Rotary International asks us to Imagine Rotary through our Focus Areas
This month Rotary International asks us to Imagine Rotary by developing and supporting new leaders. Explore the possibilities with us at our meeting Wednesday at noon at Wick Park or virtually via Zoom.
This week’s program will feature Scott Schulick, who will provide updates on the Rotary Council on Legislation as well as a recap of the 2025 Rotary International Convention. Don’t miss this chance to hear about the decisions shaping Rotary’s future.
A quick reminder: the deadline to support Operation Warm is September 15. Your donations help provide new coats for children in need as we head into the colder months.
Looking ahead, our next Beerfest Committee meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, at the Jewish Community Center Boardroom. There is also a digital meeting option available. All members are welcome and encouraged to attend—your participation helps strengthen our impact!
This week’s menu: Chicken Piccata, Rice Pilaf, Vegetable Fall Salad, Vegetarian Option
See you Wednesday at Wick Park.
Rotary Last Week
It may be called Ohio Nonviolence Week, but it’s a Youngstown Initiative.
Penny Wells, direction of Mahoning Valley Sojourn to the Past, and Barbara Brothers encouraged members to participate during 2025 Ohio Nonviolence Week. It will begin Oct 5 with a parade that will step off at 3 p.m. at Wick Avenue and Wood Street, followed by a rally at the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheater. Daily events will continue through Oct. 11, with the YWCA, Jewish Community Center, Public Library, and Unitarian Universalist Church of Youngstown among the hosts.
Sojourn to the Past is a national program that promotes nonviolence, compassion, civic responsibility, and other lessons of the Civil Rights Movement. Students travel to historic sites and hear first-hand accounts from civil rights leaders. Local high school students have participated since 2007. Chaney High School students started Nonviolence Week in 2009, and it has grown from a school endeavor to a community-wide event.
Wells, students, and community leaders will be our guests on Oct. 8, when the club will install a peace pole in Wick Park, then have lunch together in the pavilion.
RCY’s Peace Committee also encourages Rotarians to volunteer at the annual Peace Race in downtown Youngstown, beginning on the morning of Oct. 12.
In other news, film plastic recycling has resumed. Bring your contributions to any regular Wednesday lunch meeting. Thank you, Irisa Green, for agreeing to transport our club’s haul to the bins at the Poland Giant Eagle.
RSVP FOR STEAK FRY
Aug. 20 is the deadline to register for RCY’s annual Steak Fry mixer from 5:30 to 10 p.m. at Scott Schulick’s home, 2304 Fifth Ave., Youngstown, 44504. Steaks, grilled salmon, and Beyond Burgers will be the entree options, and the Rotary bar will be open. Register online here: 2025 Annual Club Steak Fry for Members and Guests | Rotary Club of Youngstown Ohio USA
TEXAS DISASTER RELIEF
Rotary District 5840 is now accepting tax-deductible donations through their 501(c)(3) Foundation to support critical disaster relief efforts in the Texas Hill Country. The Guadalupe River surged over 30 feet, tragically taking dozens of lives and leaving widespread destruction in Kerrville and surrounding communities.
Your support will provide relief to affected families through Rotary; empower local Rotarians as they engage in cleanup and recovery; and fund long-term rebuilding solutions in those communities.
You also may send checks payable to Rotary District 5840 Foundation (with Disaster Relief in the memo) to Rotary District 5840 Foundation, P.O. Box 13, Boerne, TX 78006.
SAVE THE DATE
Rising Tides presentation by Daniel Longo, engineering program manager at Youngstown Business Incubator, noon Sept. 17, Wick Park Pavilion
RCY Evening Meeting, 5:30 p.m. Sept. 24, Wick Park Pavilion (no noon meeting)
Rotary Peace Pole dedication, noon Oct. 8, Wick Park
Pints for Polio Event with District 6650 Governor Kimberly Weiss, Oct. 23, Penguin City.
Honing In on Honeybees
As research into declining bee populations continue, scientists have used a technique called DNA metabarcoding to figure out exactly which plants honeybees were visiting. Every plant has a unique DNA “barcode” in its pollen and nectar. By sequencing DNA from stored pollen (beebread) and honey, researchers could identify which flowers were being used — even if the flowers themselves weren’t directly observed.
The DNA results showed that bees favored only a fraction of the available plants, often leaning toward certain key species. Many of these preferences can be traced to plants with a long evolutionary history in the region, meaning bees are effectively “programmed” by adaptation to seek them out. So although honeybees often use the same plant genera for both nectar and pollen overall, in individual hives less than half of the plants were used for both simultaneously.
This highlights the importance of protecting native plant diversity, since it directly supports pollinator health. In contrast, introduced or ornamental plants may not always meet bees’ nutritional needs, even if they look attractive to us.
The science journal Nature reported these findings. Read the full study here: \https://rdcu.be/eCVRf
August 2, 1953: Eight graduate students from Finland arrived in Youngstown through “Experiment in International Living” (via Rotary International Service Committee) to live for one month prior to the opening of college, in the homes of eight Youngstown Rotarians.
