Rotary International asks us to Imagine Rotary through our Focus Areas
This month Rotary International asks us to Imagine Rotary by supporting the members of our community to become economically self sufficient. Explore the possibilities with us at our meeting Wednesday at noon at Wick Park or virtually via Zoom.
Wednesday will be Bring A Guest Day. During our Club Assembly at Wick Park, board members and committee chairs will report on activities that emphasize the power of Rotary.
Our club bowling team is having a good season. Cheer them on Tuesday evenings at Amron Lanes in Canfield. Substitutes sometimes are needed – might that be your opportunity?
Read below about the Purple Pinkie Day doughnut sale, which is an End Polio Now fundraiser. Doughnuts must be pre-ordered. The deadline is Oct. 11.
Operation Warm children’s coats have been ordered, but donations continue to be accepted. See co-chairs Dave Stillwagon and Stacia Erdos Littleton to help.
Last Week's Meeting
“You don’t look Hispanic,” people have told RCY member Ana Torres. As a native of Peru, in South America, Ana is a Latin American. “I respond to everything,” she told members during the weekly RCY meeting. “It’s beautiful that people recognize I have a different heritage.”
In addition to her job as Co-Director and Head of Library Services and Operations at YSU Maag Library, she also chairs the planning committee for Hispanic Heritage Month, which is underway.
She gave a brief primer on terminology. Latino refers to males; latina refers to females; and latine is impartial. Referring to language differences, Spanish is spoken in Spain, while Hispanic applies to Central and South Americans (but not Brazil), the Caribbean nations, and Equatorial Guinea. In Peru alone, 72 dialects are spoken, she noted. Employees of a meat packing plant in Salem, in Columbiana County, speak at least 13 dialects – none of which is Spanish, she continued. (Thus, a person speaking a dialect usually learns Spanish as a gateway to learning English).
Heritage matters because “American cultural traditions are the contributions of Mexicans, Latin Americans and Caribbean groups,” she said, citing cowboys and barbecue as examples.
Hispanic Heritage Month runs through mid-October, with many cultural activities ahead. Review the calendar of events at https://ysu.edu/hispanicheritage.
President-Elect George Nelson, leading the meeting while President Deanna Rossi was away, contributed two Happy Bucks – one for each of his photographs that will be included in the Butler Institute of American Art’s 84th Annual Area Artist exhibition. See his works and more from Oct. 29 to Nov. 19. Congratulations, George!
Also last week, five RCY members officially joined Leadership Mahoning Valley Class of 2024 by attending a two-day retreat. Melissa Bateman, Dionne Dowdy, Gerri Jenkins, Ellie Platt and Troy Rhoades join other professionals in a 10-month leadership training program. A group photo of them was taken by Candace Terpak, who also is in LMV and joining RCY soon.
WELL DONE, ROTARIAN!
David Stillwagon, RCY member and a past president, will receive an Outstanding Alumni Award from YSU Williamson College of Business Administration on Oct. 20. Stillwagon and two other alumni will be honored during a reception in Williamson Hall. Stillwagon is Executive Director of Community Corrections Association and serves on many local, county and state committees and boards. Congratulations!
ATHENA AWARD NOMINEE
Congratulations to Dionne Dowdy Lacey, executive director of United Returning Citizens, for being nominated for the 34th Annual ATHENA Award. This recognition is for women “who excel in their chosen field, have devoted time and energy to their community in a meaningful way and also open doors so that others may follow in their path,” the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber states in its announcement. All nominees will be recognized, and the 2025 recipient will be announced, at an award dinner on May 15 at Waypoint 4180 in Canfield.
SUPPORTING MOROCCO
The Rotary Foundation has established a Morocco Earthquake Response Fund to deliver supplies, provide health care, and support rebuilding efforts as survivors recover from a devastating earthquake. Go to my.rotary.org and search Disaster Response Fund to contribute.
TRAVEL WITH RCY AND YSU
Club members can enroll now to join the 2025 RCY Tour to Ireland and Scotland. Travel dates will be from April 23 to May 8. A public announcement will be made after Sept. 22. Contact Ana Torres or Scott Schulick for details. Click here for more info!
CONVENTION IN SINGAPORE
YOU ARE INVITED!
Join the Rotary International family in sharing and Creating Hope in the World as we come together in breathtaking Singapore for the 2024 Rotary International Convention, 25-29 May.
In Singapore, we’ll take ideas built upon hope and turn them into action as we discover new ways to create lasting change in our communities. We’ll enjoy opportunities to renew relationships made at previous conventions and create new ones together as we set our course toward a better future.
Come! Be inspired!
Please - take a time out to watch this beautiful promotion video:
The annual Pumpkin Walk in Mill Creek MetroParks later this month will connect with Operation Pollination and provide opportunities for RCY members to engage the community in one of Rotary International’s Seven Areas of Focus.
The MCMP Education Department will decorate the Cushwa Building at Fellows Riverside Gardens to resemble a bat cave for educational programming. A table will be reserved in the Cushwa Building (located at the back of Fellows Riverside Gardens' parking lot, in the Children's Garden) for Operation Pollination volunteers to interact with and educate visitors about the importance of pollinators.
Why a bat cave? It’s a tip of the hat to a seasonal symbol and its connection to a healthy environment. A few species of bats are entirely dependent on eating fruits and seeds. They fly to plants to drink or feed on flower nectar. When this occurs, pollen from flowers sticks to hairs on bats’ bodies. As they continue to fly to other fruits and flowers, they transfer pollen from their bodies to more plants. Bats are major or exclusive pollinators of banana, cacao (cocoa), mango, fig, date and cashew plants.
There will be two opportunities to provide community service and share the importance of restoring pollinators’ habitats.
Pumpkin Carving will be Friday, Oct. 13. Volunteers may work either or both shifts that day, from 8:30 t0 11:30 a.m., and from 11:30 to 2:30 p.m.
The Pumpkin Walk will be Sunday, Oct. 15. Two shifts also have been planned, from 3:30 to 6 p.m., and from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
To sign up, contact Alyson Scheibe, a park educator, at 330-740-7107 ext. 179 or email her at ascheibe@millcreekmetroparks.org. Provide your name, contact information (preferred phone number and email address), and which event and shift you will work. Alyson also can answer questions and provide further information.
THIS WEEK IN ROTARY HISTORY
October 8, 1990: Dr. Richard Murray began the “Medical Surplus Project;” Estimated value of items collected through the Rotary Club of Youngstown and given to World Aide is $200,000.
