Frank Perez welcomed everyone to the 16th Zoom meeting of the Centerville Rotary Club, as we are still unable to meet face to face due to the coronavirus. Frank welcomed our speaker, Kate Botsdorff, and visitors Frank Scott and Kim Forster.
Sally Beals led the Pledge of Allegiance, Sivaji Subramaniam recited the 4-Way Test, and Brian Hayes led us in a prayer.
Mark Balsan announced we now have a way to pay dues on ClubRunner using a credit card. He showed step by step directions (which will be emailed to all club members.) Credit card numbers will not be stored and once you finish the transaction, you will receive two emails: statement and bank card processing. At this time, we cannot use this for Happy Bucks but hope to in the future. There is a nominal service fee which the club is absorbing. Mark mentioned this is a convenience for club members, if you still prefer to pay by check, that is completely fine!
Kim Forster who participated in the international service project in Brazil with our club (including Don Gerhart) while in High School was back for a visit today. Kim noted after High School, she attended Miami University to study International Relations and Spanish, then worked for a law firm in Washington D.C. before becoming a Fulbright Scholar, taking her back to Brazil. She worked for Lawyers without Borders, primarily in east Africa, working to fight trafficking and counter-terrorism. She is now back in Centerville while attending George Washington Law School (virtually) and has participated in several externships. Kim reflected that she keeps coming back to Rotary, and recognizes that her early involvement with our club sparked her career in peace and conflict studies. She is very appreciative of the financial support and opportunities the Centerville Rotary Club provided. She also mentioned she is Mark Balsan’s neighbor and could see his kids playing in the backyard!
Mike Wier shared an idea/opportunity for our Club. The Dayton Dragons are giving season ticket holders the opportunity to renew for next season, with the option to have a group outing (up to 20 people.) If we can have a couple of Rotarians renew and get the group outing option, there will be enough space for our entire Club to attend together. Mike has already spoken with the Dragons representative and Chuck King said he would renew his season tickets, too. Look for more details for a fun outing for the club in April 2021.
Happy Bucks-
Our Happy Dollars for this quarter are going to Project Warm – please be generous with your Happy Dollars for this good cause. You can send your check to the club mailbox: Centerville Rotary Club, PO Box 41431, Centerville, OH 45458.
Brian Hayes served as Sergeant-at-Arms this week.
- Peachy Metzner ($60) missed several weeks because he’s been playing with his grandkids for the past 3 weeks.
- Ron Hollenbeck ($40) said it is good to see what Kim Forster is doing and gave a big thanks to Mark Balsan for getting us set up for credit card payments.
- Elda Gotos Gay ($40) is happy.
- Arnie Biondo ($20) is happy to hear from Kim Forester and not so happy that the governor gave only 12 hours notice to start up youth sports again.
- Frank Scott ($25) is happy to hear Kim Forster’s update.
- Terry Hanauer ($20) is happy.
- Dale Berry ($20) for a coat.
- Brad Huffman ($40) gave in support of the parents and teachers as kids go back to school in one form or another.
- Chuck King ($20) is happy for our visitors - Kim, Frank, and Kate.
- Mark Balsan ($20) is happy to learn Kim Forster is his neighbor and for getting credit card payments set up.
- Frank Perez ($40) announced his son is engaged!
- Sofie Ameloot ($10) shared she is always carting one daughter to/from tennis at Rotary time, so starts the meeting in the car. She has enjoyed spending quality time with her daughter this summer and will miss her as she is heading back to college this weekend.
Speaker today was Kate Botsdorff, Communications Director, City of Centerville
Arnie Biondo introduced Kate Botsdorff who was a Fulbright Scholar in Indonesia and an Emmy Award winning reporter at WHIO TV prior to coming to the City of Centerville to take on the role of Communications Director.
Kate said she started at Centerville in May, just before everything fell apart - tornado, water crisis, Oregon District shooting, Dayton Police officer shot, and COVID. It has been the busiest news year and she’s seeing it from the other side. She took the job at Centerville because she likes the focus on the mission, vision, and values, the loyal residents, ability to do many things, and especially to have more time to spend with her adorable 3-year old son, Charlie.
Kate mentioned her department is responsible for communications, events, and volunteer coordination. Kate gave an overview of the ways Centerville communicates to the public including Business Bytes, Centerville Spotlight, Centerville in 60 (promoting community events), and Mayor’s Council Review (2 minute highlights of the meeting just after it ends.) The Town Crier newsletter is transitioning to twice a year annual report-type publication, and a new Centerville News & Notes which is a monthly electronic publication.
Kate then debunked the Five Myths of Media
- News releases are where reporters get a lot of the stories
- No such thing as a slow news day; discovered majority of viewers are from south suburbs, but most stories take place in Dayton so try to do more stories that viewers can relate to
- Mistakes do happen and are correctable!
- Get your message out to as many places as possible; meet the viewers where they are most
- Never say, “no comment”; you can say a lot without giving anything away and can always offer to get back to them with more information
Kate shared the various programs they use to communicate:
She said the most interaction they get from the public is on Facebook, so they focus on that. The best day to post on Facebook is Wednesday, and best time is 11 am - 1 pm. Facebook is cracking down so many are going to private groups instead of broadcasting to everyone. They used to reward posts that got commented on, but then too many political debates took place. Now Facebook looks for a broader regional span of comments.
Facebook posts should be 1/day, any more than that and Facebook downgrades your site (thinks it’s spam.) Instagram posts are best 3-4 per week.
When the tornado hit, Centerville workers worked quickly to gather donations and feed first responders. A video about their response was their most successful post.
For more information please reach out to Kate:
Frank Perez thanked Kate for the great information and said for everyone to be safe, stay dry, and have a great week!
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