President Brad Thorp said the club received a certificate of appreciation for participation in the Americana Festival in July. The certificate contained a picture of member John Callander squirting water from the old fire engine into the crowd, so Brad said it was only appropriate to give the certificate to John, since the club does not have a museum archives.

 Brad said two letters were also received from past recipients of our Rotary Club scholarship awards.. Zach Balsinger said he is adjusting after a month at the University of Cincinnati and so far he is a straight A student, having attended all classes. With projects and tests coming up, he hopes to remain at least a B student, he said. 

 Rachel Patton said she has finished her first year at OSU and interned with a veterinarian during the summer and that her first year has been a life-changing experience. She made the Dean's list both semesters. 

 ​Brad then asked Don Gerhardt to lead the singing of The Pancake Breakfast Song, with the help of Lee Hieronymus, Peachy Metzner, Carol Kennard, and Gerry Eastabrooks. All joined in.

 Shelley Fisher, who said she had been working in Columbus for a few weeks and thus was not at our club meetings, said she would be happy to help members woo sponsors for the Pancake Breakfast, and that she and Peachy plan to call on the local businesses to ask them about attending the Pancake Breakfast and/or helping sponsor the breakfast. They are calling their effort: Operation Centerville.

 Gerry reminded everyone that the volunteer sign-up sheets were available for those who have not yet signed up to work on Oct, 24, Pancake Breakfast Day. This is also World Polio Day.

 Erich Eggers, Sgt.-at-Arms, led the singing of Happy Birthday for those with birthdays in September. The only two present sitting at the birthday table were Dan Sortman and Joyce Young. John Callander chose to remain where he always sits. 

 

 

 

  Sgt.-at-Arms Erich Eggers said our new goal of 300 coats was only 39 coats away. He and Joyce Young both bought five coats, and other members either bought a coat and/or contributed to the cause. Erich said he will not be at the next meeting, but would contribute for five more coats then. 

 

Boyd Preston said he was contacted by a Dayton group that helps the needy, that is in need of some skilled labor to get snow blowers and other items winterized....mower blades sharpened, etc. If you know someone, let him know.

 

Joyce Young announced that Rec West will have an open house from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday to celebrate the new location of the senior center. 

 It was noted that member Jim Briggs was named to the Dayton Broadcasters's Hall of Fame recently. Congrats, Jim. The group applauded his accomplishments over the years. 

 

Member Ray Werz presented member Lee Hieronymus with a coupon entitling him to one session of Ray's newest class on Jesus and Socrates. The coupon said it would only be honored if Lee would agree to sit quietly and not disturb the class or say disparaging remarks. He said it was notarized. When Lee said there was no date on the certificate, Ray fired back: "There is no place either." Whenever Ray announces one of his new classes for adults, Lee always makes fun of the topics, so Ray decided to do him one better this time. 

 

The Pancake Breakfast is sung to the tune of Take Me Out to the Ball Game. 

 It goes: Take them out for some pancakes./ Give them some sausages too./ Serve them some OJ and applesauce./ It's a great meal, at a very low cost./ Go and sell all your tickets./ If you don't, it's a shame,/ cause there's food and fun for everyone,/ while we build Rotary fame.

 

John Callander noted that the labeling of dictionaries and thesauri will be done after our next meeting. It will be done behind Cline School on Virginia Ave.

 

 

 Jennifer and Brittini showed a video about Reclaiming Futures, a Montgomery County Juvenile Court program that strives to help troubled youth keep from being incarcerated. It's theme was: Together We Can Make a Difference. 

 Among those in the video were Nick Kuntz, administrative judge; and Anthony Capizzi, Montgomery County Juvenile Court Judge. Teenagers who had been in trouble and were helped by the Reclaiming Futures program of the Montgomery County Juvenile Court, gave testimony of how the program gave them support and people to relate to. A parent of one of the teens in trouble also told how he felt the program helped his son Nate. 

 The program uses mentors, called natural helpers, to work with the troubled youth. They are asked to spend four hours a month with the youth they are mentoring, but they need to have some face-to-face contact, and be able to listen to and motivate the youth with encouragement. Those who volunteer are given six hours of training to help them become a good child advocate. Some helpers just hang out with the teen, others go to church together. One parent said the natural helper even "lets my daughter call her mima." A girl in the video said she thanks her helper for the help that she's gotten, stating, "she's like a surrogate mom for me."

 Of the 7,000 youth who end up in juvenile court, many are there because of substance and alcohol abuse and/or crimes, such as stealing. More than one-third of the cases are girls and some of the youth are as young as 10 years old, Brittini Long said.

 Parent Lorenzo Harper said in the video that he had his doubts at first about the program being of any help, but he said his son works together with his probation officer and "he has a lot of people pulling for him." 

 The youth go through an assessment and treatment program and have a court monitor.

 Heckman said the Natural Helpers are part of a circle of care. They get referrals from various sources, she said. Helpers often participate in cookouts, art projects and holiday parties with the youth to help build relationships. One relationship can make all the difference in the world, she said. 

 Michelle Maloy-Kidder, a Natural Helper, has helped four kids. She is executive director of NAMI, The National Alliance on Mental Illness. She did not speak at the meeting, but had information about some upcoming events. She said Mental Illness Awareness Week is Oct. 4-10. A National Day of Prayer is Oct. 6, and at 6 p.m. a faith-based and educational event will take place at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 55 Nutt Road, Centerville. Keynote speakers will include Mayor Mark Kingseed of Centerville, Greg Darling, Hope4Us facilitator, and Deborah Wilcox, Ph.D., on Stigma/Healing in Community. The event will include a prayer vigil, refreshments, and music by Grace Notes, Jazz ensemble

 Also, Oct. 3 is Strides for Mental Health, the second annual 5K Walk to bring Mental Health Awareness. It will begin at Wegerzyn Metro Park, 1301 E. Siebenthaler Ave. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and Walk begins at 10 a.m. Call 937-299-3667 or go to www.nami-mc.org for more information.