Rotareminder - March 19, 2024

President-Elect Rachel Kerns welcomed Rotarians and guests. 

David Dix led us in singing The Star-Bangled Banner followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. The second song was Pennies from Heaven featuring Dominique Bollenbacher on vocals.

The invocation was offered by Randy Smith.  

VISITING ROTARIANS

There were no visiting Rotarians today. 

GUESTS

Dominique Bollenbacher welcomed her guest Shannon Zemba, owner of Over Easy restaurant. 

David McKeen introduced his guest Eric Arellano from Kent State. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Rachel Kerns shared that the district conference will be in Cuyahoga Falls and encouraged many Rotarians to participate this year as it is so close. Registration is due by March 31. The conference will be April 26 & 27. 

Tom Hatch reminded everyone that there is a Tap Talk at North Water Brewing this evening at 7 PM. The speakers are Michele and Drew Delgross, formerly animal trainers at Sea World of Ohio. The couple now owns Pet State University in Streetsboro. You can also purchase a membership to the Kent Historical Society at the event. 

 

Will Underwood shared that the district’s 4 Way Speech Contest will be on April 6 at Springfield High School in Akron. They are still looking for judges. 

 

Brad Erhart is passing a sign-up sheet for volunteers to work the Lord’s Lunch on April 20. Volunteers will work from 9:30-1 preparing and serving lunch. See Brad if you are interested in helping. 

 

David Myers announced that for his birthday, which is today, he wants everyone to buy tickets to attend the annual auction, which will be on Tuesday, April 23 at 6 PM at Bell Tower Brewing. There will be no lunch meeting that day. Tickets can be purchased online and each ticket includes a raffle ticket for cash prizes up to $1000 or the chance to stock your wine cellar. Tickets are available at: kentrotaryfoundation.betterworld.org. See Stacey or any committee member for assistance with tickets. 

 

Todd Kamenash announced that there will be a send-off for the KSU Women’s Basketball team as they head to the NCAA Tournament. Fans are encouraged to gather at 2 PM in Hometown Bank Plaza this Thursday, March 21. 

Todd also shared that today is the last day to sign up for the club’s Bracket Buster fundraiser for literacy projects. So far, we’ve raised a little over $600. See Todd before you leave today if you want to participate. 

STUDENT OF THE MONTH 

Emma Arthur, granddaughter of Jim Arthur and daughter of Bill and Kelle Arthur, is Roosevelt’s Student of the Month. Emma is a senior and a captain on the cross country team and bowling team. She participates in the teaching CTE program and is planning on majoring in early childhood education at Ohio State in the fall. 

PROGRAM 

Todd Kamenash introduced our friend and speaker, Laing Kennedy, professor at KSU and former Athletic Director. Laing began his presentation by showing off his new hat, featuring the winners of the MAC tournament, the KSU Women’s basketball team. 

Prior to his predictions, Laing offered the following tips when filling out your bracket: 

• The BIG becomes the LITTLE

• Do not argue about the seeds - the selection committee does not make mistakes!

• Do not waste time on 8/9. Flip a coin. This will solve all tough decisions. 

• Start backward. Pick your final four first. 

• Pick dogs over cats (mascots). 

• Most of the time teams seeded #1 or #2 win

• Love your Cinderellas, but don’t pick them to win it all (final four is OK)

• Don’t pick a team to win it all below #8 seed (unless it’s Kent State) 

• If you pick all favorites in the first round, you are likely to have a good score on your bracket

• Teams win, not individual stud players

Laing discussed two things that impact coaches, basketball players, and the tournament now, that were not factors when he was an athletic director. They are the NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) and the transfer portal. It used to be that a player had to get permission to transfer from his team, now players can say “See ya!”. Transferring players comes with baggage, and it is hard to build upon when you can’t keep a class of freshmen together to become ingrained in your program. 

 

For the women’s tournament Laing shared information about players to watch, including Caitlin Clark at Iowa, Angel Reese at LSU, Paige Bueckers at UConn, and Juju Watkins at USC. He wants to see Kent State defeat Notre Dame, but says that South Carolina would edge us in the next round. He believes the Iowa vs. UCLA game is a tough match. UConn, USC, and Ohio State will battle it out but he thinks USC will prevail. Stanford and Texas are in the next region, with Stanford as Laing’s pick. 

In the men’s tournament, in the south Laing has a fondness for Marquette because a former KSU player is coaching for them. In the east, Laing picks UConn over Illinois and Iowa St. In the west, UNC over Arizona, and in the midwest, it’s going to be a battle between Purdue and Creighton. 

 

Todd Kamenash used a Magic 8 Ball to make his predictions. His final four using this method are: South Carolina, UCLA, UConn, and Marquette. 

Final predictions: 

Women’s Champ: South Carolina (Laing) and UCLA (Todd)

Men’s Champ: UConn (Laing) and Marquette (Todd)

Tom Larkin was the responder to today’s program.

Respectfully submitted, 

Stacey Richardson