HAPPY BUCKS:

Sgt-at-Arms Erich Eggers collected Happy Bucks for A Day of Caring. It gives health aid to the homeless, providing day-to-day basics, such as personal hygiene objects. They do a pancake breakfast as an annual fund-raiser and also help with clothing and temporary shelter if needed.

Rand Oliver reminded us of the things A Day of Caring does.

For his Happy Bucks he gave for retiring again...though he said he had a meeting with a gentleman this very afternoon to discuss a possible job offer that would take him to Montreal, Canada. 

Don Stewart, in giving his Happy Bucks, said his wife had asked him what he would like for dinner tonight and he had settled on a pork tenderloin, since he hadn't had any pork for a long time...and lo and behold, our meal today included a large pork chop, so he was just sending a picture of the lunch to his wife to let her know he did not need another pork dinner at home tonight.

Jeff Senney contributed $100 to the Happy Bucks, which he said he intended to add to the Operation Coats project, but since that has now concluded, the club can use it for whatever purpose it needs, he said.

Brian Hayes and many others gave for the Day of Caring, and Frank Perez said he gave his Happy Bucks for getting to take his yellow ribbon off his badge. Carrie Lifer, a bit later, claimed she has gotten attached to the yellow ribbon on her badge and wouldn't mind wearing it a bit longer. 

Members gave Happy Bucks for our guest and speaker DG Mike Kelly, of the Mason-Deerfield Rotary, and for Assistant DG Greg Birkemeyer, of the Dayton Rotary, and for just being happy.

Kitty Ullmer gave for her niece in Panama City Beach, Fla., giving birth to Ethan Fletcher Crews, an 8 lb. 3 oz., 20-inch long baby boy at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 5. It brings the Candace and Tim Crews family to six children.

Jim Briggs gave his Happy Bucks for missing three meetings and Doc Hoback gave some Happy Bucks for the meetings he will miss taking his grandchildren to Disney World.

Brad Thorp gave three dollars, thanking the Bulletin editor (me, Kitty) for my work in keeping the members informed of what's been happening, especially when they might be absent. The group gave a round of applause, which was very inspiring, and I thank them for bringing so much to the club to write about and make this bulletin interesting and at times bring a bit of laughter our way. Keep the stories coming.

Ray Werz held up a roll of pennies and noted that the last time the Cincinnati Reds lost 98 games at Crosley field he gave 98 pennies for all the games they lost. This time they only lost 94 times, he said, so his roll of pennies was just 94 cents. 

Drew (Andrew) Carter gave $20 in Happy Bucks to promote a performance by Musica, a 25-year old Dayton chamber music choir, at 7 p.m. Oct. 22. The program will include songs from the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation, the British Monarchy, Apartheid, and songs from the American Revolution. The cost is $12 at the door, The concert is about an hour and a half to two hours, including narration, Drew said. Another performance is at 3 p.m. Oct.23. After that there will be a concert Dec. 10 at Weaver Chapel at Wittenberg. You can talk to Drew to find out more info on additional concerts.

Mike Weir said he was happy to see six full tables of Rotary members two weeks in a row. That's 60 members, almost a full crew. 

Kim Senft-Paras mentioned our exchange student and Arnie Biondo gave for the new members' ribbons coming off. Peachy gave because "I get my Peachy on every week."

Carrie Lifer also thanked me for keeping the members informed, and noted she has just three more weeks....before the baby comes?  I'm guessing that was what she was referring to...She said the DDN insert for the Pancake Breakfast is about ready. Lots going on in her life...where she gets the name, maybe.

Erich Eggers gave because he's Happy...and has the granddaughters this week.

SPEAKER: Mike Kelly, District 6670 Governor, with Mason-Deerfield Rotary, seen in picture below.

 

President Ron Hollenbeck introduced our DG Mike Kelly, noting that he is a member of the Mason-Deerfield Rotary Club and holds multiple Paui Harris Fellow awards. He is on the board of trustees of Mars Hill University in N. Carolina where he got his B.A. in Business Administration and also holds a Masters in Business Administration from Webster University, where he was recognized as the Outstanding Graduate Student.

According to an Internet Web site on our current District Governor: 

Mike Kelly has been a member of the Rotary Club of Mason Deerfield since 1998. He served as President in 2010- 2011. In addition to other club leadership roles, he served as Vice Chair of the club Foundation. At the district level, he has served as an Assistant Governor and on various committees. One of his Rotary moments involves traveling to Nicaragua as a member of a club humanitarian project team. Mike is passionate about personal and organizational leadership and the importance of education in alleviating poverty.

Mike is a talented and performance-focused leader with over 25 years of experience in diverse industries and functions. He has a wealth of expertise with particular strengths in the areas of operations, human resources, finance, sales and project management. Currently, Mike serves as a Vice President with Macy’s Inc. Mike leads the learning and development function for the Credit and Customer Services business unit of Macy’s. In addition to his role with Macy’s, Mike owns and operates a private consulting and coaching firm, Right Path Enterprises.

In addition to his executive career and his work with Rotary, Mike participates on a few community related boards of directors. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees and as a member of the Campaign Steering Committee for his alma mater, Mars Hill University. Mike was recently recognized as Mars Hill’s 2014 Alumnus of the Year. He also serves as a board member for the Music Festival Association of Cincinnati, which sponsors May Festival, one of the oldest and most prestigious choral festivals in the Western Hemisphere. Additionally, he recently concluded a six-year board and executive committee term with the Southwest Ohio Region Workforce Investment Board.

Mike and his wife, Melinda, have been married for 28 years. They are native South Carolinians, who have been residents of Mason, OH since 1997. They have two children. Mike and Melinda enjoy serving their community, listening to music, reading, exercising, investing and traveling to new and exciting places.

Mike began his presentation by saying his favorite quote is one by author Lewis Carroll

 

“One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth the doing is what we do for others.”

 Mike said he would speak about three areas of Rotary: Membershiip, Community Service, and the Rotary Foundation.

 Membership is a number one priority, and besides getting new members, retaining members, and getting past members to return to the club, should be our goal, he said. For a presidential citation a number of goals have been set. Clubs with 50 or less members should have a net gain of one member and those with 51 or more members should have a net gain of two members a year. A diversity of age and race should be included. Members should invite a past member back, he said (Ann Blackburn has been good at doing this for our club).

 Mike told of how he became a Rotarian, not knowing what one was until he went looking for a job and the man told him at the end of his interview that he would make a great Rotarian "I had no idea what a Rotarian was," he said, but the man, Bob Williams, invited him to join Rotary in May of 1998. Williams is now 90 and has become a great mentor and friend, he said. "Share your Rotary story," he advised. "Share your Rotary moment. Somebody changed my life."

 The people in the community need to be made aware of the things Rotary does to improve the community and world, he said. Public relations is important to keep Rotary alive and vital. A new generation has to be brought into Rotary and become leaders. We need to find ways to let people know about Rotary. The Social Media and Facebook are important in today's world, he said. "More and more people go on-line."

We need local media to cover our events, he said. We need ways to connect with other non-profits, corporations, organizations, etc., he said. This helps to leverage our resources. 

 Mike said he learned a neighbor's father had been a Rotarian, and the daughter had attended functions but never knew women could be a part of Rotary now. "We need more leaders," he said. "Service Above Self, that's what leadership is about," he said. If you think you are a leader and look back and see that no one's following you," you'd better think again, he said. 

 Leadership has to be developed and can be with such things as the Leadership Institute, the Four-Way Speech Contest, Rotary leadership programs like R.Y.L.A., Rotaract and Interact, he said. 

 The Rotary Foundation began in 1917 with the small group of business men in Chicago and a donation of $26.50. The Foundation now has $3 billion, with $1 billion in assets, he said. 

  To celebrate the 100th year of the Rotary Foundation there will be a meeting at the Marriott in Mason  April 28-29 and the June International meeting in Atlanta. Bill Gates is still matching 2 for 1 donations with his Foundation, and Oct 24 is World Polio Day, Mike said. Nigeria is still in play in needing to get rid of Polio as a few cases have turned up there again, he said. In Nigeria and Nicaragua he has seen what it really means to grow up in poverty, he said. He said he is blessed and thankful to be able to serve as the DG for Rotary.

Rotarians can do community service "wherever we are," he said. He concluded his presentation by repeating Lewis Carroll"s quote:

“One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth the doing is what we do for others.”

― Lewis Carroll

 

Seen below: Phil Raynes and Ann Blackburn speak with the DG Mike Kelly before meeting.

 

Phil Raynes also greeted Assistant DG Greg Birkemeyer at beginning of meeting.

 

 

The group ended the session by repeating Rotary's Four-Way Test together.