May 2023
Dear Rotary members and friends,
My year as your governor has been special in so many ways. I am truly grateful for the friendships I have made and the warm welcome from all the clubs that I have visited. This year has made an impact on me. You have welcomed Georgeann, my family and me into your clubs. Your kind words and advice have made me a better leader and inspired me to fully embrace the meaning of “Service Above Self”. As Rotary grows, so too does my family. In June, Georgeann and I will be expecting the birth of our first grandchild, our grandson Tate Jacob Jones. Thank you to all who wished my daughter Makenzie well at the District Conference. We truly are a family, a Rotary Family!
May has arrived!
Spring is in the air, and we are all getting excited to spend more time on our outdoor service projects. They say April showers bring May flowers. It sure looks like everything is in full bloom this year after all the rain we have endured. Can you believe we have only two more months left in our Rotary Year together? Let’s continue the excitement and finish the year off strong.
May is Youth Service Month. District 6630 definitely excels in this area. We may have lost the RYLA Camp during COVID, but the team rose to the occasion and was able to put on another very successful camp in June of 2022. Marc West and the RYLA planning committee have planned for an even bigger event this June. RYLA will be held at Baldwin Wallace University on June 11 – 15. If your club would like to sponsor a future leader, you can find additional information on our RYLA PAGE.
Our Interact Clubs throughout the District are thriving. We are teaching community service to these high schoolers and preparing them for a life of service. The Interact Clubs in our district selected to support the Akron Children's Hospital as their district-wide service project this year. They collected clothing, toiletries, board and card games, items for infants and toddlers, school age children, teens, craft supplies and blankets. All supplies were delivered to the Akron Children’s Hospital after the District Conference. Reach out to your local interact clubs and congratulate them on a job well done.
Our Rotary Youth Exchange is back and the RYE committee has been keeping them busy. As we come to the end of the school year the students will be returning to their home countries and our outbound students will be returning from their year abroad. I would like to encourage the clubs to consider having one of these Young Adults speak at your club about their experience.
Our Rotaract Program has grown by expanding the Baldwin Wallace Club and working to open a couple of new ones. This program has been a challenge for our District, but this year we are making progress. Looking at all of our youth programs in the district, we are supporting the Rotary Action Plan by Increasing Our Impact, Enhancing Participant Engagement, Expanding Our Reach, & Increasing Our Ability to Adapt.
A Huge Thank You to the 2023 District Conference Planning Committee, your leadership and dedication made the 2023 “Celebrating our Community Service and Partners” Conference a success.
On April 28-29, 2023 we held our District 6630 Conference at the Cleveland Marriott East in Warrensville Hts. This was a Great Conference to attend. Thank you to the over 300 Rotarians who attended and heard some great speakers.
Rotarians participated in our District Leadership Assembly, Presidents Elects training, Leadership 6630 class and our general sessions Mental Health, Empowering Women, Veteran Services, and club resources.
Keynote Speakers were, Rotary Peace Fellow, Wisdom Addo, , Executive Director of the West Africa Centre for Peace Foundation and Director of Africa PeaceJam, spoke on "My Journey as a Rotary Peace Builder" and Dr. Kirsten M. Ellenbogen, Ph.D., CEO, of the Great Lakes Science Center spoke on “Empowering Girls in STEM: We All Have a Role”
On Saturday we honored our Youth Services with the Rotary Youth Exchange students presenting information about themselves and their country in the House of Friendship. Interactors collected and sorted the items for their Akron Children’s Hospital project. We also presented to Dinah Henderson, Interact advisor from Stow-Monroe Fall High School the Richard C. “Dick” Pitcher award for her service to the youth programs in our district. John Laird was awarded the Gary Neuman Award, an award given to a spouse or partner, for his support of PDG Patricia Myers.
We honored our 50 and 60 year Rotarians for their dedication to Rotary. Together they have over 607 years of service in their communities. Be sure to thank them for their service.
Our 50 year Rotarians were presented with a Crystal Service Award.
| William Manby Sr. - RC of Akron | Ronald Hamilton - RC of Chardon |
| Roger Read - RC of Akron | Donald Burkholder – RC of Jefferson |
| Mike Meshginpoosh - RC of Geneva | Thomas Eble – RC of West Shore |
| Richard Kretschman – RC of Painesville |
Our 60 year Rotarians
| Roger Edwards, 60 - RC of Northampton Cuyahoga Valley | Leonard Caminer, 60 – RC of Twinsburg |
| Jack Harig, 61 - RC of Akron | Robert Marcy, 62 – RC of Conneaut |
| W. Stuver Parry, 64 - RC of Akron |
Our Special Honoree is Virginia Goodell from the RC of Mantua with over 70 years of service. Virginia became a Rotary Ann in the 1940s when her husband was a Rotarian. Virginia Joined Rotary as a Rotarian in June of 1991 and had her 100th birthday in January 2023. Congratulations Virginia.
In addition to that we honored 4 Community Partners: Leadership Hudson, Rotary Camp for Children with Special Needs, Community Partnership on Aging (CPA) and the Good Knights of Lorain County. A big thank you to the clubs who sent in their support for these Community partners who make a difference in District 6630. I encourage you to visit their website and learn more about their programs.
Polio Plus & Annual Fund Fundraising Efforts – We are nearing our goal of $100,000 in donations towards Polio Plus and the Annual Fund and look forward to sharing successful results with you in July. To help us achieve our goal we have received an autographed Tie, Scarf and Theme Print from the First Woman President in Rotary International History. We will have an Online Auction for these items. There will be a preview of the items on June 20th. The Live Auction
will be held during the International Conference with bidding beginning on May 26th and ending on June 2nd. All of the funds will go to support the POLIO PLUS FUND and all donations will be made in the name of the winning bidder. Yes, you read it correctly, your donation will be sent to The Rotary Fund, and you will receive credit for the donation.
will be held during the International Conference with bidding beginning on May 26th and ending on June 2nd. All of the funds will go to support the POLIO PLUS FUND and all donations will be made in the name of the winning bidder. Yes, you read it correctly, your donation will be sent to The Rotary Fund, and you will receive credit for the donation. Let’s Finish the Year Strong.
Thank You for all of your support.
Dave
David E Jones |
