Welcome to The Rotary Club of Akron, Ohio

We meet each Tuesday at NOON

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Meeting ID: 989 441 809
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Meet Our 2021-22
Club President
Steve Buie

 

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Our Speaker January 18, 2022

CHARLES F. (CHAZ) BILLINGTON III, Esq.
Our Youth Protection Policy

Chair, Rotary Club of Akron Youth Protection Committee
Member, District 6630 Youth Protection Committee

Chaz is the Chair of the Rotary Club of Akron Youth Protection Committee and a member of the District 6630 Youth Protection Committee. 

Many members are aware that youth protection and safety is a high priority of Rotary International, District 6630, and all of our clubs and members. You may be less aware that Rotary International mandates youth safety protections be implemented for all Rotary related youth activities, events, and contacts.

After considerable effort, the District 6630 Youth Protection Committee, chaired by PDG John Reyes, rolled out a comprehensive Youth Protection Policy. 

Chaz will be explaining this Policy and how it affects all Clubs, every member and also all non-members who participate in youth activities, events and contact.

There are few activities in the District and its Clubs that are more valuable or more important than working with youth. It is imperative that all of us do our best as Rotary International mandates to make all youth activities as safe as possible for all involved.

About Chaz:

He is a partner in the Vorys Cleveland office and a member of the labor and employment group.  He has significant experience advising in-house legal counsel and HR leaders on a wide range of labor and employment matters, including: the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA); the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC);  collective bargaining, labor relations issues and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB); drafting and implementing employee handbooks; providing management and employee trainings; and assisting with HR related issues associated with both mergers and acquisitions.

Career Highlights:

  • Working as assistant general counsel at a Fortune 500 company and advising business and HR leadership regarding all aspects of labor and employment law impacting over 25,000 employees
  • Serving as the vice president of HR at a large financial services company
  • Representing domestic and international clients in the education, transportation, healthcare, power distribution, engineering, manufacturing, banking, retail, staffing, and construction industries on labor and employment matters
  • Leading investigations of, and responses to, NLRB unfair labor practice charges and NLRB hearings, including coordination of investigations, interviews, affidavits, and preparation of hearing briefs
  • Managing employment litigation for a Fortune 500 company throughout the U.S. and overseeing the work of outside counsel

Prior to joining Vorys, Chaz worked as an assistant general counsel at Parker-Hannifin Corporation.  He also served as the VP of HR at a large financial services company. This experience in-house has made Chaz more pragmatic, budget sensitive and creative when addressing labor and employment related matters for clients.

Chaz is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) and the OSBA’s Labor and Employment Section.  

Chaz received his J.D. summa cum laude from Cleveland State University Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and served as a senior editor for the Cleveland State Law Review. He also served as a research editor for the Cleveland State Journal of Law and Health. He received his B.S. and A.A.S cum laude from the University of Akron.

 
Meeting ID: 989 441 809
 
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Meeting ID: 989 441 809

 

We are excited to share that we will be back on the grounds of Hale Farm & Village  at 2686 Oak Hill Road, Bath, Ohio. 

February 5
9am - 3 pm.

Attendees will have the opportunity to golf, participate in putt-putt and hole-in-one challenges, enjoy some Whitey's Premium Chili, arctic beverages and much more!

>CLICK HERE TO REGISTER<

ONLINE AUCTION:

Our Auction, will continue to be online this year. It will open for a week beginning on January 28, 2022 6pm and will conclude on February 5th at 1:30pm. 
Text chiliopen22 to 76278 to register for the auction.

 Please be sure to check back for updated information closer to the event.
   
 
                                                                                  

What is the Akron Rotary Chili Open Golf Classic?

<Watch the video on the left to experience the Chili Open.

Your participation in Akron Rotary’s Chili Open Golf Classic presented by Wayne Homes will help serve more than 1,800 children and adults along with their families with a wide range of developmental and physical disabilities and mental health disorders through our day, overnight and year round respite camp programs. 

At Rotary Camp, campers are provided the opportunity to experience traditional camping activities, develop relationships, learn life skills and create memories that last a lifetime. When campers leave Rotary camp at the end of each session, they not only leave with lifelong memories and friends, but they often show more independence as well as a greater understanding of themselves and their abilities. 

            

 Get Involved

Change Your Community


Change your community with us by volunteering on a local project or attending a community event.
Email our Service Committee Chair.

Partner With Us


We work with groups and organizations of all sizes to accomplish even more.
Email our Service Committee Chair.

Discover and celebrate diverse perspectives with a global organization.  
Email our International Exchange Chair.
 
News and Activities

PLEASE SUPPORT THE CHILI OPEN
 
The Chili Open is only 24 days away and we are counting on your support to make this event successful!
 
RAFFLE TICKETS
Our club members have been asked to sell a minimum of $200 in raffle tickets. The goal for ticket sales is $60,000. Many have had great success in selling tickets by sending an email solicitation to your family, friends and business colleagues asking for their help in purchasing tickets. Thank you in advance to those of you who have sold tickets and those that are still selling. 
 
Please mail your sold raffle tickets to Akron Rotary Camp (4460 Rex Lake Drive, Akron OH 44319), no later than Friday, January 28, 2022. If you are in need of more tickets to sell, we will have them on hand as well. Tickets can also be purchased here.
 
 
SILENT AUCTION
The Silent Auction will feature a "Wheelbarrow of Good Cheer!" and an 18- bottle Wine Fridge. Help us fill the wheelbarrow and fridge with any donation of unopened bottles of spirits, mixers and wine.
 
 
ONLINE AUCTION
We are also still in need of items for our online auction, like food baskets, golf packages, or family entertainment packages.
 
If you know of anyone that will be able to donate something, please let us know. If you need someone to pick up any items, please call or email Amanda at Akron Rotary Camp (330.644.4512 or amandaw@akronymca.org), and we would be happy to make those arrangements. 
 
DOOR PRIZES
Do you have any items, gifts, or maybe promotional items from your company that can be used as door prizes? Please consider donating them, as we still need some items.  Our attendees love getting door prizes at the event!  
 
Thank you in advance for your donations to help make the Chili Open a continued success to benefit Akron Rotary Camp for Children with Special Needs!
 
See you at the Chili Open!
 
Jeff Sheeks – (330) 329-8212 – jeffsheeks@s-groupinc.com
Cyndi Kane – (330) 606-6041 – cyndi@cyndikane.com
Chili Open Co-Chairs
 

Christine Fowler Mack: Presentation Recap
Christine Fowler Mack: Presentation Recap
The Rotary Club of Akron had the privilege of listening to the Akron Public Schools’ Superintendent.  View the presentation by clicking here or copy and paste the link into your browser https://youtu.be/ppeD7o29Vb8
 
Born and raised in Akron and educated in Akron Public Schools (APS), Superintendent Christine Fowler Mack is an experienced school district leader whose first classroom experience was in the APS system as a teacher at Robinson Elementary School from 1989 – 1995.  Following that, Fowler Mack was a student dean and teacher leader for two years in APS.
 
Named superintendent of Akron Public Schools in 2021, Christine Fowler Mack began her leadership duties July 1, 2021. 
 
Superintendent Fowler-Mack provided the Club some information about the school system as well as some of the goals and direction the APS system is going.   With more than 4,100 teachers and staff, APS budget stands at more than $565 million. This number equates to $10,652 per student.  There are 21,113 students enrolled.  Of these 21,113 students 465.5% are Black, 31% are White, 9.3% are multi-race, 8.8% Asian/Pacific, and 4.3% Latino.  The APS system has 48 school buildings and 4 administrative/support buildings.
 
APS graduated 1140 students in 2021.  A total of 9,297 college credits were attained, 18,744 hours of internships and jobs were accomplished and there were 935 Industry credentials.
 
APS continued to embrace the Career and College Academy approach.
 
Fowler-Mack discussed the 4 core commitments of APS.  These commitments are: 1) High Quality Instruction, 2) Health and Safety, 3) Staff Support, and 4) Adaptive and Responsive Practices.  Some of the Health and Safety initiatives include mask wearing, surgical masks, handwashing, cleaning and sanitation, social distancing, transportation systems, building systems, school visitors, COVID testing, vaccination clinics, athletic and field trip engagement modifications.
 
Fowler-Mack discussed the Portrait of an Akron Public School Elementary Student as well as a Portrait of an Akron Public School Graduate.  These portraits included 5 areas: 1) Social skills development, 2) Contributions of society, 3) Strong habits of mind, 4) Real world skills, and 5) Plan for the future.
 
COVID was and continues to be a challenge to the system, but Fowler-Mack emphasized the challenge also unleashed a wave of innovation that accelerated changes improving various aspects of the APS system.
Some of the Strategies for Innovation and Improvement included the following: 1) Family Resource Centers, 2) Akron Children’s Hospital Academy of Health and Human Sciences at North High School, 3) The I Promise School, 4) College and Career Academies, 5) Stay in the Game, and 6) I: World (every student has a notebook or laptop which made the virtual learning last year more of a reality than many urban schools).
Currently in draft is an “Excellence through Equity” vision statement that will be presented to the School Board in the very near future.
 
Superintendent Fowler-Mack entertained questions from Rotarians. 
 
She also provided information of the Vaccination Clinics that are taking place - the next one is on January 14, 2022 3pm-7pm at North High School.
The vaccination is for student and staff boosters or second shots for students who received first shots through APS vaccination clinics.

Chili Open Raffle Tickets Fore the Kids!
Our club members have been asked to sell a minimum of $200 in raffle tickets. Our goal for ticket sales is $60,000. Many Rotarians have had great success in selling tickets by sending an email solicitation to family, friends and business colleagues asking for their help in purchasing tickets. Thank you in advance to those of you who have sold tickets and those that are still selling. 
 
Since we aren’t meeting in-person, please mail or drop off your sold raffle tickets to Akron Rotary Camp (4460 Rex Lake Drive, Akron OH 44319), no later than Wednesday, January 26. If you need additional tickets let us know and we will get them to you ASAP. Tickets can also be purchased here.
 
Raffle tickets are $20 per ticket, each raffle ticket includes $25 in discounts: 
 
Raffle ticket prizes are:
  • 1st prize is a 2022 Kia Forte LXS, or $16,000 cash payout - Thank you to The VanDevere Bunch!
  • 2nd prize is a Goodyear Blimp Ride for two, courtesy of Wealth Impact Advisors – Thank you Rotarian Jim Redmond!
  • 3rd prize is a LG 55” 4k Smart LED TV, courtesy of the S Group, Inc. – Thank you Rotarian Jeff Sheeks!
Everyone who purchases five (5) tickets for $100 will automatically be entered into the SNOWMANIA drawing for a chance to win $50,000. This is in addition to the five (5) chances for the car raffle drawing. For SNOWMANIA to go live, we need 6-inches of newly fallen snow accumulation on February 19, 2022 between 12:01am and 11:59pm at the Akron-Canton Airport, Ohio as independently determined by Weather Command. The qualifying winning ticket for SNOWMANIA will be drawn on Saturday, February 5, 2022 at the Chili Open. Winner need not be present.
 
If you have not returned your raffle tickets yet, please show your support and purchase them today. Thank you for helping us to meet our goal FORE the kids!
 
Yours in Service, 
David Miller
Andrew Grover
Chili Open Raffle Ticket Co-Chairs

Rotarians Respond
Posted by John Reyes
Rotarians Respond
As we all know, with the increasing number of COVID cases, there has been an ongoing and growing need for effective COVID testing. When individuals travel to local emergency rooms at hospitals, the demand helps overwhelm available capacity.
 
As a result, several hospitals in the area, including Summa and Akron Children’s, have been cooperating with the Ohio Department of Health, the Summit County Public Health Department and the Ohio National Guard to create a drive-thru testing center at Summa’s Gorge Blvd. headquarters. The project is funded by the Ohio Department of Health.
 
With very little notice, a plan was developed to go live with this testing process on Tuesday, December 28th.
 
Local health systems are strained by in-hospital response to COVID. To run this testing, volunteers, approximately 15 a day, are needed for the next couple of months to support about a dozen National Guard and Summit County Health Department clinicians.
 
The testing is done outdoors on a drive-thru basis with National Guard and Summit County Health Department staff handling the “close in” work on swabbing and interacting with those driving through.
 
Volunteers are needed to help with traffic control and test kit assembly among other things.
 
Information concerning this was transmitted to our Club by Past Club President Rob McGregor on December 23, 2021. Through the good efforts of Dr. McGregor and District Governor Nominee Julie Brandle, this request for assistance was quickly circulated throughout the Summit Cluster of Clubs.
 
My spouse, Linda, and I were able to register for and take part in the drive thru testing center on Thursday, December 30, 2021. Summa personnel handled the orientation training and direct supervision of the volunteers. We were blessed with volunteers from Leadership Akron, Summa itself, and other organizations.
 
Over 800 individuals are being served each day at this site. While none of us are ever likely to have front-line response duties as a healthcare worker or first responder, it was gratifying to be able to help in a small way with this ongoing project.
 
 

District 6630 Governor Official Club Visit Recap
Posted by Terrence Dalton
District 6630 Governor Official Club Visit Recap
The Rotary Club of Akron had the privilege of hearing our District 6630 Governor speak at our Tuesday, January 4, 2022, Club meeting. 
 
View the presentation by clicking here or copy and paste the link into your browser https://youtu.be/KAG7CgPjztg
 
2021-2022 District 6630 Governor Larry Lohman began his presentation with a little history of his introduction to Rotary from his father and his involvement with Rotary service project from a little boy forward.  As he stated during his presentation, Lohman has grown up in the service of Rotary and his community. He helped his father’s Rotary Club (Cambridge, Ohio) with service projects and fundraisers. The Cambridge Club has had three generations of Larry's family as members, including his great-grandfather, a founding member of the club. Larry also served with The Boy Scouts of America where he earned his Eagle Scout Award, his Church Youth Group, and as a volunteer with the American Cancer Society.
 
He has been a member of The Rotary Club of Kent since 2007 and has served as International Services Chair, Program Director, President-Elect and President. He led the charge to identify ways to better inform the community about Rotary. During his presidency he developed a new club legacy award to honor members for their years of service. This award was first presented to Past District Governor Gordon Keller, and thereafter in his memory.
 
Larry has been very active with Rotary District 6630 for several years, so it should be no surprise that he is now our District Governor. He has been very involved with his Kent club in providing clean water systems to villages in El Salvador for over 20 years. Larry explained that his involvement with the water project came about after attending a Rotary delegation trip to El Salvador.  He came to fully understand the importance of water and the global grants that make it possible. In 2019 Larry headed a water project in El Rodeo, El Salvador that brought clean water to a village of 65 families. The villagers never had clean running water and had been walking about one mile to obtain polluted water.
 
During his term as District Governor, Larry would like to focus on two specific areas.  Those areas are Youth, and Publicity/social media awareness activities. 
 
YOUTH: 
Through his service with the Rotary Club of Kent, Larry brought a focus of Youth Services to his club which sponsored a new Interact Club and has begun participating in Rotary Youth Exchange. Larry headed up the revitalization of the Kent State University Rotaract Club.
 
He envisions creating a mentorship program between the Club, and local young professionals’ organizations.    He would like to form an Alumni Association for individuals that are former members of Interact and Rotaract. 
 
SOCIAL MEDIA/GETTING ROTARY’S NAME OUT THERE:
Larry believes that Rotary, and what Rotary is all about, isn’t communicated as effectively as it could be.  Larry is proposing that the District Publicity Committee members be available to local Clubs to assist with social media events, including service projects by providing media assistance.
 
DG Lohman reminded Club Rotarians that the District Conference will be held at the Sheraton Suites in Cuyahoga Falls on April 22 and 23.  He is encouraging the Club to conduct our weekly meeting at the Sheraton during the District Conference.
 
The District’s Membership committee is holding a Membership Roundtable Zoom meeting on 1/15/2022 at 10:00 a.m.  The purpose of the meeting is to share ideas for membership recruitment, retention, etc.  Individuals interested in attending can email Peter Tuttle at ptuttle@ptcdi.com to get a Zoom invite.
 
DG Lohman entertained questions from Club members after his presentation.
 
Yours in Rotary Service,
Terry Dalton
Club Secretary & Scholarship Chair

Warm Hands Warm Heart Delivers
DGN Julie Brandle, Rotary Club of Akron visits with Marquice Seward, Family and Community Services at Kent Social Services in Portage County, the first stop on The Warm Hands, Warm Hearts collection delivery tour!  
 
Brandle delivered to the following organizations, one in each county covered by District 6630. The hats, socks, gloves/mittens, scarves were collected in conjunction with the District 6630 Foundation Gala held this year at Windows on the River in Cleveland this past November. 
 
Thank you to all Rotarians who so generously provided these items for those in need.
 
Summit County-Haven of Rest
Medina County-Battered Women's Shelter
Lake County-Project Hope
Geauga County-Women Safe
Ashtabula County-Samaritan House
Cuyahoga County-The Salvation Army
Lorain County-The Haven
 
Were you wondering just how many items were collected?
45 hat/glove sets
268 hats
338 pairs of gloves/mittens
30 ear warmers
49 scarves
3 packages of underwear(16 individual pair)
556 pairs of socks
Amazing!!
 
(Click on images to view larger)
 
 

Our Newly Elected Officers and Directors for 2022
 

The Rotary Club of Akron

 
Executive Team: 
July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023 
  • President:  Lynda Farkas
  • President Elect: Tom Knauer
  • Vice President: Nathanael Billow
  • Secretary: Terry Dalton
  • Treasurer: Michael Gladysz
 
Directors: 
July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2025
  • Charles Billington III
  • Connor Jarvis
  • David Miller
  • Rima Muakkassa
 

The Akron Rotary Foundation 

 
The Akron Rotary Foundation runs on a calendar year.
 
New Directors (terms as indicated):
  • Carol Marturano-Becker (two-year term ending 12/31/2023)
  • Marcia Holcomb (three-year term ending 12/31/2024)
  • Joe Swiatkowski (three-year term ending 12/31/2024)
 

The Akron Rotary Camp

 
The Rotary Camp runs on a calendar year.
 
New Directors:  January 1, 2022- December 31, 2024
  • Amador Gonzalez
  • Bill Manby, Jr.
  • Sandy Naragon
  • Pat O'Neill
  • Bill Post
  • Ginny Wojno
  • Mike Wojno
 

With Your Help . . .Club to Sponsor Bubble Tube for S.U.P.E.R. Learning Center
For the last 70+ years, our Club has sponsored this event to bring Christmas cheer to children with autism and other life challenges at the S.U.P.E.R Learning Center.
 
In addition to delivering presents to the children, our Club is planning to provide funding for a “Bubble Tube” for the children. The Bubble Tube is a sensory piece of equipment used to provide a relaxing, colorful, and improved sensory experience that has proven to be especially helpful for kids with autism.
 
We need to raise $3,000 to pay for the event and to purchase the Bubble Tube. We expect half of these funds to be provided through discretionary club funds available to President Buie. The remainder ($1,500) needs to come from members of the Club.
 
Here is how you can give:
 
Checks* should be made out to S.U.P.E.R Learning Center and mailed to:
Bill Manby Jr
Paradigm
1611-A Akron-Peninsula Road
Akron, OH 44313
 
*Please include Akron Rotary Club in the memo section of your check
 
You can also send funds via Paypal or Venmo to Bill Manby Jr (bmanbyjr@paradigmequity.com). Please also indicate your contribution is to go to the S.U.P.E.R Learning Center when you send funds.
 
We will continue to accept funds through year-end for this project. Thank you for your help and consideration!
 
Sincerely,
 
Steve Buie
Bill Manby Sr
Bill Manby Jr
Mark Seward
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Upcoming Speakers

Charles (Chaz) Billington III
Jan 18, 2022 12:00 PM
District 6630 Youth Protection Policy for Clubs
Kitrael Chin, President/Director/Founder
Jan 25, 2022 12:00 PM
Hearts for Music
Lisa Gray
Feb 01, 2022 12:00 PM
Ohio Excels
Donald Obermeier & Dennis Check
Feb 08, 2022 12:00 PM
ACE Mentor Program of Greater Akron-Canton
Chili Open Wrap Up
Feb 15, 2022 12:00 PM
Cyndi Kane and Jeff Sheeks
Kemp Boyd, MAOM, BL
Feb 22, 2022 12:00 PM
Love Akron
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Club Events
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Club Information
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Celebrating Over a Century of Service in the Akron Community!

 
The History of The Rotary Club of Akron
 
Honoring the Past.  Driving the Future.
 
April 5, 2014 Centennial Celebration