President Sofie Ameloot welcomed everyone to the Centerville Rotary Club and led the Pledge of Allegiance. PDG Harvey Smith provided the prayer, including a special prayer for Dick Hoback who will be having another surgery to help his back. Singing of God Bless America was led by Lee Hieronymus.
Quote of the day: "Not in doing what you like, but in doing what you do is the secret of happiness." J.M.Barrie (Scottish Novelist and Playwright)
Thanks to today’s greeters Dale Berry & Ron Hollenbeck.
Today’s announcements:
- Welcome to our guests: Sofie Ameloot’s daughter Noë and brother Frederick Ameloot visiting from Belgium, Arnie Biondo’s son, Peter, and Lee Hieronymus’s wife Bev.
- At this month’s Board meeting, $1,000 was approved for A Day for Youth which will fund one month of foster onboarding training. For our sponsorship, we received two tickets for the September 19 event and our logo on publicity. Sofie asked for someone to join her at the event.
- We submitted a request to the Miamisburg Club asking to use their pancake grills.
- Kelly McDonald reminded all to RSVP for the upcoming social at Sueño on August 29. He shared Rotary window clings he created at Creativity Commons which will help with the branding and visibility of Centerville Rotary. There will be a pot luck at Brad Huffman’s house in September.
- Arnie Biondo announced our club has 63 members now. In the last 6 months, we have had 17 guests but none have joined yet. He encouraged all to invite those guests back.
Rotary Means Business:
Kelly McDonald gave a glowing recommendation for Lisa Goris May. She took over handling the management of his properties and she’s doing a great job.
Happy Bucks this quarter are going to Operation Warm, providing winter coats to children in need.
Pat Beckel was our Sergeant at Arms with help from Brian Hayes.
Pat noted he had requested people share with him when Rotarians receive extra publicity (so he could fine them.) It was brought to his attention that a local decking company has a commercial running during the Olympics with his son, Duncan Beckel - Pat paid the appropriate fine!
Happy Bucks were generously given for:
- Pat - His son starts filming a movie in Cincinnati next week and he will be singing in the movie. It is an uplifting movie around the topic of teenage suicide.
- Ron for his birthday, and for family visiting from Delaware.
- Ray for missing a couple of weeks.
- Crissy said “Go USA!"
- Matt saw the Blue Angels in Pensacola.
- Arnie was happy to have Peter here and his daughter, Emily completed her second marathon last week.
- Peter shared he runs a Home and Hound sitting service if anyone has the need.
- Jackie was happy.
- Bill for today’s guests.
- Harvey bought 5 coats!
- Elda was happy to be with Harvey.
- Jim H for guests.
- Brad T for Harvey (“The lover boy.”)
- Chuck for guests.
- Uriah was sad the RecPlex suddenly lost their 25 year aquatics director, Melissa Moran. She was a wonderful person and will be missed.
- Wayne for guests and for Mike W who had to leave suddenly and we hope all is well.
- Carol will be gone for the next two weeks on a trip and then to help with her granddaughter, Elyse as she recovers from a tonsillectomy. Also, her granddaughter, Kaycee is ending the summer in a cast as she broke the growth plate in her wrist playing Chicken in the pool with her sister.
- Rand spent last weekend in Madison WI attending swim meets and a family reunion with 60 first cousins.
- Sofie for her guests/family, and noted Noë’s wedding went smoothly. Noë joked that the Mother of the bride was cranky :-)
- Lee gave thanks for Bev being here today. Since Sofie’s brother, Frederick came all the way from Belgium for a farm report, he did not want to disappoint. The rains we’re having now are very similar to last year (dry in June). But we may still have good harvest as we’re having rains now. (Note: Frederick got to visit Lee’s farm in the afternoon.)
- Noë was happy she got married, and was glad to see everyone. She said she feels she is half Rotarian since she was involved before her mother.
- Frederick was happy to meet everyone.
- Kelly was thrilled with our library resource that gives him the ability to create and help with increasing the image of the club. Thanks to Bill M.
- Holly (visitor) encouraged all to join this year’s Tour de Gem on Saturday of Labor Day weekend. You can enjoy a bike ride on a trail and go as far as you like.
President Ameloot introduced visitors Holly Wiggins, who is a visiting Dayton Rotarian & Gabby Morgan with Greater Dayton United Way.
Our speaker today was Tom Kelley, President/CEO of the Greater Dayton United Way.
Tom Kelley is President and CEO of the Greater Dayton United Way and a Central State University grad.
Tom mentioned they are a three county United Way (Montgomery, Greene & Preble Counties,) extending from Eaton to Jamestown. The home base is in Montgomery County. They deal with suburban, urban core, business, and manufacturing needs and a broad range of issues.
The United Way raises money through workplace campaigns, grants, individual donors, and events.
They got involved in the Tour de Gem a couple of years ago. The group previously running it was all volunteers, but they wanted more structure, and anchor to an organization with a community presence. United Way is now the conveyor of Tour de Gem.
This year it is on August 31 - Saturday of Labor Day weekend. They have a website
tourdegem.org and are on social media, but word of mouth is their best method of promotion.
They are partnering with the Dayton Dragons this year. Schedule is:
Morning bike ride
Lunch
Evening group ticket event at Dayton Dragon’s game
Since it’s on Labor Day this year, the focus is on the Family Fun Ride. 9 am leave Dragons stadium - take the bike path east to Eastwood Lake to Beavercreek to Xenia and back. Using bike paths and no road ride this year since a lot is going on that weekend. Focus on safety. 2/3-3/4 bikers are typically bike path riders.
The Tour de Gem is a platform for non profits to use as a way to raise funds. Any nonprofit can form their own team and raise funds for their nonprofit.
Over the first 6 years, $500,000 raised. Last year $65,000-75,000 was raised.
The goal is to get more people involved and have a FUN day.
Tom invites you to take part in Tour de Gem, and if you want to volunteer, please reach out.
The United Way also operates the 211 system in the area, which is a call center that helps identify needs and connect people to resources.
Strong Families Program gets referrals from school systems, They identify what is needed to stay in their own homes, academic success for kids, and ways to stabilize the adults & become financially stable.
They also do literacy programs. They are the host of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which provides the first books in the household one per month for developing literacy skills.
President Ameloot thanked Tom for the great information and reminded all that she and Bill Menker will ride in the Tour de Gem. She led all in reciting the Four-Way Test and wished all a good wook.