Guests
President Kathy introduced Bill Russell.
Anthony Horton introduced Kent PD Officer Matt Butcher and his wife Allison Butcher.
Larry Lohman introduced Beverly Ghent-Skrzynski, District Vice-Governor.
Announcements
President Kathy shared a number of announcements today:
- Pearl Harbor Day is today. Let’s take a moment to remember and honor lives lost.
- Wished a happy birthday today to David Hansford and Roberta O’Keefe.
- Kudos to Rebekah Wright Kulis for planning the Jingle and Mingle party on December 3.
- Congratulations to Jim Myers, named Rotarian of the Year 2021.
- Congratulations to Roget Sidoti, named Rotarian of the Year 2020.
- Recognized three President Award winners: Dave Myers, Randy Smith, and Amanda Senn.
- Foundation meeting tonight at 7 pm at Steve Belli’s house.
- Election of Officers is coming soon and we expect a vote in early January.
- Thank you to Dave Myers and Curt Stumpf for their work on the Story Walk. Story Walk businesses downtown are collecting coats, please donate new or gently used coats.
- The December 16 board meeting is postponed.
- Please wear your nametags at meetings to help new members get acquainted.
- No meetings on December 21 or 28. Enjoy the holidays with your family and friends.
- Kent Roosevelt ACES will be the program next week.
Rachel Kerns shared that toy donations are needed by December 17. Drop off at Habitat ReStore in Kent or at the Habitat office in Ravenna. Next week is the final week to drop off toys at a Rotary lunch meeting.
Bill Childers encouraged volunteering for Salvation Army bell ringing at Kent ACME. Upcoming dates include December 8, December 11, and December 16. Contact him if you and your family are able to volunteer. Thank you to recent volunteers: Brad Ehrhart, Steve Belli, Laura Martin Miller.
Doug Fuller announced the Kent Historical Society begins a new monthly series of Talks on Tap at North Water Brewing tonight at 7 pm. The subject tonight is John Brown and his Radical Abolitionism presented by KSU Emeritus Professor Mark Seeman. A food truck will be available. Future topics in forthcoming months include: Facades of Kent, Captain Brady, Williams Brothers Mill, and the Bluegill Dinner.
Student of the Month - Stanton Middle School
Anthony Horton introduced student Graysen Butcher, who was joined by her parents Matt and Allison.
Graysen plays bassoon in the band. She also plays volleyball, softball, and lacrosse. She maintains a 3.8 GPA and is taking Spanish 1 for high school credit. Graysen volunteers at Kent Social Services. She loves to hike. She plans to join the Marines after high school like her father.
Program
President Kathy introduced today’s speaker, District Governor, Larry Lohman. Kathy noted that Larry is a vibrant member of the Kent club and that he is doing a tremendous job as District Governor this year. She appreciates his leadership sharing that he is always so kind and encouraging while embodying the traits included in the 4-Way Test. His visit today is his favorite because it is to his home club.
Larry shared how he got started in Rotary as a young kid with his father at the Rotary Club of Cambridge. He encouraged Graysen, today’s Student of the Month, to get active in the Interact Club at the high school next year.
Larry has several areas of focus for District 6630 during his governance:
- Telling the story of Rotary
- Growing membership
- Youth services
There is a public image committee for the district that will focus on sharing all Rotary stories throughout the district. Members of the committee can attend club meetings or service projects, take photos, write stories to share with media, and help spread the word about all the good things Rotary does in our local communities. Clubs are also able to invite Larry to participate in service projects and he can bring members of the committee to take photos and write a story so club members can fully participate in their project.
He also discussed the importance of growing the numbers of new members, but also the retention of current members and how important it is to do both.
For youth services, Larry shared that the District’s Interact Chair, Chelsea Talty, has a great idea to create a Rotary Youth Alumni group for the district. This would be to keep track of and mentor Interact members as they move on to the next stage of their life in college or with employment. It would help connect them to Rotaract Clubs at their college or university or introduce them to their local club to become a member and stay engaged with Rotary as they move forward in life and careers.
What’s coming up in the district? District conference planning is underway. The Foundation Gala is Warm Hands, Warm Hearts. They are collecting mittens, hats, gloves, scarves, etc. Get donations to Larry or to Julie Brandle.
The presentation wrapped up with a Q&A where club members learned that the district has 52 clubs at present. Larry also revealed a few service projects he’s attended at other clubs including a very successful Parade of Flags project in Wadsworth and a tree planting in Hudson. He shared that his most memorable moment so far as District Governor is seeing how much Rotarians are willing to step up and provide help.
To end the presentation Larry gifted a pair of socks, a tradition started by past Rotary International President Mark Maloney, to President Kathy.
Today’s responder to the program was Bill Childers.
President Kathy led a reciting of the 4 Way Test to close the meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Stacey Richardson
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