Getting started. George Rogers gave the Invocation and honored the veterans in our club to start the June 10 meeting. President Jerry Balint led is the Pledge of Allegience.

(In the photo: District Gov. Elect Stephen Zabor)

Guests. Our guests included Joy Schaeffer, the Strongsville High School student who won our club’s Four Way Test speech contest, then went on to win the District 6630 competition. Joy, who was joined by her father, Jonathan, paster of Grace Church, in Middleburg Heights, told the club about her upcoming mission this summer. Connor Roth, a student at Polaris Career Center and recipient of a Strongsville Rotary Foundation scholarship this year, also was among the attending students. Donna Kircher, Kohl’s supervisor who oversaw the store employees’ help at our Arbor Day event, also was in attendance.

District Gov. Stewart Buchanan celebrated his birthday with us this morning. Stewart joined District Gov. Elect Stephen Zabor and our own Dick Kiplinger in awarding the Paul Harris fellowship to Rob Kammer, Paul Psota and Bob Schmieler. Andy Motz received a Paul Harris plus, while Bob also received a Harry Fuehrer Fellowship. Those guys were not able to attend last week’s banquest, in which other Paul Harris and Harry Fuehrer Fellows were announced.

Four Way Test. By the way, you can view Joy's speech at the District 6630 finals, at Beechwood High School, here.

In sympathy. Jeanine Hammack's mother, Angela Fornelli, passed on earlier this month. Our condolences go out to Jeanine and her family.

Dress up. Not down, on June 17. Members of the late Marc Amato's family will join us at our June 17 meeting to accept an honorary Paul Harris Fellowship. In light of this special ceremony, please ignore solicitations to wear tee shirts and shorts in honor of our speaker and fellow Rotarian County Councilman Mike Gallagher. Mike also is encouraged to break tradition and put on a jacket.

Prudential Cares. As part of the companies program to recognize employees who do community service, Prudential awarded Jerry Balint and Guy James $250 each toward the Strongsville Rotary Foundation.

Board meeting. At last Wednesday’s meeting of our Board of Directors, a donation of $280 to the Strongsville VFW Post was approved for that organization’s golf outing. A donation of $250 to the Strongsville fireworks display was approved.

Membership. Our club has 152 members with the recent resignations of two members and the addition of Bob Gillingham and Scott Lockhart. Brian Kiplinger noted that the club is holding a membership recruitment contest. If you bring in a new member before the end of Jerry’s regime, your name will be included in a drawing to win Indians tickets donated by Jerry. Those new members will be indicted at the June 24 meeting. As always, when you bring in a new member, the club kicks in $100 toward your Paul Harris Fellowship.

Joplin. The board approved a donation of $2,000 to assist the victims of the tornado that destroyed Joplin, Mo. In addition, the club will pass the hat – or the cardboard box – for additional support. At the June 10 meeting, $782 was collected from attendees. In addition, all of the cash collected by the Three Stooges was donated – for a total of $933 collected.

The relief efforts in Joplin are being organized by the city’s Rotary Foundation, which is overseen by the city’s two Rotary clubs. In a recent email, Logan Stanley, president of the Joplin Rotary, said that the city has been overwhelmed with volunteers. “However, we will be identifying some specific projects that we will need help with completing,” Logan said. “We will keep you posted to let you know how Rotarians can help rebuild Joplin.”

The Rotary Club of Joplin's website: http://www.joplinrotary.org.

Birthdays. The club celebrated the following birthdays and club anniversaries.
June birthdays:
Ciesick, Robert, Jun 02    
Croft, Sandra, Jun 30    
Dzurilla, Joseph, Jun 25    
Finkler, Matthew, Jun 03    
Gay, Ashley, Jun 02    
James, Guy, Jun 21    
Kammer, Rob, Jun 08    
Knight, Lena, Jun 24    
Mack, Richard, Jun 10    
Meister, Laurie, Jun 14    
Motz, Andrew, Jun 18    
Nintcheff, Peter, Jun 22    
Richards, Paul, Jun 09    
Rogers III, George, Jun 27    
Schmieler, Bob, Jun 14    
Taylor, Elaine, Jun 17    
Taylor, L. Kenneth, Jun 17    
Whelan, Marybeth, Jun 02    
Zubek, Anthony, Jun 29    
    
June anniversaries:
Bond, Edward, 18 years, Jun 18    
Hollingsworth, Chuck. 5 years, Jun 30    
James, Bart    2 years, Jun 26    
James, Guy    2 years, Jun 26    
McGhee, Boyce Michael, 5 years, Jun 30    
Sage, Dan, 1 years, Jun 25    
Surak, Matt, 7 years    , Jun 18    
Turnbull, John, 2 years, Jun 26    
Wirtanen-Siloy, Laurel, 1 years, Jun 25    
Zivcsak, Ron, 16 years. Jun 01

Lena Knight was the winner of the traditional Olympia birthday gift certificate drawing.

Well, well. District Gov. Elect Stephen Zabor addressed the club about his recent trip, along with Rotarians from a handful of Midwestern states, to Nigeria, where they provided assistance in a variety of areas, focusing on clean water projects. Nigeria, he noted, is the world’s fifth largest exporter of oil and has a population of 152 million. The lack of clean drinking water is a major factor in the nation’s high child mortality rate. Rotary’s Reach Out to Africa program was started in 2007-2008, when Wilfred Wilkinson was president of Rotary International.

For information about the Reach out to Africa program, visit http://www.reachouttoafrica.org/goalsandscope.html.

Words of Wisdom.

Two little kids are in a hospital, lying on stretchers next to each other outside the operating room.
The first kid leans over and asks, "What are you in here for?"
The second kid says, "I'm in here to get my tonsils out and I'm a little nervous."
The first kid says, "You've got nothing to worry about. I had that done when I was four. They put you to sleep, and when you wake up they give you lots of Jell-O and ice cream. It's a breeze."
The second kid then asks, "What are you here for?"
The first kid says, "A circumcision."
"Whoa!" the second kid replies. "Good luck, buddy. I had that done when I was born. Couldn't walk for a year."

Quotable.

 “The argument from intimidation is a confession of intellectual impotence.” - Ayn Rand

“While the state exists, there can be no freedom. When there is freedom there will be no state. – Vladmir Lenin