Steven McGarrity has served as the Executive Director of Community Legal Aid since 2017.
Mr. McGarrity has over 25 years of legal experience with Legal Aid. He began with the organization as a staff attorney in Canton, Ohio in 1997, focusing his practice on family law and consumer debt. In his time with Legal Aid, he has held various management positions, including nine years’ as Associate Director, where he oversaw all client services, outreach, and technology.
Mr. McGarrity has presented nationally on innovative approaches to delivering legal services using technology, and on measuring the long-term impact of legal aid in the lives of individuals served. He currently serves on the advisory committee of OhioLegalHelp.org, an online legal resource tool for Ohioans.
Mr. McGarrity serves on the Board of Managers for the Ohio Poverty Law Center and the Akron Summit Community Action Board of Directors and is a member of Class 37 of Leadership Akron.
A California native, Mr. McGarrity received his B.A degree from California State University, Northridge in 1992. He went on to earn a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1996. In 2015, he was named a Where Health Meets Justice fellow through the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership.
Food Options: Choice of Chicken, Turkey or Veggie Wrap includes chips and cookie
$20.00 per person
Non-Eaters: $5
RSVP deadline: January 30, 2022 (we must turn in the food on Feb 1).
BLU-Tique, Akron is a Tribute Portfolio Hotel.
Join us to see and hear about his amazing establishment.
Ginny Wojno will be picking up your parking fee - just turn in a receipt to her.
BLU is more than a color, it's an attitude; an attitude of gratitude. We are grateful to be a part of the downtown Akron business and thriving arts district; a place where culture, art, dining, music, and diversity seamlessly blend to create an experience like no other.
Volunteer at the Chili Open! February 4, 2023 ∙ Hale Farm and Village
Dear fellow Rotarians,
The 33rd Chili Open is fast approaching and we will need all hands on deck to make this a successful event for our guests! Join us for a fun day of volunteering, friendship and celebration of all the good work that Rotary is doing in our community!
The Chili Open will be held on February 4, 2023 at Hale Farm and Village. Set-up day will be on Friday, February 3rd. We need volunteers for both Friday and Saturday! There are various places to help, - indoors and outside. Please dress for the weather! Lunch will be provided on Friday too!
We are using Signup Genius for the Chili Open so it is simple to include family, friends, other Rotarians and Rotary prospects as volunteers.
Saturday Volunteers will be able to park at Old Trail School and can take the YMCA shuttle bus to Hale Farm.
Thank you for your Service Above Self! Please sign up here to volunteer for a shift or two!
Please reach out if you have any questions, hauskne@uakron.edu. See you at the Chili Open!
Dr. Doug Hausknecht Volunteer Chair, 2023 Chili Open
The Chili Open is only days away and we need your support to make this year’s event successful! Thank you to those who have supported with sponsorships, raffle tickets, auction and door prize items! To-date we have raised $248,425 towards our goal of $350,000!
We need your help with the following:
RAFFLE TICKETS Please turn in your raffle tickets as soon as possible to the Camp office. If you still need help selling, reach out to family, friends and business colleagues. For only $20 you stand a chance to win some great prizes! Tickets can also be purchased here.
WAGON OF GOOD CHEER
The Silent Auction will feature Dr. Rob’s "Wagon of Good Cheer!" Help us fill the wheelbarrow with any donation of unopened bottles of spirits, mixers and wine.
DOOR PRIZES Do you have a holiday gift that is just not what you wanted? Did you get a gift or gift card that you will never use? Did you receive a gift that you already have? Please consider donating these new gifts to the Chili Open. We can always use them in the auction or for door prizes at the Chili Open!
ONLINE AUCTION
We are also still in need of items for our online auction. Food and activity baskets, sports memorabilia, golf packages, or family entertainment packages make great auction items.
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 / amandaw@akronymca.org), and we would be happy to make those arrangements.
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 and Cindy Kane 2023 Chili Open Golf Classic, Co-Chairs
Andrew works full time as a software developer, but his drive to spend time outdoors with his family resulted in the start of Rhythm and Roots Farm. He and his wife are passionate about people providing for themselves and others. They started the farm in Copley about 2 years ago with their three young children, with the intention of providing healthy pastured-raised poultry and pork for their family and others as well.
Andrew began his presentation with a slide that said “It all starts…. And ends with chickens” What started with only a few chickens has ended up with about 3,000 chickens. About 100 of these chickens are raised for egg production. The other chickens are for sale. He sells about 15,000 to 20,000 pounds of chicken every year. He also has about 16 pigs as well as goats, ducks and turkeys to name a few.
Why Chickens?
There are health benefits with chickens raised on real healthy grass pasture and without the use of chemicals.
Easy for the Family, farm sitters
Ease of care for land and feeding them with free-range eating
Ease of conversion to meat, ease of turnover and raising them, ease of cost, etc.
Why Pigs?
Pigs convert meat just as well as chickens, if not more
They can handle their swampy land easily and without illness
They very rarely get sick and are easily treated if so
Bacon
Andrew stated they raise two types of pigs. One type is the Mangalitsa. These pigs originated from Hungary and were near extinction.
What the does future look like for the Rhythm and Roots Farm?
For the past couple of years, Andrew and his wife were looking to double their business each year as the demand grew; however they find themselves scaling back at this time for several reasons:
Rising costs for feed and butcher costs (availability of butchers is a challenge with long waiting times)
Slow growing market
Family time balance (Andrew’s wife works two jobs and they “home school” their children
Farm work vs their other jobs work balance, labor costs
They hope to continue to grow, particularly with an increase in the number of pigs that they will be raising. They are looking at:
New customers and new ways of delivery
Consistency and customer service
Ultimately, they just want to share their joy of growing their own food with others, and hope that others would want the same.