Learn the 10 warning signs of Alzheimer's Disease.
Do you or a loved one have any of the warning signs of Alzheimer's Disease? Yvonne Miller from the Alzheimer's Association talked about the warning signs and how they differ from normal aging.
Memory loss that disrupts daily life One of the most common signs of Alzheimer’s disease, especially in the early stage, is forgetting recently learned information. Others include forgetting important dates or events, asking for the same questions over and over, and increasingly needing to rely on memory aids (e.g., reminder notes or electronic devices) or family members for things they used to handle on their own. What's a typical age-related change? Sometimes forgetting names or appointments, but remembering them later.
Challenges in planning or solving problems Some people living with dementia may experience changes in their ability to develop and follow a plan or work with numbers. They may have trouble following a familiar recipe or keeping track of monthly bills. They may have difficulty concentrating and take much longer to do things than they did before. What's a typical age-related change? Making occasional errors when managing finances or household bills.
Difficulty completing familiar tasks People with Alzheimer's often find it hard to complete daily tasks. Sometimes they may have trouble driving to a familiar location, organizing a grocery list or remembering the rules of a favorite game. What's a typical age-related change? Occasionally needing help to use microwave settings or to record a TV show.
Confusion with time or place People living with Alzheimer's can lose track of dates, seasons and the passage of time. They may have trouble understanding something if it is not happening immediately. Sometimes they may forget where they are or how they got there. What's a typical age-related change? Getting confused about the day of the week but figuring it out later.
Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships For some people, having vision problems is a sign of Alzheimer's. This may lead to difficulty with balance or trouble reading. They may also have problems judging distance and determining color or contrast, causing issues with driving. What's a typical age-related change? Vision changes related to cataracts.
New problems with words in speaking or writing People living with Alzheimer's may have trouble following or joining a conversation. They may stop in the middle of a conversation and have no idea how to continue or they may repeat themselves. They may struggle with vocabulary, have trouble naming a familiar object or use the wrong name (e.g., calling a "watch" a "hand-clock"). What's a typical age-related change? Sometimes having trouble finding the right word.
Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps A person living with Alzheimer's disease may put things in unusual places. They may lose things and be unable to go back over their steps to find them again. He or she may accuse others of stealing, especially as the disease progresses. What's a typical age-related change? Misplacing things from time to time and retracing steps to find them.
Decreased or poor judgment Individuals may experience changes in judgment or decision-making. For example, they may use poor judgment when dealing with money or pay less attention to grooming or keeping themselves clean. What's a typical age-related change? Making a bad decision or mistake once in a while, like neglecting to change the oil in the car.
Withdrawal from work or social activities A person living with Alzheimer’s disease may experience changes in the ability to hold or follow a conversation. As a result, he or she may withdraw from hobbies, social activities or other engagements. They may have trouble keeping up with a favorite team or activity. What's a typical age-related change? Sometimes feeling uninterested in family or social obligations.
Changes in mood and personality Individuals living with Alzheimer’s may experience mood and personality changes. They can become confused, suspicious, depressed, fearful or anxious. They may be easily upset at home, with friends or when out of their comfort zone. What's a typical age-related change? Developing very specific ways of doing things and becoming irritable when a routine is disrupted.
Yvonne encouraged us to see a doctor if you notice any of these changes in yourself or a loved one. She says early detection helps with treatment.
Also at Monday's meeting, Carl Berger used fellowship to give us a fascinating history of the Diesel-Wemmer cigar company. Dick Warren updated us on the High Octane Drumline. They have a busy summer performing in parades and festivals after taking the last year off due to COVID. They are working at building their membership back up and can use financial help. Also, Dave Frost recognized Tracie Sarno and Larry Webb for achieving Paul Harris +5. Thank you for your generosity!
We had fun and raised money for the scholarship fund at the Rex Perry Memorial Golf Outing.
Wednesday, July 21st was perfect day for our 21st Annual Rex Perry Memorial Golf Outing. Blue skies and the temperature in the low 80’s made for a day of great golf. 29 teams took part in this year’s outing. Two teams tied with a score of 54, however with the tie-breaker Rich Dackin’s team (Honda) prevailed as the winner and netted the team $500! Second place and $300 went to Chad Fast’s, iHeart Media team and new Rotary Member, Chad King, led his Citizens National Bank Team to a 3rd place finish and $200.
Proximity Contests made the day exciting with Ashley Meas winning the Women’s Long Drive, Jay Wenger winning the Men’s Long Drive and Russ Decker winning the Longest Putt Contests. We had four Closest to the Pin winners on various par 3’s throughout the course. These awesome shots belonged to Spencer Stubbs, Parker Waklyn, Adam Rector and Randy Fetter.
Fun games abounded across the course and gave players a break from the competitive action. Tim Sielchott won a $250 gift card to Vons Diamonds & Jewelry for guessing the closest number of golf items in the jar for this year’s Guessing Game. Jed Metzger won the Buckeye Long Drive, which was a new game sponsored by The Ohio State University at Lima and run by Lesley Fry. He won a fabulous gift basket full of Buckeye swag and beverages. The Civic Center Foundation hosted the Measure the Putt contest, which is always a huge hit every year. This year BlueChip Construction came out on top and won a $200 Visa Gift Card for their effort! Swartz Restoration again sponsored the Swartz Ball contest which everyone looks forward The Union Bank kept their ball the entire round and won $100 in cash for their tenacity. And finally, Jed Metzger was the big 50/50 drawing winner!
Overall, this year’s Golf Outing had 7 Major Sponsors, 1 Major Donor for Scholarships, 5 Education Sponsors and 41 Hole Sponsors. The total money raised for The Rotary Memorial Scholarship Fund is not available at this point, but the outing is projected to raise over $40,000 again this year. It was a great day of comradery at Hidden Creek Golf Club and a great day to be a Rotarian!
Rotary adopts new diversity, equity and inclusion statement.
Young Leaders in Action
July 2021
Engaging the next generation of Rotary leaders
Rotary adopts new diversity, equity, and inclusion statement
To ensure our organization values and lives the principals of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), the RI Board of Directors, with guidance from the DEI Taskforce, strengthened the organization’s DEI statement, adopted in 2019. Read the updated commitment and learn more about how we are reinforcing diversity, equity, and inclusion as part of our organization’s culture.
How has service-learning transformed your projects?
Have you or your program participants completed the Youth Guide for Service Learning in Rotary’s Learning Center? Let us know how Service-Learning has transformed your Interact clubs and youth-led service projects. Email youngleaders@rotary.org .
Youth Lead Peace Conversations
“At its heart, Peace Conversations are about building relationships, improving listening and creating spaces for voices to share their experiences with one another. Youth can be a catalyst for this growth and development.” Learn how Rotary’s service partner Mediators Beyond Borders International brought their Peace Conversations Facilitation Program to a Texas, USA high school.
Rotary’s Programs and Grants staff recently hosted a three-part Increase Your Impact webinar series that’s now available in the Learning Center. Learn how to increase the impact of your local and international service projects by implementing successful activities on a larger scale and designing programs that achieve results.
The Rotary Citation recognizes Interact clubs and Rotaract clubs that are taking action to make a positive difference. Club sponsors, Rotaract club presidents, and Interact club advisers can nominate qualifying clubs no later than 15 August. Nominate a Rotaract club or nominate an Interact club. For any questions regarding the Citation process, please email riawards@rotary.org.
The 2020 pandemic has been a difficult challenge for everyone in every corner of the world. Even though the virus closed many doors with people locked down at home, online solutions provided new opportunities for safe interactions that had not been considered before. Rotary Friendship Exchange (RFE) is no exception to utilizing these online solutions.
When the pandemic developed in Lithuania, Rotary District 1462 decided to proactively use virtual tools to stay connected. District 1462 started their Rotary Friendship Exchange program in 2018 and gave several teams the unforgettable experience and joy of discovering new places and cultures. Rotarians visited India (District 3141) and USA (District 5330). Having such inspiring impressions motivated the Rotarians in our district to bring our RFE program online.
The RFE program allows Rotary members and friends to get to know other countries and their cultures, along with local Rotary friends from around the world. Close and direct communication with the local Rotarians and Rotaractors provides lasting impressions on the participants of the exchange and allows them to feel the culture of the country and get to know it much deeper than on any ordinary trip. Furthermore, exchanges inspire long-term relationships between clubs and countries; participating clubs often become twin clubs, partners for global grants, and collaborators on international projects. The most important outcome of these exchanges is lasting friendships. Considering all of these root attributes of the program, we saw no reason that a cultural exchange couldn’t be achieved online. The internet provided an opportunity to experience the world directly from home.
The RFE Committee of District 1462 collected and exchanged RFE coordinators’ contacts who were interested in organising exchanges online. More than 70 Rotary districts responded, which reflected the excitement about continuing the program despite travel restrictions. Due to these coordination efforts, a virtual exchanges were set with Brazil (District 4740) and Ukraine (District 2232) which included introduction of cultures, heritage, history, Rotary activities, and social initiatives of participating countries and clubs. Moreover, together with the District efforts clubs were also organizing virtual exchanges with their twin clubs individually involving activities such as cooking lessons.
Rotary opens up many opportunities, including the opportunity to change the world, by sharing different cultures, different experiences, and to grow friendships that know no borders – regardless of the form of participation. Participants of the program shared that the virtual experience was equally interesting and fun, gave great emotions for all, and was a memorable activity of the year at the club.
What are you doing to accommodate members with disabilities at your training events? According to the World Bank, about 1 billion people, or 15% of the world’s population, experience some form of disability. So it’s quite likely that there are members in your district who have one. What can you do to make your next training event accessible? Try these five tips:
Add captions to videos and turn them on during online training. This helps people who have hearing impairments know what the speaker is saying, and you can do it easily on YouTube and Zoom. Members who have cognitive issues may also be able to process the information more easily.
Make sure to have video transcripts available on request. That way, people with hearing or cognitive impairments can read the script and refer to it later if they need to. This can also help non-native speakers and anyone else who needs more time to process the content.
Use contrasting colors in your presentations or other visual content. Some people have difficulties distinguishing between certain colors. Make sure there’s sufficient contrast between the font and the background colors you’re using in presentations and other materials. You can review it at contrastchecker.com.
Choose your fonts carefully. For people who have cognitive issues like dyslexia, certain font types and colors may be distracting. Avoid using red, orange, and yellow, and use simple fonts, such as Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Tahoma, Times New Roman, and Verdana.
Use short paragraphs. This also helps people with cognitive issues process information.
Each year, Rotary supports the development of more than 350,000 young leaders through our youth programs. Now, we’re combining community service and learning objectives that empower young people to develop real-world leadership skills. This is service-learning, Rotary’s approach to youth service!
You can find interactive courses and downloadable workbooks about service-learning for both adult advisers and youth program participants who are 16 and older in Rotary’s Learning Center. Click the banner below to find out more.
Accountability and Inclusion: A DEI Webinar Series
Are you looking for materials on diversity, equity, and inclusion? Explore how Rotary supports our DEI Statement by reviewing these webinar recordings:
Downloading course materials from the Learning Center
If you download course materials from the Learning Center to your computer, you may likely find them in your Downloads folder — unless you’ve designated another folder for files you download from your browser. From there, you can open the files or move them to a folder of your choice.
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