2022 Meetings Kick-off on Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at Noon
Featured Speaker:
LARRY LOHMAN 2021-2022 District 6630 Governor
Larry 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.
He has been a member of the Rotary District 6630 Grants Committee for over eight years. Larry has been involved in writing, fundraising, and administering several global grants. His club has been involved in providing clean water systems to villages in El Salvador for over 20 years. After attending a Rotary delegation trip to El Salvador, Larry 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.
In 2014-15 Larry administered a global grant in the form of a scholarship for a young man by the name of Dennis Kirimi. Dennis was from Kenya and wished to attend Kent State University to earn his master’s in Public Health. After completion of his master’s degree, Dennis continued on to earn his Doctorate in Public Health.
Through his service with the Rotary Club of Kent, Larry has 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 Rotaract Club. He also envisions creating a mentorship program between the Club, and local young professionals’ organization.
For the past fifteen years Larry has worked in the Locksmith and Security field, currently as a Project Manager for Zenith Systems.
The one thing that always makes Larry smile is his family, wife Heather of 20 years and their two beautiful and talented teenage daughters.
RSVPS REQUIRED To allow us to plan for food/beverages and seating
If you want a model for #positiveaging, look no farther than fellow Rotarian Malcolm Costa, which is why I nominated him to be a hall of fame inductee. Congratulations Malcolm, awesome citizen, amazing leader and fellow Rotarian.
President/CEO of Community Action Akron Summit, Inc.
Malcolm J. Costa has devoted his life to community service: developing programs and creating opportunities to benefit workers in Akron and Northeast Ohio.
Born and raised in Akron, Mr. Costa is a graduate of Akron South High School. He started his career at the IBM Corporation as a computer service dispatcher while earning a bachelor’s degree. From 1972 to 1974, Costa served as Director, United Services for All at the Akron Urban League while pursuing a master’s degree in Urban Studies and Public Administration. From 1974-1977, Costa held the position of Director of Student Development at Youngstown State University where he designed and implemented programs for non-traditional students. Costa also completed his master’s degree in Urban Studies at the University of Akron in 1977.
Since 1977, Costa has served as President/CEO, Community Action Akron Summit, Inc. where he manages 250 employees operating Head Start, the Foster Grandparent Program, Emergency Services, Child Assault Prevention, Emergency Home Energy Assistance (E-HEAP), and other community programs. In 1983, when Community Action Akron Summit, Inc. (formerly Akron Summit Community Action, Inc.) and Mahoning Youngstown Community Action Partnership created the Greater Ohio Health and Welfare Benefits Plan (GOHIO), Costa was appointed as a trustee and vice chairman for 600 employees’ health benefits; he was elected chairman and administrator of the trust in 1989. Costa is certified as a community action professional (1996) by the National Association of Community Action Agencies. From 1994-2001, Costa served as an outside director of Bank One Akron NA. He is also a graduate of the 1990 Class of Leadership Akron.
Costa currently serves as Secretary - Downtown Akron Partnership. He received the University of Akron Outstanding Alumni Award in 2000.
Mr. Costa and his wife Crystal Ann have five children.
Jim Redmond and Doug Kohl presented to the club an update on our Akron Rotary Foundation, the third leg of our stool – the others being the Rotary Club and the Camp. Jim began by thanking the club for allowing him to serve the last 9 years as the President of the Foundation. Jim will be rolling off due to term limits, but he looks forward to staying involved. He announced that at a recent election of the Foundation Board, Doug Kohl was voted in as the new president. Jim also announced that Dan Riemenschneider will be the 2021-2022 Ambassador of Service awardee and will be honored at the Chili Open in February. Dan intends to stay involved with the Foundation, staying involved with our finances. Jim is very proud that the assets of the Foundation are now $2.2 million. He also shared that the Foundation’s money is invested in 2 locations, roughly $1.6 million Huntington Bank and the balance of $600,000 with Akron Community Foundation.
You may view the presentation by clicking here or copy and paste this link https://youtu.be/_UD9D3qh1s8 into your browser
Jim was also pleased to announce that the Camp and the Foundation have entered into a new collaborative arrangement where $400,000 of Camp’s cash on hand will be invested with the Rotary Foundation until needed by the Camp for future needs. This allows the Camp to earn more on their money than parking it in low interest savings. This new relationship was met with applause by the club members present and online.
Jim introduced Doug who thanked the group for the responsibility of leading the Foundation and opened his comments by noting the occasional confusion that club members have between the Rotary International Foundation and the Akron Rotary Foundation. Doug thanked Thane Billow and Bill Manby, Jr. for their leadership in promoting the RI Foundation. RI is an incredible, world-wide organization with an awesome mission. Rotary is a global community – a network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves. Rotary International’s mission supports 6 over arching causes: promote peace; fight disease; provide clean water, sanitation, and hygiene; save mothers and children; support education; grow local economies.
Doug shared that The Akron Rotary Club was founded in 1914 as the 107th club in the world. Our own local Akron Rotary Foundation was founded in 1992 to fund the endless impact of the Rotary Club of Akron in our community and beyond. Since 1994, the Akron Rotary Foundation has contributed over $3.0 million to the causes that make our community a great place to live and work. Our local Akron Rotary Foundation has 4 areas of focus – Community Development, Youth Empowerment, International Understanding, and a unique priority – The Rotary Camp For Children with Special Needs. This camp enjoys favored status with The Akron Rotary Foundation for the work it does to serve the community.
Jim and Doug thankedall Rotarians and encouraged everyone to consider Rotary in their year-end giving. Additional information can be found on the Akron Rotary website, www.akronrotary.org.
Our College & Career Academy Partner North High School is having an in-person Career Expo Thursday January 13th from 8:30am-11am. They are looking for professionals from the area of Entrepreneurship and Marketing (they already have a small business owner and social media marketing), or something in the area of technology, whether working on an actual system or designing apps/websites, etc. to represent and talk about their company to students.
I am looking for 1-2 volunteers in any of those spaces to help give some insight into potential careers to the North students.
Please email me at josephmariomicale@gmail.com to let me know if you’re interested and able to help with this ASAP.
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!
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 December 21, 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.
2021-2022 Rotary Club of Akron President Tel: 330-701-2970 Email: sbuie@learningrx.net
JOIN US
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.
As the first organization to envision a polio-free world through mass immunization of children, Rotary believes the decision to vaccinate is a humanitarian imperative.
Rotary 2022 International Convention to be held in HoustonThe event will bring more than 20,000 participants from around the world and deliver $30 million in local economic
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