President Uriah Anderson welcomed everyone to the Centerville Rotary Club and led the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance. Bishop Brian Hayes provided the prayer.
Today’s quote provided by Don Overly:
"We are all different - Don't judge, understand instead.” Roy Bennett (Zimbabwean politician)
Today’s Announcements:
- Thanks to today’s greeters Jake Hensel & Don Stewart
- Welcome today’s guests: Tammy Murphy real estate broker and guest of Mark Kottman, and Timothy Depp, who is interested in learning more about Rotary.
- The memorial service for AJ Khan (Yankee Trace server) is Friday, noon visitation followed by the service at 1 pm. Thanks to Adam for sending flowers on behalf of the club. Information is available on Routsong’s website HERE.
- The next Rotary Women Connect is October 15th at 5:30 pm at Felicity.
- Our next social will be the Sing Out Polio program at On Par Entertainment in Beavercreek (across from the Greene) on October 27th, 5:30-9:00 PM. Aaron Smith will represent our club at the singing contest, so come support and vote for Aaron! The District is requesting registration (FREE) which can be done HERE.
- Save the Date for the next Club Social on November 18 at Midnight Bloom in Centerville
- Board meeting is Nov 19, 5:30 pm at the Joyce Young Center
- Adam M announced we still need volunteers for Pancake Day, especially kitchen workers.
- Mark K shared that pancake tickets have been delivered or mailed to members; please pay now! Sponsor tickets are also being distributed. Let him know if you can help.
- Ron H shared the club has purchased and delivered a test meter and 270 test strips that are going to Malawi. Eric sent thanks to the club for our support.
- Brian H said to check your email from him and deal with it! (Pay your bill!)
- Arnie B said former exchange student, Mato, sends his hellos. He is now working and living in London.
- Remember to sign up to work Pancake Day, our largest fundraiser of the year.
Happy Bucks this quarter will go to the Fairy Godmother Foundation.
Pat Beckel was our Sergeant at Arms with assistance by Brian Hayes.
Happy Bucks were generously given for:
- Pat B for Wayne Davis’s retirement. Thanks for all he has done for the city.
- Dave T shared Robert Erwin’s CHS students won a regional and state contest, and are going to nationals. Also his grandson was 3rd in regionals.
- Ron H was at his hometown and enjoyed eating crabmeat.
- Jake H had a great time in Boston/Salem, noting the drizzle added to the ambience of Salem. He found a Rotary sign and after sharing it with his friends, they all started looking for more, and found 5 Rotary signs while walking around Boston.
- Uriah A noted his brother and sister are coming to visit; he visited Vince for a running assessment and noted he’s a great physical therapist. In Aug 2027, he will be going on an Aid Africa trip with his mom, and he invites others to join the service trip.
- Dan J for Wayne Davis.
- Carol K for granddaughter, Kaycee visiting this week while on fall break.
- Kaycee K was happy for no school all week.
- Jeff S had a good time at the race track, bet on all races and didn’t win, but had fun. He turned 72 years old last week. Happy Birthday, Jeff!
- Elda GG will turn 80 next week! Happy Birthday, Elda!
- Harvey S was glad Elda is doing so well, and as she asked for no parties, he is taking her out to dinner next week to celebrate.
- Ron T was glad to be back and with his Rotary friends.
- Mark K is going to Alabama for a couple of days, will watch lots of sports, and always supports OSU football.
- Jim S had not been here for awhile, he celebrated his birthday, missed the golf outing and will be out of town for pancake day, too. Happy Birthday, Jim!
- Rand O for being here three weeks in a row. He shared when his son, John was at the University of Wisconsin, they would invite 20 of his college friends to spend Thanksgiving with them since they couldn’t go home. John has continued that tradition in Madison and received an Outsanding Alumnus award this year for his support of the students. He will be playing the championship golf courses in DC with his daughter next week.
- Arnie B humbly admitted the Ducks suck this year.
- Adam M was happy to see Jim, Ron and our guests this week.
Our speakers today were Rotarians Jake Hensel, Bill Menker, and Uriah Anderson, representing local government agencies.
Jake Hensel is the Program Manager for the Centerville-Washington Park District, which is a levy-funded organization, not directly connected to the City or Township. They are governed by a board of park commissioners and resources are spread over Centerville and Washington Township. They currently have 51 parks: Nature Parks large natural areas including Grant & Bill Yeck Parks; Community Parks such as Yankee, Forest Field, Oak Grove Parks that all have parking lots and have large events and sports; and Neighborhood Parks - smaller parks intended for neighbors to walk or bike to.
Bill Menker is the Patron Services Manager at Washington-Centerville Public Library. They are also independent of the City and Township, have their own levies, and are also governed by a board. Their funding comes from a levy and state money. Any resident of the state can get a library card. They currently operate two libraries: Woodbourne & Centerville. The library has evolved - they don’t just lend books. You can borrow a power washer, a Roku with pre-loaded apps, and much more. The Makerspace was expanded at Centerville library, and includes printers, sewing machines, recording booth and much more.
Uriah Anderson is the Recreation Supervisor for Adult and Senior Services at the Joyce Young Center. They have a lot of programs from Bingo to fancy coffee making. The Joyce Young Center is part of the Recreation Department of Washington Township. They receive some levy support and are also user fee based. It was recently renamed RecPlex, as there is a complex of 2 buildings and 1 park plus Town Hall. They focus on the recreation side, primarily inside their buildings.
Uriah came into this profession when his current boss came to his graduate class and changed his mind. He asked him to run Woodland Lights and he never left!
Bill was at WSU studying economics but also worked shelving at the library. After graduation, he did market research in the private sector but decided to go back to the public sector. He has spent over 30 years in the public library system, with 27 years at WCPL. He truly believes it is the best library and was ranked the #1 library in the country for several years for our population size, until they stopped ranking libraries.
Jake worked in university athletics while getting his degree at Marshall. He considered a job at Southern Mississippi but didn’t want to move there, so he was advised to consider parks & recreation. He ran athletics for Sylvania Parks, and then Kettering Parks before coming to CWPD, where he has been for 5.5 years.
Bill is also an Ohio Land Search & Rescue member. They get call outs several times/month. Most recent was for a missing teenager, who had run away in downtown Cincinnati. Most searches are at-risk elderly and youth. They work in Hamilton & Clermont Counties, and also help with parking and first aid at events.
Jake officiates high school & college football, and basketball games. He is working the state semi-final football game this year. Officiating is very competitive, as they can make up to $5,000 per game. He will officiate the Ohio Northern game this Saturday. Farthest he has travelled to officiate is Mount Union (Cleveland). Started doing this in college to make extra money and now does Friday and Saturday games.
Bill has a business called Ready Up where he teaches wilderness first aid and lost person behavior. He teaches first responders how to search for specific missing person, based on research of previous cases. He is also a blacksmith and currently does commission work for blacksmithing.
Uriah recently complete Drive Training - how to safely secure someone in a vehicle who is in a wheelchair or scooter etc. He hopes to teach this in the future, once he has the needed equipment to teach.
Jake shared about when someone yells at him for the call he made. His philosophy is that if you think you missed a call, you still have to stick with it and be confident. If he knows he made a wrong call, he will let a coach yell at him more. Sometimes he wants to say things he can’t but he typically ignores them. If they get personal or use crazy obscenities, then he has to deal with it.
What most looking forward to:
Bill - Retirement (in a few years). And to see how libraries continue to evolve.
Jake - Activity Center Park renovations including Pickleball court renovation, (opening early summer 2027), expanded parking lot and new playground. He feels the Environmental Education they teach at the schools is important. They recently took all 4th graders at Normandy elementary to Grant Park, 80% had never been in Grant Park (adjacent to Normandy).
Uriah - finishing the park master plan at Countryside Park which will enable them to offer new programs and events. Due to the construction, Woodland Lights this year will be smaller and free unless you want to see Santa. The 26-acre park includes a new Paragon entrance and drive that goes through the park to the existing parking lot. It is mostly used by neighbors, and is filled during summer camps. Also coming to the park is a 4-season shelter that will seat 160, renovated playing fields fields, paved paths, a pavilion with an outdoor stage & splashpad between the two main buildings. They plan for smaller musical acts, youth theatre programs, Tuesday lunch outdoors with entertainment, and a gathering spot for people to hang out.
Bill noted what is great about this community is how well the local government agencies all work together. They partner with each other to share resources and do programs, making the best use of public funds.
Uriah concurred, noting the staff get together on a regular basis to coordinate programming and explore how they can work together.
