Louisville Rotary Club
We meet Wednesday at noon at The Alsatian,
2300 Reno Dr., Louisville, Ohio 44641
Enter south side of building and turn right to Activities Room.
Mailing Address: P.O Box 170
Louisville, Ohio 44641
Phone 330-418-3375
Louisville Rotary Club
Meeting Minutes
April 3, 2024
“Creating Hope in the World” Since the club no longer has Pastor David to give the opening prayer, that responsibility has passed on to Mark Sigler. Mark can give the Pastor a run for the money with his ability to talk to God. President Barb DiJacimo led the Pledge and the 4-Way Test. Mark put on his other Rotary shawl and got us hyped-up with the song The Grand Old Flag. There were18 members present enjoying their taco lunches served in the Conference Room of Alsatian Senior Citizens Center.
Two LHS seniors, Abby Lizer and Kenna Dunlap, were guests and shared their feelings after attending a World Affairs Conference in Pittsburgh, PA. Our club paid for their opportunity to attend. Cynthia Kerchner was the Roboball game winner. Happy Dollars * Bob Hallier shared the successes of his granddaughter who does exceeding well running for her high school team in Hawaii. * Mark Sigler announced that the on-line company Charity Navigator that evaluates charities gave the Rotary Foundation a 100% rating with 4 stars. * Cynthia Kerchner exclaimed “I’m back!”. Cynthia, a winter snow bird who likes the Florida sun, reminded all about the Second Friday coming the 12th. The Little Blue Railroad will be back located in the St. Louis parking lot from 5 till 7. Also she reminded us that the May music will be Earth, Wind & Fire. Those of us with the wear & tear of life remember EW&F well. They are a first-rate group. * Greg Anderson reminded all of the YMCA Annual Fund Drive with a goal of 75K. “Remember, the YMCA never turns away anyone for lack of money,” he said. * Jim Dutter reminded all of the 1st First Friday of the Year coming the 12th. “We need help for the kiddie railroad,” he said. Raychel Brown is the singer for this event. He said that Raychel has opened for many top-rated country performers. In case of rain, the group will move into the Eagles building. “Please show up and help with the kiddie supervision.” World Affair Participants Abby Lizer and Kenna Dunlap gave an informative talk about their two-day conference. Both had positive feelings and said they thought it was a valuable experience. They learned a lot about smoke pollution from the Pittsburgh steel industry. Members were impressed with their ability to communicate ideas. Club Business:
The club voted to give $500 to E. Adkins for the short-term foreign exchange. She hopes to be able to go to Belgium this summer for a month living with a family that has a girl of similar age. Then host that girl for a month in Louisville. The money will used for insurance, a Rotary jacket and help with air fare. Jim Edwards said that so far 725 paid flag requests have come in putting us ahead of the number the same period last year. “We’re doing OK!” he said. The date for the Spring Trail Clean-up is Saturday, April 27. Meet at Greg Anderson’s home at 10:30. Following the trail clean-up, we shall move over to the groundbreaking for the new library at 12 noon. Following the groundbreaking we shall move to Virgil’s for ice cream. The club voted to apply for a district grant. Allen said he would complete the paper work and get it in the mail. Members voted to use the grant money for art work for the new library. The banquet committee will meet next Wednesday at 11 am. Randy, Sandor and Bob plan to meet to put together the next year’s budget.
Randy Starr discussed selecting a member for the District 6650 Peacekeeping Club. The club will be composed of members from each District clubs. Sandor Gyarmati was urged to accept the position and he agreed.
Coming Events April 10 — LMS project
April 12 — Second Friday April 17 — Patrick Klodt from Conventions of States
April 24 — Evening meeting 5:30. The LHS speech team
April 27 — Metzger Park Trail clean-up followed by ground breaking for the new library at 12 noon.
Submitted by Allen Gress,
Secretary Appendix Hey group. We planned the end-of-the month evening meetings to encourage persons who cannot make the noon meetings, but might have an interest in joining our club. This has not been successful over the past 3 months AND some of our current members are missing these meetings. Please make an effort to attend the 5:30 meetings. AG
Louisville Rotary Club
Meeting Minutes
April 10, 2024
President Barb DiJacimo rang the bell to begin the noon meeting held in the Conference Room of The Alsatian Senior Citizens Living Center with 22 Rotarians, three adult guests and eight Louisville Middle School students in attendance. Mark Sigler gave a nice prayer, the members pledged the flag and recited the Rotary 4-Way Test. Song Meister Sigler led the singing of Take Me Out to the Ballgame.
Guests include the middle school STEM teacher Sarah Faello and the LMS principal Jason Orin. Mary Edwards was a guest attending to see her granddaughter Lily Roberts, a member of the STEM team. Jerry Dunbar was the winner of Roboball.
Rotary Moment Glenn Heiler told a touching story of how the Rotary Four-Way Test impacted him and his granddaughter. The eighth grader, who attended a school in another district, was a member of a student committee with the project to prepare a gift for one of their teachers. But which one? They decided to vote with the top vote-getter receiving the gift. The third teacher on the list received no votes —at first, but Glenn’s daughter raised her hand and voted for her. Later, someone asked why she had voted for that teacher. “I knew no one would vote for her and I didn’t want her feelings hurt.” Will it build goodwill and better friendships? “I think her parents and grandparents have taught her well,” Glenn said Happy Dollars * Jim Dutter brought members up to date for Second Friday. It’s canceled due to the weather, however the band and singers will perform at the Eagles Hall. * Cynthia Kerchner added the fact that the May Second Friday will feature the tribute band Earth Wind & Fire. She asked for help with the Little Blue Train. “We have great tribute bands this summer,” Cynthia said. She also gave special thanks to Rick Guiley who obtained the Dream Streamers - all 10,000 of them. * Eva Roshong reminded all of the District 6650 Conference June14 - 15 at the Kent State Stark Conference Center. The $25 registration fee is due before June 5; $40 after. The kick-off is Friday night at the Royal Docks Brewery in Oakwood Square from 5:30 to 7:30. * Eva complimented Glenn Adkins’s daughter for accomplishing great things on the LHS bowling team. * Jim Edwards reported 840 paid flags which is 50 ahead of last year for the same date. He also reminded members we would have a fold-stamp day next meeting.
Club Business * Sandor Gyarmati and his wife were thanked for chaperoning the exchange students on their New York City trip. * Barb thanked Al for preparing the paperwork for the Rotary grant (which has been mailed).
The Program:
Photo courtesy of Denny Valentine Students listed alphabetically: Natalie Allison, Aiden Beane, Delilah Betz, Lily Roberts, Nora Kiko, Callie McKimmie, Emma Neff, Blake Shadle These eight middle school students, members of the Louisville Middle School STEM Club, participated in a contest with five other Stark County STEM Clubs. The contest was to find a new or unique activity. In planning, the Louisville team felt the Second Fridays had activities for adults and small children, but nothing for mid-teens. So the team set their minds for activities that their age group would enjoy. These activities will be held on the Green Space between 5 & 8 the night of the Second Friday programs. Some of the games will be constructed by Mr. Hoffman’s woodworking class. After the 2nd Friday event, STEM’s games will be stored in the basement of the Board Office for use the next season. All the projects were completed and judged, and Louisville placed third. But the students all agreed it was fun. “We’re hoping these games will become a permeant part of the summer events.”
Coming Events:
April 12 — Second Friday
April 17— Patrick Klodt, Convention of the States
April 24 — Evening meeting with the LHS Speech Team
April 27 — Trail Clean-up and the Library Golden Shovel Ceremony at noon. Shovel activity will be the dawn of new history for our community.
May 1 — Business meeting and flag invoices
Submitted by Allen Gress, Secretary
Students listed alphabetically: Natalie Allison, Aiden Beane, Delilah Betz, Lily Roberts, Nora Kiko, Callie McKimmie, Emma Neff, Blake Shadle
Louisville Rotary Club
Meeting Minutes
April 17, 2024
This week’s luncheon meeting was held at Alsatian with President Barb DiJacimo ringing the opening bell. The prayer was given by Eva Roshong following by Barb leading the Pledge of Allegiance and the Four-Way Test. There were no guests. Happy Dollars Don Marshall was happy to have seen the play Little Women at the Canton Players Guild. He asked that more Rotarians to attend and support the Second Friday’s.
Rotary Moment Don Marshall gave testimony about his long membership in the club. He has served as president twice and during one term he moved the club’s meeting out of Paradise Church and into the old middle school.
Club Business: Barb asked the club membership to direct any food-related concerns to her and not the Alsatian staff. * Sandor Gyamati reported that the exchange student trip to New York went well. * Barb thanked Glenn Heiller for finishing the report for last year’s grant. She also thanked the Louisville Library for making new member name badges which cost 56 cents each.
The Program:
Eva Roshong introduced the speaker Patrick Klodt. Eva also shared information about a book from Howard Buffet called 40 Chances that she is reading. She said the book presented the idea that you only have so many chances to do good, and you should not miss those chances. Klodt discussed the early work to establish the Constitution of our country. He also discussed how the Constitution can be amended.
Coming Events:
April 23: Dine to Donate Kozmo’s Grill 5-9 pm 37-1st St SW in Massillon.
April 24: EVENING MEETING with LHS speech team performance
April 27: Saturday Trail Clean up 10:30 am, meet at Greg Anderson’s home. Library Golden Shovel Ceremony 12 noon. May 1: Business meeting
May 8: TBD
May 15: Bob Ganser, President Ohio Transformer
May 22: Helene Becker
May 29: Ice Cream Social at Virgil’s Opportunities to support other rotary clubs or community organizations: On going: Constitution Committee Military Tribute banners ($175)
April 25: A Taste Of Hope 6pm Metropolitan Event Centre 601 Cleveland Ave $125/ticket 330-994-1455
August 1: District fundraiser in Youngstown-more details to come!
Submitted by Allen Gress, Secretary with lots of help from Brock Hutchison
Pix of Patrick Klodt:
Louisville Rotary Club
Meeting Minutes
April 24, 2024
All things considered, this entertaining meeting moved through our usual opening. Mark Sigler gave an inspirational prayer and, with his usual flair, we sang the God Bless America. With three guests there were 23 persons in attendance. The guests were LHS students Molly Wolfe, Chole Millard and Louisville High School speech teacher Kathy Russell Happy Dollars * Jim Dutter said there was an addition of two new speakers for downtown and they would be ready for the May Second Friday. * Barb DiJacimo was glad her daughter, who has completed her freshman year at Ohio State, was coming home to spend two weeks before returning to Columbus for the summer session. * Arden Lingenhoel announced that their son AJ was heading for Texas to be inducted into the United States Air Force. AJ is hoping to learn how to fly drones. * President Barb said this coming Saturday we will be cleaning the Metzger Park walking trails - 10:30 at Greg Anderson house and meeting at noon for the shoveling dirt signaling the beginning of the construction of the new library. Also, there is a need for volunteers to judge the high school Science Fair May 14 from 12 to 1:30 and from 1:40 to 2:50. There were several hands waved to do the volunteering. * Dave Yeagley shared with the members the progress the Louisville Historical Society has made converting old issues of the Louisville Herald to digital print. Three discs have been completed and all back issues should be available in August. “This,” he pointed out, “was a Rotary grant project.” Rotary Minute Glenn Adkins spoke with thanks to Barb Dijacimo for bring him to Rotary. “I was impressed with the club motto Service above self plus all the service programs the club is involved with . . . that means a lot to me.” Club Business * Greg Anderson spoke about purchasing a shelter box for the Israel-Palestine War victims. “There are over a million persons without shelter.” There was a motion to do so and the motion passed unanimously. * Barb also mentioned the Board of Directors will meet in Brock’s office for our Board meeting. There will be a meeting of the Banquet team after the Board meeting.
The Program:
Billed as an informational program, the two LHS speech students didn’t just provide information about the school’s speech program, they were entertaining us. Their messages went longer than the normal program, but no body complained — we should have yelled Encore, Encore! Senior Chole Miller and freshman Molly Wolfe, we found out, are headed for state competition soon. Millers speech, accompanied with visuals, shared with us the unhealthy power for youth of social use of the internet. Molly played three roles in the her message, each with body language, facial expressions, and voice tones. Good luck girls. You are both talented and an excellent example of what is being taught in the Louisville Public Schools.
Upcoming Events:
April 27 — Trail Cleanup & Library shoveling
April 30 — Board meeting noon in Brock’s office
May 1 — Business meeting
Submitted by Allen Gress, Secretary
Pix of Kathy Russell, Molly Wolfe and Chole Millard
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Louisville Rotary Club
Meeting Minutes
May 1, 2024
President-Elect Randy Starr rang the Rotary Bell bringing the chit chat to a halt for the 19 members in attendance at this business meeting held in Alsatian Senior Center’s Meeting Room. The prayer followed with the Pledge of Allegiance and the 4-Way Test. The was no song and there were no guests present. Happy Dollars New Speakers. Jim Dutter announced that there will be two new speakers installed on the west end of the downtown district so those standing away from the music platform can hear better. The speakers will be ready for the May 10th Second Friday. Glenn Adkins said that daughter Lisa will be leaving the 24th of June for her month as an exchange student in Belgium. He hoped they can take the incoming exchange girl to an LHS football game. He also told the story of when he was in Hawaii vacationing he got an urgent phone call from Barb DiJacimo asking them to host an incoming exchange student. They did and Glenn said they have learned so much from the students they have hosted.
Business Agenda * Copies of the 2024-25 budget were passed out to the members and Randy, Bob Hallier and Sandor explained the few changes from the current budget. The total expenses are estimated to be $55,323 including reserve funds. There was an approval to raised the luncheon cost to $10 and the “no eating” cost has been raised to $3. If you have questions about the budget, see Bob for a 3-page copy. The motion was made to accept the budget as presented, seconded, and passed by an unanimous vote. It was agreed that representatives of repeated grant winners need to attend a meeting and give a short presentation of how their grant money was used. *
Roboball. The members voted to continue the Roboball contest. This year the budget gained about $150 from the pot. * Used Hearing Aid Collection. This district-wide project, initiated by our club, needs a leader from each club and a volunteer to collect the used hearing aids from nursing homes, elder care facilities and funeral homes. Bob Hallier volunteered to fill that leadership role. * Brock Hutchison showed a large colored mock-up of the new library mural that will be painted on the wall of the children’s area. This is one of our projects hopefully funded by a District grant. The mural will cost $2,400 so there will be some work reaching from our grant. A quick raised hand by Don Marshall who pledged to make up the difference with help from Community Theater funds. We like your spirit Don. * Randy announced the upcoming 2-day all-District annual conference meeting opening Friday evening June 14th at the Oakwood Square Royal Docks Brewery. Cost is $25 which includes a meal. Last year, our club had the most attendees. * Our Legacy Project. Randy said he is waiting for an architect’s rendering so we can begin our fundraising for the amphitheater project. We need a way to recognize gifts — suggestions welcomed and ideas for fund raising are encouraged. * The guessing may begin! This year’s Rotarian of the Year has been selected. That person’s name will be kept secret with only Randy knowing who. Oh! the gossip! That honor will be presented at our annual banquet.
Upcoming Events:
May 10 — Second Friday
May 29 — Evening meeting. A social at Virgil’s with orders taken in advance ( so we don’t have to stand in line). A menu will be available a week before the 29th. Forget about counting calories for a moment and splurge in creamy delicious ice cream.
Submitted by Allen Gress, Secretary
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Louisville Rotary Club
Meeting Minutes
May 8, 2024
Joanie Aljancic gave the opening prayer for our meeting held in Alsatian’s Meeting Room with 18 members present. President Barb DiJacimo led the Pledge and the Four Way Test. There was no song. With the exception of our program presenter, there were 18 members in attendance.
Rotary Moment: Joanie Aljancic shared her introduction into our club. “I had only been retired from teaching for a year,” she recalled. “My family had a history of community involvement, . . . of giving back,” she said. “And in my teaching career, I had many opportunities . . . coaching and volunteering . . . working with kids when I could.” So Joanie joined Rotary and has been volunteering ever since.
Happy Dollars & Club Business * Glenn Heiller announced that he has returned from a trip to Hartford, Connecticut where he watched his granddaughter play in a volleyball tournament. * Cynthia Kerchner began her message with “Pray for fair weather; no rain” for this week’s Second Friday. She asked for help setting up at 4 and for assistance with the children’s train. * Don Marshall gave a pitch for the newly remodeled Town Tavern where you can get a $2 beer Friday. *
Barb said we may have a couple for hosting next year’s exchange student. This young lady is from Turkey. There is a change we may get a second student, Barb said. According to rules, we should have six host families. * Barb reminded us the District Conference is set for June 14-15 with the kick-off at the Royal Docks Brewing located in the Middlebranch Shopping center and the Stark KSU Conference Center Saturday. Registration is now open.
The Program: Much of this information came from a July 2021 article in the Canton Repository The Director of the Hoover-Price Planetarium, Susie Dills, gave an informative message. Susie has worked with the museum since 2014 and began her leadership in 2019. Susie was the former executive Director of the International Women’s Air & Space Museum. She is a member of the Cleveland Astronomy Club, Cuyahoga Astronomical Association, the Summit County Astronomy club and the Cleveland Regional Association for Planetariums. A graduate of Youngstown State University, she is the mother of three adult children. A lot of her talk focused on the recent total eclipse with photos and charts for how the moon and the sun lined up with the moon in a perfect line. Consider the sun is 400 times the size of the Earth and no place in the universe does this happen. This area had a partial eclipse in 2017. The next such total eclipse is set for 2045 for northeast Ohio. This recent eclipse found 32 million people in the eclipse’s path. The total time of the path of the eclipse was 96 minutes.
Upcoming Events:
May 10 — Second Friday
May 14 — LES Science Fair Judging
May 15 — Bob Ganser, President of Ohio Transformer
May 22 — Helene Becker
May 29 — Evening Social at Virgil’s
Submitted by Allen Gress, Secretary
Pix of Suzie Dills, Mgr of Hoover Price Planetarium
Louisville Rotary Club
Meeting Minutes
May 15, 2024
President Barb DiJacimo had to ring the bell twice to halt member discussion, but did prevail. Brock Hutchison gave the opening prayer and Barb led the Pledge and the Four-Way Test. There were 22 persons present including four guests. Jim Edwards fixed the Rotoball basket; Cynthia Kerchner’s ticket was pulled for the weekly drawing and she pocketed $9. Happy Dollars * Cynthia Kerchner profusely thanked members who assisted with the Second Friday activities. There were 11 food trucks. She gave an overview of what’s coming for the June Second Friday. St. Louis Church will have a mini-festival on their parking lot. * Glenn Heiller announced that next Wednesday was the day for the club’s first flag posting of the year. Boy Scout Troupe 44 will take responsibility for setting the 50 flags up in the Green Space this season. * Jim Edwards thanked Bill Wood & Glenn Heiller tor the information about The Town Tavern.
Rotarian Moment: Greg Anderson spoke about his introduction to Rotary with a message for the members today. “Kennybob Smith asked me to attend a Rotary meeting,” he said. “I did and joined. It was the ask that got me moving. The moral to the story — as members we need to be proactive for recruiting new members.”
Club Business: * It is now definite — we will sponsor and host two exchange students the next school year. One girl from Turkey and one from Belgium. WE NEED SEVERAL HOST FAMILIES. * Barb reminded members of the District meeting planned for June 14 & 15.
The Program: Bob Ganser the Louisville OTC Plant Manager is no stranger to Rotary as he has spoken to members some years ago. His message spoke about current business operations. His associate Kevin Curry joined him. Bob has been employed at OTC since 1984. Bob, with many colorful artist renderings, explained what a transformer does and the process. OTC sells, repairs, installs electric transformers both in house and on site. OTC’s parent company, SGB-SMIT, has headquarters in Germany. SGBSMIT has 13 locations around the world including two in the United States. The worldwide company employs 3,500 people. The local plant employs 120 workers.. The Louisville operation is a 100,000 square foot building located at 1776 Constitution Avenue The building has a rail spur and a 100-ton Crane. The company business is booked into 2028 and an addition to the building is planned. The cost of the repair/ rebuild a transformer runs in the neighborhood of one million dollars.
Coming Events:
May 22 — Our exchange student Helene Becker gives a farewell message.
May 29 — Ice Cream Social at Virgil’s.
June 22 — Business meeting.
Submitted by Allen Gress,Secretary
Louisville Rotary Club
Meeting Minutes
May 22, 2024
This meeting was bitter sweet. Our exchange student, Helene Becker, attended her last meeting before leaving Louisville. She will be traveling around the country during the month of June before returning to Germany. Last August, Helene jumped into Louisville life with gusto and charm; first with her host family and then with her new high school. Our community, including our club, has embraced this young lady. She has been an excellent example of what international relations should be for a more perfect world. Thank you for being you, Helene. We will miss you and wish you God Speed. Also attending the meeting, along with their teacher, were eight LHS student who are members of the newly formed Ambassador Club. They are volunteer ambassadors designed to meet, greet and assist exchange students including any new, students. Our club will host two exchange students in the fall and there is possibility for a third. The only hold-up is finding host families.
The meeting began with Don Marshall giving the opening prayer. President Barb DiJacimo led the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and the Four-Way Test. The guest students were welcomed. Al Gress was the big winner of Roboball which marks his second such win. Happy Dollars *
Aliza Adkins thanked the club for supporting her upcoming short exchange. The club presented her a check for $500 for expenses. Aliza will be an exchange student in Belgium and will return with a girl for her host family for a month-long visit to Louisville. *
Jim Dutter assured us there would be background music downtown. * Jim Edwards said we now have 1,341 paid flag customers. *
Garry Tausch introduced the student ambassadors and discussed their purpose. *
Glenn Heiller reminded flag posters to call either Denny Valentine or him with any problems. *
Bill Wood reminded us that we still need host families.
Rotary Moment: Brock Hutchison shared his early memory — “I knew Bob Hallier and Jim Edwards. Someone suggested I might be the next club president . . . Whoa, I though but Ron Derry was also mentioned,” Brock said. “I came back to the meetings, but I’ve not seen Ron since. And I will now have the office in a couple of years.”
The Program:
Helene opened her farewell address by presenting her grandfather’s clubs small flag to our club. The club that sponsored her is Osnabruck Nord. Barb, in turn, gave her one of our small flags. With colored photos from her computer shown on a large screen, she talked about her home. Incidently, her grandfather is a Rotarian and urged Helene to apply for the exchange program. She is the oldest child and has two brothers, 13 and 6. They live in a village of about 1,500 persons located on the northwest corner of Germany near the Baltic Sea. Some differences in countries include: “We have real Christmas tress lighted with real candles and our schools do have student lockers,” she said. “I like to ski on the Alps”. Discussing her stay here she said “I could not have imagined a better host family,” Helene really enjoyed being a member of the marching band.” “I lived a high school student’s dream here.” she continued. “It has been really cool. I visited New York City twice and went to Disney World. And, she enjoyed the junior-senior prom.” Helene has studied English beginning in the fifth grade. Her future plans are to attend a university and study architecture or art history.
Coming Events:
May 29 — Ice cream social at Virgil’s from 5 to 7 pm. Please follow these suggestions: Order and find a seat, your dessert will be brought to your table. Additional parking at Paradise Church. They close at 7 but we can use their patio for continuing our exciting discussions.
June 5 — Business meeting.
June 12 — Dan Moeglin, Director of Stark Parks.
June 14 — Second Friday,
June 14-15 —District Conference.
June 15 — Helene’s going away party 3-7 at 721 Frana Clara Street.
June 26 — End of Year Banquet at KMG Building.
Submitted by Allen Gress, Secretary
Pix of Helene
Pix of LHS Foreign Exchange Student Ambassadors
Pix of Eliza receiving her check for her up-coming trip to Belgium.
Louisville Rotary Minutes
June 12th
Apparently, nobody took minutes.
Jared Shive brought the Director of Stark Parks, Dan Moeglin to speak about how Stark Parks will concentrate on their current holdings and improve what they currently own.
Noted by Jim Edwards
Pix of Dan Moeglin
Louisville Rotary Club
Meeting Minutes
June 19, 2024
Chance Bricker, here to present the day’s program, also volunteered to offer the opening prayer.
For her last regular program as club president, Barb DiJacimo led the recitation of the Four-Way Test and the Pledge of Allegiance. Songmeister Mark Sigler directed the singing of If I Had a Hammer, the Peter, Paul & Mary song, in honor of Chance Bricker. If I Had a Hammer was written by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays in 1949 as an anthem for many progressive concerns of the day, specifically the labor movement. The song features images of blue-collar workers as a rallying call for justice and equality.
Joanie Aljancic won the roboball contest; she is a multi-winner.
Happy Dollars * Cynthia Kechner gave her appreciation for the Rotarians assistance in setting up for the Farmers Market and Second Friday last weekend. “We had 20 vendors, the playground was packed and the beer wagon did well,” she said. “This may have been one of the largest attendance ever.” She also thanked the LHS football players who helped set up. “Oh, we also gave out 200 small flags.” * Jim Edwards informed members that we have 1,394 flags leased, more than last year’s total. He also suggested that we should use the “sandwich board” sign he made advertising the flag program and was worn during the Second Friday event. * Bill Wood said the club had a check for $2,000 from the Canton Rotary Club for the next exchange student, but we still need a host family for a girl exchange student. * Pat Fallot pitched the Chamberfest festival this weekend at Metzger Park. Activities for all are planned including a pet show, food trucks and fireworks. *
Elizah Adkins leaves Monday for her month in Europe. Her mother expressed thanks for Rotary’s support for the trip. * Greg Anderson announced that his daughter Annika is home for the summer. * Barb reminded all of the Donate from 5-8 at McDonald’s with proceeds going for Brandon Pittman.
A Special Rotary Moment Eva Roshong told a special Rotary memory of the past when our club supported a group of foreign visitors, adults, most of whom were of a same career. The idea was for them to see how their life’s work was done in the USA. She led a group of Italians who were vintners and they spent time at the Gervasi Vineyards and winery. “Those trips left me with the feeling of the good that Rotary does.” Another favorite project is the distribution of the Narcan drug for use for drug overdoses. The drug seminar also included education on how to use it.
The Program: Very few, if any, past program presenters have received the ovation that was given to Chance Bricker as he was introduced. It seemed like everyone knows him and due respect was shown. Chance was the recpient of a 2024 Club grant for help getting The Construction Foundation started. The Foundation has purchased the old Herald building on N. Mill Street and is in the progress of teaching vocational skills to disadvantaged young men. Chance, a teacher at GlenOak High School, has carpentry skills and has friends who will help when called. He told the story of an 11-year-old boy living in a home without hot water because the parents did not have the funds for a new water heater or the money to install it. Chance got together the materials and he and his crew installed the new heater. The 11-year-old now comes to the office to help or just hang out with his new friends. The Construction Foundation is a 501C3 organization and has received nearly $3,000 so far this year. Its motto as printed on their website reads “We build lives from the ground up. We’re dedicated to investing in the future citizens of Louisville and surrounding area. We bring together people interested in giving back to our unique community.”
Coming Events:
June 19 — Dine to Donate at McDonald’s for Brandon Pittman
June 26 — End of Year Banquet at KMG Building
July 2 — Board meeting noon at the library
July 3 — Business meeting
Submitted by Allen Gress, Secretary
Pix of Chance Bricker
Pix of Louisville Trail cleanup team & Greg with our reward.
Rotary Installation Banquet
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