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President-elect Ron Hollenbeck noted that the Centerville High School a cappella group Forte's CD Life's So Lyrical was nominated for five contemporary a cappella recording awards and won for Best Overall High School CD.
Ron said he also got a text message from Brad Thorp, from across the Pond, stating that he and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair lunched together, noting Blair was a former recipient of
Rotary International's Polio Eradication Champion Award. 

 

Judy Budi said her work duties would not allow her time to head the membership committee for the club, but that the committee unanimously voted to have Ann Blackburn take over that job. This was the first Ann knew of her new appointment. She was president of the Germantown Rotary before, so she certainly knows the ins and outs of all the jobs. She also is a very enthusiastic clapper for the Happy Bucks man. 

 

Boyd Preston said people could still sign up for our Service Day March 19, and that one person was still needed for the House of Bread that day.

 

Ron said Brian Hayes will be inducted into the club March 10 and that Chuck King should follow soon after. Both were at today's meeting. See picture below to catch Brian at the end of the meeting.

 

 

Ron joked about our exchange student Mato, noting that Donald Trump's wife is from 

Slovakia, like Mato, and stating he asked Mato if he had ever dated her, noting he said,

No. Mato is seen in the picture below with one of our ever-faithful members.

 

 

 

 

HAPPY BUCKS: 

 

 

Sgt.-at-Arms Erich Eggers collected Happy Bucks for St. Vincent de Paul.

 

Many members gave Happy Bucks for St. Vincent De Paul, and some for basketball wins, Xavier's and UD's, which was a last minute win in OT.

 

Carol Kennard boasted she would be getting to sit with her new granddaughter in Pennsylvania for a week and won't be all that upset if she gets snowed in up there, since she won't have a car to drive around in anyway.

 

Deb Dulaney got to make us all envious for her recent trip to Mexico.

 

Rand Oliver said he is proud to be able to say he had a painting of his hanging in the DAI. He admitted that it was hanging there for a charity auction event, and that the painting did not bring in much money, which tempted someone listening to want to give a Happy Buck, saying that was for the dollar she forked over for the painting, but the person wasn't sure it would bring a laugh big enough, so she refrained. She wasn't there, so she has no idea of how big or small the "small" amount was. 

 

Dan Sortman boasted that he got to host his grandson's sleepover.

 

Ed Flohre gave five dollars, one of which was for Chuck King becoming a new member in the near future. 

 

 

 

 Harvey Smith noted that this is the 111th anniversary of the founding of Rotary International, which was started in 1905 by Paul Harris, a Chicago attorney who didn't like being alone, so he got three business friends to meet together. They decided it was the business of professional leaders to provide for humanitarian needs, have high ethical standards, and expand peace and goodwill throughout the world. In the beginning they were rotating from office to office for their meetings, which is where they came up with the name Rotarian, he said. 

 

The next four clubs were on the West Coast: San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles and Seattle. 

Cincinnati was the seventeenth club formed. In 1910 the Association was called Rotary and Paul Harris became the first president of the Association. Clubs from Canada, Ireland, Cuba (1916), the Philippines, India (1920),....followed, with 200 clubs by 1925. Today there are 35,015 clubs in 167 countries, he said. The membership is 1,225,000, plus or minus a few.

Arch Klumph of the Rotary Club in Cleveland was the fifth president of Rotary International. In 1917 he recommended there be an endowment for the purpose of doing good in the world. The Kansas City Club gave the first donation of $26.50, Harvey said.

 The Depression came and the endowment did not grow much, but in 1947 when Paul Harris passed away, clubs all over gave money in memory of him. The first money was used for scholarships for students and world scholars, with 112 students in the first class. Later in the 1960s there were matching grants and in the 1960s there were group studies and polio eradication in 1985-86. With $123 million in contributionsm $35 million was contributed to Polio Plus. With $70 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundatiion, $105 million went into the Polio Plus operation, Harvey said.

 

Don Overly, the first president and a founding member of Centerville Rotary presented the history of the Centerville Rotary Club. He said it started in February, 1972, when three men from the Miamisburg Rotary contacted four Centerville men, Lee Hieronymus, Jack Workman, Harvey Smith and he himself, Don Overly, to see if there was any interest in forming a new club in Centerville.

 

The club would be just men, as it wasn't until the 1980s that a Rotary Club in northern California filed suit to include women. Don said the women in the Centerville Rotary have really made a difference and have been "really excellent."

 

The Centerville Rotary group identified 27 men who were inducted in April of 1972. They had to live or work in Centerville or Washington Twp. They met first at the old Wishing Well restaurant on Franklin St,, which is now a Mexican restaurant. They also met in the annex for the old Antonio's restaurant, which wa.s at the Stop and Go building now on Franklin St. Then they went to the back of Antonio's restaurant, the Holland House, and then to St. Leonard's, until the club moved to The Clubhouse at Yankee Trace in 1995.

 

The club's first fund-raiser was a giant garage sale with an auctioneer, Don said. It was held at Whip and Far Hills on a Saturday morning, he said. "It was a good fund-raiser, though some items reappeared," he said.

 

Nick Peth bought a bowling ball, only to find it was a left-handed ball, and he is right-handed, Don said. Don said he donated water skis and ice skates, which he ended up buying back himself.

 

Don said the student and group business exchange programs have been very successful, with students and young adults from many different countries -- Mexico, France, Denmark, Japan, Russia, etc.

 

Two of the Russian ladies were hosted by Don and his wife one year. He said just before they left, the women went on a shopping spree and loaded down their oversized suitcases. He was just about to help one of the women carry her suitcase down the stairs when she picked up the bag herself and said, "Strong Russian Woman!" and carried it out herself.

The women had brought Russian Vodka as a gift for their host, but Don said he had to try to let them know he did not drink. They joyfully finished off the Vodka themselves, he said.

 Don said the club has many other fun events, including a ping pong match between two local ping pong enthusiasts, Otie Peters and Dave Hill, a pharmacist. There was also a presentation on Exercises in Staying Healthy, which he thought was more like a Marketing 101 program as the pretty woman was selling a 6-foot in diameter trampoline, he said, and "six men lined up to buy one. Our trampoline is still up in the attic," he said. He said Harvey bought two, and asked if he still had his, but it was hard to know whether he was joking or not. 

In any case, the club is lucky to have the long-serving founding members still setting such a good example to follow in service above self.