Call to Order
President Tracie Sanchez called the meeting to order at 10:33 AM with the following present: District Governor Deb Cheney and Assistant District Governor Angela Hersh. Rotary Board members: Rita Brown, Paul Crow, Anne Decker, Dave Frost, Dr. Susan Hubbell, Jed Metzger, Catheryn Sarno, and Jeff Tracy.
Rotary Foundation Board Members: Elizabeth Brown-Ellis, Drew Fields, Jeff Fitzgerald, Linda Hamilton, Butch Kirk, Heather Rutz, Jeff Unterbrink, and Andy Wannemacher. Also present was guest Steve Conrad.
Secretary’s Report Rita Brown
Attendance Report
Brown shared the October Attendance Report. At of the end of October, the club had 173 members. There are fourteen new members to-date for this year and six resignations. Last month’s attendance averaged 46.94% of membership. That has remained consistent.
Applications - there were no new applications received for this month.
Resignations and transfers
- Resignation - Phil Buell
- Transfer- Lt. Dave Brown
Frost made a motion to approve the resignation/transfer with regret. Hubbell seconded the motion. Board approved.
President’s Report Tracie Sanchez
Welcome & Thank You to Board Members
Sanchez welcomed the Board Members from both boards and thanked them for attending.
World Polio Day Recap
The Club raised $4,473 on World Polio day and with the Gates Foundation Match, $13,419 will be given from the Lima Club in the fight to eradicate polio in the world. Pledges are still coming in.
Volunteer & drives for West Ohio Food Bank & Salvation Army
The Club is currently conducting a drive to collect personal hygiene items for the West Ohio Food Bank. Club Members and their family members can volunteer at the Food Bank to pack boxes for distribution. The Club will be conducting a Toy Drive for the holidays for the Salvation Army. Club and family members will have the opportunity to volunteer and pack toys for the Salvation Army. Salvation Army Bell Ringing will be held on Saturday Dec 16. The Bath Schools Interact Club will be participating.
Fall Blood Clinic Saturday November 4, 2017
Nineteen members of the club volunteered on Saturday morning from 6 AM to 10 AM. A record number of 513 members of the community had blood drawn – up from a previous high of 487.
Special Needs Christmas party
The Special Needs Christmas Party will be help on Saturday December 9, 2017 at the Shawnee United Methodist Church.
Foundation President’s Report Jeff Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald reported on Foundation Activities year-to-date by quarter from Jan 2017 – Oct 2017. Fitzgerald indicated the financial report looks really solid. The Foundation Board was advised by Foundation Treasurer Walsh they had $5,000 - $6,000 a quarter to award and were later advised the Board has $7,000 - $8,000 a quarter. Fitzgerald also provided a report of the actual grants awarded between June 30, 2017 and Sept 30, 2017. It was a very good year with the Rotary Scholarship Committee awarding $67,500 in Scholarships for the fifteen month period. The total awards for the period paid by the Foundation Board are $93,830.
District Governor Message & Remarks Deb Cheney
Cheney asked the Board Members for more detail about the Club Projects and Fund Raisers.
Wannemacher stated this was the first year he chaired the Rex Perry Memorial Golf Outing. Scholarships are awarded to non-traditional students with the goal that they remain and work in the community. It was developed as an Economic Development Project for the Community. The event raises around $32,000 - $34,000 annually.
The Club holds two Community Blood Drives a year – Spring and Fall. The Club teams with Memorial Hospital with Phlebotomists being provided by the hospital. The blood draws are provided at a drastically reduced cost. Reports are sent to the patients’ physicians. Volunteers serve coffee, doughnuts and juice. The Club usually raises $10,000 to $12,000 in the Fall and $20,000 in the Spring.
The Club held its first Reverse Raffle last year in February. This year it will be held on February 16, 2018. The goal was to not ask Rotarians for money again but to raise the money from the Community. The event includes a silent auction. Proceeds were awarded to the Foundation.
The Special Needs Children’s Christmas Party is favorite project. A Christmas Party is held for developmentally disabled children at the Shawnee United Methodist Church each December.
District Governor Cheney provided the following report:
Cheney stated the Lima Rotary Club has a lot to brag about. Rotary International has a Goal for the Lima Club to give $17,000 to the annual fund each quarter. The Lima club gave $17,600 for a total of $64,954. The per capita goal set by RI per member is $79 per year. The Lima Club members gave $103 per member last year. Membership has fluctuated from 166 – 184 members. We started 2017 with 166. Last year’s RI goal was for EREY to give $100. One hundred twenty two Lima Rotarians met that goal. Angela Hersh has blue EREY boxes to distribute. The goal is that we fill them with change and when we get to $100, we send a check to RI. Another option, which the Lima Club does, is to include it on our dues.
Cheney stated RI’s bi-laws provide a great deal of flexibility to the clubs. It is important that the club’s bi-laws match what the club is actually doing.
Cheney stated the club is doing an awesome job with Youth organizations. The Lima Club is the only club that won the Presidential Citation for the Club, the Interact Club and the Rotarac Club in 2016 – 2017.
The Rotaract Club will be attending the Peace Conference at the University of Findlay on November 18, 2017. The speaker will be a Peace Scholar who is attending Duke University. The speaker will be addressing human trafficking and sexual abuse.
The Club is already doing Little Free Libraries.
At this time, the club members have not expressed much interest in Youth Exchange. Cheney suggested the club have a speaker from the program to spark interest in the program.
Planting trees by Earth Day is an RI priority. The Lima Club recently planted two larger trees in Martin Luther Park. The trees have the Rotary Emblems on them. Options other than planting one tree per person locally is to send money to have trees planted in countries that have lost a lot of trees due to the weather disasters with year. In addition trees are given to first grades in the schools on Arbor Day. Metzger will chair a project for the Lima Rotary Club to donate trees to the local schools.
The District Conference will be held May 18 – 20, 2018 at the Renaissance Toledo Downtown Hotel. Cheney asked the club to Save the Date and consider doubling the number from four to eight attendees.
Cheney mentioned the proposed District Global Grant where every club in the district would contribute to a water project in Haiti. Dollar amounts for the fifty-three clubs have not been determined.
There being no further business, a motion was made by Kirk to adjourn at 11:24 AM. Metzger seconded the motion. Board approved.
Respectfully submitted
Rita Brown, Club Secretary.
