eSpoke (May 14, 2021)

The Scoop - May 10, 2021

Posted by Anne Decker on May 14, 2021

The Bath High School Interact Club did a fantastic job conducting our meeting!

As the 2020/2021 school year comes to a close, the Bath High School Interact Club took the time to update us on their activities from the past year and the students conducted the entire meeting. Advisor Missy Vandemark says it was a chaotic year, but the students and faculty wanted to keep Interact going. "Every time we talked, we always came back to the value this club provides our kids. Through Interact, our kids learn leadership, self initiative, to communicate by email, and of course, they're learning to serve their school and their community." Interact was meeting every other week prior to the pandemic; during the pandemic, the regular meetings were cancelled, but student Abbie Dackin says Interact continued to volunteer for projects such as helping at the Food Bank, assisting with the Special Needs Christmas Party, painting the school's music stands, raking leaves, shoveling snow, and much more.

Following the update, the students received certificates, pins and the Rotary 4-Way Test coin. Interact hopes to be able to resume their regular meetings next year.

Annual Meeting

Posted by John Ficorilli on May 04, 2021

The Lima Rotary Club's Annual Meeting is May 17, to be followed by a special meeting. Please take a few minutes to review the items on the agenda and be sure to attend!

This year the Lima Rotary Club Annual Meeting will be held on Monday May 17, 2021 during our regular club meeting time. Immediately following the Annual Meeting, a special meeting addressing a MOU between the Rotary Club, the City of Lima and the Civic and Convention Center will be called to order. The MOU requires establishing a capital replacement reserve fund totaling $150,000 to be used specifically for the long-term capital replacement needs of the Greater Lima Region Park & Amphitheater.

Here are the Annual Meeting Introductory Statements and Resolutions for your review. Also details of the MOU that requires the establishment of the Capital Replacement Fund are attached. Please take time to review them both.

If you wish to submit questions before the meetings, please email them to Club Secretary Rita Brown at limarotary@gmail.com. They will be covered during the meetings.

Thank you,

President John and President Lesley

Social

Posted by Demi Burden on May 05, 2021

Join us for the next Lima Rotary Club Social on May 20th from 5:00 - 8:00 pm at Milano Cafe. Drinks and appetizers and fun! Please RSVP to Demi so she can plan accordingly.

Reverse Raffle

Posted by John Ficorilli

There are just a few tickets left for the Jay Begg Reverse Raffle. Get yours today!

Our lone fundraising opportunity of the year is happening on June 3. I have seen the list of members who have bought or sold a ticket. I am surprised we have not sold out. We must sell the remaining tickets this week! We have not had many volunteer opportunities this year and we have not done any fundraising. Our club needs every one of us to support this event. Do it for your club. I don’t expect every member to buy a ticket, but I do expect every member to sell at least one ticket. Yes, I am talking to you. Please help us make this event a success in Jay’s honor.

Contact Cat to get your tickets.

Yours in Rotary,

Pres John

Begg Memorial

Posted by Anne Decker on May 14, 2021

You are welcome to attend a memorial service for Jay Begg on Sunday, May 23.

Board Highlights

Posted by Rita Brown on May 14, 2021

Here are the highlights from the May 11 board meeting.

Call to Order John Ficorilli

Ficorilli called the meeting to order at 11:34 AM with the following members present: Carol Buettner, Andy Farley, Jeff Fitzgerald, Keith Horner, Theresa Schnipke, Derek Stemen, Andy Wannemacher and Ken Dysert. Also, Secretary Rita Brown and Treasurer Dan Best along with Anne Decker and Incoming Board Member Lesley Fry attended.

Secretary’s Report Rita Brown

Approval of April 13. 2021 Joint Board Minutes

Wannemacher made a motion to approve the Minutes as submitted. Dysert seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Attendance report

The month of April ended with 147 members – 143 Active and 4 Honorary. One new member joined. There were no resignations. Membership is down by eight from last year. Attendance for the month of April at 42.83%.

President's Report John Ficorilli

Annual Meeting and Special Meeting scheduled for May 17, 2021.

Ficorilli indicated Rex Perry Memorial Golf Outing Chairman, Andy Wannemacher, had reviewed the Resolutions and Proposed Proceeds from the Golf Outing. He recommended the Board consider the following:

Resolution #1 and #2 be revised as follows:

Resolution #1 Item D - Rotary Rex Perry Memorial Golf Outing Proceeds be reduced from $40,000 to $35,000. Also, the Total estimated net proceeds be reduced to $90,500.

Resolution #2 Lima Rotary Club Projects, Goals and Funding Source

ii. Resolution #2 Item A Rotary Post-Secondary Scholarships Rex Perry Memorial Golf Outing Funding Source be reduced from $40,000 to $35,000. The Total estimated distribution be reduced to $90,500. The Board accepted Wannemacher’s recommendation.

Immediately following the Annual Meeting, Ficorilli will call a Special Meeting to Order.

Details regarding a Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Lima, the Rotary Club and the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center will be discussed. The MOU requires establishing a long-term capital reserve fund. The importance of the fund, the role of the Foundation and the timeframe for raising the money will be shared. The meeting will include time for member discussion along with questions and answers. Members will also be asked to vote.

Reverse Raffle Update

The Reverse Raffle will be held on Thursday June 3^rd at the Allen County Fairgrounds with doors opening at 5:30 PM. Dinner at be served 6:00 PM. Tickets are still available. It is not necessary to be present to win!

Social Committee Update

The next Social Club Committee meeting will be held on May 20^th at the Milano Café from 5 – 8 PM.

Vice President Report Jeff Fitzgerald

Committee, Club Executive & Director Chairs for 2021 – 2022

The Chairs for the 33 Rotary Committees are filling with some regular and some new leaders. Also, the Programs for the new year are beginning to fill. Fitzgerald will share his vision for 2021 -2022 with the Members on July 12, 2021.

Board Reports:

a. Golf Outing Andy Wannamaker

The Rex Perry Memorial Golf Outing will be held on Wednesday July 21^st at Hidden Creek Golf Course. A rain date of Wednesday August 25^th has been set. Currently 26 hole sponsors and 15 teams are in place. Volunteer roles are also being finalized. The Golf Outing is open to the public! All proceeds will go directly to the Rotary Scholarship Fund.

b. Polio Plus Recap Derek Stemen

The Polio Plus campaign has a goal of raising $5,000. Stemen announced that $4,118 has been raised from the club campaign. Also $650 has been contributed to RI from Club Members. This total of $4,768 does not include proceeds from the merchandise sale. The proceeds from the Rottery draw will be donated to Polio Plus if needed to reach the goal.

Areas of Service Nominations and Voting Rita Brown

Since 2009, one of the activities at the Changing of the Guard Party is to acknowledge current club members who have exhibited exemplary service over the past year in the five areas of service. The names of those nominated along with additional nominees received from the Board were discussed. The names of those selected by the Board in each category will be kept confidential until the Changing of the Guard party.

Treasurer’s Report Dan Best

Best reviewed the 5/6/2021’s Financials with Prior Year Comparison

The Balance Sheet reflects several payments to the Foundation that will be made if the Board approves them. They include:

$ 11,415 from the Reverse Raffle in 2018

$ 4,118 Current Polio Plus Fundraiser paid to Rotary International

$ 3,312.50 Mandatory Dues paid by the Members to the Foundation

$ 2,850.00 Scholarship Contributions paid by the Members

$ 485.00 Christmas Auction

$ 1,975.00 Old Liability Owed to Foundation

$ 24,155.50 total

Best indicated those payments assume all payments included in quarterly dues are paid. Best suggested holding off paying $3,312.50 mandatory dues to the Foundation and $2,850.00 to the Scholarship Fund. Best made a motion to approve payment of the other payables. Ficorilli seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Best indicated the Balance Sheet includes $63,000 in pledges to the amphitheater. Cash is up by $16,899.

Accounts Receivables, less doubtful, is down ($9,120)

Total Assets, less pledges, are up by $7,337

Liabilities are down by ($20,813) and Equity is up by $27,551.

Best also reviewed the Income Statement.

Dues Income is down ($6,838) with Total Income down by ($14,660.)

Expenses are down $37,513 with a net savings of $22,853 from the previous year.

Working capital of 5/6/21 shows:

Cash $47,711

A/R $13,277

Total Cash & AR $60,988

Farley made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report as submitted. Horner seconded the motion. Motion carried.

New Business Rita Brown

The Club will not meet on July 5^th as Independence Day will be observed that day.

The Changing of the Guard will be held Monday June 28^th during the Regular Club Meeting. The event will be held at City Club. Invitations will be sent to the members soon.

Resignation

Chris Hughes, ODOT District One Deputy Director

Buettner made a motion to accept the resignation of Chris Hughes with regret. Stemen seconded the motion. Motion carried.

There being no further business, Ficorilli adjourned the meeting at 12.48 PM.

Respectfully submitted

Rita Brown, Club Secretary

Golf Outing

Posted by Andy Wannemacher

Register now for the Rex Perry Memorial Golf Outing on July 21 and support our scholarship fund!

This year marks the 21^st anniversary of the annual Rex Perry Memorial Golf Outing. It will be held on Wednesday, July 21^st at Hidden Creek Golf Course with a rain date of Wednesday, August 25^th. The Golf Committee is working closely with Hidden Creek Golf Course to again ensure our participants' safety against COVID.

Last year we had 27 teams competing and raised over $40,000, all of which went to benefit the Rotary Foundation Scholarship Fund. The Rotary Memorial Scholarship Fund selects persons who live or work in Allen County who are in pursuit of a degree or certification and will attend a school or college in Allen County. The intent of the scholarship is to encourage Allen County employees and residents to work and plan for their futures within our county. As of March 2021, over 1,089 adults wishing to continue their education have received scholarships from the Lima Rotary Club. These scholarships total over $817,250. Degrees or certifications can be achieved at the Apollo Career Center (Adult Education), Bluffton University, Rhodes State College, The Ohio State University at Lima and the University of Northwestern Ohio. All residents who live in and employees who work in Allen County are eligible.

The golf outing is open to the public so please invite your friends to join us. Contact Andy Wannemacher today to register or click here to register online.

Youth Service

Posted by Bob Ruehl on May 14, 2021

Interested in youth service-learning? Here are three things you should know!

Every year, over 350,000 youth participate in Rotary’s youth programs. Yet, until recently, Rotary didn’t have resources that directly engaged them in service, a fact that surprised me when I first began working for Rotary International’s Programs for Young Leaders team in the spring of 2019.

We often encouraged Interactors, RYLA participants, Youth Exchange students, and their mentors to get involved in service – but we heard they needed more guidance on getting started, the type of projects they should do, and effective strategies for engagement.

That’s why I jumped at the chance to work on a new collaboration with the National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC), a leading organization in youth engagement, to develop new resources for our youth program participants and their adult advisers.

Using NYLC’s vast skill-set and knowledge, we’ve worked together over the past year to develop new resources using an innovative approach to youth engagement, known as service-learning. Service-learning empower young people to enact real change in their communities by combining community service with learning objectives. It also has been proven to directly contribute to stronger academic performance and understanding of civic responsibility.

Together with NYLC, we created outcome-driven, interactive resources that provide tailored guidance for youth participants and their adult advisers. Here are three things you should know about service-learning:

It is youth-led. With the guidance of an adult adviser, participants are in charge of their service experience. They learn real-world leadership skills as they conduct a community assessment, develop and implement an action plan, and assess the impact of their service projects.
It hones youth skills. Service-learning has been proven to help young people develop important life skills like critical thinking, self-management, and leadership.
It has a lasting impact on communities. Young people learn how to identify and address genuine community needs, enact real change, and ensure sustainable and lasting impacts.

Visit Rotary’s Learning Center to find online courses and interactive workbooks that will help you get started with providing service-learning opportunities for young leaders in your club and district. And share your experience with us at youngleaders@rotary.org.