Rotareminder for the Rotary Club of Kent
February 11. 2025
President Rachel called the meeting to order and thanked audio booth volunteers Adam Alderson and Roger Kramer. We sang My Country ‘tis of Thee, played by David Dix. After reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, Randy Smith offered the invocation. Our second song was That’s Amore in honor of Valentine’s Day led by Dom Bollenbacher, with David Dix on piano.
There were no visiting Rotarians or guests at today’s meeting.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Todd Kamenash reminded everyone that March is Bracket Buster Month with our own Laing Kennedy presiding. Proceeds will go to support our literacy efforts
Will Underwood asked members to volunteer as judges for the upcoming March 4th $-Way Speech Contest.
Roberta O’Keefe passed around a signup sheet to offer the invocation at upcoming meetings.
Dennis Campbell invited everyone to a Business After Hours on Feb 12 from 4:30 to 6:30 at Buffalo Wild Wings in Kent. There will be a Manufacturing Breakfast next Tuesday the 18th from 8 to 9:30 at the Kent State Hotel.
Larry Lohman announced that the trip to view water projects in El Salvador will be held from June 7 to 15. Cost will be $900 plus airfare. A similar trip to Nicaragua from June 15 to 22 will cost $950 plus airfare. He also encouraged everyone to sign up for the District Conference at the Cleveland Marriott East in Warrensville Heights. Register online.
Doug Fuller invited all to attend the next Tap Talks on Tuesday Feb 18 at 7 pm at North Water Brewing. Renee Romine, President of the Portage County NAACP will speak.
Dave Myers encouraged all to sign up for the Rotary Auction on Marck 11 at 6 pm at Bell Tower Brewing.
President Rachel noted that Amanda Senn will lead next week’s meeting as she will be at a Rotary International Conference in Istanbul, Turkey.
HAPPY BUCKS
Will Underwood celebrated his wife Karin’s recovery from knee surgery.
Kathy Myers celebrated her valentine (husband Tom) and their new puppy.
John Flynn applauded Tom Larkin’s son a football coach at OSU and Nick Sirianni, Eagles coach and alum of Mount Union.
Larry Lohman is just happy.
Dave Myers survived the Princess Prom with two of his daughters.
Randy Smith congratulated two of his grandkids for their firsts in freestyle.
BIRTHDAYS
We celebrated February birthdays for Pam Petrus, Matt Carter Steve Belli, and Paul Organ.
TODAY’S PROGRAM: GIRL SCOUTS
Todd Kamenash introduced our speaker Jane Christyson, CEO of Girl Scouts of North East Ohio , who has 40 years of nonprofit management experience including leadership roles at Cleveland Metroparks, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and United Way of Cleveland.
Ms. Christyson noted that Girl Scouts is the largest “girl-serving” organization in the world. The North East Ohio organization covers 18 counties and serves 19,000 girls with volunteer support from 9000 adults. Girl Scouts helps girls aged 5 – 17 reach their full potential, especially given that 1 out of 3 girls express lack of confidence and are often afraid to take on leadership roles.
The four pillars of Girl Scouts are Outdoors, Life Skills, Entrepreneurship, and STEM. Within this framework, girls discover their passions, connect to their communities, and have leadership experiences.
STEM Education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is an especially important focus that has had a significant effect on girls’ attitudes towards these fields of endeavor. Overall, only eleven percent of girls in High School express interest in STEM careers. Among Girl Scouts, that number is 78 percent.
To promote STEM education, Girl Scouts of North East Ohio has established two centers or “Dream Labs.” One is in Sheffield Village and the other is at Camp Ledgewood in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Peninsula. Both locations offer activities that include digital media and podcasting, designing and 3D printing, coding and tech programming to train robots. Girls at Camp Ledgewood explore the natural world including biomimicry, celestial observation, and beekeeping.
About six percent of eligible girls in our area are members of Girl Scouts. Many strive to achieve the Gold Award, which is equivalent (some say even more demanding) to becoming an Eagle Scout.
Kathy Myers provided the response thanking Jane Christyson and recalling her own experiences as a Girl Scout.
Respectfully submitted,
Thomas Hatch
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