Rotary provides a wonderful opportunity to connect with other people in so many ways. A unique example was demonstrated in the March Rotary. A Covid-19 unit nurse received a Rotary bracelet from her Dad when she joined her club. She wore the bracelet to work and had a patient who did not speak English. The language barrier was preventing the nurse from connecting with him. The patient then pointed at her bracelet. At first, the nurse did not understand. Then he said, "Rotary." From then on, beyond being a nurse, he know who she was. The symbol made him recognize the kind of person she must be. It is wonderful to know that we are part of an organization that has the universal "language" of Rotary!
What did Rotary Clocktower do in March?
On March 3rd, we welcomed J.R. Campbell, Professor and Executive Director of the Design Innovation Initiative at Kent State University. Kent State's DI Initiative brings together students, faculty, staff, community members, and leading experts from diverse disciplines who are thoughtfully addressing technology and society through design to become creative, intersectional problem solvers and fearless collaborators in the face of complex, messy problems. This presentation was live streamed and is available for viewing on our Facebook page.
We also welcomed Amy Manko, a former Rotarian from Washington, Pa., who came to speak about her new Hudson business, Ross Farm Mercantile, our March business of the month. This local yarn shop sells many different yarns from sheep on the Ross Farm as well as fine British and other wool yarns. Amy plans to have trunk show collections and will be teaching knitting.
Finally, our District Governor and member, Pat Myers, lead an induction of new members from the 2020 Leadership Hudson class. Pat provided inspirational comments including that all Rotarians share the same core values. Thanks again to Pat for leading this induction and to the sponsors of these new members!
On March 10th, we continued our book discussion, turning our attention to the book, "Start with Why" by Simon Sinek. De-De Mulligan and Jake Jackson led an interesting discussion of the questions: "Why did you join Rotary?" and "Why do you stay in Rotary?" This discussion will continue on April 14th on a different aspect of the book. Thanks De-De and Jake for your work!
The next evening our club held the 4-way speech contest for students at Western Reserve Academy. The two winners with compete with the two winners from Hudson High School on April 7th.
March 17th, St. Patrick's Day provided an opportunity to celebrate some of our members. Wayne Nieman shared about his involvement with the Northeast Ohio Roy Hobbs Baseball, Not only did we learn a lot about Wayne's activities outside of work, but we also learned how every year as part of tournaments, he gets to play at MLB spring training sites, including the Jet Blue Stadium, the training facility for the Boston Red Sox, with its own "Green Monster." Local championship games are played at the Ballpark of Hudson. We hope to catch Wayne play in the local championship. Thanks Wayne for providing such interesting information!
Kate Schlademan, continued our monthly member spotlight segment of "When in your life did you feel most vibrant?" Kate shared about her time living in South Korea for five years and encouraged anyone having such as opportunity to take advantage.
Mavis Jennings concluded the meeting with some special St. Patrick's Day fun by leading us in St. Patrick Day songs. In addition to music, Mavis, having traveled and performed with Cique du Soleil, shared stories from his travels in Ireland. Thanks Mavis for celebrating St. Patrick's Day with us and allowing all of us to be Irish for the day!
March 24th provided an opportunity to hear from Susan Licate, a Media, Partnership and Congregational Specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau. Key information provided included business resources available from the Census Bureau.
Our monthly "What is Rotary?" segment highlighted the cluster and cluster projects. Jake shared information about the status of last year's project, which was delayed because of Covid, is ready to be completed. Eighteen camp stoves were purchased for the cabins at Camp Manatoc. They will be installed on April 13th at 9:00 a.m. All Rotarians are invited to come and assist with the completion of this project on the 13th!
Additionally, the next project has been selected by the cluster of clubs which is the installation of bare root stock for 1.7 acres at Wood Hollow Metro Park in Hudson. The Cuyahoga Falls club is heading this project.
On March 31st, Elaine Marsh, Summit Metro Parks Watershed Specialist, discussed the removal of Gorge Dam and what it means for the environment and the region in her presentation, "Bringing Down the Dam, Freeing the Falls."
Rotary Clocktower provided a letter of support to the Western Reserve Land Conservancy, which is the largest land trust in Ohio, in its efforts to acquire and preserve the 55 acres by historic O'Brien Cemetery in the city of Hudson. This O'Brien Preserve promotes conservation elements such as: protecting forest, wetlands, and streams, providing habitat for over 130 bird species; and offering outdoor recreation opportunities to the public. Additionally, it is adjacent to the Summit County's Hike and Bike Trail. A representative will be speaking to our club later this year.
Update on pollinator garden project. The two Rotary clubs of Hudson and Hudson Clocktower are moving forward with the creation of pollinator gardens at each of the Hudson Schools. For 2021, the first garden will be created at Ellsworth Hill Elementary. Representatives of the two clubs met with Hudson school representatives, including Curt VanBlarcum, the Hudson Schools arborist, to begin the planning process. We are looking forward to creating a great learning experience for the students which aligns with Rotary's new area of focus on the environment. If you would like to assist, the initial work at Ellsworth will occur Tuesday, April 6th and Wednesday, April 7th at 5:30 p.m. to remove the invasive plants and weeds from the designated area.
Update of Hudson High School Students collecting used books. Jeremy Lavoie contacted me to share that the students have decided to restart the book drive, and are running it until April 15th. Anyone wishing to donate books can drop them off at Jeremy's house, 7165 Colesbrooke Dr. To date, the students have donated over 12,000 books to organizations, including the Findley Learning Center, Cleveland Literacy Project, various Ohio prisons, and Bright Star in Akron.
I hope to see you soon at one of our upcoming Rotary meetings!
Cheryl M.
e-mail: ctm2949@roadrunner.com