banner
                 THE ROTARY CLUB OF CANTON, OHIO                                
                           VOLUME 34                                February 28, 2020
Stories
ANDREW MEYER FROM WKSU WILL SPEAK ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH
TOPIC:  "Let's talk about the responsibility of being a trusted local source of journalism.  This year, WKSU marks 70 years since it first went on the air, a long history of serving Northeast Ohio. WKSU has evolved over that time growing from one small transmitter in 1950 to five powerful transmitters and two translators (essentially small transmitters) connecting the people in the 22 counties the station reaches with the information they need.  Information comes in from a variety of sources including local reporting from a team of experienced WKSU journalists who live in the region and work every day to better understand and cover the stories that matter to our audience. We combine that with news from around the country and the world from NPR and a variety of other programming choices through four different programming streams that WKSU offers. Our goal, always, is to present balanced, thoughtful objective programming that’s engaged with our audience and helps them to better understand the world around them".
 
Andrew joined WKSU News in 2014.  He oversees the daily operations of the WKSU news department and its reporters and hosts, coordinates daily coverage, and serves as editor.  His commitment is to help foster reporting that marks the best of what public radio has to offer:  a mix of first-rate journalism with great storytelling. His responsibilities also include long-term strategic planning for news coverage in Northeast Ohio that serves WKSU’s audience via on-air, online, by social media and through emerging technologies.  Andrew also serves as a back-up local host for Morning Edition, Here and Now and All Things Considered.
 
Before joining the staff of WKSU, Andrew was assistant news director at WBGO-FM in Newark, NJ. Along with his management duties there, he also anchored afternoon drive time news, reported on local and regional stories and hosted a monthly call-in program with then-Newark Mayor Cory Booker, among others. Prior to joining the staff at WBGO in 1998, he worked as a freelance reporter/producer in the New York metropolitan area. He was also a stringer for a number of networks including NPR, ABC Radio and AP Radio.
 
During his time at WKSU, the station's newsroom has been honored with dozens of awards from Ohio Associated Press Media Editors, Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards, the Ohio chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, Public Radio News Directors Inc. (PRNDI), RTDNA Edward R. Murrow Awards. Andrew himself has been recognized with a number of awards, including, nationally, from PRNDI and, in the New Jersey/New York area, from the New Jersey Associated Press Broadcasters Association, the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and others. He served twice as president of the New Jersey Associated Press Broadcasters Association.  He is currently a member of the board of the Akron Press Club.
 
Andrew was born in Louisville, KY, and holds the commission of Colonel in the Honorable Order of  Kentucky Colonels. He and his family now live in Hudson.
 
 
 
Read more...
LUNCHEON MENU & ASSIGNMENT FOR FEB. 28TH
CHICKEN POT PIE
OVER BISQUITS
SALAD BAR W/TUNA SALAD
 
SPEAKER CHAIR - MARK CLENDENIN
INVOCATOR - JEFF SCOTT
GREETER LEADER - KURT GOODENBERGER
 
 
Read more...
NEW MEMBER PUBLICATION
During the Executive Board meeting on Tuesday, February 18, 2020, the Board approved the following Membership First and Second Time Readings:
 
RACHEL COWLEY
  -  Stark Federal Credit Union
  -  Classification:  Community Banking
  -  Sponsor - Mark Rojek
 
 
JEFF GRAHAM
  -  Canton City Schools
  -  Classification:  School Admin/Superintendent
  -  Sponsor:  Mark Clendenin
 
 
ASUNTA (SUE) MARZANO
  -  American Electric Power
  -  Classification:  Electric Power - Energy Management
  -  Sponsor:  Tim Furbay
 
 
If there are any objections, they must be received in writing at the Rotary office within seven (7) days.
 
 
 
Read more...
MEMBERSHIP REPORT UPDATE & UPCOMING SPEAKERS
During the Tuesday, February 18, 2020 Executive Board meeting, there were no requests for resignations, status change or leave of absence.
 
 
The following Monthly programs were approved for the month of March:
 
 
 
3/06/20:  Jeff Graham - Superintendent - Canton City Schools - State of the Schools, Vision, Mission
3/13/20:  Kelly Viscount - Love Our Community
3/20/20:  Dave Ewing - Paul Harris Fellow Recognition
3/27/20:  Lori McCleese - Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio
 
 
 
 
Read more...
DISTRICT 6650 CONFERENCE SCHEDULED FOR MAY 16, 2020
 Save the date…..
 
 
 
 
May 16, 2020, will be the District 6650 Conference held at the Kent Conference Center in Jackson Township! This assembly of clubs will be an event you will not want to miss. District 6650 Governor Dan Morgan is asking all club members, their spouses/partners, family, friends and neighbors to attend the District Conference this year. This action-packed day will start at 9:30 AM and end at 8:30 PM.
 
Registration is now open. Registering prior to March 15th will give you the Early-Bird price!  Please follow this LINK to view some of the details for this year's District Conference. To register click on the "Register Now" at the bottom left hand side of the page to access registration.         
 
 
 
Read more...
HERE ARE THE CANDIDATES FOR THE 2020-2021 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Board of Directors has nominated the following Rotarians for possible election to the Board for the term starting in the next Rotary year. The candidates are Jon Adland, Wilbur Allen, Paul Hervey and David Roberts.  Election of the Board members for the next Rotary year will be held at the March 20, 2020, meeting.
 
The officers for the 2020-2021 Rotary year are:  President - Drew Pelger;  President Elect - Mark Clendenin;  Vice President - Julia Dick; Treasurer - Tom Clevenger;  Secretary - Paula Mastroianni;  Assistant Secretary - Bruce Hale;  Sergeant-at-Arms - Robert K. Matthews; Parliamentarian - Bob Pattison; Assistant Parliamentarian - Dave Ewing.
 
JON ADLAND
Jon Adland --  Recently retired as Rabbi of Temple Israel. College & Major: Washington University in St. Louis, Jewish Studies and Psychology. Jon has been a member of Canton Rotary for 7 years. His Rotary involvement  consists of chairman of the Invocation committee and chairman of the Domestic Violence Center project. Other Board Directorships/Offices held: Board member of Jobs and Family Services, Canton; Chair of Board of Trustees of Thanksgiving Baskets, Downtown Canton; Board member of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio; Board Member - Coming Together Stark County; Chair of Clergy Advisory Board of Planned Parenthood Federation of America; President, Planned Parenthood of the Bluegrass; served on the United Way Boards in Lexington, KY and here in Canton; President, Great Lakes Ohio Valley of Reform Rabbis; Central Conference of American Rabbis Executive Committee; Gleaners Food Bank Board member; President of the Race and Cultural Relations Leadership Network, Indianapolis; plus many other community service positions.
 
 
WILBUR ALLEN
Wilbur Allen -- Pastor at All Saints Temple; Mount Union - BA in Accounting, and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary - M. Div.; Wilbur has been a member of Canton Rotary for the past nine months. Wilbur has served as a Rotary volunteer for the Golf Outing and Oktoberfest. Other Board Directorships/Offices held: Canton City Board of Education, past Board Member of Coming Together Stark County. 
 
 
 
 
 
PAUL HERVEY
Paul Hervey -- Self employed attorney - formerly with Day Ketterer. College & Major: Franklin and Marshall College, BA in Government and Economics; Case Western Reserve University, JD. Paul has been a member of Canton Rotary for one year. Rotary involvement: Volunteer, Oktoberfest; committee member, Military Families Resource Center. Other Board Directorships/Offices held: currently Treasurer, Canton Jewish Community Federation; founder and president, Perry Youth Basketball; founder, Perry Chess Club; member, Finance, Publications, and Family Law committees of the Stark County Bar Association. Previous Board involvement: Board of Governors, Ohio State Bar Association; President, Tuscarawas County Bar Association; President and Treasurer, Temple Israel Brotherhood; Treasurer, Temple Israel.
 
 
DAVID ROBERTS
David Roberts -- Currently serves as Vice President - Senior Relations Manager for Farmers National Bank. College & Major: Kent State BBA - Finance; then the University of Akron - MBA Finance. David has been a member of the following Rotary Clubs: Lake Township from 1991-93; Canton Rotary from 1993-2007; Rotary Club of Dover from 2009-2011; back to the Rotary Club of Canton for the past 8 years. David's Canton Rotary involvement consists of the Philomatheon Society Annual Picnic; Salvation Army Holiday Kettles; Endowment Fund Committee; tutored in volunteerism by Canton Rotarian Gary Zink, with "Guns off the Street". David is a Paul Harris Fellow. David was a Rotary Exchange Student in 1977 from Rhodesia (nka Zimbabwe), living with Canton Rotarian Don Coen (deceased) and his family.  David is currently the Secretary of the Beacon Charitable Pharmacy and is on the Board of Canton Ballet.
 
 
Read more...
FEBRUARY CHARACTER COUNTS SCHOLARSHIP CHAMPS RECOGNIZED
During the February 21, 2020 meeting, the February Character Count Scholarship recipients from McKinley High School were recognized, Trenton Eaves and Bonsai Freeman.  Canton Rotarian Mike Brown, Executive Director of the Eric Snow Family Center YMCA and the "Character Counts" leader, introduced the students and read the qualifications of each student, provided by the teachers or counselors who nominated them. 
 
 
TRENTON EAVES
Trenton Eaves is a multitalented actor and speaker. He has had the lead roles in several musicals and plays at McKinley and has also had lead roles in local community theater productions. A member of NHS and the McKinley Scholar Institute, he is president of the McKinley Speech Team. He is the 2020 Canton OSDA (Ohio Speech & Debate Association) District Champion in Humorous Interpretation. In addition, Trent is a student who represents the pride of McKinley. He is heavily involved in a variety of committees, organizations, musicals, speech competitions, and other activities. Trent has a special love for C.A.S.T, which is a nationally recognized service organization, an organization he has proudly served for the last four years. He holds a 4.0 GPA and maintains a rigorous schedule. Trent has been the face of many of McKinley's most revered productions and honors. Trent hopes to attend Kent State University to pursue a major in musical theatre. Congratulations Trent on this well-deserved honor. 
 
 
BONSAI FREEMAN
Bonsai is a humanitarian and an activist. Bonsai exhibits qualities that any instructor or program appreciates: enthusiasm, work ethic, and preparedness. She is always willing to volunteer and complete any given task. Bonsai embodies the spirit of community. She's kind, she listens and she helps those around her. Bonsai volunteers for outreach and special projects, and seeks to represent the community and school at various conferences. This is not just to add to her resume, but to truly speak up and speak out for important causes.
 
Bonsai is a talented musician, actor, and speaker. As well as being a three-year member of the McKinley Band system and member of National Honor Society, Bonsai has had leading roles in several school musicals. She is an alternate to the 2019 National Speech Finals and is the 2020 Canton OSDA District Champion in Original Oratory. Bonsai is a truly amazing person, who will do amazing things in the future. Congratulations Bonsai!
 
 
Read more...
INTERACT CLUB PROJECT "HUMANE SOCIETY DONATION DRIVE"
 
Rotarian Jennie George, Chairwoman of the Canton Rotary Interact Club, informed the members on Friday about the Interact Club's project, "Humane Society Donation Drive".  Between February 14 - March 5th the Interact students will be accepting donations for the Humane Society. To view the flyer with the requested donation items needed and information pertaining to this event, please follow this LINK
 
Here are some donation items needed:
  • Cat Litter
  • Dry Dog Food
  • Canned Dog Food
  • Dry Cat Food
  • Canned Cat Food
  • Dry Puppy Food
  • Dry Kitty Food
**You may bring your donations for this project to this week's Rotary meeting! (02/28).
 
If you need further information you may email Jonathan Cordes at cordes_j@ccsdistrict.org or contact Rotarian Jennie George at (330) 268-2196.
 
Read more...
PHILOMATHEON SOCIETY OF THE BLIND TO HAVE FUNDRAISER AT TAGGART'S ICE CREAM PARLOR!
During the meeting on February 14, 2020, Rotarian Steve Fettman informed the members of the upcoming fundraiser to benefit the Philomatheon Society of the Blind. This event will take place on Tuesday, April 7, 2020, from 11 am - 10 pm at Taggarts Ice Cream located at 1401 Fulton Rd. N.W., Canton. 
 
A percentage of each sale will be donated to the Philomatheon Society of the Blind. Don't miss your chance to help this worthwhile cause while enjoying great food and possibly a Bittner (yum!) or other Taggart's home-made ice cream for dessert!
 
Read more...
THIS SATURDAY 2/29 PRESIDENT ELECT DREW TAKES THE "POLAR BEAR PLUNGE"!!
HE NEEDS JUST $300 TO REACH HIS GOAL! NOT TOO LATE TO HELP!
OMG, Canton Rotarians! Thanks to your generosity (and with a SPECIAL THANKS to the anonymous Rotarian who graciously offered to match any recent donation up to a total of $1,000), pledges to PE Drew's Canton Rotary Charitable Fund Drive now stand at $11,705.24!! Drew's stated goal is $12.000.00, so we are JUST $294.76 SHORT! (Editor's note: I'll personally cover the $0.76 if you folks cover the rest!) 
 
Even prior to getting this close to goal, PE Drew stuck by his commitment and registered for the 17th Annual Polar Bear Jump, to be held at 2:00 PM THIS SATURDAY, February 29, 2020.
 
Let's give Drew that EXTRA INCENTIVE to freeze his EARS off! If you haven't donated yet, or feel extra generous, please contact the Rotary office if you want to HELP PUSH DREW INTO THE LAKE, or 'over the top', as it were. 
 
Location for Drew's PLUNGE is the Portage Lakes State Park Swim Beach at 5031 Manchester Rd., Akron, Ohio 44319. He hopes to see you there! 
 
(BTW, it is the Canton Rotary Charitable Fund that allows our Club to support our community and local non-profits and organizations throughout the area each year.)
Read more...
SUPPORT CANTON ROTARY BOWLERS! JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT BOWL-A-THON THIS SATURDAY, MARCH 7TH!!
 
Our intrepid Canton Rotary team bowls THIS Saturday March 7th at Park Centre Lanes: Team Captain Shawn Dougherty, Bruce Schorsten, James Boggs, Drew Pelger, and President Mark Rojek.
 
 
SHAWN AND HIS TEAM WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOUR SUPPORT! Shawn will have donation slips at the meeting this week. In addition, each of our bowlers has their own donation page on the JA of North Central Ohio website, where you can make on-line donations. Feel free to contact each bowler or Shawn to get those links. As a quick alternative, you can go to this link to donate on the Canton Rotary Team page: 
 
 
Donations can be accepted until 3/27. 
 
Canton Rotary has supported Junior Achievement many years. JA brings business and professional people into local classrooms to mentor young people on money, business, and what it takes to get and keep a job. JA's mission ties in nicely with Rotary's emphasis on sharing vocational knowledge and enhancing the development of our young people. 
 
Read more...
WEEKLY MEETING NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
During the February 21, 2020 meeting, President Mark Rojek welcomed the 45 members and 13 guests to the meeting. 
 
The Invocation was given by Rotarian Alexandra Dowell.
 
Thank you to Greeters/Attendance/Piano for their service during the meeting:  Greeters: Kurt Goodenberger, PDG/PP Dave Ewing, Sam Shaheen; Attendance: Terri Barry; Piano Player: Bill Sparks.
 
Congratulations to Rotarian Jerry Ortman for having the winning 50/50 ticket worth $30.00.
 
The following guests were in attendance at Friday's meeting: Guenevere Berrie, Manuel Halkias, Erica Stevenson, Bonsai Freeman, Anastasia Allison (McKinley Speech); Trenton Eaves, Robin Eaves, Nour Kelly, Victoria Phillips (McKinley Character Counts); Sue Marzano (guest of Tim Furbay); Tim Haverstock (guest of Steve Fettman); John Woston (guest of Alex Dowell); Dallas Godfrey (guest of Mark Rojek).
 
 
Rotarian Mike Brown then came to the podium to introduce the February Character Count Champs, Trenton Eaves and Bonsai Freeman (see story above).
 
 
 
 
President Mark introduced Rotarian Jeff Scott, Chairman of the Four-Way Speech Contest. Jeff welcomed everyone to the Four-Way Speech contest and provided the members with the rules for the contestants to follow. He then introduced the judges for the competition, PP Virginia Neutzling, Paul Feaser and President Elect Drew Pelger. Each contestant was alotted  3 to 7 minutes to present their speech. As the judges tabulated the scores, the McKinley Speech coach, Manuel Halkias, updated the members on what has been happening with the speech team, provided an update on his personal health story, and shared how he is now cancer free after battling Stage 4 cancer. Jeff Scott presented Manuel a check in the amount of $100.00 from the Rotary Club of Canton, to support of the McKinley Speech and Debate team. *Pictured left to right: Erica, Bonsai, Jeff Scott, Anastasia, Guenevere.
 
The Four-Way Test Speech contest finished with this order ~ 1st place:  Guenevere Berrie (pictured); 2nd place: Anastasia Allison; 3rd place: Erica Stevenson; 4th place: Bonsai Freeman. Guenevere will represent the Rotary Club of Canton at the District Speech competition on April 4th at the Fairways in North Canton!
 
 
 
 
President Mark concluded the meeting by informing the members of next week's speaker, Andrew Meyer from WKSU.
 
The following will receive a makeup for attending the Executive Board meeting held on Tuesday, February 18, 2020:  President Mark Rojek, President Elect Drew Pelger, Vice President Mark Clendenin, Secretary Julia Dick, Treasurer Tom Clevenger and Assistant Secretary Paula Mastroianni.
 
The following will receive a makeup for attending the Oktoberfest Committee meeting held on Wednesday, February 19, 2020:  Raquel Raderchak, Mark Rojek, Alex Dowell, Drew Pelger and Dennis Dent.
Read more...
UPCOMING EVENTS
 
Please mark your calendar for these upcoming events:
 
   -  Junior Achievement Bowl-A-Thon - Mar 7
   -  Health Screen & Wellness - Saturday, May 2, 2020
   -  District Conference - Kent State Stark - May 16, 2020
Speakers
Mar 06, 2020
"State of the Schools, Vision, Mission"; Invocator - TBD
Mar 13, 2020
Invocator - Bruce Schorsten
Mar 20, 2020
Invocator - Tim Furbay
Mar 27, 2020
North Central Ohio; Invocator - Mark Clendenin
View entire list
Russell Hampton
ClubRunner
ClubRunner Mobile