Rotary's Theme for 2017-18
The GREETERS:
08/03/2017 Judy Budi and Katie Neubert
08/10/2017 Kim Senft-Paras and Patrick Beckel
08/17/2017 Sivaji Subramaniam and Brad Thorp This meeting at GraceWorks
08/24/2017 Kisha Taylor and Rebecca Quinones
If you cannot greet on the day assigned, contact Kitty and she will schedule a replacement.
Meeting on 08/03/2017
Judy Budi and new member Katie Neubert greeted this day. Katie (on the left) is seen here greeting Kim Branlage of the Dayton Rotary, and our guest speaker Carolyn Rice (on right). Member Chuck King is seen getting the tickets ready for the drawing at the end of the meeting.
Here both Katie and Judy Budi are seen greeting Carolyn Rice.
Gerry Eastabrooks checks in after being greeted by Katie and Judy
And here comes Jeff Senney and Deb Dulaney, avid runners
Here Harvey Smith and Bob Fry check in and Harvey greets member Don Gerhardt, seen better in the next photo.
Bob Fry passes by Don Gerhardt on his way to one of the tables. Notice Don's chocolate cake. It pays to get here early if you like chocolate cake, as it was one of only two pieces among the various pie and cheese cake desserts.
And Boyd Preston, takes a seat at a table he used to frequent more often. John Callander has on a shirt from his Veteran's trip to D.C.
And this table isn't clowning around. Ray Merz has his back to the camera
The Centerville Rotary Club met at The Club House at Yankee Trace at noon. Past President Ron Hollenbeck led the Pledge of Allegiance, Sivagi Subramaniam led the prayer, and Brad Thorp led the singing of God Bless America.
Today's guests included:
Kim Branlage, of the Dayton Rotary Club; Carolyn Rice, Montgomery Country Treasurer and member of the Dayton Rotary, our guest speaker for the day; Monnie Bush, founder and CEO of the Victory Project.
All three were pictured in photos above.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Past President Ron Hollenbeck stood in for our new president Peachy Metzner, who is still working on getting back to health. We were also informed that one of the club's best fund-raisers, especially when it comes to the Pancake Breakfast, Shelley Fisher, has also been ill, undergoing three different surgeries. Harvey Smith included them his his prayers and we all miss them and wish them well.
Ron, seen above prepping for the meeting, reminded everyone that we will be meeting at Graceworks for our Aug. 17 meeting, as a big event is scheduled for Yankee Trace that day and our meeting room will be unavailable here.
Ron said in a note sent to everyone that:
1) Our August 17th meeting will take place in the Village Center Grand Room at Bethany Village. The directions are stated below:
Follow Bethany Village Drive directly until you pass under the newly constructed Village Center bridge. Turn right to park in the Village Center parking lot. Enter through the rear door of the Village Center and turn left. Follow the signage to the Grand Room through the hallway on your left.
2) District 6670's Trilogy meeting will take place on Wednesday, August 9th at Normandy Methodist Church in Centerville. It starts at 5:30 p.m. and will continue until around 9:00 p.m. Dinner is provided and is free. You need to register for this event so that an accurate headcount can be obtained. You can register through DaCdb or see me and I'll make sure you get registered.
Dan Johnson announced that new member Brad Huffman has completed all his assignments to officially become a new member, so he could take away the yellow new member ribbon from his badge, which he promptly did and sat down, as he is seen doing in this picture, with Dan on the left. Rebecca Quinones and Jennifer Gibbs are seen in the forefront of this photo.
Boyd Preston talked about signing up for the upcoming service days. Sign-up sheets will be available at each of the upcoming meetings. He handed out sheets explaining what each project is about and the hours and meeting places. Please check with him for any needed information.
Frank Perez had reminded everyone at an earlier meeting in Boyd's absence that the club service day coming up is Aug. 19, with five locations to choose from. The House of Bread day will be Aug.18, a Friday.
An option added would be to work with BOGG at their Chevy Chase outing Aug. 15, where they serve food and a hot meal to those living in the subsidized housing units in Centerville. This is a Tuesday and would be from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. They serve food and talk to residents and have music and games to play.
Ron called Monnie Bush to the podium to accept the club's check for the Victory Project. Monnie said they really appreciate the money as they have 15 more students and the small business has grown and one of their landscape trailers was stolen, so they will put the money towards getting another one.
Adam Manning, in charge of the Pancake Breakfast this year, said Carvers has offered to help the club increase sales by offering $150, $100 to whoever sells the most and $50 to whoever sells next to most. Someone yelled out: Tom, what are you going to spend the money on? (Tom Broadwell has outclassed us all with his sales of tickets to his fellow Bethany Village residents, etc.) and then Ron Hollenbeck jokingly added: and for third prize, Harvey Smith will detail your car....Poor Harvey, he takes the brunt of a lot of abuse with a smile. (And only occasionally gives back in kind.)
Jennifer Gibbs mentioned a Baby Boomer event at St. Leonard at 11 a.m. Saturday. She said 2,500 attended the event last year.
HAPPY BUCKS: Sgt.-at-Arms Erich Eggers collected Happy Bucks for Project/Operation (it's been called both) Warm. Each $20 donation buys a new children's winter coat distributed by Hannah's Treasure Chest in partnership with local social agencies. Gerry Eastabrooks makes the rounds with the collection cup. Erich said we've fallen behind in the project and need to step up the donations if we are to meet or surpass last year's numbers. While we had a rather mild winter last year, there is no promise this year will be the same, and no child should be without a warm coat. Especially, a new one that fits.
Below you see Erich and then Erich and Gerry Eastabrooks, the club treasurer.
Erich said our Happy Bucks have only bought 48 coats thus far, and Ron began the giving by donating for two coats, noting that his younger brother stopped by for a few days visit. Chuck King gave for part of a coat and Mike Wier gave, noting his anniversary was yesterday, no. 52. Brad Thorp gave for a coat and Irene Ullmer gave for a coat and also $5 for her 94th birthday July 31. Judy Budi gave for a coat, noting it was a sad $20, as her 14-year-old dog has renal failure. Dave Trout gave for a coat and Bob Fry and Brian Hayes both gave for a coat.
Lee Hieronymus gave for a coat, advertizing the upcoming Washington Twp. Ice Cream Social on Aug. 13. Long known as the Big Dipper, for wearing a big...let's say giant...sponge cowboy hat while dipping ice cream, Lee now is in charge of the pies.
Boyd Preston, back from a vacation in Maine, gave for a coat and Doc Hoback, back from his sister-city trip to Germany, where he visited in East Berlin and also got to see Prague, gave for a couple of coat sleeves. Jeff Senney said he didn't have any money but pledged for a coat for next week. He said he had golfed four times, and someone said that's where his money went. Graham Ross gave $5 and Brian Bergman and Mark Balsan gave. Rebecca Quinones gave, but it wasn't clear how much, as the group became raucous when she said she was giving because the garbage man backed his truck up when she ran out to put her garage out in what sounded like she said in her nightgown, as all the men chortled and made snide snickers and asides. Dan Johnson gave for a coat and Brad Huffman gave, noting that he had his last class and would graduate from the MBA program on Sunday.
Doug Bockrath gave and then I have Adam's name and Frank, who gave for half a coat and mentioned something about Chicago and his wife biking along Lake Michigan. Couldn't tell if he had said he and his wife...or just she went biking. Jennifer Gibbs gave for a coat and Ed Flohre gave noting he was going to Kansas City, and Rick Terhune gave a Happy Buck to welcome the speaker, who he said was a cheerleader in high school. Erich Eggers gave for a coat, noting that he needed to do so to make sure his whole table gave for coats.
Today's Speaker: Carolyn Rice, Montgomery County Treasurer, speaking about the Dayton Council of World Affairs, where she is an executive committee member.
Member Chuck King introduced Rice.
Chuck said Carolyn Rice has served as Montgomery County Treasurer since 2007. She serves as Chair of the Montgomery County Land Bank and leads the Montgomery County Vacant Properties Solutions group. She is Vice President of the County Treasurers Association of Ohio and has chaired its Land Bank Committee for the past five years.
He said Carolyn has served on the boards of Dayton Rotary, the Dayton Council of World Affairs, and Community Blood Center/Community Tissue Services. She is chair of Dayton Rotary's Peace Committee, and chairs the 2017 Peacebuilder Walk to be held Sept. 10 at Riverscape. She has served as Rotary District 6670 Rotary Youth Exchange Overnight Chair. She is a member of the Dayton Sister Cities Committee and is co-chair for the Holon, Israel Initiative. In 2015, she chaired all the logistics committees for the Dayton Peace Accords at 20 Commemoration. She earned a BS degree in Education at Miami University and an MBA at Wright State.
Carolyn Rice said she graduated in 1972 from Beavercreek High School, where she was a member of the Junior Council on World Affairs for two years. That experience spurred her interest in world affairs, she said. She hopes to get Centerville High School to start a Junior Council on World Affairs, she said. It had one once but not now, she said. When she was in high school, the members got to go to Washington D.C. and New York. They got to go to the Capitol and the U.N. She said she developed an incredible passion for world affairs but didn't realize at the time it was part of a bigger network.
About a dozen years ago she found out about an annual conference in D.C. in November that cost $450 to go to, with speakers of such high caliber that you wouldn't find elsewhere. Supreme Court justices, newspaper journalists of the highest caliber, etc. She asked her husband to make that her Christmas present that year and she has gone every year since except for one when she couldn't go. It's a big network of people who are experts in their field, she said.
Carolyn said the World Affairs Council began in 1918 as a reaction to Woodrow Wilson's isolationism. There are 90 councils in the U.S. now, she said. While Dayton's Council is small in size, Dallas has a huge Council, she said. The D.C. Headquarters has just a three people staff. The object of the Councils is to make better informed citizens and to give them the idea of options. The organizations are non-partisan, she said.
The Councils bring diplomats and films to share with the high school students, and the Dayton Council partners with Sinclair, UD, and Wright State, which often lets them host programs at no cost. The DCOWA is partnered with Wright State University's Center for International Education, and is part of the network of 99 councils located throughout the U.S. under the World Affairs Council of America.
She said Aug. 10 the author of the book, End of Europe, is on the schedule. There is a leadership program in which 10 people are chosen to visit a country for 5-10 days, and she said she hopes to get picked to go to Afghanistan. The Philadelphia Council has a travel department, she said. The trips are expensive, but she said she believes it would be an extraordinary opportunity.
The Dayton Council was formed in 1947 by a number of business leaders, she said. There is no paid staff. They have 100 adult members and 250 students in high school. Centerville High School no longer has a Junior Council on World Affairs, but she said she is trying to get CHS Principal Jack Durnbaugh, a member of the Centerville Rotary, to see if one can be established again.
In May the Dayton Council partnered with the Dayton Daily News to bring a journalist from Istanbul to speak about the government taking over the news there and imprisoning the journalists. She said some local Turks protested the meeting, as they favor a strong government.
Carolyn said about a dozen high schools in the Miami Valley have Junior Councils on World Affairs chapters, with a teacher at Stivers serving as a coordinator. She said it only costs about $10 to join and that there are four regional events, with all the chapters invited. In the Fall they have an International Career Day, held somewhat like speed dating, she said. Students go from station to station to talk to people in various careers that involve international affairs. There's an International Quiz Bowl, with a team of four sent to D.C. to compete nationally at Georgetown University.
There's a Geo Bowl, where the adults play the kids on geography topics, and a $4,000 scholarship given in honor of Pfeife Smith, wife of local businessman Fred Smith (both now deceased), who lived on Mad River Road. The scholarship goes to someone interested in studying something related to international affairs.
And after Carolyn's presentation.... the winner is: Ray Merz....Carolyn Rice drew his winning ticket. That may be Ray's foot in the right of the photo.
The meeting was closed with the reciting of the Rotary Four-Way Test.
