Meeting opening:
Past District Governor Larry Lohman called the meeting to order and welcomed Rotarians and guests to this first meeting of the 2026-2027 Rotary year. Sound booth volunteers were Bill Nome and Mark Pennell. Photos were handled by Dominique Bollenbacher. Our patriotic song was God Bless America, played by David Dix. We recited the Pledge of Allegiance followed by the invocation, offered by Mark Pennell. We then sang Oklahoma, with Dom as our song leader.
Visitors/Guests:
Tom Hatch introduced his guest, Kate DeAngelis, who is the Growth Manager of the Haymaker Farmers Market. Kate is a visiting Rotarian from Barberton.
Announcements:
Amanda Senn reminded us of the Guardians Game that serves as a fundraiser for End Polio Now. The game is held on August 19th. Tickets are available on the District web site.
Todd Kamenash said that 55 members of our club completed the youth protection survey. We need to reach all members of the Club.
Dennis Campbell talked about the August 25th Golf Outing sponsored by the Chamber. In addition, Dennis is encouraging nominations for Tree City awards.
Dom Bollenbacher told us that Main Street Kent is celebrating its 20th anniversary with several special events. On August 30th the longest table on the bridge event returns. See Dom for details.
Nancy Whitehead informed us that the Kent Rotary Foundation has given a substantial gift to help with the building of an inclusive playground at Davey school.
Program:
Will Underwood introduced Terri Speck, our District Governor for the 26-27 Rotary year. Terri is a member of the Westlake-Bay Village Rotary club. She has been a very active Rotarian since she joined Rotary in 1989. Her father was a Rotarian and Terri participated as a youth exchange student in Australia. That passion for work with youth has continued. Additionally, Terri has hosted Group Study Exchange Teams. Terri was joined by her husband Dave, who helped with the AV portion of the program.
Terri began her speech by introducing the theme for this new Rotary year. The theme for 26-27 is Create Lasting Impact. Terri talked about her story of wanting to develop a lasting impact by her involvement with youth exchange programs. That work began as soon as she joined Rotary. She told of developing lasting relationships with students she and family have hosted. She maintains relationships with those individuals and their families to this day. She impressed us with her passion for strengthening ties with youth and young professionals all over the world. She encouraged us to tap into our own passions. She asked us to find ways to make positive changes in the world.
Terri intends to find ways to get Rotarians involved in making an impact. She wants us to create pathways to encourage Interact and Rotaract members to move into full Rotary membership. She also wants to help Rotary clubs increase membership. She closed her remarks with a quote from the most recent past president of Rotary: “ Rotary is a meeting pace where strangers become friends, friendship becomes trust and trust becomes action.”
Response:
Amanda Senn thanked Terri for her remarks and is looking forward to the new Rotary year.
Larry Lohman announced the next meeting of the Companion Club will be held on July 22nd at 6 pm at Bell Tower Brewing.
The meeting closed with the recitation of the Four Way Test.
Respectfully submitted,
Sue Hetrick