President Frank Perez welcomed everyone in person and on Zoom to the meeting of the Centerville Rotary Club. Frank led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance and Harvey Smith gave a prayer, including a special prayer for Ray Merz who is recovering from surgery.
President Frank gave a heartfelt thanks to all our Veterans and all who have family members that serve. Let us never take for granted the freedom we enjoy. Thanks to the sacrifices they have made.
Sofie Ameloot provided these updates:
- Dictionaries and thesauri have all been labeled thanks to help from Rotarians Matt Kuhn, Boyd Preston, Elda Gotos-Gay, Chuck King, Carol Kennard, Kim Senft-Paras, Katie Neubert, and Ron Hollenbeck. (Look for photo proof on Facebook!) The schools will distribute to students as they do not allow visitors in the buildings right now.
- Coats we provided to Hannah’s Treasure Chest have started to be distributed.
- Our club adopted 20 kids and provided gift cards to help make their holidays bright.
Ron Hollenbeck reported between District 6670 and 6690, we have over 20 clubs committed to donations for the Water Pump project. 6670 clubs have pledged $55,000 and 6690 a similar amount. Rotary International isn’t providing matching funds this year because of COVID, but it looks like we will have around $310,000 toward the pumps with matching funds from the districts. It should be approved by the end of the year, so pump installations can start next year.
President Frank provided these updates:
- The Rotary Board will be meeting this Monday, Nov.16th at 5:30. All club members are welcome to join us via zoom. There will be no in-person Board meeting this month.
- Welcome to Greg Birkemeyer, District Governor; Sigrid Soloman, Past District Governor; Mary Nenninger, Assistant District Governor; and Frank Scott, District Rotary Foundation Chair.
DG Greg announced that because of COVID restrictions, the Rotary 4-Way Speech Contest will be held virtually. RYLA and the District Conference will most likely be virtual, too.
PDG Sigrid recognized our club for leading the charge last year under the capable leadership of Chuck King, as we exceeded the requirements for the Presidential Citation. We were able to unite people and had a net gain of 3 female members. Our average per person donation to the Rotary Foundation was $278. We connected families through our Pancake breakfast and increased awareness of the club through social media and our newsletter. PDG Sigrid presented the Silver designation Presidential Citation award for Rotary year 2019-20 to past-president, Chuck King, who graciously gave credit to the hard working club members.
Frank Scott then announced out of 35,000 Rotary clubs worldwide, only 1,550 received recognition for the top three highest annual giving per capita - and our Club is one! Our club was also recognized for being:
- 1 of 34,000 Clubs who participate in Every Rotarian Every Year (members donate at least $100/year)
- 1 of 4,000 Clubs worldwide that have 100% member donations to the Rotary Foundation
And the big announcement - we are the #1 Club in District 6670!
No Happy Dollars were announced today in the interest of time but many put money in the middle of the table for things they were happy about!
Our speaker today was Mark Metzger, Recreation Director at the Washington Township RecPlex.
Arnie Biondo introduced Mark Metzger who has been with Washington Township since 1996, Recreation Director since 2016. He listed several accolades, but the most notable thing about Mark is that he and his wife, Ann live on a small farm with their 3 boys, pigs, turkeys, donkeys, geese, and chickens!
Mark shared how the Rec Center adapted during the coronavirus. They were shut down completely in March and April, which gave them the opportunity to re-examine the mission and service to the community, and also do some facility maintenance and updates. They are reliant on a property tax levy, that provides 30-45% of their revenue, the rest being in user fees, which disappeared during the shut down.
Their goal during the pandemic has been to keep the staff and community engaged.
- Enrichment Center staff made phone calls to members, sent cards, and delivered meals.
- Summer Camp preparations were ever changing in order to be ready to open when the governor allowed with modifications to meet the COVID requirements. They used all of the indoor spaces, closed the park to be used only for camp, and required all to wear masks. This helped them be ready for after school care when students went back to the classroom, and provide space for students on Wednesdays, when all are in virtual learning.
- Town Hall fared the worst as all entertainment venues continue to be closed. The Stuart Little show opened one night, and closed the same due to COVID. They have been able to provide some virtual shows, and anticipate re-opening in the Fall of 2021. One virtual show received grant funding to share on the national level.
- While closed, they hope to do some renovations to the 111 year old Town Hall building and hope to expand the building’s use after replacing flooring, seating, and install more efficient HVAC, all to make the building more accessible.
Since reopening, some people have come back to the Enrichment Center programs in person. They continue offering transportation, meal delivery, and phone calls. At the Rec Center, appointments are required and you cannot share lap lanes. The fitness equipment has been moved to the auxiliary gym for more space between pieces.
Mark said the staff continue to work on updating the Strategic Plan and Business Development Plan, although the process was interrupted by COVID. Mark hopes to complete it by the end of the year and roll out to the public then.
Mark noted the Rec Center has demonstrated they have a significant role to play in the community and will continue to grow and change with resident’s needs. They are stronger when people are in the building, and realized they are more than just a rec center, which prompted a re-branding to RecPlex to encompass all of the buildings under the management of the Recreation Department.
Mark shared that Woodland Lights will be returning this holiday season, with a few modifications:
- They have to operate at 15% capacity which means 400 people per night; advance ticket sales only
- No amusement rides or horse carriage, but they invested in a train where people can ride through the lights while maintaining safe distance.
- Visits with Santa will still occur, but he will be in the A-Frame where there is more space
President Frank thanked Mark for the great updates and announced next week The Honorable Kate Huffman will be our guest speaker. Everyone have a great week, be safe and stay healthy until next week! Thanks!
