The GREETERS
08/20/15 Vas Appalaneni and Fred Weir
08/27/15 Rick Terhune and Ray Merz
09/03/15 Robin Parker and Phil Reynes
09/10/15 Erich Eggers and Don Gerhardt
If you cannot greet on the day assigned, contact Kitty and she will schedule a replacement.
08/13/15
Club President-Elect Ron Hollenbeck opened the Centerville Rotary Club meeting at The Clubhouse at Yankee Trace by leading the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. PDG Harvey Smith led the prayer, and Peachy Metzner led the singing of God Bless America.
The guests at the meeting included: Mato Palovic, an exchange student from Slovakia, who will be staying with member Arnie Biondo's family; Jake Bartel, a guest of member Judy Budi. He is with UBS Financial. This was his second visit to the club, which he is considering joining; Matthew Preston, the youngest son of member Boyd Preston, who will be a junior at Indiana University where he is studying business finance; four students who are among this year's club scholarship winners (see bios below): William Nichols, accompanied by his mom Nancy Nichols and his grandfather Robert Woods; Youngjun Park; Cassandra Rogers, accompanied by her mom Cindy Rogers and her sister Rachel Gardner; Aditi Singh, accompanied by her mom Madhuri Kango-Singh and dad Amit Singh; and college student Grace Christian from last year's scholarship winners, who returned to update us on her continued service at Loyola University in Chicago.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
President-Elect Ron Hollenbeck said the two water pumps the club has sponsored to help bring clean water to a village in Africa is in the process of being fabricated.
He said Angie Hightower would be making a presentation on Charles Kettering at the Woodland Cemetery mausoleum, and that he had received a thank you card note from Bob Neff for the club's donation and help with the restoration of the Grotto and gardens at the VA.
Gerry Eastabrooks said the next meeting of the Pancake Breakfast Committee will be Sept. 1 at Bob Evans. The event will take place at Centerville HS Oct. 24.
Member Judy Budi said the Membership Committee will meet at Yankee Trace at 11:15 a.m. at the Aug. 20 meeting.
Mato said he is 18 and happy to be here. His home school had just 700 students, while CHS has 2,100 students, he said. He said he is looking forward to his experience here and thanked the Rotary Club for stepping up to help him with his stay.
HAPPY BUCKS: Time not allotted because of numerous speakers
Speakers: Four of our club's scholarship winners
Kim Senf-Paras introduced our speakers:
She said:
"Grace Christian, a 2014 scholarship recipient, was invited to be our guest to share with us some of the first year college experiences she had at Loyola University of Chicago."
Grace said she is studying social work and psychology and has learned a lot about social injustice in seeing how a $7.50 an hour wage and a 50 hour work week can still end up in homelessness, with many of the homeless experiencing depression and wanting to commit suicide. She hopes to change the world by helping where she can and sharing food that she has and respecting every person's life. She said her eyes have been opened by witnessing poverty first-hand.
Kim said:
William Nichols is a scholar athlete who represented CHS on their hockey, lacrosse and swim teams. His service projects included: Lunch Buddies, Circle of Friends, youth lacrosse clinics and work at Camp Kern. His personal references cite his focus, humanity and determination, all three of which were recognized by the committee during his interview. He will attend the University of Oregon to major in environmental studies and pursue a career in the forestry.
Kim presented him with a copy of A Walk in the Woods; rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, by Bill Bryson. The hilarious book was selected for William by the committee.
William said he had always thought he wanted to be a lawyer, but his father died during his freshman year and he began finding solace in the outdoors and preserving nature. His experience at Camp Kern this summer also has led him to see how people can work together to preserve nature. Instead of cutting out a whole lot of the tree canopy to put in 20 to 30 zip lines, the developer was talked into putting in half as many zip lines and leaving the canopy for the people to zip through and experience the beauty of nature close at hand, he said. He now hopes to be a park ranger and spend his time with a good work ethic helping to preserve the beauty of our natural world.
Kim said:
Youngjun Park is a CHS graduate who will attend Case Western Reserve University to study biomedical engineering this fall. His scholastic activities included math, French, and debate clubs. He played violin for multiple orchestras, including CHS, Dayton Philharmonic Youth and the Southwest Regional. He received numerous awards for his musical accomplishments, including Best Performer and Outstanding Solo. He shared his love of music and science with younger students by serving as a violin tutor, volunteering at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, and judging the Normandy Elementary School's science fairs. He also volunteered at his church, area nursing homes and Kettering Hospital. He was presented with the book: Better: a surgeon's notes on performance, by Atul Gawande.
Youngjun said he has been an intern at John Hopkins and led the other interns. He said he plans to be either a doctor specializing in cancer or become a bio-medical researcher to help children.
Kim said:
Cassandra Rogers wrote in her application essay that she "loves forests, streams, meadows, lakes, and anything outdoors." Her plan is to attend the State University of New York and major in Environmental Science and Forestry in the Conservation Biology program. At CHS, she participated in both local and state-wide soil judging contests and 'Envirothon' competitions. She placed first in the Individual District Soil Judging Competition in 2015. Her community service activities reflect her passion for our natural world and include the Centerville-Washington Park District seed collection program; Eco-Buddies; and Winter Woods Day Camp. She also volunteered at the Dayton Veterans' Hospital New Year's Celebration. She was presented with the book: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, by Annie Dillard.
"I am who I am because of this community," Cassandra said. In the environmental program she said she learned about caring about nature and it made it possible to pursue her passion. She, like the others, thanked Rotary for helping her to follow her dreams.
Kim said:
Aditi Singh is a CHS graduate who will attend the University of Pittsburgh to major in neuroscience with the goal of becoming a medical doctor. In high school she was a member of the Spanish and National Honor Societies, and the speech and debate team and track and field squad. She is an AP Honors Scholar. Her community service work included mentoring to young flute players, volunteering at Miami Valley Hospital, and being a member of both the Octagon Club and Spirit Chain. She was presented with the book: Dr. Mutter's Marvels; a true tale of intrigue and innovation at the dawn of modern medicine, by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz.
Aditi said she moved here in fifth grade. She volunteered at Miami Valley Hospital because it has good ties with the medical field she plans to study. People here have become her family, she said. They have supported her goals. She was a volunteer in the recovery center at the hospital. If people needed water or blankets, she would supply them. She talked to families in the waiting room outside the heart and vascular lab and outside surgery. She also was allowed inside to see what was going on and even shadowed an anesthesiologist. She said the people of Centerville and those in Rotary are willing for people to learn and make the community better. She thanked Rotary and also the interviewers who put her at ease when she interviewed.
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