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Rotary's Theme for 2015-16
The GREETERS:
04/21/16 Chuck King and Bill Niehaus
04/28/16 Shelley Fisher and Jack Workman
05/05/16 Jim Briggs and Tom Broadwell
05/12/16 Gerry Eastabrooks and Bob Fry
05/19/16 Gary Kuntz and Joyce Young
If you cannot greet on the day assigned, contact Kitty and she will schedule a replacement.
04/07/2016
President Brad Thorp opened the meeting at the Clubhouse at Yankee Trace with the Pledge of Allegiance. PDG Harvey Smith gave the prayer, and the Centerville Community Chorus sang a beautiful rendition of God Bless America, with the club members joining in. Irving Berlin wrote the song in 1918 and it became Kate Smith's signature piece.
The guests at the meeting included:
Mato Palovic, our exchange student from Slovakia; Dottie Overly, guest of her husband Don Overly; Nancy Biondo, guest of her husband Arnie Biondo; and LaKeisha Taylor, owner and CEO of Green Apples Academy, a child care and early learning center in Washington Twp. LaKeisha, the guest of Ann Blackburn, is a potential member. Guests also included the members of the Centerville Community Chorus. See names below under: Speaker.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Our Greeters at the next meeting will be Chuck King and Bill Niehaus. Help our new members get to know you as they greet you.
Needed for the District Conference in Mason April 29/20: New shoes and socks for the Shoes for Orphan Souls project, and wine and crackers for the basket for the silent auction. Bridget Herzog is collecting the shoes and socks and Dick Hoback is collecting the wine.
Brad said anyone wishing to play in the golf tournament at Kings Island should let him know. It is $100, which includes breakfast and lunch, a cart, and prizes afterward. It starts at 9 a.m. on the Friday of the conference, April 29.
Brad said the club received a card from the Centerville Interact Club thanking us for a $1,000 grant to help them add an additional pump to our water project in Africa.
Brad noted that Ron Hollenbeck has been named to the Board of Zoning Appeals in Washington Twp.
Boyd Preston said he got a thank you note from the local historical society, Centerville-Washington History, for the Rotary volunteers who helped with the garden work there as an added Service Day. Boyd said every agency we've worked with has shown great appreciation for Rotary's help. The Rotarians have all been very hard working, he said. He noted that in our support of the House of Bread, there will be opportunities to serve in May and again in the Fall. About five people are needed to help from 9 to 2 p.m. Friday, May 27, which is Memorial Day weekend. Let him know if you can help out.
HAPPY BUCKS:
Jake Bartel, standing in for Sgt.-at-Arms Erich Eggers, collected Happy Bucks for Daybreak.
Ray Merz said the colorful building at Patterson Blvd. and Main St. in downtown Dayton houses the Daybreak program, which helps troubled youth get back on track and find a new path in life. Some have difficulties at home which causes them to need a place to stay, Brad Thorp said.
According to Daybreak's Web site: Daybreak was established in 1975 in Dayton, Ohio as an emergency shelter for runaway and homeless youth. Today, Daybreak operates the Miami Valley’s only 24-hour crisis hotline and emergency youth shelter and has grown to include outreach, prevention, transitional housing, life-skills education, and other follow-up services for runaway, throwaway, and homeless youth. Daybreak is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Deb Dulaney said she attended the recent Rotary 4-Way Test speech contest held at WSU. Our representative from Alter High School was not among the four finalists, but held his own among those making speeches, she said. She said the speeches were among the best she has ever heard in the program.
Brian Hayes said his daughter turned 15 and his wife realized she was getting older. He also was happy because Jonas Salk helped eradicate Polio by developing a vaccine against the virus. News of the vaccine's success was made public on April 12, 1955. Salk was hailed as a "miracle worker" and the day almost became a national holiday, according to Wikipedia.
Many members gave Happy Bucks for the good version of God Bless America presented by the Centerville Community Chorus at the outset of our meeting and for Daybreaks.
Joyce Young said she was on the Daybreaks board when it had a much longer name when it got started.
Rick Terhune gave his Happy Buck for his wife getting off her crutches, so that now she could get her own water, etc. And someone shouted out, "and yours too?"
Carol Kennard is back from another visit with her daughter, son and new grandchild. Still huggable as ever. The grandchild that is.
Ray Merz gave a Happy Buck for his accountant and planner. Tax time, folks.
Don Overly said he and his wife are happy to get their sixth great grandchild from their daughter Katherine, who will not be using her OSU/Michigan football ticket this year, and someone shouted out, "are they for sale?" The tickets, that is.
Arnie Biondo confessed that he forgot to sign his wife's name on today's guest list when they came in.
SPEAKER: Kristen Beireis, explaining how the Centerville Community Chorus is important for the strength of the community.
The all- volunteer chorus numbers around 25. Those present at today's meeting included: Brett Greenwood, Kristen Beireis, Judy Vorhees, Gary Appleton (pianist), Kristi Mickelsen, Anne Pashak, Jim Poltrone, Judy Vanderhort, Sharon Hathaway, JoAnna Hill, Pat Grice, Sandy Schwartzwalder, Paul Wentzel, and Ginny Suarez.
The Centerville Community Chorus sang Over the Rainbow, which was in The Wizard of Oz, and won the best original song in the Academy Awards in 1939.
After their stunning rendition of the song, Kristen Beireis took to the podium to talk about the importance of song to the community. Almost all in the room said they enjoy singing and listening to singing. The power of chorus in the community is not always recognized, she said, though it "is important for the strength of the community." The people in a chorus are generous. They are volunteers and people who are willing to take a leadership role, she said. They help improve the community through sharing their songs, she said.
The Centerville Community Chorus is made up of a diverse group of people, some who sing professionally, and others who just like to sing and/or are addicted to singing, Kristen said. Some are young professionals and others retired. They practice Monday nights at St. Leonard for an hour. They get joy from their singing and from the joy of others, especially in the nursing homes where a woman came up to her after they had sung one day and told her "I used to love to do that too," and how it brought back good memories. Music helps activate more parts of the brain than any other stimulus, she said.
(An editorial aside...on a visit to an Alzheimer's unit one day, to see a friend, my mother and I were ushered into a room where the friend and a group of other residents were singing along with a woman playing a piano. It was amazing to see how engaged everyone was in singing the "old familiar tunes" without any words before them. In between songs the pianist would ask questions related to words in the songs, such as, did anyone in the room ever have a dog or pet....and various residents would tell little stories about their dog or pet.)
Kristen said they not only go to Nursing Homes but also sing at Stubbs Park, on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Veterans Day. They give two public concerts, one in June and one at Christmas, which are free, though at the Christmas concert, they ask for donations. They also sing at Woodland Lights and at the Americana Festival, she said. They have sung at the Christmas Tree Lighting in downtown Dayton and at country club dinners, she said. "We bring joy to the community and beyond," she said. "Fred Greenwood is our director." This year's summer concert will be at 3 p.m. June 12 at the Epiphany Church south campus off Social Row Road at Sheehan Road, she said.
Last year the group had a $162 loss, but this year they hope to break even. Each member pays $40 in dues and to buy the music and needs for the year, which cost about $1,610, one of their members said.
To end their program the group sang the 1971 Grammy Award Record of the Year, Bridge Over Trouble Waters, written by Paul Simon and sung by Simon and Garfunkel. The group, dressed in red and black, didn't need fancy dance moves to wow their audience We all were impressed by their excellent musical presentation.
