year ahead.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Jennifer Lennox