Patriotic song God Bless America was led by David Dix.
Bill Nome led the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Invocation was offered by Lori Wemhoff.
President Roger and David Dix led us in the singing of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Todd Kamenesh will be handling photos this afternoon with Brian Bialik handling Rotareminder
duties.
Visiting Rotarians
None.
Guests
Steve Dennis – Matt from Kent State University
Roger – Steve Smith
Student of the Month
TRHS Principal Dennis Love presented Katie Kulis as Rotary Student of the Month.
Announcements
There will be NO MEETINGS the 24th and the 31st .
The mother of Rotarian Tom Hall, Donna Hall, passed away.She has had affiliation with our club for over six decades.
Rotary Board meeting scheduled for January 16th.
Steve Dennis announced that giving participation from our club to RI is up to 80% with ~$9k received to date.
The Kent Area Chamber of Commerce has announced a send-off party for outgoing chamber Chamber director, Lori Wemhoff on Tuesday, January 7th at the KSU Hotel & Conference Center from 5-7:00pm.
Bill Childers extended thanks to the numerous rotarians who helped with bell ringing for the Salvation Army.
Rachel Kerns announced that today was the last day of their toy drive.Items may still be dropped off at the Kent Restore location.
MaryBeth Harper shared with members that the shoeboxes prepared for the Children of the Dump were delivered on December 1st.All told, the district contributed 890 boxes with 50 coming from the Kent club.
The Portage County Association of Insurance Agents sent a thank you card to the Club for its sundry contributions of clothing items for needy families in and around our community.
Speaker(s)
Kathy Myers introduced Faye Nicholson, a Partnership Specialist with Census 2020. As a census coordinator responsible for Summit and Portage counties, Faye is charged with the task of assembling and training individuals to count everyone once and successfully, as mandated by the US Constitution Article 1. These individuals comprise count committees representative of their communities, which is key to developing effective outreach strategies. Committee members are committed to being transparent and fair. They cannot ask to enter one’s home, nor would they ever ask for personal identifiable information such as one’s ss#.
Planning for census counts starts early. The Federal government provides multiple language video guides for individuals from many backgrounds. In addition, people are now able to respond to census questions in-person, over the phone, via their website, or by paper.
The importance of conducting a fair and accurate census has significant implications for communities all across the United States. The economic impact is broad reaching affecting areas related to public schools, infrastructure projects, Health and Human services, etc. Today, this translates into Federal dollars in excess of $675mm.
To receive accurate answers to any census-related questions, or to report unsubstantiated rumors regarding the census, the government provides a website, rumors@census.gov, for any and all citizens to use.
Congratulations to Rotarian Todd Kamenash. Todd was given the Rotarian of the Year award!!!! Todd works hard on Rotary’s behalf every day. Todd is actively recruiting new members, assisting with fundraising campaigns, assisting with social media marketing and a member of the Rotary board of directors. He is a great example of someone who serves others with a giving heart. He is pictured with President Roger Sidoti.
President Roger called the meeting to order at 12:12. After singing “God Bless America,” and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, Tom Hatch offered the invocation. Todd Kamenash was the designated photographer for the day. Songleader David Dix led us in singing “Let It Snow.”
Visitors: There were no visiting Rotarians. Guests were David Joy, husband of Sherry Joy, Steve Smith, guest of President Roger, and Malinda Yoho, Sarah Mayle, and Jen Lennox from Davey Tree Expert Company, who were guests of Sandee Reid.
Perfect Attendance: President Roger drew Tom Hall’s name from those who achieved perfect attendance last month. Tom was awarded a free lunch.
Announcements:
President Roger noted that the club has received a thank-you from the Interact Club for the Foundation’s recent contribution.
Standing in for Bill Childers, Randy Smith invited Rotarians to sign up for holiday bell ringing at Kent Acme.
Steve Dennis noted that, so far, we have achieved about 72% participation in the Every Rotarian Every Year fundraising campaign. He encouraged everyone to participate in order to match last year’s 100% participation rate.
Rachel Kerns encouraged everyone to contribute a toy to this year’s toy drive to benefit children from infant to teen.
Larry Lohman reminded everyone that the Interact Club Chili Challenge will be held today at 5:30 at Theodore Roosevelt High School. He encouraged everyone to attend and to offer to help serve chili.
Larry Lohman also noted that our club will receive an award for 100% participation in last year’s Every Rotarian Every Year at the District Foundation Gala to be held this Thursday at Windows on the World in Lakewood.
Stanton Student of the Month: Anthony Horton announced Kayla McKim as this month’s Stanton Middle School Student of the Month. Among many other accomplishments, Kayla has travelled to Haiti with her mother to volunteer at an orphanage and spend time with children in need and to Cuba with her father to help provide water filters to those in need. Her proud parents Neiva and Mike McKim joined Kayla at today’s presentation.
Today’s Program:Sandee Reid introduced her boss, Pat Covey, President and CEO of the Davey Tree Expert Company. In addition to his duties at Davey Tree, Mr. Covey serves on the boards of the Arbor Day Foundation and Akron Children’s Hospital. In today’s presentation, he discussed what’s new at Davey Tree, reviewed recent accomplishments, and outlined plans for the future.
Covey noted that Davey Tree has grown over the years through “innovation and education.” Today, the company is the third largest in its category having achieved in excess of one billion dollars in revenue this year. Davey operates in four areas: tree and lawn care, support for utility companies, commercial landscaping, and consulting through its Resource Group which provides GPS mapping, among other services. The company operates in the US and Canada with a significant presence in the Midwest, Southeast, and California. Growth in revenue and stock price has been steady and impressive since the company became employee-owned in 1979.
The next few years will see an expansion of its main offices with the addition of a new wing and a new training facility on the site of the former Oak Knolls Golf Course. The training facility will include an indoor space for teaching tree climbing, classrooms, and a community gathering space.
The company currently has eight or nine thousand full-time employees and about two thousand part-time, seasonal workers. Future company expansion will likely come from a combination of organic growth in areas currently served and acquisition of smaller companies operating in related landscaping businesses.
John Flynn offered the club response noting the importance of Davey Tree in Kent’s history and to keeping Kent a vibrant place to live and work.
Thank you to the Roosevelt High School Leadership Retreat planning team for presenting to the Rotary Club of Kent this week. Students shared their experience with the 34th annual event. This year’s theme was “The Anatomy of a Leader: Nurturing Mind, Body, and Soul.” 109 delegates attended.
Pictured are students on the planning committee (P), Interact members (I), and the Student Activities Coordinator / Co-Adviser Heidi Jurging (*).
Front Row (left-to-right): Lizzie Lohman (I), Jess Giaimo (P), Aly Guinto (P), Jenna Senderling (P)
Back Row (left-to-right): Anaya Corwston (P), Tanner McKown (I), Katie Kulis (P), Kyle Doershuk (P), Jordan Carlton (P), Chloe Alexander (P), Heidi Jurging (*)
Members of the planning committee unable to attend include Kent Gordon, Courtney Kenworthy, and Jenny Coffee.
Congratulations to the Rotary student of the month from Roosevelt High School, Kyle Doershuk! Kyle is pictured with Rotarian Dennis Love & President Sidoti.
