The Rotary Club of Kent
May 14, 2024
President Asad, called the meeting to order at 12:10. Our patriotic song was God Bless America led by Dominique Bollenbacher and played by David Dix. It was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the invocation by Amanda Senn. Dominique led us in singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” dividing the group into three rounds.
VISITORS
Heidi Mathews from the Ravenna office of Ohio Representative Dave Joyce was the guest of Bill Childers.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- President Asad reminded club officers that a Board meeting will be held this Thursday at 5:30 pm. He also presented the slate of officer nominees for our next Rotary year and noted that voting for the slate will be held next week.
- Larry Lohman noted that there are still five reservations available for the Tequila Tasting event on June 5 to raise money for the upcoming water project in association with CoCoDa. Sign up at the Battleground website.
- Roberta O’Keefe sent around a sign-up sheet for volunteers to give the invocation at weekly meetings.
- Rachel Kerns announced a Recycle Event at the ReStore on Wednesday May 15 from 4 to 7.
- Doug Fuller encouraged everyone to attend Tap Talks at North Water Brewing next Tuesday at 7 pm. The speaker will be Dr. Metin Eren, a Kent State anthropologist who will discuss human habitation in Ohio at the end of the Ice Age.
- Dave Myers encouraged everyone to attend a Hands of Gratitude event at North Water Brewing on Friday, 5/17 at 6 pm. Attendees will build prosthetic hands for distribution in Tanzania.
- Dominique Bollenbacher reminded everyone that the Jaycees’ Kent Craft Beer Fest will be held on May 20 from 2 to 6 at Hometown Bank Plaza. She also noted that there will be a Touch-a-Truck event at Roosevelt High School on Saturday, May 18. Children attending this fun event with their parents will receive free Cake Pops. Dom will accept donations to offset the cost.
- Nancy Whitehead noted that there will be a meeting of the Kent Rotary Foundation on June 11.
HAPPY BUCKS
Happy Bucks were celebrated by Lee Higgins, Roger Sidoti, Ann Moneypenny, Dennis Campbell, Rachel Kerns, Kathy Myers, Sabrina Christian Bennett, Nithya Ventakaraman, Asad Khan, and John Flynn. Many congratulated family members on graduations, birthdays, and other milestones; Mother’s Day and the recent Aurora Borealis were also applauded.
BIRTHDAYS
May Birthdays were announced by Jeff Roeger. We learned some interesting facts about our fellow Rotarians:
- Chris Martin wanted to be an astronaut, but his career as a dentist has offered him a good outlet for his artistic and scientific interests. Chris also was chosen to receive a free lunch.
- Tom Myers recalled that the Saturday morning show “Sky King” first interested him in becoming a pilot.
- Christy Anderson really wanted to marry Prince Charles and was convinced she would be a great queen. We all agree.
- Will Underwood loved shooting off rockets and, like Chris Martin, also wanted to be an astronaut.
- Doug Fuller, architect, made his career choice at age 12.
- Larry Wright also considered architecture as a career, but chose Industrial Design instead.
PROGRAM
Program Chair Amanda Senn introduced today’s speaker, Dr. Neil Cooper, Director of the School of Peace and Conflict Studies (SPCS) at Kent State University. Dr. Cooper formerly headed the Rotary Peace Center at Bradford University in the UK. SPCS evolved from the Center for Peaceful Change, which was established at Kent State as a direct result of the events of May 4, 1970. Dr. Cooper came to Kent partly because of his interest in those events, which he described as having an international impact.
He spoke today about the work of the May 4th Education Committee whose purposes include contributing to yearly Commemoration events and building awareness of May 4th inside and outside of Kent State. The theme chosen for this year’s activities, listed below, is “The Power of Our Voices.”
- April 13 – May 4th Visitor’s Center Reflection Gallery hosted a conference on rights of free speech and protest at KSU. Dr. Cooper noted that this event along with consistent engagement with protesting students, perhaps, contributed to the non-violent atmosphere on campus this year in contrast with many other campuses across the US.
- May 2 – The committee held a special program for High School students and teachers.
- May 3 – Lawrence Roberts, a journalist and author of “Mayday 1971” spoke on campus.
- May 4 and May 10 – The committee hosted an exchange with faculty from Chonnam National University in South Korea, which experienced student protests over the imposition of martial law in 1980. Known as the Gwangju Uprising, this protest saw the massacre of students by the South Korean military. Dr. Yeonmin Kim, whom many Rotarians remember from his time at Kent State as a Rotary scholar, headed the delegation from his university in South Korea.
Looking forward to upcoming educational activities, in the Fall of this year there will be a performance on campus of Eric Mansfield’s play, “Trial by Fire” about book banning. In 2025 KSU will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War.
RESPONSE
Dave Summers offered the response thanking Dr. Cooper for his most important work and contribution to our community.
Respectfully submitted,
Thomas Hatch
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