Fomer New York reporter finds happiness in Ada, Ohio.
Have you read Amy Eddings' column in The Lima News and SALT magazine? Eddings is an Ohio native who spent fifteen years working as reporter and announcer at WNYC in New York City, but last year she moved to Ada to be closer to her sister. "I thought I would never dark Ohio's door again," says Eddings. "I wanted the big city life at an early age." She and her husband decided to make the change after her husband's sister and mother died and she started spending more time with her own sister. During one of those visits she toured Easter House on Ada's main street, "broke into tears and knew I had to be there." Eddings and her husband now own the house and have turned it into a B&B. "As I get older and wiser I know that it is the small conversations where connections are built. That's where closeness develops. Not in the big things. I was looking for the big gestures, but found out that it is the little gestures that lead to the grander things. Our lives are stories and we are writing them every day. Challenge and risk create the story, and give lives structure, meaning and resonance. The journey transforms us." Eddings loves her new journey. "I love the beauty of rural Ohio and the ability to see the sky. It's great hanging out with my sister." You can read Eddings' column on Thursday in The Lima News.
Also at Monday's meeting, Dick Warren challenged us to Halloween trivia with pumpkins and apples as prizes. Rita Brown was awarded the Paul Harris +1 pin, Michael Frueh recieved the Paul Harris +2 pin, and Tracie Sanchez received the Paul Harris +3 pin. Dave Cockerell thanked everyone who helped with last week's Dictionary Ditribution. Paul Swartz thanked those who donated to help flood victims in Louisiana. And President Dave reported that our club's donations on World Polio Day totaled $2,430, which increased to $9,729 with matching funds - enough to vaccinate 16,200 children! Don't forget that our fall Blood Clinic is Saturday, November 5 from 6:30-9:30 at Senior Citizen Services.
The Bath High School Interact Club is up and running with about twenty students in attendance. These student leaders are currently working on several programs including Social Media and Suicide Prevention.
The Lima Rotary Club distributed dictionaries and pencils to Allen County third graders on Wednesday. The club began this annual tradition in 2006, and this year gave away nearly 1,000 dictionaries in 13 elementary schools. Funds for the Dictionary Distribution are provided by members through a variety of fundraisers and contributions to the Lima Rotary Foundation. Our members had time to visit with the students and tell them all about our club and the good work Rotary does around the world. “The Lima Rotary Club truly enjoys handing out the dictionaries, and the third grade students are always extremely excited to receive them. We realize our community has many underprivileged families who may not have dictionaries or other books at home. This is one way our Lima Rotary Club is able to help local children while continuing our efforts to support literacy and education,” says project chair Dave Cockerell.
Broadcaster's career followed high school sports' popularity.
As technology allowed area media companies to feed high school sports fans’ appetites, broadcaster Mike Shepp was there to usher in big time coverage of games and atheletes.
Shepp, also a retired English and speech teacher, discussed his career in broadcasting Monday, and told stories from his book, “Game Time.” The book details a career in sports broadcasting that spanned from 1979 to 2013.
Shepp began his career with WDOH in Delphos. However, it was nearly a decade later that he was in on the ground floor of televising high school games, when WTLW made the decision to move beyond its Christian audience.
“They experimented with three games,” Shepp said. “And people loved it.” That began what Shepp called a ‘golden era’ in high school sports, stretching into the mid-1990s. School administrators were cool to broadcasting games, even on tape delay, at first because they believed it would kill attendance.
That didn’t happen, Shepp said, as people came for the live event and enjoyed it so much they wanted to go home and watch it all over.
“I think today, with the West Ohio Sports Network, we have some of the best high local school sports coverage in the state,” Shepp said.
Lima Senior High basketball standout Greg Simpson was the best player Shepp covered, he said.
“There was always a vibe in the gym,” he said. “You never knew who would show up (to watch him play).”
In other business Monday:
The club received an update on the Abilities Rotary Field at UNOH. Construction has begun and some pieces could be added as late as November, depending on weather. If the weather turns, work will resume in the spring.
Chuck Butts is celebrating his 45th anniversary in Rotary.
Harold Bischoff with the International Service Committee updated the club and said a quarterly report will be in the upcoming eSpoke. The global grant for Honduras sanitation improvement was signed off on. It has a budget of $197,001 and multiple clubs and districts from the United States, Canada and Mexico participating. The next step will send an inspection team to Honduras, possibly as early as November.
Bischoff said a separate service project opportunity in Honduras will be available in January. If anyone is interested, they must pay their own way and see Bischoff for details.
Lima Rotary Club will mark World Polio Day Oct. 24 with a community awareness day that will include raising a polio flag in Town Square and a proclamation from Mayor David Berger.
Please join us on December 12th for a special musical Christmas Luncheon and Raffle. The Ohio State University Lima a cappella group, Carmany, will be providing the Christmas music for the luncheon, and we'll draw the winning tickets for our annual Christmas Raffle. You don’t want to miss it!
Toledo Rotary Club is leading the way to solutions of the algae issues in our water.
Toledo Rotary Club has provided an opportunity for anyone to learn about algae issues at the recent convocation Friday October 28th. The Associated Press would have you believe that our algae issues are all from the runoff from farms. The truth is that we do not know all of the sources for this pollution and that there is no one agency working on these issues. The public is under informed as to the gravity of algae forming and its consequences to life as we know it. There are two forms of algae both cause illness and death. Historical experience was provided by a representative from the Chesapeake Bay Authority who have been working on contamination issues for the last 17 years. They have 17,500 people involved in these issues which are the same as ours and over 750 organizations in 7 states working cooperatively. Their advice was to get involved and informed. Learn about the unintended consequences of progressive farming, too much phosphorus and what you can contribute to solutions in your own backyard. Toledo Rotary hosted representatives from Canada and 10 states.
Build a better future through charitable planning with The Rotary Foundation.
Charitable IRA gifts — and their tax benefits, are here to stay!
For those age 70½ and older, it is now possible to make tax-free charitable gifts directly from Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). This giving option had been available at times in the past and was made permanent in December 2015. If you have a traditional IRA, you can now make gifts directly to The Rotary Foundation using funds that might otherwise be taxed when withdrawn. You may choose to make charitable gifts directly from an IRA up to a total of $100,000 per person, per year. By giving directly from your IRA, you also won’t increase your adjusted gross income or possibly subject your Social Security to a higher level of taxation.
Another advantage: Your gift will count toward your Required Minimum Distribution and you can avoid taxes on income while you help Rotary improve communities around the world.
Supporting the Annual Fund with his IRA
Past District Governor Gerald (Jerry) Gortner understands the benefits of giving through an IRA more than many. That’s because he spent 43 years as a financial advisor for Ameriprise Financial Services. “I had helped many clients who were over 70 make their charitable contributions directly through their IRA,” Jerry said.
“It was a way for them to achieve their charitable goals, and it provided helpful tax benefits.” A Rotarian since 1983 who recently retired, Jerry now takes his own advice and makes his gifts to Rotary directly from his IRA. “I think this type of gift makes the most sense for those who are already in the habit of making charitable contributions,” Jerry explained. “So instead of using other income to make your gift, you make the gift directly from your IRA. My IRA gifts have been active contributions that go directly into the Annual Fund, so I receive Paul Harris Society membership and major donor status.” “My biggest personal satisfaction comes from helping someone achieve their goals,” Jerry said, recalling as an example one Rotarian he worked with to fund a gift supporting the fight against polio. “This happened to be during a matching period,” Jerry said. “When we told her how many children she had been able to benefit through her gift, it brought tears to her eyes. It is so gratifying to help others accomplish their dreams through Rotary.”
Prevent double taxation on inheritances
If you leave retirement funds to your heirs, the funds can be subject to both estate tax and income tax. On the other hand, if heirs receive their inheritances from other assets, only estate tax — if applicable — may be due on amounts passing to them. Therefore, you may prefer to leave your retirement plan to The Rotary Foundation while using other assets to provide for heirs. This way you may reduce the overall tax burden on your family and create a personal, lasting legacy with Rotary.
This publication provides general gift, estate and financial planning information. It is not legal, accounting or other professional advice. For assistance in planning charitable gifts, please use the services of appropriate advisors. Consult an attorney for modifications to or the creation of a will or other legal document. Tax benefits vary per each individual's situation. Some opportunities may not be available in all states. For more information, contact planned.giving@rotary.org
or 847-866-3100.
