Registration for our District Conference will be ending in just a very few days. If you have not done so, please register now - our District Conference is for everyone! Want a few reasons why you should go?
Want to learn ways to reduce your anxiety and find more joy in life and through service? Join us for Friday lunch!
Want to know more about how to grow your club, gain positive insights to improve mental health, promote your club or even add a new service-based club to our district? Attend our Learning Assembly sessions Friday afternoon and/or Saturday morning! And - there will be no Powerpoint - these are discussion sessions to share ideas, not lectures!
How about a fun evening with drinks, food, fellowship and The Magic of Rotary at your table with Magician Rick Smith Jr? Join us for our Friday evening Social!
Want to understand how students are serving our communities and what they think about key issues? Join our Celebration of Youth at our lunch Saturday!
Have questions about Clubrunner or Youth Protection? We will have open door sessions Saturday afternoon just for that!
Need to know more about how disparate organizations in Northeast Ohio can work together to create synergy in service? Join our dinner Saturday evening.
Want to learn about successful projects and speakers to take back to your club? Visit our House of Friendship in the Atrium Friday or Saturday!
Want to meet and celebrate with other Rotarians across our district and beyond? Join us for any of the social events or meetings!
Please join us for our Rotary District Conference of Clubs April 25 and 26 at the Cleveland Marriott East.
The Interact clubs in our district elected to support cancer patients going through chemotherapy as their district-wide service project this year, and they need your help! We are making care packages for patients of the Cleveland Clinic, and will be dropping off all care packages at Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights. We would love to make this project even more successful with your support.
We are asking Rotarians to consider putting together additional care packages, either as individuals or as a Rotary Club. Alternatively, Rotary clubs can donate money to their sponsored Interact clubs and the Interact students can put together the care packages themselves. Please coordinate with your club presidents and fellow members to see if your club can help make a difference in a chemo patient's life!
Interact students have put together a list of items to include in each care package based on consultations with staff at the hospital as well as cancer patients currently going through chemotherapy treatments. We anticipate that the cost of each care package will be between $80-$100.
Some of the items we suggest including in the care packages are:
Healing lotions for dry skin (unscented)
Puzzle books to pass the time during treatments along with pens and pencils
Hard candies to help bring moisture to the mouth (especially ginger flavored to help with nausea)
Mouth rinse to help with dry mouth (specifically suggested by a chemo patient)
Electrolyte drink powder packages
Fuzzy socks and warm blankets to help keep patients warm
Wooden utensils and a plastic reusable water bottle (metal can leave a bad taste in the mouth of chemo patients)
Here is a full list of suggested items, including a basket to package everything, with links to products on Amazon: Chemotherapy Care Package Items
Some clubs may want to consider creating an Amazon Wishlist to share with club members to diffuse the cost of these items (most individual items are $10 and under). We hope to create as many care packages as possible with your help!
All care packages should be completed by the annual District Conference of Clubs on April 25th-26th. Please send any care packages to the conference with your club members by the Youth Luncheon on Saturday, April 26th.
Please consider participating in our Interact Service Project. We hope to see everyone at the youth luncheon at the District Conference on April 26th!
Thank you, and don't hesitate to reach out to me at Chelsea.Talty@westg.org with any questions.
Sure, there is still time and more events, but it's not to early to get started on filling in your A.Z. Baker Service Award form. Your club and members have probably already achieved many of the activities.
This coveted award will be presented to all clubs that qualify.
The required points must be achieved by May 31, 2025.
The deadline for receipt of the form is June 6, 2025.
To encourage a reaching out in total service and the "development of resources" on the part of all clubs in District 6630, the A. Z. Baker Service Awards were established in 1978 at the recommendation of then District Governor James P. Banks, and by action of the District Board of Trustees. This award honors our own "Mr. Rotary," A.Z. Baker, from the Rotary Club of Cleveland who served as Rotary International President in 1955-1956. His dedication and commitment to Rotary truly exemplified SERVICE ABOVE SELF and this award was designed to honor his memory by encouraging all clubs in the district to participate in each of the Avenues of Service which are the foundation of club activity.
ALBERT Z. (A.Z.) BAKER
He was born in 1890 in Whitesboro, Texas, and was named Albert after his father and Zachary after General Zachary Taylor. He attended county schools in Tennessee (the log cabin kind), graduated from Sparta (Tennessee) High School, and then enrolled in the University of Tennessee. He hoped to be an engineer, but the Great Depression dictated that he leave school. He later studied law at the John Marshall Law School of Ohio Northern University and was admitted to legal practice in 1922. He married Grace Anderson and they had twin girls and one son.
Albert Z. (A.Z.) Baker joined the Rotary Club of Cleveland in 1929 and his Rotary classification was "Stockyards," as he was President and General Manager of the Cleveland Union Stockyard Company. He was also President of the American Stockyards Association and Director of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce. He was a Member of the Cleveland Bar Association and Delta Theta Phi, the legal fraternity. He served as a trustee of Baldwin Wallace College and as an Advisory Board member for the Salvation Army. He also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Cleveland Auto Club and as Director and Deputy Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. In 1939, he was elected a Director; in 1940, Vice President; and in 1941, President of the Rotary Club of Cleveland. In 1942-43, he was elected District Governor of District 158.
At the international level, A. Z. served on many Rotary International committees. In 1946, he was chairman of the R. I. Convention Committee, for the meeting at Atlantic City; in 1948, he was a Director from Zone 2 of R.I. In 1949, he was a member of the Executive Committee of the R.I. Board of Directors and was Chairman of the Aims and Objects Committee. In 1949 and 1950, he was a member of the Convention Committee and a member of the Youth Committee and an alternate member of the Nominating Committee for President of R.I. In these roles, A.Z. made many significant contributions to the development of area conclaves and conferences at which Rotarian leaders from throughout the world discussed future plans for Rotary International as an organization and whereby many policies and procedures were developed under his leadership.
In January of 1955, A. Z. was nominated to be President of Rotary International. Though he had been reluctant to allow his name to be placed in nomination, A. Z. Baker was elected President of Rotary International on June 2, 1955 at the Golden Year Convention held in Chicago.
A.Z. set many records for travel in his Presidential year. The whole world, and not merely the Rotary frontiers, became his work ground. He carried Rotary leadership in person to the clubs of the entire Orient; he traveled more thousands of miles in Africa than any other R.I. President. The infinite good he did for Rotary everywhere with his quiet manner and disarming smile was recorded in media around the entire world. They chronicled the acceleration of A.Z.’s Rotarian visits back and forth across hemispheres and oceans, his record of attendance at international and district conventions, and various other ways in which the imprint of a fine leader becomes a blazed trail.
The theme for President A. Z. Baker's year was "Develop Your Resources." Following his year as President A.Z. served longer than any other Rotarian as a member of The Rotary International Foundation and of the International Council on Legislation. He served four years as Foundation Chairman, far more than any other person previously had. During his chairmanship, The Foundation celebrated its 50th Anniversary in Cleveland in December of 1966.
The World of Rotary was saddened on March 16, 1976, with the passing of A. Z. Baker. He had been a Rotarian for 47 years and had been a tower of strength in giving leadership to Rotary, having held every important post in Rotary at the Club, District, Zone, and International levels.
Lafayette Township Fire Chief Brian Cavanaugh and Ohio National Guard Sergeant First Class Jeff Cain met for a Lenten Friday lunch at Grande Cafe & Roastery to catch up on the excellent cooperation and training within Medina County's emergency management team.
Included in their vision for the future of Medina, they shared successes of the ongoing professional relationship both officers have had with the schools and Medina County Career Center. Chief Cavanaugh and Sergeant Cain emphasized the importance of continuing to build their mission of community, partnerships, and service through education and career development with young people here in Medina County.
Photo L-R: Berea Rotary President Dave Skrzynski congratulates the 4-Way Test Speech contestants, Jaylin Marotta, Elizabeth Chen and Christina Calvis.
The final rankings were so close, Berea Rotary decided to send all three contestants to the District 6630 Four-Way Test Speech Contest on April 12.
The three Berea-Midpark High School students are Christina Calvis and Jaylin Marotta, both seniors; and Elizabeth Chen, junior. Elizabeth has represented Berea Rotary for the past two years.
Their speech topics were interesting and varied. Christina talked about embarrassment and how most people are very afraid of being embarrassed in public. They are obsessed with being “cool.” But this also could be a learning experience, Christina said.
Elizabeth spoke of another obsession – numbers. We are bombarded with IQ. BMI, movie ratings, SAT scores. Teacher salaries are based on student scores on state tests. Just because it’s easy to use, doesn’t mean we should.
Jaylin’s topic was politics. There is a reason your mother tells you to never discuss politics at the dinner table. Jaylin went on to discuss ways to talk calmly to someone with whom you disagree.
Celebrity judges this year were Berea Fire Chief Terry Ledwell and Berea Police Lt. Tom Walker.
The Rotary Club of Nordonia Hills School partnered with Nordonia High School to present the 4th Annual STEM Event, celebration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This event brought together students, local vendors, and professionals in the field to enhance students’ understanding of the possibilities of future careers. It is the Club’s desire that this event would inspire the next generation of thinkers, problem solvers, and innovators through hands-on activities and exposure to various careers.
Over 25 vendors with 67 guests from all over Northeast Ohio were present to show students how their business or career is part of the STEM education program. Traditional displays by Eaton, Minority Tech Alliance, Swagelok, and Air and Space Force demonstrated hands-on activities and projects that they work with every day. Other vendors, not necessarily associated with STEM, such as Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Tinker’s Creek Watershed Partners, CropKing, Inc. and Ohio Department of Transportation also demonstrated their work and activities to encourage students to other possible career opportunities.
Companies and organizations set up exhibits showcasing the latest advancements in STEM. Demonstrations include virtual reality experiences, robots, and environmentally sustainable technologies. These exhibits allowed students to have the chance to interact with professionals, gaining valuable advice and mentorship.
Throughout the day, approximately 470 students visited the STEM center to interact directly with the vendors present. However, the highlight of the day was the Robotics Challenge. Where 14 students pared in four groups, formed teams to design, build, and program robots that competed in various tasks. This challenge was able to encourage teamwork, technical skills, and creative problem-solving.
The next day, a Science Teacher at the High School forwarded an email to the Principal, Louise Teringo, from one of the parents of a student. The parent said: “Thank you for arranging the STEM Day for the students. I imagine my daughter is pretty quiet in class and wanted you to know that she walked away from that day genuinely interested in several of the fields that she learned about. We typically don't get much out of her when it comes to "how was your day?" but on that day, she had a lot to say about potential careers. It led to great discussion about pros and cons of different types of work, work/life balance, pay, etc. Thanks for facilitating this day.”
The Rotary Club of Nordonia Hills and the Nordonia Schools regularly partner in many programs throughout the year such as recognizing Students of the Month, providing Scholarship, sponsoring students to attend the RYLA program and the 3rd grade dictionary project. For more information about our STEM Event, please contact Lateef Saffore, Chair at lysaffore@gmail.com.
The "Mayor's Mansion" at Western Reserve Historical Society - Cleveland History Center was the perfect setting for our club social. Thank you to everyone who joined us. It was fun to "get into character" and guess WHO for this suffrage era game.
Want more information? Reach out to rotarycle@gmail.com
I want to thank you all for your support of the Soles4Souls donation campaign for shoes for the disadvantaged youth in Ohio. They will now be recipients of a new pair of shoes due to your generosity. Although we did not win the competition, we did something better. Due to your aggressive donations, we were still ahead of all districts by the beginning of the conference. This caused all the other districts to step up their donations, resulting in the largest donation total in AOP history. In total, all the Ohio districts donated $50,503 for shoes. This will supply 2,525 pairs of shoes throughout Ohio to kids that sorely need them. We were 500% over our goal, mainly because of YOU! Thank you again for all your donations. A slide show can be viewed here to show the impact of your generosity.
Yours in Rotary Service,
Bob Oborn Rotary International District 6630 Governor Elect (DG 2025-26) Past Club President (2013-2014) Home Club: Rotary Club of Stow -Munroe Falls
Myanmar and Thailand were struck by a devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake, causing widespread destruction. The earthquake, which occurred at 06:20 GMT on Friday, 28th March, was followed by a significant aftershock of 6.4M. Tremors were felt as far as China, with the epicenter in central Myanmar. More than six million people experienced intense tremors, leading to buildings reduced to rubble, missing persons, and destroyed homes. Thousands are now displaced and in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
Both Myanmar and Thai authorities have declared states of emergency and requested international aid. Vulnerable people in these countries are homeless and in dire need of emergency shelter. They need your support.
ShelterBox has been in contact with Rotary leaders in Myanmar and Thailand. A team is deploying to Thailand to coordinate efforts and determine how best to support those affected by the earthquake. Your support is crucial in making this response possible. Our priority in these early stages is search and rescue, and we anticipate significant damage closer to the epicenter in Myanmar.
Why Support ShelterBox?
With over 25 years of experience, ShelterBox is an expert in providing emergency shelter after disasters. We have responded to dozens of major earthquakes including Morocco, Türkiye, Syria, Nepal, Japan, Haiti, and several Southeast Asia countries after the 2004 earthquake and resulting tsunami. We have provided shelter to over 3 million people. We won’t stop until we see a world where no one goes without shelter after a disaster.
Your help is vital
Please consider donating today. In these uncertain times, your support is more valuable than ever. Your generosity can make a significant impact on the lives of those affected by this crisis and around the world. You can help equip people with essential emergency aid items, enabling them to survive and rebuild their lives. Thanks to the kindness of our supporters, we can assist people in places like Gaza, Mozambique, Yemen,
The Albert Frank Memorial Golf Outing that is being sponsored by the Rotary Club of Cleveland on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at Coppertop Golf Course. Since you were a hole sponsor, golf prize sponsor, or food sponsor at one of our previous memorial outings, I wanted to give you first "dibs" on being a sponsor for this year's event.
For those of you who did not know Albert Frank, let me tell you a bit about him. A native of Laage, Germany, young Albert moved to America with his family and proudly became a citizen of the United States. He was a member of the Rotary Club of Cleveland for some 19 years. He was also a Paul Harris Fellow.
In his professional life, Albert worked for Richard L. Bowen & Associates, a firm offering integrated architecture, planning, engineering, and construction management services. In his personal life, Al fully embraced the Rotary motto of "Service above Self" serving as a volunteer firefighter for the City of Stow and as a member of the National Ski Patrol at Boston Mills.
On Jan.29, 2025 following their monthly Board of Directors meeting, the Rotary Club of Burton-Middlfield held their first Maple Splash Raffle (MSR) drawing for the monthly "Instant Winner". This year's raffle was changed to award 2- $500 Instant Winners instead of one $1000 winner in last year's drawings. The MSR committee felt that it was better to have 2 winners than 1 and most folks would be just as happy winning $500 as they would with $1000.
The first two winners were Donna Borsi and Dave Kleve. Their $500 checks will go out on 1/30/2025. This drawing marked the kick off for the long list of winners from the MSR. The main drawing and MSR Festival will be on July 12 of this year at Century Village where we are planning bigger and better facilities and even more participants. Fun is the main goal of the MSR Festival and offers an opportunity to learn about many non-profits that offer a multitude of services to Geauga residents.
The excitement of the attendees when the winners are drawn and announced is electric along with announcement of the MSR 50/50 raffle winner. This is a separate drawing and last year handed a $7000+ check to an overwhelmed purchaser of a $5 - 50/50 ticket go to maplesplashraffle.com to learn all that the raffle has to offer, including our "Outdoor Adventure" ticket and money saving ticket bundles.
The MSR is the major fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Burton-Middlefield and funds all club operations throughout the year and also our generous donations to over 30 non-profits that serve Geauga County. Last year these donations totaled over $90,000. As our raffle continues to grow we expect profits to increase this year as they have every year to date. The club continues to receive many thank yous and letters of appreciation from their sponsors for the great visibility and increased traffic the raffle has given them. Buy some tickets and join the fun and become a winner of one of our dozens of great prizes including that beautiful Ford F-150 pick-up from Preston Ford.
Bob Johnson, PDG
Secretary - BMR
Giving back to the community by bringing people together and working toward an event which raises awareness of local needs, encourage local unity, and brings in funding for non-profit organizations.
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Thank you, and don't hesitate to reach out to me at 
The Rotary Club of Nordonia Hills School partnered with Nordonia High School to present the 4th Annual STEM Event, celebration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This event brought together students, local vendors, and professionals in the field to enhance students’ understanding of the possibilities of future careers. It is the Club’s desire that this event would inspire the next generation of thinkers, problem solvers, and innovators through hands-on activities and exposure to various careers. 
Over 25 vendors with 67 guests from all over Northeast Ohio were present to show students how their business or career is part of the STEM education program. Traditional displays by Eaton, Minority Tech Alliance, Swagelok, and Air and Space Force demonstrated hands-on activities and projects that they work with every day. Other vendors, not necessarily associated with STEM, such as Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Tinker’s Creek Watershed Partners, CropKing, Inc. and Ohio Department of Transportation also demonstrated their work and activities to encourage students to other possible career opportunities. 
Companies and organizations set up exhibits showcasing the latest advancements in STEM. Demonstrations include virtual reality experiences, robots, and environmentally sustainable technologies. These exhibits allowed students to have the chance to interact with professionals, gaining valuable advice and mentorship.
The next day, a Science Teacher at the High School forwarded an email to the Principal, Louise Teringo, from one of the parents of a student. The parent said: “Thank you for arranging the STEM Day for the students. I imagine my daughter is pretty quiet in class and wanted you to know that she walked away from that day genuinely interested in several of the fields that she learned about. We typically don't get much out of her when it comes to "how was your day?" but on that day, she had a lot to say about potential careers. It led to great discussion about pros and cons of different types of work, work/life balance, pay, etc. Thanks for facilitating this day.” 
conference. This caused all the other districts to step up their donations, resulting in the largest donation total in AOP history. In total, all the Ohio districts donated $50,503 for shoes. This will supply 2,525 pairs of shoes throughout Ohio to kids that sorely need them. We were 500% over our goal, mainly because of YOU! Thank you again for all your donations. A slide show can be viewed here to show the impact of your generosity.
