May 20, 2020

ASSIGNMENTS

This month, we will be incorporating Fellowship and

Magazine Reports into our virtual Club meetings via Zoom.

Assignments, as previously scheduled, are as follows:

FELLOWSHIP

May, 2020 – Ted Stazak

June, 2020 – Lauren Kramer

MAGAZINE REPORT

May, 2020 – Diane Sauer

June, 2020 – Volunteer Needed

ROTARY NOTES

A publication of the Rotary Club of Warren

Rotary Motto

Service Above Self

4-Way Test

Of the things we think, say or do:

Is it the truth?

Is it fair to all

concerned?

Will it build goodwill and

better friendship?

Will it be

beneficial to all concerned?

Avenues of

Service

Club Service

Vocational Service

Community

Service

International Service

Youth Service

This month, Rotary focuses on the development of young people up to the age

of 30. Rotaract, Interact, RYLA, Youth Exchange and the New Generations Service

Exchange Programs invest in the development of young professionals by

improving their life skills to ensure a better future, while recognizing the

diversity of their needs. Please support the fundamental needs of our youth who

are the next generation of Rotarians!

For our lesson on “Today in History”, Ted Stazak reported that in

1873, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis invented Blue Jeans, which today

represent the most popular types of trousers worldwide. In 1927,

Charles Lindbergh departed from Long Island in the United States and

and arrived in Paris, France at 22:22 the next day. This was the first

solo non-stop transatlantic flight.

The following famous individuals celebrated birthdays on May 20th:

*1971 – Tony Stewart, American race car driver

*1946 – Cher, American singer/songwriter, actress, producer

and director

*1944 – Joe Cocker, English singer/songwriter

Last Saturday, May 16th, we celebrated Armed Forces Day, which is

designated as the third Saturday each May and is a day set aside to

honor those currently serving in the Armed Forces. This Monday, we’ll

celebrate another American Holiday, observed on the last Monday of May,

honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.

Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years

following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.

Unofficially, it marks the beginning of the summer season.

The Civil War, which ended in the spring of 1865, claimed more

lives than any conflict in U.S. history and required the establishment of

the country’s first national cemeteries. By the late 1860s, Americans in

various towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to these

countless fallen soldiers, decorating their graves with flowers and reciting

prayers. It is unclear where exactly this tradition originated; numerous

different communities may have independently initiated the memorial

gatherings. Some records show that one of the earliest Memorial Day

commemorations was organized by a group of freed slaves in Charleston,

South Carolina less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered in

1865. Nevertheless, in 1966, the federal government declared Waterloo,

New York the official birthplace of Memorial Day. Waterloo, which first

celebrated the day on May 5, 1866, was chosen because it hosted an

annual, community-wide event, during which businesses closed and

residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.

On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, leader of an organization

for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of

remembrance later that month. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated

Areas of

Focus

Promoting

Peace

Fighting Disease

Providing Clean

Water

Saving Mothers & Children

Supporting Education

Growing Local

Economies

Club Officers President Teri Surin

President Elect

Dominic Mararri

Vice-President Christine Cope

Secretary

Judy Masaki

Treasurer Cheryl Oblinger Past President Venita Collins

Board

Members Bill Beinecke Tony Iannucci

Lauren Kramer Ted Stazak

Kim Straniak Lisa Taddei

Julia Wetstein

FELLOWSHIP

for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the

graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late

rebellion rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet

church yard in the land,” he claimed. The date of Decoration Day, as he

called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular

battle.

On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech

at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the

graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there. Many

Northern states held similar commemorative events and reprised the

tradition in subsequent years. By 1890, each one had made Decoration

Day an official state holiday. Southern states, on the other hand,

continued to honor their dead on separate days until World War I.

Confederate Memorial Day is still celebrated in several Southern states,

although the practice of commemorating the Confederacy became even

more controversial after the 2015 massacre at Emanuel AME Church in

Charleston.

Memorial Day, as Decoration Day gradually came to be known,

originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. However,

during World War I, the United States found itself embroiled in another

major conflict, and the holiday evolved to commemorate American military

personnel who died in all wars, including World War II, the Vietnam War,

the Korean War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30th, the

date Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. However, in 1968,

Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established

Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day

weekend for federal employees; the change went into effect in 1971. The

same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.

Cities and towns across the United States host Memorial Day parades

each year, often incorporating military personnel and members of veterans’

organizations. Some of the largest parades take place in Chicago, New

York and Washington, D.C. Americans also observe Memorial Day by

visiting cemeteries and memorials. Some people wear a red poppy in

remembrance of those fallen in war. This is a tradition that began with

the following WWI poem written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a

Canadian who served as a brigade surgeon for an Allied artillery unit.

In Flanders Field

In Flanders field the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row

Rotary Club

Foundation

Board

President

Chris Shape

Vice-President Cindy Matheson

Secretary

Judy Masaki

Treasurer Cheryl Oblinger

Christine Cope

Jim Ditch Ken LaPolla Teri Surin

Contact us at: Rotary Club of

Warren P.O. Box 68 Warren, OH

44482

Our Website: Warrenrotary.org

If you have

any questions

or suggestions

about our

newsletter, or

if you would

like to become

a sponsor,

please

contact:

Judy Masaki

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Have an enjoyable Memorial Day, but please take a few minutes to

remember the men and women who gave their lives so we can continue to

enjoy freedom in our great country.

JOIN US on Wednesday, May 27th at Noon for a Rotary Club of

Warren virtual meeting via Zoom! Stay tuned for log-in information. We

will be continuing our virtual meetings through the end of this Rotary

year.

WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS

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ROTARY CLUB OF WARREN SERVICE PROJECT – More volunteer drivers

are needed for our service project!! 20 Meals are picked up

from the restaurants on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. and

delivered to the hospital around 11:00 a.m. It only takes about 30

minutes of your time, and the recipients have been very appreciative! If

you can help out once or twice a week, contact Patti Augustine at

(330) 727 – 7484. You can reach Patti via email at:

patti.augustine@gmail.com. You can also help by making a monetary

donation on the GoFundMe page for this project.

SAVE THE DATE – Mark your calendars for the June 20th to 26th

first ever on-line Rotary International Virtual Convention! You can join

Rotary participants from around the world during this time of

unprecedented challenges and be inspired by innovation, celebrate

resilience, and explore how clubs are addressing COVID-19. A Flag

Ceremony, inspirational global speakers, and much more will be offered to

participants free of charge! More information will be available later this

month.

CLUB DUES – By now, you should have received your invoice for Club

dues. Please continue to support our Club and forward your payment to

Treasurer Cheryl Oblinger as soon as possible. Even though we are not

able to meet in person at this time, there are still operating expenses to

pay!

MEMBERSHIP ENGAGEMENT- While we are physically distancing

ourselves from one another, there are still ways for you to be a part of

our Club and RI. First, consider joining us during our weekly Zoom

meetings! It’ simple; just Google “Zoom Meetings”, follow the directions

to download the app launcher if necessary, hit the “join a meeting” tab,

and enter the login information provided by President Teri Surin each

week. You can stay engaged by helping out with our service project.

Finally, check out the Learning Center at Rotary.org/membership, where

you can discover professional and personal development opportunities.

These on-line courses allow you to learn new skills from your own home.

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Sally Alspaugh-Finn has been a

member of Rotary in Cincinnati for

only two years. Yet, she said she

feels like she’s belonged for a lifetime.

Sally grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and

her father was an active Rotarian in

the ‘50s and ‘60s. He often shared the

Rotary motto and speaker information

with his family. In the 1970s, Sally

went into business on her own, but at

that time, Rotary clubs did not accept women as members. As a result,

Sally didn’t join Rotary until one year before her retirement! In May,

2018, she attended a Rotary meeting while on a trip in Ireland, and she

met someone who knew her niece. Through this networking, she became

involved in The Guatemala Literacy Project.

The Guatemala Literacy Project is one of the largest grassroots, multi-

club, multi-district projects in Rotary. It all began with Rotarians Enrique

Gandara and Juan Forster from the Guatemala Oeste and Sur Clubs. They

learned of an innovative textbook program that a non-profit organization,

Cooperative for Education (CoEd) had set up. They approached CoEd to

become a partner in developing literacy programs in Guatemalan schools and

recruited other Rotary Clubs in the U.S. to serve as international co-

sponsors. Thus, the Guatemala Literacy Project was born. Sally has had

requests from over 100 clubs for her presentation regarding this project.

The mission of the Guatemala Literacy Project is to end the cycle of

poverty through education. Guatemala is one of the poorest countries in the

Western Hemisphere. Four out of Five individuals live in poverty, most with

less than a fifth grade education. Two out of three children drop out of

school due to financial concerns, and 95% of poor children will never

graduate from high school. 90% of students in Guatemala have no

access to textbooks. 1/3 can’t read or write.

More than 600 Rotary Clubs in 46 states and eight countries are

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involved in the Guatemala Literacy Project, and 57,222 students benefit

every day. The project’s reading program provides teacher training which

includes techniques to engage students in the reading process. Books are

provided for classrooms in math, science, social studies, and Spanish. The

children participate in a reader’s theater and puppet show, and they

eventually learn to write their own books. This program is so important

because the best way to combat education is through textbooks and teacher

training. When teachers and children have access to textbooks, one

fourth of instruction time is regained.

In 2001, a computer program was added to the project. 60% of mid-

level jobs require computer skills. In this program, 100 lessons in computer

skills are provided throughout the middle school years, and 95% of

graduates are able to find employment.

The Rise program offers life skills and leadership training to students.

Children who are about to drop out of school are selected to be recipients

of scholarships and job skills training, and as a a result, the graduation

rate has been shown to increase to 80%. A psychologist also provides

support during this program. Part of the program involves design and

participation in community service projects to benefit others in need.

In these ways, The Guatemala Literacy Project has been dubbed the

Gold Standard of Rotary Projects. You can help by giving a $100 donation

to the Guatemala Literacy Project Global Grant. Matching funds will be

provided to the project. In addition, two trips per year, in February and

July, are typically planned to deliver books to Guatemala. For more

information, visit: www.guatemalaliteracy.org/get-involved.

HAPPY BUCKS

*** Dominic Mararri offered a Happy Buck in honor of our speaker and all

of our female Rotarians who have been Rotary Club Presidents. He is in

the process of planning his Rotary Presidency.

*** Julia Wetstein appreciated Ted Stazak’s Memorial Day presentation

during Fellowship.

*** Mike Bollas is happy to be in Myrtle Beach!

*** Bob Hoy had Carpal Tunnel surgery two weeks ago, and all is well.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY