JUNE 2014

Club awards four scholarships The Rotary Club of Lakewood and Rocky River awarded

four college scholarships at our weekly luncheon on

Monday, June 9.

Graduating seniors Teodora Bodeo and Emma McGorray

from Rocky River High School and Irina Vatamanu and

Neelab Abdullah from Lakewood High School each received

$2,500 awards from the Lakewood-Rocky River Rotary

Foundation. The scholarship program is part of over $50,000

that the club donates to the community each year.

In addition to their outstanding academic records, the four

Rotary scholarship winners were chosen for extracurricular

and community involvement.

Neelab Abdullah, a member of the National Honor Society,

has interned at Cleveland Clinic, volunteered at Fairview

Hospital and with MetroHealth’s “Doctors on the Streets.”

Her work on HPV immunization for youth was published by

the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. She has

received the Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award, the

President’s Volunteer Service Award, and was inducted into

the National Technical Honor Society for Biotechnology.

Neelab will pursue a pre-medicine curriculum at Baldwin

Wallace University.

Teodora Bodeo, a fluent speaker of English, Spanish and

Romanian, is a member of the National Honor Society and

Spanish Language National Honor Society. Throughout her

THE LISTENER Publication of the Rotary Club of Lakewood & Rocky River

Todd Lessig to become president June 30;

past presidents, directors to be recognized

On June 30, Robert “Todd” Lessig will become the 89th

president of the Rotary Club of Lakewood and Rocky River

for the Rotary year 2014-2015 which starts July 1.

Todd joined the club in March 2005. He was sponsored by

Pam Gallagher-Vine.

He will succeed outgoing president Phil Ardussi who will

take his seat with the past presidents in attendance at the

meeting.

Todd has served as a club secretary, chaired the grants

committee, co-chaired the annual golf outing, served on the

scholarship committee and as a member of the club’s Board

of Directors.

Also during the meeting, outgoing board members will be

honored and incoming board members sworn in.

Outgoing directors are Pam Gallagher Jerry Martau and John

Mielke. Incoming directors for 2014-17 are Mark Bacon,

John Clapper, and Ann Sevenich. Continuing on the board

are Phil Ardussi, Charles Eversole, and Lynn Donaldson

(2012-15); and Jon Clark, and Tom Turner (2013-16). Vicki

Foster was selected by the Board at its May 19 meeting to

fill the remainder of Dave Zupan’s term (2013-16).

Lynn Donaldson will be president-elect. Chuck Gustafson

will continue as secretary. Kanchan Adhikary will be club

treasurer.

As is our tradition, all past presidents of the club are invited

to attend the changeover meeting: Invited were:

Continued on page two

1967-68 Ed Saxton

1974-75 Bill Knoble

1976-77 Joe Raabe

1981-82 Brian King

1983-84 Chuck Day

1984-85 Thom Geist

1985-86 Jim Harris

1989-90 Rick Parker

1991-92 Larry Faulhaber

1992-93 Bob Scott

1993-94 Bill Huffman

1994-95 Mike Busta

1996-97 John Monson

1997-98 Jim Saxton

1999-00 Phil Kish

2000-01 Julius Skerlan

2001-02 Mary Lou Call

2002-03 Tom Giffels

2003-04 Dave Shaw

2004-05 Ken Haber

2005-06 Bill Gaydos

2006-07 Jim Lechko

2007-08 Larry Yunaska

2008-09 Kris Spencer

2009-10 Chris Arnold

2010-11 Matt Daugherty

2011-12 Lynn Donaldson

2012-13 Curt Brosky

With Phil Ardussi (right), Rotary club president, are scholarship winners (from left) Emma McGorray, Neelab Abdullah, Irina Vatamanu, and Teodora Bodeo.

Our club’s mailing address is: P.O. Box 770916, Lakewood, OH 44107

Our web site is: http://www.lakewoodrockyriverrotary.org

Club awards four scholarships Continued from page one

high school career she served as a student ambassador for

the foreign exchange students, probably because Teo herself

moved to this country just seven years ago. In addition to

pouring herself into her studies she has also held part-time

employment. She will study nursing at Cleveland State

University.

Emma McGorray has the very rare distinction of being

selected as a National Merit Finalist. She captained her

Science Olympiad team to silver and gold medals,

participated in Model United Nations, and sang in her

school’s auditioned Treble Choir. Planning to study English

and writing at Kenyon College, Emma is a two-time semi-

finalist in the Norman Mailer/NCTE National Writing

Award competition.

Irina Vatamanuhas been inducted into the National Honor

Society, the French Language National Honor Society, and

the National Technical Honor Society for Biotechnology.

She served as president of her school’s Interact Club and

Model United Nations Club. Irina has achieved AP Scholar

with Distinction status and earned the President’s Volunteer

Service Award. She will study biomedical engineering at

Harvard College.

Members celebrate birthdays

Members with birthdays in June are: 4 – Martin Dodenhoff,

12 – Bill Knoble, 21 – Jon Fancher, 29 – Dick Garrett. In

July members with birthdays are: 11 – Ann Sevenich, 17 –

Bill Huffman, 19 – Tom Turner, 25 – Larry Yunaska.

A birthday donation to the club foundation or Rotary Inter-

national entitles the donor to a free lunch.

Years of service saluted

Members who joined on club in June are: John Lance (50

years), Bill Knoble (48),Thom Geist (44), Bob Weber (41),

Joe Hammerschmidt (26), Julius Skerlan (24), Chet Brian

(15 years), Michael Abraham (12), and Lee Elmore (seven).

Members with membership anniversaries in July are John

Latham (35 years), Tom Turner (30), and John Mielke (21).

We salute each of you for your service to Rotary and our

club!

Did you know...

...you can advertise your business on the club’s website for

$20 per month or $225 per year. Your company logo can be

included and it can be linked to your email or company’s

website. See any club officer for details.

The Rotary Club of Lakewood & Rocky River P.O. Box 770916, Lakewood, OH 44107

http://www.lakewoodrockyriverrotary.org

OFFICERS & DIRECTORS 2013-2014

President ........................................................................ Phil Ardussi President Elect ............................................................... Todd Lessig Secretary ................................................................ Chuck Gustafson Treasurer ...................................................................... Tom English Directors:

2011-2014 – Pam Gallagher-Vine, Jerry Martau, John Mielke 2012-2015 – Phil Ardussi, Charles Eversole, Lynn Donaldson 2013-2016 – Tom Turner, David Zupan, Jon Clark

Past President ................................................................. Curt Brosky

COMMITTEES 2013-2014 Club Service

Administration Archives .................................................................... Thom Geist Attendance .............................................................. John Latham Cashiers ...... Larry Yunaska (chair), Julius Skerlan, David Zupan Fund Raising ...................... Matt Daugherty (chair), Todd Lessig,

Dave Zupan Membership/Education ................................................. Jon Clark Nominations ........ Curt Brosky, Matt Daugherty, Lynn Donaldson Sunshine ................................................................. John Latham Listener, Public Relations, Website ....................Lynn Donaldson District Activities ........................................................ Jim Lechko Club Foundation .................................................. Matt Daugherty Rotary International Foundation .................................. Jim Harris

Meetings & Fellowship Devotional ............................................................... Jon Fancher Greeters ................................................................... David Shaw Music .......................................... Charles Eversole, Jon Fancher Program ....... Matt Daugherty (chair), Tom Turner, Pete Shimrak Sergeant-At-Arms ........... John Mielke (chair), Chuck Gustafson,

John Lamb Social .......................................................... Pam Gallagher-Vine

Community Service ...................................................... Todd Lessig

International Service .......................................... Kanchan Adhikary

New Generations Service .......................................... Jean Rounds Dictionary Project ..................................................... Jay Rounds Rachel’s Challenge ................................................ Jean Rounds Youth Exchange ................... Chris Arnold (chair), Andrew Ginter

Vocational Service ....................................................... Nancy Ralls

LEADERSHIP 2013-2014

Robert “Bob” Johnson, Governor, District 6630 (Burton Middlefield)

Shawn Mueller, Assistant District Governor, Cuyahoga County Northwest - Lorain County (North Ridgeville)

Ron D. Burton, President, Rotary International (Rotary Club of Norman, Oklahoma, USA)

NEARBY MAKE UP OPPORTUNITIES

Avon/Avon Lake, Tuesday, 7:30 a.m. Towne Center Community Campus, 200 Community Drive, Avon Lake.

Cleveland, Downtown, Thursday, Noon. Windows on the River in the Powerhouse, West Bank of Flats.

Lakewood/Rocky River Sunrise, Wednesday, 7:15 a.m. Umerley Hall, Rocky River.

Middleburg Heights/Brookpark, Thursday, 7:30 a.m. Front Row Grill, 15119 Snow Road, Middleburg Heights.

North Ridgeville, Friday, Noon, North Ridgeville Senior Center, 7327 Avon Belden Road, behind City Hall.

Westlake/Bay, Thursday, 12:15 p.m. Winking Lizard, 32045 Detroit Rd., Avon.

West Shore (formerly Fairview/West Park/North Olmsted), Tuesday, Noon. 100th Bomb Group, 20920 Brookpark Road near Hopkins airport.

On-line at www.rotaryeclubone.org

By Thom Geist

On January 18, 1926, 28 men gathered at the old Westlake

Hotel for what was to become the Lakewood Rotary Club, to

be officially chartered on February 8 of that year. Our club

was the third club in the county, preceded only by downtown

Cleveland and Bedford.

We met at the Westlake Hotel for about seven years, and

then moved to the Lake Shore Hotel in Lakewood where we

remained for nearly forty years. We met at the Lakewood

Elks Club for a few years, then to the Beck Center for fifteen

years until settling at our current home in the Rocky River

Civic Center.

Although named the Lakewood Rotary Club, we always had

included Rocky River within our boundaries, and officially

added that city’s name in the 1970s.

Our charter president was a realtor named Harold Huxtable,

and we retain a deep connection with him since his daughter,

Marty Harris, was a recent president of our morning, Sunrise

club, and her husband Jim Harris is a Past District Governor.

We’re proud to have had several of our members advance to

District Governor positions. In addition to Jim, we had both

father and son, Hugh K. and Hugh L. Dawson, Quigg Lohr,

and Bill Pinter (although those last two became members of

our club after their terms).

Starting from virtually nothing, our early, enthusiastic group

immediately began impacting our community. They

organized an annual Christmas party for disadvantaged

children. They built a Boy Scout cabin in the valley during

the 1930s, a true hands-on undertaking. And we’ve

continued that great tradition with many, many projects

throughout each year.

In 1946, our member Firmin Deibel had the wonderful

inspiration to start a speech contest, engaging students from

our communities, and awarding scholarship money. We’ve

since expanded this to include music and art awards as well.

Our speech contest has been picked up by the district, and

continues district-wide to this date, using our Rotary Four-

Way Test as its basis. And it all started with our club.

1952 was a watershed year for our club for it marked the

founding of our Lakewood Rotary Foundation, an effort

spear-headed by Carl Dryer. Our Foundation now has assets

approaching over one million dollars, and it makes it

possible for us to contribute over $40,000.00 per year to our

two communities. We’ve established our “Carl Dryer

Award” recognizing those members who have made at least

$1,000.00 in contributions to our foundation. Most of our

members have received that award, and many are multiple

recipients.

We serve Rotary International as well, and are proud to

count 35 Paul Harris Fellows among our current

membership, with 11 being multiple recipients.

Our great Rotary tradition of giving back to the community

has continued unabated through the years. We raised over

$65,000.00 toward building a new bandshell at Lakewood

Park. We played a major role in funding the transformation

of the Lakewood Little Theater into today’s very successful

Beck Center, and we continue to support that treasure of the

West Side.

Past Presidents at Our Club’s 75th Anniversary at Westwood Country Club, May 15, 2001

Seated (from left): Hugh L Hawthorne (1986-1987), and James W. Harris (1985-1986); standing (from left): Phillip J. Kish (1999

-2000), Thom Geist (1984-1985), Douglas C. Blackburn (1988-1989), William F. Knoble (1974-1975), William C. Huffman (1993-

1994), Larry E. Faulhaber (1991-1992), Edward H. Saxton (1967-1968), Webb C. Jennings (1953-1954), John F. (Jack) Koran

(1982-1983), James E. Saxton (1997-1998), Robert G. Cook (1969-1970), Milan G. (Mike) Busta (1994-1995), William H. Knoble

(1966-1967), Richard L. Parker (1989-1990), H. Howard (Gus) Laundy (1965-1966), Donald F. McQuilkin (1995-1996), and Brian

M. King (1981-1982).

History of the Rotary Club of Lakewood and Rocky River

Continued on page four

Meetings

Remember to invite a guest to an upcoming meeting!

June 2, Noon. Rotary International Foundation Grants – Rick Pollak,

Rotary District 6630 District Executive Secretary.

June 9, Noon.

Club Foundation Scholarship Winners – Jon Fancher.

The Lakewood/Rocky River Rotary Foundation will

award four grants to high school students toward study at

any accredited post-high school educational institution.

June 16, Noon.

A Meeting of Remembrance – Phil Ardussi. We take

time to remember those members of our club who passed

away during the 2013-14 Rotary year – Don McQuilkin,

Doug Blackburn, Wib Leopold, Dale Vonderau, and Jack

Koran.

June 23, Noon.

Rocky River State of the City – Mayor Pam Bobst. A

former member of council and also its president, Mayor

Bobst was appointed mayor in 2006.

June 30, Noon. Officer/Director Changeover – Jim Lechko and Jim

Harris. Plan to be present when president elect Todd takes

over the reins of the club.

July 7, Noon

Five Million Steps on a Journey of Hope: Thru-Hiking

the Appalachian Trail – Bob Grau. A 70-year-old retired

college professor from Berea, he thru-hiked the AT from

March to September 2011. He will recount details of his

hike from Georgia to Maine, a distance of 2,181 miles.

Grau has written a book about his experience.

July 14, Noon. Club Assembly and New Member Orientation. All

committee chairs will present a short description of their

committee’s main function. For our newer members, it’s

an opportunity to learn the ins and outs of our club and to

find a place for you to make your unique contribution.

July 21, Noon

Gift of Life Northeast Ohio – Ken Fogle. GoL NEO

serves children and their extended families from around

the world who do not have access to cardiac care. GoL

NEO has hosted over 50 children from all over the world

who have come to Rainbow Babies and Children’s

Hospital for repair of their defective hearts, and recently it

has also partnered with Akron Children’s Hospital to

bring children from Haiti for heart surgery.

July 28, Noon Light Up Rotary – Todd Lessig. RI President Gary C. K.

Huang has chosen Light Up Rotary as his theme for 2014-

15. Huang was inspired by the teachings of Chinese

philosopher Confucius, who stated, “It is better to light a

single candle, than to sit and curse the darkness.”

Events

Thursday, July 31, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Cruise-in for Scholarships. Edgewater Park’s Lakefront

Reservation, Lower Area.

Monday, August 4, 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.

Past Presidents Picnic. Cleveland Yachting Club.

Upcoming meetings and events

Save the date! Monday, September 8, 2014

Annual Golf Outing

Red Tail Golf Club 4400 Lear Nagle Rd., Avon

Save the date! August 4, 2014

Past Presidents Picnic

Cleveland Yachting Club 200 Yacht Club Dr., Rocky River

Each year we deliver dictionaries to all third graders in our

two communities, and talk about Rotary when we visit with

them.

Through the years we give on-going support to both the

Rocky River and Lakewood School Foundations; Meals on

Wheels; American Youth Foundation; North Coast Health

Ministry; Barton Center; Rocky River Senior Center; and the

list goes on. All told in 2014 we donated over $46,000.00 to

our two communities including $10,000.00 in scholarship

grants to high school students and $4,500.00 to our Speech,

Art, and Music Contest winners.

Youth Exchange continues to be important avenue of service

as we host students from around the world and make it

possible for our own hometown students to experience other

countries and cultures.

Each year we honor the outstanding students from the West

Shore Career-Technical District. There were 15 honorees in

2014.

Keeping our members abreast of all our activities is our

monthly newsletter, The Listener. The first issue was printed

on the YMCA mimeograph (remember those?) in 1927, and

it hasn’t missed a month since although the format has

happily become far more professional. It has won many

awards over the years and continues its tradition of

excellence.

The Rotary Club of Lakewood and Rocky River is very

proud of its long tradition of “Service Above Self” for 88

years and looks forward to the next 88.

History of our Rotary club Continued from page three