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The Scoop - April 12, 2021
Innovative programs are helping Allen County Children Services place more children in forever homes.
Children Services Executive Director Sarah Newland took advantage of April being Child Abuse Prevention Month to update us on the efforts being made to protect children in our community. Sarah told us that calls about abused and neglected children dropped nearly 44% in April, 2020 compared to the previous year due to the pandemic shutdown. "It's fair to say that the decrease in calls to our agency simply meant less reporting of abuse, not less abuse." Sarah says that when Ohio began reopening, calls for abuse went up dramatically. "This shows up the significance of our children attending schools in person to have access to trusted adults and really speaks volumes to the dedication of our local schools to be back in person." In 2020, Children Services investigated 858 reports of abuse and neglect.
Children Services is utilizing three programs to help them ensure proper care of children.
  • Ohio Start is helping to increase the number of children remaining safely in the home with their parents and reduce reoccurrence of child maltreatment.
  • 30 Days to Family maintains a child’s family connections, identifies and engages natural supports and identifies at least 80 relatives or kin per case.
  • Wendy's Wonderful Kids works to find the best home for each child in agency custody and facilitates meet and greets between potential adoptive parents and children.
Sarah says that the child welfare system is going through a transformation and modernization to reduce the number of children coming into foster care, prevent children from coming into foster care, and place children in settings that are more family like.
 
 
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Board Members
Congratulations to the newly-elected members of the Board of Directors of the Lima Rotary Club: Elizabeth Brown-Ellis, Lesley Fry and Joel Mengerink. Also congratulations to the new members of the Board of Directors of the Lima Rotary Foundation: Abe Ambroza, Corey Frazer and Jennifer Mason.
Interact
Our Bath Local School campus clean up was canceled on Sunday 4/11/21 due to rain, but that didn’t stop our Interact Club students from getting out and cleaning up roads & streets around their homes. Thanks to our students who chose to take some time Sunday to clean up their neighborhoods! 
Apparel
Get your Rotary apparel now! For each item you purchase, $5 will be donated to our PolioPlus fund. This is also a great way to show your Rotary pride, support a great cause, and get some great apparel for when you are volunteering in the community.
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Social Night
The Lima Rotary Club's next Social Night is April 22 from 5:00-7:00pm, hosted by Drew Fields in his private bar in his new headquarters at Innovative Packaging, 250 E. Hanthorn Road Lima, Ohio 45804. Please RSVP to Demi if you plan to attend. See you there!
Board Highlights
Here are the highlights from the April 13 joint meeting of the Lima Rotary Club Board and Lima Rotary Foundation Board.
Call to Order     Jeff Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald called the meeting together at 11:42 AM with the following Rotary Board Members present:  Ken Dysert, Andy Farley, Theresa Schnipke, Derek Stemen, and Andy Wannemacher.  Also Treasurer Dan Best, Secretary Rita Brown and Anne Decker.
The following Foundation Board Members were present:   Demi Burden, Adah Ellerbrock, Lesley Fry, Katy Page, and Mike Powell.  Also Secretary Scott Cockerell and Treasurer Jared Walsh were present.
 
Secretary’s Report     Rita Brown
  1. Approval of March 9, 2021 Board Minutes
Dysert made a motion to approve the Rotary Board Minutes of March 9, 2021 and the Addendum to the Minutes dated March 22, 2021.  Farley seconded the motion.  Board approved. 
  1. Attendance report  
The month of March ended with 146 Total Members – 142 active and 4 honorary.  Attendance for the month was up 9.66%.  April attendance is remaining strong. 
 
President’s Report     by Jeff Fitzgerald         
  1. Jay Begg Reverse Raffle 
The Reverse Raffle will be held on June 3rd at the Allen County Fairgrounds in the Youth Building.  Ticket sales are nearing the 100 mark.   The Begg family has fully embraced the event and is actively participating. 
           
Lima Rotary Foundation President Report     Lesley Fry 
  1. Foundation Board Grant Update
Board President Lesley Fry shared information on the Community Grants that the Foundation gave out this year.  Donations were just under $59,000 with $30,000 being awarded from the Scholarship Fund.  The Marimor Legacy request was paid from the Hulsken Fund.  MESA was awarded $10,000 this FY.  $5,000 should have been attributed to the previous FY but wasn’t paid until this year. 
$16,000 has been awarded this year.  Last year at this time, the Foundation had awarded $20,000.  With the $5,000 MESA carryover, the commitments are in-line with previous years.  January activity included follow-up on the Christmas Auction and the Salvation Army request.   The Board has one more grant period during this fiscal year.  Walsh made a motion to approve the Foundation Board President’s report.  Page seconded the motion.  Board approved. 
 
Joint Board Discussion     Jared Walsh
  1. Treasurer’s Report Lima Rotary Foundation                                        
Walsh shared the Statement of Fund Balances, Receipts and Disbursements Quarterly report for the first 6 months of the fiscal year ending as of 12/31/2020.   The Activity for the first half of the year is covered in   seven buckets.   The Amphitheater bucket contains $744,000 spent on the project as of 12/31. $89,000 of pledge money is still owed.  The credit line is paid down to $22,000.  These are mostly cash balance as Pledged receivables don’t show up.    The General Fund started with $72,000.  Collections were rocky as fund raisers and contributions were unpredictable but the balance is down to $60,000.  The projecting on collections by June 30th is pretty solid despite the year the we have had.  Walsh acknowledged Rudolph and Sanchez for their success with collections on the amphitheater side.    He further stated the American and mutual funds have done really well.    Farley made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report and Stemen seconded the motion.  Board approved.
  1. Treasurer’s Report Lima Rotary Club     Dan Best
Best shared information from the Balance Sheet Previous Year Comparison.  The Cash Position is up $16,000.  The improvement is because the club didn’t meet for a while during the pandemic.  District 6600 did not charge the Club dues during that time but the Club did make a Mesa contribution.  Accounts Payable was down mostly because pledges for the amphitheater were taken out.  The Balance Sheet reflects $72,600 in receivables but $63,000 is pledged for the amphiteahter.  The remainder $9,000 is dues.  The equity position is up $25,000. 
The Income statement shows dues were down by $16,000 due to membership numbers being down.  Also, savings were passed along to the Club Members on Dues at the rate of $75 for the first quarter and $50 for the 2nd quarter.     Total income is down $21,600 from a year ago.  The comparison shows a recognized cost savings with expenses normally incurred for the VMCC, Milano Club and for Supplies.  The Club had a $38,600 total cost savings with $9,346 net income this year to-date.    Best further stated the Club prepared a budget in August 2020 that reflected a projected $1,000 loss.  The club previously had a loss of between $9 – $10,000.  Bringing membership numbers up would strengthen the club.  The goal is to bring the membership count up to 160 active members again.   Schnipke made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report and Ellerbrock seconded the motion.  Board approved.    
  1. Annual Meeting Preparation- date May 17th     John Ficorilli/Lesley Fry and Jeff Fitzgerald/Demi Burden
The Annual Meeting will be held on Monday May 17th.  A Planning Session will be arranged for the current and incoming Presidents, the Board and Foundation Treasurers and the Club Secretary. 
 
Board Seat Election Results     Rita Brown/Scott Cockerell
Brown indicated the Ballots were counted earlier today.  Members selected to join the Rotary Club for the term running from July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2024 include:  Elizabeth Brown-Ellis, Lesley Fry and Joel Mengerink. 
 
Cockerell stated the following members were selected to join the Lima Rotary Foundation Board for a term running from July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2024:  Abe Ambroza, Corey Frazer and Jennifer Mason.
 
Stemen made a motion to accept the new roster of Members to each Board.  Page seconded the motion.  Board approved. 
           
Board Reports:
  1. Golf Outing    Andy Wannemacher    
The Rex Perry Memorial Golf Outing will be held July 21st at Hidden Creek.  Fr David Ross will be the celebrity putter.
  1. Polio Plus Merchandise Sale Update     Derek Stemen
Stemen stated 100% proceeds from the sale will be awarded to Polio Plus.   
                                                                                               
President Elect Report     Jeff Fitzgerald
  1. New Ideas & Projects 
Fitzgerald stated the Club currently has 33 committees.  He has been speaking with current Committee Chairs to secure Chairpersons for each Committee.  His goal is to get back to what we were doing 18 months ago.  
Fitzgerald announced that the Blood Clinic will again be held in the Fall on the first Saturday in November.  His goal is to have the Christmas Raffle and Auction reactivated and to have the Jay Begg Reverse Raffle continue.  The Club will be breaking ground on the Amphitheater and there will be a Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting.  A Luncheon and News Conference will be held at that time.   Finances look good for the Club’s moving successfully forward. 
 
New Business:     Rita Brown
  1. Club Service Awards
Club Service Awards are given annually to members who show exemplary levels of service in the areas of Club, Community, International, Vocational and Youth Service during the year.  They are awarded at the Changing of the Guard party each June.  Brown will be sending out a request for nominations soon. 
 
Membership
  1. Applications
  1. Andres Lotz
An application for membership for Lotz was presented.  Lotz is a Financial Advisor for Edw Jones.  Dysert made a motion to approve his application and Wannemacher seconded the motion.  Board approved. 
  1. Resignations
  1.  Bob Fricke
A resignation was received from Bob Fricke.  He hopes to rejoin Rotary in the future.  Best made a motion to accept his resignation with regret.  Page seconded the motion.  Board approved. 
 
There being no further business, Schnipke made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 12:25 PM.  Page seconded the motion.  Board approved. 
 
Respectfully submitted.
Rita Brown, Secretary
 
 
 
 
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Jay Begg Reverse Raffle
Get your tickets today for the Jay Begg Reverse Raffle on June 3.
The Jay Begg Reverse Raffle Tickets
 
ON SALE NOW
 
Rotarians, this is a fundraiser for our local Lima Foundation. Please purchase at least ONE ticket to make this event successful.
 
Jay was always a team player and Jay brought the first Rotary Reverse Raffle to our Rotary Club! 
In his honor, his family agreed to allow us to rebrand it in Jay's name!
 
One Ticket,
Raises more than $10,000 that goes right back into the community!
 
Please support this event and buy a ticket today! Contact Cat for your ticket.
 
Also, we still need auction items. Please bring your items to the Wingate to Katy Page. You can drop them off at any time! 
NOTE:  we need to know the value of your item(s) 
 
Please have the auction items in Monday, May 10th
 
Thank you to all who've already donated!
 
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Golf Outing
Register now for the Rex Perry Memorial Golf Outing on July 21 and support our scholarship fund!
This year marks the 21st anniversary of the annual Rex Perry Memorial Golf Outing. It will be held on Wednesday, July 21st at Hidden Creek Golf Course with a rain date of Wednesday, August 25th. 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.
 
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World Immunization Week
During World Immunization Week, 24-30 April, join with Rotary to combat vaccine hesitancy and misinformation by spreading the facts about why #VaccinesWork.

 
 
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Upcoming Events
Spring Blood Clinic
Senior Citizen Services
Apr 30, 2022
6:30 AM – 9:30 AM
 
Jay Begg Reverse Raffle
Allen County Fairgrounds
Jun 02, 2022
5:30 PM – 9:00 PM
 
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Speakers
May 02, 2022 12:00 PM
LifeWise Academy
May 09, 2022 12:00 PM
National Police Month
May 16, 2022 12:00 PM
Recognition and Awards
May 30, 2022
Happy Memorial Day!
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