When/Where we Meet:
Tuesday at NOON

Doors open at 11:45am

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IMPORTANT MEETING NOTE:
December 17th
we will meet at Portage Country Club
for our Special Holiday Luncheon
$45 per person
RSVPs are Required - Click Here
 
 
There are no meetings December 24 or 31, 2024
We will return to our normal meetings January 7, 2025 at
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church
129 South Union Street
Akron, OH 44304
 
$20.00 per person
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Nathanael Billow
2024-2025 Club President

 
The Club Board of Directors meet the
2nd Tuesday of each month at 10:45 a.m.
Board meetings are open to Club members. 
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Upcoming Speakers

John Reyes, Esq., PDG
Dec 10, 2024 12:00 PM
District 6630 Youth Protection Chairperson
District 6630 Youth Protection Chairperson

Past District Governor, John Reyes has led the efforts in District 6630 in the area of youth protection and served as our legal counsel.  Our district has kept him busy and we are grateful for his commitment to designing and leading our Youth Protection policy to keep our district Rotarians and youth protected. He consistently looks out for the best interest of our district and the welfare of our clubs.

He is an Ohio native having been born in Steubenville.  He grew up in Stark County, graduating from Sandy Valley High School and completing his undergraduate work in political science at The University of Akron.  Thereafter, he attended and graduated from The Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1978.  He has practiced law in the fields of commercial litigation, products liability defense and public law with the law firm of Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs in Akron, Ohio. 

John is married to Linda, a Cleveland native, who, prior to retiring, was an infection control officer for Fairview Hospital, a part of the Cleveland Clinic Group.

John began his Rotary career in April of 1994 with the Rotary Club of Akron and has served in various capacities including 2019-2020 District Governor, Club President, a member of the Club’s Board of Directors, and a member of the Akron Rotary Foundation Board of Directors.  In addition, he has had the pleasure of serving as an Assistant Governor, a member of the District Finance Committee, a member of the District Grants Committee, the District Bylaws Committee, the District Nominating Committee and was Chair of the District GSE Team in 2012.

HOLIDAY LUNCHEON AT PORTAGE COUNTRY CLUB
Dec 17, 2024 12:00 PM
NO MEETING: Happy Holidays
Dec 24, 2024
NO MEETING: Happy New Year
Dec 31, 2024
Gregg M. Mervis, President & CEO
Jan 14, 2025
Akron/Summit Convention & Visitors Bureau
View entire list...

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Email our Service Committee Chair.

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Discover and celebrate diverse perspectives with a global organization.  
Email our International Exchange Chair.
 
News and Activities
VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED! --- Dec 13th: Salvation Army Bell Ringing - Service Project
Posted by Mark Seward
VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED! --- Dec 13th: Salvation Army Bell Ringing - Service Project
Our Rotary Club will be ringing the bell for the Salvation Army at ACME #1 and ACME #10 in December. This is an opportunity to share an hour with one of your fellow Rotarians, family members or friends in support of a very worthy cause for our community. Below are the dates/times we will be participating.
 
You can sign-up to participate using the following links. We will need two Rotarians (or guests) for each hour during these two days.
 
 
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR 12/13
ACME #1
1835 W. Market Street
Akron, OH 44313
 
Please contact Mark Seward with any questions
330-414-2075
 
Thank you for your participation!
 

The Salvation Army Meets Human Need Wherever, Whenever, However We Can! 

The donations we collect by our Bell Ringing efforts will be used to support hard-working families stay in their homes, and provide food, shelter, and utilities to those in need in your community.  

2025 Grant Cycle Open!
The Rotary Club of Akron and the Akron Rotary Foundation 2025 Grant Cycle is officially open. Grants between $1,000 and $15,000 will be considered via an application process which ends January 31, 2025. 
 
Projects must fall within Rotary’s areas of service which include Peace & Conflict Prevention; Disease Prevention; Water &Sanitation; Maternal/Child Health & Welfare; Basic Education/Literacy; Economic/Community Development or the Environment.
 
ROTARIANS:  Spread the word to impactful community service providers!  Encourage them to apply by January 31, 2025, via the application link below.  If you have questions, email Sandy_Naragon@yahoo.com.
 
Tina Graver Makes an Impact Planting Trees with APS Students
Akron Rotarian Tina Graver was featured in this Akron Public Schools project and press release. 
Thank you Tina for all you do in the community!
 
Information supplied by APS
Joanne Isaac, Assistant Director, Marketing Communications
 
For additional Information, contact:
Joanne Isaac, Assistant Director, Marketing Communications, 10 N. Main St., Akron, Ohio 44308-1958
330.761.3057, jisaac@apslearns.org
 
APS - Tree Planting at Voris, Sam Salem, David Hill, Mason and Leggett CLCs
by Marilyn Miller Paulk, APS Storyteller
 
 
 
 
Dec. 2, 2024 -- Fourth-graders were excited to get their hands dirty after learning they were going outside to plant trees.
 
About 150 students from five Akron public schools got a lesson on the environment and the proper way to plant a tree. Voris, Sam Salem, David Hill, Mason and Leggett CLCs were chosen by APS Facilities Services as the CLCs that had the least amount of greenery in the school system and could use more shrubbery.
 
“Are you ready to get dirty? Who wants to help me?,” said Tina Graver, a certified master arborist or ‘tree doctor,’ as she cheered on the students at Voris. “The first step is to break the roots up at the bottom of the tree so the tree knows it is no longer in the pot.” She and the children shed off the layers of dirt on the trunk of the tree.
 
“Now we fill the hole up with the dirt and pat down on the dirt. Who wants to get their shoes dirty?,” she asked.
 
The students thought this was one of the best parts of the lesson, gently patting down the dirt or, for some, stomping on the dirt but only using one foot.
 
“Okay, now we mulch," said Graver, who works for Petrarca Landscape Inc. “Think of a doughnut when you mulch -- thick on the outside -- so let’s put more on the outside and very little, if any, around the middle. Remember, like a donut, not a volcano.”
 
The mulch was made out of wood chips. The students took turns scooping up the chips, eagerly covering up the dirt.
 
Graver refers to the first three years of a tree’s growth as sleep, creep and leap. 
 
“The first year you won’t see any growth; it will grow underground. The second year, you will see a little bit of growth but not much because it will be matching what’s going on underground,” Graver explained. “But in the third year, you will start to see some growth.”
 
Akron Public Schools teamed up with the City of Akron’s Keep Akron Beautiful and Graf Growers for the tree planting event. The school board approved the initiative last month. Graf Growers donated 10 trees, two for each school.
 
“We’ve been working with Keep Akron Beautiful on the plant-a-tree initiative and learned that parks and schools could benefit,“ said Lisa Graf, co-owner of Graf Growers. “They are maple trees, which give off a brilliant orange color in the fall. They are big trees and will grow 40-50 feet tall and 30-40 feet wide.”
 
She said the best time to plant them is in the fall and spring.
 
The CEO of Keep Akron Beautiful, Jacqui Ricchiuti, worked with Katrina Halasa of APS in an effort to revitalize an Arbor Day (April 25) activity when this opportunity came up.
 
“Keep Akron Beautiful wants to plant 100,000 trees by 2034.” said Ricchiuti. “If we don’t do this, the canopy will decrease to 30 percent by 2040. We are losing 6,540 trees annually; this is why we are doing our best to get all of these trees planted.”
 
Katrina Halasa, the supervisor of science and health for grades K-12, said the purpose was to educate the children about why it’s important to have trees and to expose them to different job opportunities, like forestry.
 
Bryan Ressler, APS grounds foreman, said his department dug the holes for the trees ahead of time and selected open areas, not too close to the curbs and in areas where people can see them.
 
Ressler said that since Leggett doesn’t have a lot of space, the trees were planted at the corner of Allen and Thornton streets. The trees at Mason were planted in the playground area. Graver said, in about 10 years, each tree could grow as tall as 60 feet, sizable enough to put a swing on it.
 
The students were all smiles after their hands-on learning experience as they headed back to the school building.
 
“This was a wonderful opportunity for the students,” said Amber Steele, principal at Voris CLC. “The trees are right in front of the classrooms, so they get to watch their progress.”
 
 
Feb 1st - Chili Open 2025!!
 
If your club president doesn't wear a Golf Beanie are you even in Rotary????🤣
 
Club President Nathanael Billow and Club President-Elect Katy Miller are chairing the 2025 Akron Chili Open.
 
At our kick-off they made the call to action for volunteers.
 
Find a member to purchase your chili open raffle tickets today or
visit chiliopen.net and purchase your tickets or sponsorship online.
 
Hot Meal and Food Pantry Service Project Recap
Father Dean of  Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church asked for our help with a very important service project that took place November 26th.  
 
On this night, the Food Pantry and Hot Meal programs were combined.
 
Our Rotarians showed up in force to volunteer between 4pm-7pm -- THANK YOU.
 
The food pantry included a variety of produce, canned goods, boxed goods, paper products and much more!  There was also a clothing area. 
 
Guests were offered a hot meal and in addition they could get a take-home hot meal that included turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and side dishes to serve a family of four.
 
Our volunteers helped in all areas: the food pantry line, serving hot meals, bussing/cleaning tables, monitoring the dessert tables and clothing areas and assisting those who needed help to take packages to their cars.  
 
The need in our community was evident - people were there 2 hours prior to the doors opening and the line was continuous through the 5pm-7pm time frame.
 
It is estimated that they will feed between 1200-1600 people through their program in December.  
 
Following the project, a little pizza and libations were enjoyed by those who could attend.
 
 
   
Father Valencheck Presented Nov 26th
Father Valencheck of St. Sebastian parish was a great speaker. 
Sharing some insights to making small changes to make big changes!
 
Photo L-R: Past President Tom Knauer, Father Valencheck, President Thane Billow
Club recognized for support of 2023-2024 End Polio Now Campaign
At the recent Foundation Gala, The Rotary Club of Akron was presented a certificate of appreciation  for its financial support of End Polio Now.
 
Past President Knauer could not be in two places at the same time (his daughter was receiving an award the same night) so President Elect Katy Miller accepted on his behalf and then presented it to Tom at our weekly meeting.
 
Thank you to all who contributed to this endeavor.
 
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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