Rotareminder April 30, 2024
Past President Asad Khan called the meeting to order on behalf of President Rachel Kerns. David Dix opened the meeting on the piano leading the club in singing of the God Bless America. This was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, led by Past President Asad. The invocation was led by Bill Childers. Our opening song, Cabaret, was led by Dominique Bollenbacher and Adam Alderson!
Visiting Rotarians
There were no visiting Rotarians.
Guests
Jennifer Lennox introduced Jackie Smigel, soon to be an inducted Rotarian.
Announcements
Past President Asad warmed the club up for announcements by throwing out some trivia questions.
Tom Hatch announced that new members inducted in the club will receive a copy of our 100th Anniversary Book. He suggested that there is some very interesting history of our club in the book, citing Paul Davies setting up pen pals to service men in 1942.
He also announced that next Tuesday at Tap Talks Bruce Sobinlon of Solon will be speaking about a village in France, VILANE, where his uncle was shot down in WWII, He and many Americans were protected by the people who saw them as liberators and to this day celebrate America.
Dominique Bollenbacher announced that the vote was in from the survey and the theme for our fundraiser this year is Margaritaville. Anyone interested is welcome to join the committee in planning the event.
Joan Seidel announced that in conjunction with Kent State University, there will be a Pop-Up food pantry the week before Thanksgiving.
Jackie Smigel, Director of Open Arms Adoption, announced the presentation of a new movie titled Sound of Hope. It is about a small town in Texas that took a transformative approach to foster care in their town and encouraged all of us to watch it.
Steve Dennis announced Every Rotarian Every Year Project. The goal is to have every Rotary member donate a minimum of $25.00 to The Rotary Foundation, but NOT to be confused with our local club foundation, A portion of our donations come back to our club from our district which we can apply to a service project our club designs. Checks can be given to Steve Dennis directly, or to Matt Carter or Dave at the back table.
Anne Moneypenny reminded everyone that the Tree City Awards, sponsored by the Kent area Chamber of Commerce, is this coming Thursday evening. 174 reservations have been received but call her if you want to come and she will squeeze you in. She also reminded everyone that on November there will be a luncheon featuring Randall Richmond, AD of Kent State University, and on December 7 the city will welcome Santa arriving by train once again.
Rotarian November Birthdays
Jeff Roeger reminded everyone that were to share an adventure/incident occurring that they didn’t want their parents to know about.
11th Shawn Gordon and 28th John Emig. They were both absent today.
16th Asad Khan told how he set the grass on fire during an extremely hot day just to see if it would spread. It did over a 1/3 of the lawn and he had to work to stomp it out. Parents never asked.
17th Dominique Bollenbacher told how she rode in a car after a birthday party back to the celebrant’s home without telling her parents she was going. Dad finally found her and was extremely disappointed.
23rd Rick Bissler told how he and a friend used a slingshot to break every window in a house and it went undetected for a very long time.
26th Mary Beth Harper went to a family cabin in Nebraska with a guy and replaced her father’s bourbon with water as they drank the day away. She got into trouble.
28th Nelson Burns basically left the house to take a young woman to West Point from New Jersey where he lived, a 3-to-4-hour drive and on his way back ran out of gas in the middle of the return during the night. Not knowing what to de he called his father, a minister, who screamed and yelled at him over the phone telling him to figure out how to get home. He made it back around 6:00am.
29th John Flynn told a story of high school romance and “parking” behind Roosevelt at night with his girlfriend to...well you get the picture. Suddenly there was a banging on his window, and he rolled it down to see the Chief of Police in Kent. He asked John if his father knew where he was and told him to get on home. As he was about to leave there was another knock on the window and the Chief told him if he was going to be back to take his foot off the brake!
New Member Induction
Past President Asad invited up Stacey Richardson to introduce inductee Jackie Smigel. Stacey shared how she came to Jackie through their shared experiences while their children attended Longcoy Elementary School. She indicated that Jackie was an enthusiastic volunteer at school events and a positive member of our community for many years. Today, Jackie is the executive director and leader of Open Arms Adoptions, a successful non-profit adoption agency. Stacey noted Jackie’s dedication and lengthy experience, suggesting she has worked in adoption longer than some of our Rotary members have been alive. She and her husband have been happily married for 29 years and have three adult children. Amanda is a family therapist living in Lakewood, Noelle lives in DC and is a data analyst for the State Department, and Alex is a Global Management Trainee for Anheuser-Busch in Corpus Christe, Texas. She loves traveling to see her kids and taking cruises. Jackie Smigel was welcomed to Kent Rotary with a standing ovation!
Program
Ben Tipton introduced The Davey Inclusive Playground Project and the two co-chairs of the project, Kara MacDowell and Laurie Livengood. Laurie is a parent of a special needs child at Davey. Starting out with a history of the Davey Building dating back to 1922, they used a PowerPoint presentation to show the highlights of the building that has served as a high school, a middle school, and now an elementary school. Currently 21% of the K-5 students need and receive Special Education Services at the school. More pressing, 48% of the Pre-school students need Special Education Services. Some of the points that were made about the project included the following:
1) The current playground meets all ADA requirements for students with special needs. The unique topography of the school and the playground area make it burdensome for the caregivers serving many of our special education students.
2) While the mulch is considered acceptable, wheelchair bound students and others who have mobility issues cannot maneuver in the mulch and, while ADA compliant, is restrictive to some students.
3) The Davey PTO initiated The Davey Inclusive Playground Project in the hopes of replacing the mulch with a poured rubber surface and make the who area more accessible for students.
4) The project is projected to happen in two phases and is expected to cost $410,000 to complete.
5) Phase I will consist of removing the mulch, pouring a new rubber surface, and installing new inclusive playground equipment. Gametime Playground Equipment will be doing the work, and this first phase will cost $228,000. It is expected to be completed by the 2025 school year.
6) Phase II will consist of paving the remainder of the playground and installing additional equipment. The paving will consist of a variety of play “boards” for specific games being incorporated in the pattern floor. This will be in a quiet workspace on the playground.
7) The cost of Phase II ‘will be $178,000 for a total cost of $407,000. They have already raised $160,000 through grants, donations by PTO members, and staff donations. They are planning additional fundraising, and anyone can participate by going to Davey PTO/Playground.
Carol Crimi asked about the life of the new poured rubber floor. The ladies indicated that it had a span of 10 to 15 years.
Past President Asad thanked the presenters and congratulated them on their efforts.
Responder
Roger Sidoti, former Roosevelt High School Principal was today’s responder. He noted the statistics indicating the significant number of students that need Special education services. He also noted how Kent city schools has been a leader in Special Education Services over the years and thanked the co-chairs and the Davey PTO on their efforts to build on this tradition.
Submitted by Roger Sidoti
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