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Our Next Meeting
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
Featured Speaker:
THERESA CARTER
President, Synthomer Foundation
(formerly OMNOVA Solutions)
Theresa Carter is President of the Synthomer Foundation (formerly OMNOVA Solutions), a $28 million endowment supporting local communities throughout Synthomer’s footprint within the United States. Her passion for bringing communities together and creating tomorrow’s leaders is reflected in her role in the Foundation, which in 2020 provided nearly $1.3 million in support to educational initiatives, civic investments, health and human services, and the arts.
Theresa’s purpose-driven mission is to inspire volunteerism and empower others to give back to the community. She is active in her church, and serves on a number of non-profit community boards, advisory councils and committees, including the Greater Akron Chamber; The NAACP Akron Chapter; Cleveland Clinic Akron General Medical Center; Cleveland State University Foundation board, and is an emeritus board member with the Akron Urban League.
She has been honored with many awards and recognitions for her service and commitment to the community, including the Akron Urban League’s Whitney M. Young Jr., Community Service Award; the H Peter Burg Leadership Awards through the Greater Akron Chamber, American Red Cross and Akron Public Schools; Leadership Akron’s Lieberth Award, and the Executive of the Year Award through the Akron/Canton Affiliate of NSME. Theresa was also a recipient of OMNOVA Solutions Chairman’s Award (the Company’s highest honor).
A native of Demopolis, Alabama, Theresa graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Communications from the University of Alabama. She’s the proud mom of two daughters, Erin and Cesily.
THE ANNUAL MEETING
of
The Rotary Club
of Akron will be held
TUESDAY,
DECEMBER 7, 2021
AT NOON.
We ask that all
active Akron Rotary members please plan to attend this meeting either
in-person or virtually.
We hope you will be joining us at the Annual District 6630 Rotary Foundation Gala on November 11th at 6pm! Click to RSVP
We are collecting new mittens, gloves, hats and socks for those in need.
If you cannot attend, please bring your items to our club meeting on November 9th and Lynda Farkas and Cheryl Warren will take them to the gala on your behalf!
Thank you to everyone that contributed towards the Halloween Party at Rotary Camp this past weekend. The campers and their families had a great time trick-or-treating from cabin-to-cabin and enjoyed s’mores around the campfire afterwards. We saw some ghosts, ghosts-busters, a couple of superheroes and more. Enjoy this short video to see the trick-or-treaters in their spook-tacular outfits.
I’m following up on my request for volunteers for our North High School Partnership. For those of you who were unable to attend and didn’t hear, the Akron Rotary Club has once again partnered with North High School as a College & Career Academy Partner. Our goal is to help provide the students with guidance, experience, and expertise from our professions to help them either enroll in college, enlist in the military, or be employed in a trade upon graduation. In order to accomplish this goal, North High School has several events and engagements throughout the year that we as a partner can choose to interact with and support. We only will be doing about 1 event each semester, but there may be a couple more that pop up.
This is why I am asking for a dedicated group of 8-10 people who will be committed to this initiative so we are not scrambling for volunteers at the last minute. We of course will give you as much notice of events and volunteer opportunities as we can, but having that dedicated group of Rotarians we can rely on for different events saves us a lot of time and trouble.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE THEY HAVE REQUESTED:
We could use someone from the area of Entrepreneurship and Marketing (we already have a small business owner and social media marketing), or something in the area of technology, whether working on the actual system or designing apps/websites, etc.
Please email me at josephmariomicale@gmail.comto let me know if you’re interested and able to help when called upon.
The purpose of Rotary Cares is to show our support for Akron Rotary members and their families when dealing with the loss of a loved one, the hardship of illness and also to celebrate the joy of a new baby, job, marriage or other events in their lives. Please be sure to email me(click here) with any news you would like placed here. Note that information is posted only with permission of the individual(s).
CONGRATULATIONS
Dan Reynolds has been promoted to Vice President of Camping Services & Properties at Akron Area YMCA.
Dan will also continue in his role as District Executive Director of the Akron Rotary Camp and Camp Y-Noah.
He has been with the Akron Area YMCA for 22 years and attended Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania earning a bachelors degree in 1998 in the field of Therapeutic Recreation.
Not all of our members are pumpkin pie fans but those who are asked me to republish this!
Last year, John Daily offered up his grandmother's recipe and shared that it is "not your standard pumpkin pie".
He said, "I have never actually done this myself (not much of a cook) but I feel pretty confident this is the pie I remember enjoying for many years." He added that his late wife, Ardell, was the baker and continued making it for the family over the years.
Dr. McGregor and his wife Sharon made it and said how delicious it was.
RECIPE:
2 cups canned pumpkin
3 egg yolks beaten (save egg whites for later)
1 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Blend all ingredients together. Fold in 2 stiffly beaten egg whites.
Place into 9 inch unbaked deep dish pie shell.
Bake in hot oven (450 degrees) for 10 minutes, then low oven (325 degrees) 45-50 minutes.
Rotarian Dan Reynolds, Director of Endless Possibilities with Akron Rotary Camp and Vice President of Camping Services and Properties with the Akron Area YMCA provided a Rotary Camp update on the impact of COVID, summer camp program success, respite camp programs, strategic planning, and the importance of the Chili Open.
Chili Open co-chairs Rotarian Jeff Sheeks, Owner of the S Group and Rotarian Cyndi Kane, Realtor with RE/MAX Crossroads Properties were excited to formally kick-off the 2022 Chili Open!
Dan reported that the camp had a fantastic Summer! Camper numbers were still reduced, at ½ capacity, for COVID precautions – but the most important thing is – the camp was open and continued to find ways to safely meet the needs of campers, families, and staff through these most challenging times.
Some camp highlights shared by Dan included:
The Bud Rogers Adventure Park was a great experience. For many campers, this was a first time experience.
Hammocks – Campers loved having some down time in the hammocks around camp this summer.
Happy Day School - The return of day camp in Portage County at the Happy Day School. We served about 40 campers every day at that site for 8 weeks.
New Staff - we’ve had the opportunity to hire some new full time staff this year:
Our new nurse is Jess Selden. She started in June.
Our newest addition to our team is Ben Fink, our new program director. Ben joined us in August. We just bid farewell to Tina Gardner, our past program director a couple weeks ago. She’s moved to Florida to study zoology.
Summer 2022:
As the camp plans for the summer of 2022 – the 98th year:
Excited about continuing to grow programs closer to pre-pandemic levels.
Planning on operating at 75% capacity.
Biggest challenges moving into the next summer season is staff recruiting.
Not unlike every other industry right now, the camp community has struggled greatly the past few years to recruit and retain great camp staff.
Camp board has been very proactive in supporting recruiting efforts. This year camp increased weekly rates from $265/week to $325/week.
2022 draft budget has a starting rate of $450/week.
Strategic Plan:
The camp board held a strategic planning retreat a few weeks ago and Dan is looking forward to sharing the outcomes of that plan once it is approved.
As part of the planning process camp board and staff surveyed the Akron Rotarians, summer staff, and camper families. This baseline feedback has been extremely valuable to the planning process.
Listed below are just a couple pieces of information parents have shared as part of this survey process:
“Angie loves to come there, and I appreciate that I can leave her and not worry about her safety.”
“Rotary Camp is the highlight of my child’s year – especially this year with limited social experiences available. Staff are amazing. We are so grateful.”
“Camp gives my camper a sense of belonging, teaches independence, and how to get along with others.”
“Camp provides two weeks of respite for us and two weeks of outdoor summer fun for our son.”
“Camp gives our family a little break from Autism life. We find it so valuable, especially for my typical kids to go do typical things and have my full attention.”
“As a single parent, I value the respite time. It’s been very difficult to find care for Adam.”
“Kenny’s year revolves around three dates – his birthday, Christmas, and Camp!”
Dan concluded his presentation with the following:
“In the past you may have heard me speak about the butterfly effect – the idea that your actions cause actions in other people who influence others that you will never know. What we do as Akron Rotarians is the best example of the Butterfly Effect.”
“Our efforts and successes at the Chili Open provide for life changing, meaningful experiences, to our campers, families, and staff. For many of us, the Chili Open is a day of hard work, good times, beer, and Whitey’s chili but for countless others this event is a lifeline for support and respite, a sense of independence and belonging, and the most developmental growing experience in a college student’s life.”
With that being said, let’s get behind the 2022 Chili Open campaign to raise $320,000 through sponsorships, camperships, raffle ticket sales, online auction, and volunteering on February 5, 2022 at Hale Farm and Village in Bath, Ohio.
Because of our new setting for weekly meetings, we must have a head count each week for IN-PERSON attendees. This is for proper seating and also for the caterer.
For November 9, 2021: Please email me (click here)no later than MONDAY at 9am and advise if you will (1) be attending IN-PERSON and (2) if you plan to eat
Please also accommodate for any guests you plan to bring.
We are excited to share that we will be back on the grounds of Hale Farm & Village at 2686 Oak Hill Road, Bath, Ohio.
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!
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.
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.
Dan Reynolds has been promoted to Vice President of Camping Services & Properties at Akron Area YMCA. 
