Rotareminder for the Rotary Club of Kent

Hybrid Meeting on October 3, 2023

 

President Asad welcomed the group by calling the meeting to order at ~12:10pm.  Our patriotic song of the day was the National Anthem accompanied by David Dix on piano, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.  On this day the club sang, under the leadership of President Asad, Smile – Sing a Song.      

 

The Invocation for today’s was offered by Mary Beth Harper with Adam Alderson working tech; Dave Myers with photos; and Brian K Bialik handling Rotareminder duties.  

 

There were no visiting Rotarians.

 

Visitors / Guests

 

• Tom Hatch introduced his guest, Camille Fauser.
• Rebecca Wright-Kulis introduced Eric Roberts.
• President Asad introduced his daughter and Grace Logan’s parents (Student of the Month).

 

Stanton Student of the Month

 

 Grace Logan, was introduced by school principal, Kathy Scott.  A rising star among middle

 school students who is bright, enterprising, athletic, with aspirations to attend Ohio State

 University in her future to become a pediatrician.

 

New Member Induction

 

• Dominque Bollenbacher was inducted as the newest member of the Rotary Club of Kent.  Her introduction was facilitated by Rachel Kerns.

 

Announcements

• Rachel Kerns announced the Home for the Holidays event by Habitat for Humanity on November 18^th.  Encouraged members to participate in the Gingerbread House contest.
• President Asad has leftover Rotary Club T-Shirts for anyone in need of one.
• Bill Childers announced that member Bill Nome’s spouse was not well and encouraged some well wishes; Bowman Breakfast at KSU is Tuesday, October 17^th where Rotarian David Dix will be interviewed on stage; has a ticket for an economics lecture in Cleveland this evening for anyone interested.
• A reminder that the club will be handing out Halloween candy at the Hometown Bank Plaza on October 25^th  5-7pm.
• Tamara Hunter announced that Townhall II is holding a sanctuary event on October 5^th at the Hometown Bank plaza between 11-6pm.
• Brad Erhart reminded Rotarians to sign up for the Lord’s Lunch next scheduled for October 14^th.

 

 

 

 

Happy Buck Celebrants

 

•  Denise Baba celebrating her 33^rd wedding anniversary.
•  Will Underwood celebrated what would have been his mother’s 100^th birthday.
• Sue Whiting celebrated her FREE lunch.
• Randy Smith celebrated his wonderful experience at a Pakistani dinner hosted by President Asad.
• Nelson Burns is celebrating his 44^th wedding anniversary.
• Lee Higgins is celebrating wishful thinking as he contemplates the purchase of a lottery ticket.
• Anthony Horton is celebrating the Student of the Month – Grace Logan.
• Larry Lohman is celebrating the upcoming Clean Water Conference on November 18^th.
• Kathy Myers recognized member Adam Alderson for his acting ability in the Weathervane Production of Murder on the Orient Express.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Program              

                                                                                          Jim Muholland

 

                                                               Companion Community Development Alternatives

 

                                                                                                   CoCoDa

 

                                                                     Clean Water Projects in Central America

 

 

Jim Muholland is a long-time native of the State of Indiana, in or around Indianapolis.  Jim has spent much of his working life committed to community causes.  It was in 2013 that he became connected with CoCoDa, pivoting his passion a bit to an international context.  This change in direction has permitted him to work closely with service clubs across the US, Canada, and Central America.

(Today’s presentation was interrupted by some technical difficulties as Jim was presenting remotely.)

His presentation centered largely on sustainable clean water projects in El Salvador. To date, there have been ~20 completed water infrastructure systems installed - five of which the Kent Club has been involved with. The idea or notion of clean water is rooted in the fact that water projects: 1) provide clean potable water to remote communities; 2) reduce the likelihood of disease; and 3) eliminate the laborious work of fetching water for day-to-day activities.

New systems today are being installed with solar-powered elements which have a few advantages: 1) more economical in terms of cost reflected back to the end user, and 2) create more discretionary time for community members.

 

The Rotary Foundation is committed to these projects and has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars supporting economically disadvantaged areas of Central America, as well as other parts of the world.

 

 Will Underwood responded to today’s speaker by recognizing the importance of the work being supported, and the work yet to be finished.

 

 

October’s Programs:

                Oct 10th……….Wisdom Addo – West African Center for Peace.

                Oct 17th……….Ken Fogle - Gift of Life.

                Oct 24th……….Kaia Lapso - Rotary Shelter Boxes.

                Oct 31^st………..The Rotary Foundation (speaker to be determined)

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

Brian K Bialik