Having been in Rotary "forever" , sometimes it's hard to think about doing things differently. Somebody asked one of the PD Governors present if we had to have a meeting every week. Another idea was to have graduated fees for members to attract younger members. Maybe we should have more informal meetings, where we get to know each other better, like our afterhours meeting. By the way, everyone agreed that the afterhours meeting is working out very well!. The point I'm making is: I'm glad we are a little different than purely traditional. We are trying a few new ideas and will be trying more in the future. We would like to hear your input, and it is essential we have an interesting Club for new potential members, because time is a more precious commodity now than when I first joined and good people need a great club to make the commitment.  

      Tradition and Akron Rotary both agree that exchange student hosting is fun and rewarding. Johannes Neumann, from Germany has kept in touch with us, Jorge Fuentes from Chili got through the earthquake OK, and our own Torrey Hollis, an outbound exchange student, from Akron and Barry's niece, is having a blast in Spain. Let's keep the need for host families for our inbound student in mind, and after they arrive, let's volunteer to take them to events, dinner, or shuttle them around. I spent a year and a half in Germany when I was a little older than these exchange students and look back on some very nice memories of those I met there. In a similar fashion, we want the Rotary students to love their visit to Akron.

      Students are the focus of a traditional program of Akron Rotary that honors high achieving students in the Akron area. This is a fine program that gets our members interviewing and helping select students for a small scholarship. Something not traditional is a possible drastic increase in funding by our foundation. It's good to see existing practices questioned!. This spirit of adventure is certainly exemplified by the kickoff of the Capital campaign for our beloved camp. On March 23^rd, Bonnie Wojno and Dan Reynolds presented the "quiet" phase to members at the luncheon meeting. Details were laid out and goals presented. Finally a significant upgrade to the camp is in the works! Traditionally, the Club talks about doing camp improvements-now it's happening. Please do what you can to help them in their efforts. If you like what is happening or what is planned, tell friends, or better yet bring them to a meeting.

Yours in Rotary,
Dan O'Connell