Rotareminder 2-3-26

The Rotary Club of Kent

February 3, 2026

 

President Amanda Senn called the meeting to order at 12:20. We sang the National Anthem and Mark Pennell offered the invocation. Dom Bollenbacher led us in singing “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” with David Dix at the piano.

 

There were no visiting Rotarians at today’s meeting. Janice Mortimer from the Portage Foundation was the guest of Nithya Venkataraman, Nick Miller was the guest of Asad Khan, Joe Hartman was the guest of Dennis Campbell, and Brian Harvey was the guest of Tom Hall.

 

Nithya Venkataraman reminded everyone that the annual Rotary Auction will be held on March 10. She and Paul Organ explained how businesses and individuals can become event sponsors and encouraged participation.

 

Melissa Stewart announced a workshop on consumer fraud sponsored by Hometown Bank held on March 6 at Ravenna Elks Lodge. Sign up at ht.bank/fraudscout.

 

Dennis Campbell invited everyone to an After Hours event at Laziza on Thursday, Feb 5. The upcoming trip to Italy will be discussed. A Heart Health breakfast seminar will be held on Feb 18 at UH Portage. Check the Chamber website for registration details.

 

Nancy Whitehead thanked everyone for donations of produce for Kent Social Services. We contributed 130 bags of produce and fruit, more than 500 pounds.

 

Amanda Senn thanked all who participated in the recent International Dinner event held Sunday at North Water Brewing.

 

Answering this year’s question, “What’s an amazing place you’ve visited that you will likely never be able to visit again?”, were Steve Belli, whose most unforgettable experience was visiting Machu Picchu in Peru, and Paul Organ who watched a sunrise during his climb of Ojos del Salado, the second highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere. It’s located between Chile and Argentina. Student of the month Nicholas Roberts drew Paul’s name as the winner of a free lunch.

 

Stanton Middle School February Student of the Month is Jacoby Siciliano, who was joined at the meeting by his grandmother and great-grandmother. He’s a four-sport athlete and well-known by his teachers and friends for his strong leadership skills.

We also celebrated the January Roosevelt High School Student of the Month, Nicholas Roberts, who was joined by his parents. He has an almost perfect GPA (4.4), is disciplined, intelligent, and Senior Class VP. Nick participates in the Athletic Healthcare program at TRHS.

 

Asad Khan and Rachel Kerns lauded the Students of the Month and their children’s accomplishments. Doug Fuller is looking forward to cheering his team at the Super Bowl (Seahawks? Patriots? Don’t recall which…). Mark Pennell is happy that he was not injured after getting wrapped up in his new dog’s leash and falling. Howard Boyle thanked Mark for his invocation and related a story about his experience being lost for words on the day of the Challenger Disaster when he was supposed to deliver the invocation. Carl Pierson, UMC minister, rescued him and handled the responsibility on that difficult day.

 

Jen Lennox noted that this month’s programs will feature service programs within our community that Rotarians can become involved with. She introduced Rotarian Nithya Venkataraman, who has initiated a new way for the club to raise money for the Kent Rotary Foundation.

 

The Rotary Flag Program has been implemented successfully by other Rotary clubs in our area including Wooster, Twinsburg, Wadsworth, and North Canton. Nithya learned from her grandfather, a Wooster Rotarian, that the Wooster club raises about $50,000 per year sponsoring this program. Here’s how it works:

 

People sign up for a fee of $55 to display the American flag in front of their homes during five holidays: Flag Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Veterans Day. With the help of various local youth clubs and organizations, the flags are delivered to participant’s homes, inserted into special sleeves placed on the tree lawn, and then collected a few days later. Because of the generosity of the Wright/Kulis family, our flags will be stored at Wright Heating and Cooling.

 

Dom Bollenbacher, Roger Sidoti, and David McKeen have helped Nithya with planning, meeting with the city of Kent, and getting advice from other Rotary Clubs about how to be successful with this program. The initial year’s cost will pay for the flags, poles, and sleeves. Revenue from subsequent years will go to the Kent Rotary Foundation. Nithya expects this program will promote Rotary and enhance community pride. Many of our club members have already signed up to participate.

 

Jen Lennox responded and thanked Nithya for bringing this innovative idea to our club.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Thomas Hatch