Robert L. Hall, president and founder of the Affinity Advisor Network, Llc., is a highly motivated and experienced entrepreneur that has proven himself as an extraordinary visionary with the innate ability to cultivate inspiring ideas.
Robert founded the Affinity Advisory Network to be a holistic, full service estate planning company.
Robert is a Certified Retirement Financial Advisor. He currently holds his Life and Health Insurance License, Property and Casualty Insurance License, and Viatical Settlement Brokers License. Robert has also completed course work for the Series 65 License and is working toward his Charted Financial Consultant Designation. Additionally Robert has completed course work in Retirement Planning, Social Security and Medicare, Ohio Long Term Care, Long Term Care Needs and Solutions, Programs Policies and Partnerships, Enhanced Ethics with Fair Credit, NAIC, Suitability in Annuity Transactions Model Regulations, and Retirement Income Planning.
It is with great sadness we must post the passing of longtime Canton Rotarian, Melvin A. Lazarus, on March 9, 2019. Mel was a member of the Rotary Club of Canton for the past 53 years and was a Paul Harris Fellow.
Please see Mel's obituary below which was posted in the Canton Repository on March 10, 2019.
Melvin A. Lazarus (1924-2019)
Melvin A. Lazarus passed away peacefully at 94 in his home surrounded by his family on Saturday morning, March 9, 2019. Born in Canton, Ohio on August 15, 1924, Mel served his country, community, and temple and was a wonderful family man. He graduated Lehman High School in 1942, where he was a National Honor Society member. In 1942, Mel enlisted in the Army Air Corps, where he served in Army Airways Communications, Graphics Security, and the Army of Occupation in the Philippines and Japan until 1946. He was discharged from reserve duty with the rank of captain.
He earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Lehigh University in 1948, graduating with honors. Following his college graduation, he worked for family-owned businesses, Ohio Battery & Ignition Company and Lobic Supply, for forty-five years. In 1993, in his late 60s, Mel began a second career working in life insurance and retirement planning with Sirak Financial Companies. He never retired because he loved to stay active with his career and enjoyed working with both his colleagues and clients. He continued to work until just weeks before his passing.
Mel was preceded in death by his parents, Leon and Jennie Lazarus, and his daughter Joan Lazarus Martino. He is survived by the love of his life, his wife Elaine, of 69 years. Mel and Elaine traveled extensively over the years, including golf trips, cruises, and international vacations. Mel is also survived by his son, Dr. Robert A. Lazarus of Millbrae, CA, daughter-in-law Mary H. Lazarus, and grandson, Daniel A. Lazarus. He is also survived by son-in-law, Ron Martino of North Canton, OH and granddaughter Dr. Allison J. Martino of Portland, ME.
A lifelong resident of Canton, Mel was active in several community organizations, including the American Red Cross where he served two terms as Chairman, Jr. Chamber of Commerce, Temple Israel where he served as Vice President and Treasurer and Temple Israel Men's Club where he served as President and Treasurer. Mel was also a member of the Canton YMCA for twenty-five years and the Canton Rotary Club for over fifty years. He was an active fund raiser for these and other community organizations including the United Jewish Appeal and Stark County United Way. Mel was an avid golfer, and a Charter Member of Arrowhead Country Club, where he was twice club champion runner up. He enjoyed playing golf for most of his life, and continued to play into his 90s where he would often score under his age. We are grateful for the care and compassion from Dr. Asfoura, Dr. Fayen, Dr. Hirsch and Dr. Lichtin as well the staff at Mercy Hospice.
Family and friends may call Tuesday, March 12, 2019 from 4-6 PM at Arnold Funeral Home in Canton. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 11 AM at Temple Israel in Canton, followed by a short service at North Lawn Cemetery and then a luncheon at Temple Israel. Donations can be made in Mel's honor and memory at Temple Israel or the charity of your choice.
Nominations for Rotarian of the Year Award Are Now Being Accepted
As is our tradition, we are now inviting all Canton Rotarians to nominate a fellow Rotarian to be recognized as Rotarian of the Year. Please take a moment to think of a person that you feel personifies the ideals of our club. Nominations require submission of a completed nomination form, which provides the criteria used to evaluate this important award. The deadline to submit your nomination is March 15, 2019.
Please keep in mind that current Officers of the Club (Michelle Mullaly, Mark Rojek, Drew Pelger, Suzette Matthews, Tom Clevenger) along with the past Award winners (PP Paul White, Dale Holwick - deceased, PP Mike Gregorek, PDG/PP Bob Pattison, PDG/PP Dave Ewing, PP Dan Matthews and Steve Fettman) are not eligible. All nominations will be kept confidential and we ask that you do the same. The award winner will be announced at an upcoming Rotary meeting.
You may download the Nomination Form here and email to info@cantonrotary.org or pick one up at the March 15th meeting.
Completed forms may be returned to the Canton Rotary office (116 Cleveland Ave. N.W., Suite 307, Canton, OH 44702), emailed to info@cantonrotary.org, or brought to a Friday meeting and given to Vice President Drew Pelger. Help us recognize those who have made our club the great club that it is!
At the meeting last week, Four Way Test Chairman Jeff Scott welcomed the speech contestants and named Rotarians Gary Sirak, PP Virginia Neutzling and PP Amanda Tietze as judges for the competition. Results were as follows:
1st place and winner of $150.00 - Averi Allison
2nd place and winner of $100.00 - Guenevere Berrie
3rd place and winner of $50.00 - Bonsai Freeman
Averi will represent the Rotary Club of Canton in the District Four Way Speech Contest on April 6, 2019 at the Fairways at Arrowhead. The Rotary Club of Canton donated $100.00 to the McKinley Speech and Debate Team, with President Michelle Mullaly presenting the check to McKinley Speech Coach Manuel Halkias at the February 22, 2019 Rotary meeting. *Editor's note - The speech competition took place on February 22, 2019 with two competitors, Guenevere Berrie and Bonsai Freeman. The third competitor, Averi Allison, was on a college visit that day. She presented her speech during the March 8, 2019 meeting.
Good luck to Averi at the District competition! When results of the District competition are known, we will let you know how Averi did.
On Saturday March 2, a crack team of Canton Rotarians participated in the 2019 Junior Achievement of East Central Ohio Bowl-A-Thon (BAT) Rotary Challenge: Shawn Daugherty, Vice-President Drew Pelger, James Boggs, President -Elect Mark Rojek. PP Dan Matthews (who only rolled one practice ball, choosing to participate via his avatar/ringer, Richard Gano) and PP Rick Taylor.
The goal of the BAT is to raise money for our local JA chapter to continue their work at teaching local students how to get and keep a job, how to start a business, and how to take care of their money.
The goals of the Canton Rotary BAT Team were to: 1) raise money for JA; 2) to knock down as many bowling pins as possible; 3) to have fun and maybe consume a few adult malt beverages; 4) to beat the Jackson Township Rotary in total money raised and total bowling score. Oh, and goal #5, to make sure no one was seriously injured, at least not permanently!
All missions were accomplished with the exception of beating Jackson Rotary. Their last-minute (and, dare I say, desperate) ploy to pledge a $1,000 donation from their club to JA put them over the top.
Needless to say, a good time was had by all, and all Canton Rotarians are invited to participate next year, when the competition promises to heat up among the local Rotary Clubs.
Mark your calendars now: the 2020 JA Bowl-A-Thon will take place on Saturday March 7, 2020 at Park Centre Lanes. Contact Junior Achievement Committee chair Rick Taylor if you're interested.
The Rotary office received a "Thank You" card dated February 25, 2019, from the Secretary of the Memorial Ministry Task Team at Faith United Methodist Church. The card reads:
"To acknowledge your Memorial Gift in memory of Jack Baker. This memorial contribution has been directed to the Faith United Methodist Church's Community Assistance Ministry."
Mark your calendar for the Rotary Club of Canton's upcoming Semi- Annual Health Screen & Wellness Fair scheduled for Saturday, April 27, 2019, from 7 am - 11 am! The event will once again be held at the Mercy Hall Auditorium located at 1320 Mercy Drive, Canton.
Registration will be open at a later date, but in the meantime, we are providing you with the opportunity to print the flyer for this event and display at your business or give to family and friends. Let's get the word out in advance to help promote this event to the public!
Please follow this LINK to print the flyer for the April 27, 2019 event.
Mark your calendar for the upcoming District Conference! This year District 6650 will be joining District 6690 in a joint event at the Hilton Polaris in Columbus, OH on April 12-13, 2019.
Registration is now open for 2019 Better Together, District 6650 & 6690 Joint District Conference.
The 2019 Better Together, District Conference Committee has been working hard to bring you a one-of-a-kind experience.
We are excited to welcome Past RI President KR Ravi Ravindran from Sri Lanka as our Keynote Speaker for the All-Club Lunch on Friday. Other highlights of the Conference are:
House of Friendship – Meet fellow Rotarians from all around Eastern Ohio. Discover great new service projects to bring back to your home club. Enjoy entertainment and activities while making new friends.
RO-Talks – TED Talks for Rotary. Learn from Rotarians and Non-Rotarians about inspiring projects and ideas to enhance your Rotary experience.
Workshops – A wide selection of workshops are offered to inform and educate. Everything from Active Shooter Preparedness and Building a Stronger Club to Diversity, Adversity and Inclusion. You might even want to check out the Mystery Workshop with DG Scott and DG Craig, it will be fun, fun, fun!
Morning of Service – Attendees will join with over 70 Youth Exchange Students for Hands-On service projects. Packing meals for 3rd world countries and cutting old denim to be made into shoes for Ugandans are among the projects planned.
Caribbean Dinner and Dance Party – Relax and be entertained by the Canal Winchester High School Steel Drum Band while you enjoy cocktails and dinner. Then, we will dance to the sounds of Shakin’ and Stirred Live Band. Be sure to wear your Island Attire!
At the Friday, March 8, 2019, Rotary meeting, President Michelle Mullaly welcomed 49 members and 4 guests to the the meeting.
Rotarian Bill Maddox provided the Invocation for the meeting.
Congratulations to President Elect Mark Rojek for having the winning 50/50 ticket worth $46.00.
Secretary Suzette Matthews welcomed the following guests to the meeting: Kitty Burgett (McKinley Speech and Debate Assistant Coach); Guinevere Berrie and Averi Allison (Four Way Speech Contestants); Alex Dowell (guest of Stephanie Werren).
The "Happy News" was provided by the following:
PP Dan Matthews - to celebrate that he and his wife, Suzette, survived a car accident on Sunday, March 3rd. He is grateful to be here and be alive!
President Elect Mark Rojek - in thanks for Dan and Suzette surviving their car accident;
Bruce Schorsten - to wish McKinley and GlenOak girls basketball teams good luck in the playoffs;
President Michelle Mullaly - in celebration of her son getting a paid internship in Florida.
The meeting started with Four Way Test Speech Chairman Jeff Scott welcoming the final contestant, Averi Allison, to the podium to give her speech. Averi had been on a college visit on February 22, 2019, when the other contestants provided their speeches. See the results in the article above.
Past President Rick Taylor then came to the podium to provide an update and a power point our club's team in the Junior Achievement "Bowl-a-Thon" Rotary Challenge which took place on March 2, 2019. *Please see story above for all of the details pertaining to this event.
Golf Committee Co-Chair Bill Liber announced the first committee meeting for this year's annual golf outing, which is scheduled for June 28, 2019, was to take place immediately following the conclusion of the Rotary meeting. If you were unable to stay for the meeting and are interested in volunteering, please contact Bill or the Rotary office.
Vice President Drew Pelger then announced that nomination forms for this year's "Rotarian of the Year" would be available during that day's meeting and the March 15th meeting. Each Rotarian has the opportunity to nominate ONE individual they believe has the qualities for this award. Please keep your nomination private. If you are unable to attend a meeting to cast your vote, you may go to the website and download a ballot. Nomination deadline is Friday, March 15, 2019. The ballots will then be tabulated and the top three "vote getters" will be announced in the Rotogram. Members will then have an opportunity to vote for one of these three candidates. The new "Rotarian of the Year" will be announced and recognized at an upcoming meeting. **You cannot vote for any of the Executive Board members -- President Michelle Mullaly, President Elect Mark Rojek, Vice President Drew Pelger, Secretary Suzette Matthews, Treasurer Tom Clevenger OR any past winner -- Paul White, Dale Holwick (deceased), Mike Gregorek, Bob Pattison, Dave Ewing, Dan Matthews or Steve Fettman.
President Elect Mark Rojek then took the opportunity to discuss a new category of membership, "Organizational Membership". Canton Rotarians are encouraged to use this new tool to recruit potential new members. A list of possible targets for Organizational Membership was provided. See Mark or Membership Chair PP Dan Matthews for more information.
President Michelle concluded the meeting with the following announcements:
next week's speaker will be Robert Hall from Affiinity Advisory Network;
reminder if you would like to volunteer for this year's Annual Golf Outing, please remember to stay after for the committee meeting.
The following will receive a makeup for attending the Golf committee meeting held on Friday, March 8, 2019: Co-Chair Bill Liber, Terri Barry, Bruce Schorsten, Co-Chair Brad Carpenter and PP Rick Taylor.
The following turned in makeups during Friday's meeting: Jerry Ortman (3-Plain).
Robert L. Hall, president and founder of the Affinity Advisor Network, Llc., is a highly motivated and experienced entrepreneur that has proven himself as an extraordinary visionary with the innate ability to cultivate inspiring ideas.
Melvin A. Lazarus (1924-2019).jpg)
Averi will represent the Rotary Club of Canton in the District Four Way Speech Contest on April 6, 2019 at the Fairways at Arrowhead. The Rotary Club of Canton donated $100.00 to the McKinley Speech and Debate Team, with President Michelle Mullaly presenting the check to McKinley Speech Coach Manuel Halkias at the February 22, 2019 Rotary meeting. *Editor's note - The speech competition took place on February 22, 2019 with two competitors, Guenevere Berrie and Bonsai Freeman. The third competitor, Averi Allison, was on a college visit that day. She presented her speech during the March 8, 2019 meeting.
On Saturday March 2, a crack team of Canton Rotarians participated in the 2019 Junior Achievement of East Central Ohio Bowl-A-Thon (BAT) Rotary Challenge: Shawn Daugherty, Vice-President Drew Pelger, James Boggs, President -Elect Mark Rojek. PP Dan Matthews (who only rolled one practice ball, choosing to participate via his avatar/ringer, Richard Gano) and PP Rick Taylor. 
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The Rotary office received a "Thank You" card dated February 25, 2019, from the Secretary of the Memorial Ministry Task Team at Faith United Methodist Church. The card reads:
Mark your calendar for the Rotary Club of Canton's upcoming Semi- Annual Health Screen & Wellness Fair scheduled for Saturday, April 27, 2019, from 7 am - 11 am! The event will once again be held at the Mercy Hall Auditorium located at 1320 Mercy Drive, Canton..png){kind=spacer}
At the Friday, March 8, 2019, Rotary meeting, President Michelle Mullaly welcomed 49 members and 4 guests to the the meeting.
