No weekly meetings will be held on
December 22 & 29
WEAR YOUR HOLIDAY TOP!!
During our holiday gathering, President Rob is holding a
Zoom Top Contest.
Secret judges will award for:
- Most Stylish -
- Most Original -
- Tackiest -
Julie Frey, Curator, Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens
Julie attended the University of Dayton where she majored in History and English. After completing an internship with the Montgomery County Historical Society, she decided to become a museum curator and attended graduate school at the Cooperstown Graduate Program in upstate New York.
Before moving back to Ohio, Julie pursued her museum career first at the Rye Historical Society in New York and then at the Litchfield Historical Society in Connecticut. Here in Ohio, she worked at the Gund Gallery, a contemporary art museum on the campus of Kenyon College. She started her current position at Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in April 2014.
As Curator, Julie oversees the Collections, Tour Services and Education departments. During her tenure with SHH she has written five books on the history of the Seiberling family and Stan Hywet Hall estate as well as completed the installation of the permanent exhibition “The Seiberling Legacy” in the lower level of the Manor House and "Henrietta Seiberling: A Spark for a Movement" in the Gate Lodge.
Our Club is very excited that Julie Brandle has been selected as District 6630 Governor Nominee Designate (DGND) in line to serve as our Governor for the 2023-2024 Rotary year.
Julie Brandle is a past president of the Rotary Club of Akron and currently serves District 6630 as Assistant Governor for Summit S - Medina County Cluster, chair of the District Conference Committee, and member of the Foundation Gala committee. She has also served the District as a facilitator for the Tri-District Membership Event and chair of the public image committee.
Julie is a committed community advocate and currently serves on the boards of Kent State University's Construction Management program, the Portage Development Board (economic development), Akron Civic Theatre, Akron Urban League, Greater Akron Chamber, ABC (Associated Builders and Contractors) Northeast Ohio, and the Rotary Club of Akron. Julie volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, Rebuilding Together, and the Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio. Julie is a Lifetime Gold Award Girl Scout and holds the adult honors of Women of Distinction and the Thanks Badge.
Julie is a graduate of Cuyahoga Falls High School, as well as Bowling Green State University where she earned a double major in Interpersonal and Public Communication and Soviet Studies and a travel grant scholarship to study in Kiev, Ukraine. She is a graduate of Goldman Sachs 10k Small Businesses, ScaleratorNEO, Leadership Portage County and is currently in Leadership Akron's Class 37.
Julie is the president and a founder of Metis Construction Services, a female-owned commercial general contractor located in Kent. Metis completes ground-up, renovation, and facilities maintenance projects throughout Ohio, along with projects currently in PA, IL, KY, MI, and NY. With over 25 years of experience in sales, marketing, and public relations, Julie oversees these areas of expertise for Metis along with being an integral part of the management team that designs and manages the overall business strategy for Metis Construction.
Julie is the daughter of Rich(deceased) and Leann Soika and has a brother Rich (Sharon) and sister Kristen (Orlando) and 5 nieces and nephews (Orlando, RJ, Lydia, Ardynn and Reid). Julie and her husband Steven reside in Brimfield Twp. Their daughter Kimberly is a senior Intervention Specialist major preparing to graduate in May 2021 from Bowling Green State University.
These members of the Akron Rotary Club have honorably served as Rotary International District 6630 Governors (DG). District 6630 has been renamed over the years as noted.
Formerly 21st District (renamed in 1922)
1922-23 Theodore E. Smith*
Formerly 158th District (renamed in 1937)
1944-45 Harry E. Votaw*
Formerly 229th District (renamed in 1949)
1956-57 William D. Zahrt*
Formerly District 663 (renamed in 1957)
1968-69 Leslie P. Hardy*
Renamed District 6630 (renamed in 1991)
2003-04 Jack A. Harig
2010-11 Stew Buchanan
2015-16 Cheryl A. Warren
2019-20 John L. Reyes
We look forward to adding Julie Brandle in 2023-2024!
To get you in the festive mood here are some Mocktail and Cocktail (if you are feeling super festive at noon!) recipes to try during our meeting or after the work day is over and you want to watch the recording.
Cranberry Bourbon Cocktail~
Shake 2 ounces each bourbon, cranberry juice and orange juice in a shaker with ice; strain into a glass filled with ice and garnish with cranberries,
White Christmas Martini~
INGREDIENTS
2 ounces vanilla vodka
2 ounce white chocolate liqueur
1 ounce white creme de cacao
1 ounce half-and-half
Honey and coarse sanding sugar for rim garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour the honey into a shallow dish and put the sanding sugar in another shallow dish. Coat the rim of the glass in the honey; then dip the rim in the sugar to coat evenly. Set the glass aside.
In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the vodka, white chocolate liqueur, creme de cacao, and half-and-half. Shake vigorously and strain into the prepared martini glass.
Holiday Mocktail ~
INGREDIENTS
4 cups cranberry juice
2 cups pineapple juice
2 cups orange juice
ice
sprite or sparkling water (optional)
sugar for glass rims
INSTRUCTIONS
Measure out and stir cranberry, orange and pineapple juices together in a pitcher. Add the ice and sprite (or sparkling water).
Dip the damp edge of glasses into sugar, if desired.
Pour into glasses and serve.
Maybe a sweet treat is more your style? How about some Cinnamon chocolate Fudge?
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, at room temperature
Butter, for greasing the pan
Kosher or flake salt, optional
INSTRUCTIONS
Butter the bottom and sides of an 8 by 8-inch baking pan. Line the pan with a sheet of parchment paper, about 14-inches long and 7-inches wide, allowing the excess to overhang the sides. Set aside
In a medium glass or stainless steel bowl, combine the condensed milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. Stir in the chocolate chips and butter. Put the bowl on a saucepan of barely simmering water and mix until the chocolate chips have melted and the mixture is smooth, about 6 to 8 minutes (mixture will be thick). Using a spatula, scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle with salt, if desired. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours until firm.
Run a warm knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the fudge. Remove the fudge to a cutting board. Peel off the parchment paper and cut the fudge into 1-inch pieces. Store refrigerated in an airtight container or freeze.
Enjoy and don't forget to wear your most festive Zoom top!
The purpose of Rotary Cares is to show our supportfor Akron Rotarymembers and their families whendealing with the loss of a loved one,thehardship of illness and also tocelebrate the joy of a new baby, job,marriageor 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).
Thoughts and Prayers
Michael Gladysz has been assisting his mother, Cheryl Panek, who fell and totally shattered her elbow. She is now scheduled for elbow replacement surgery. They would appreciate prayers for a full and speedy recovery.
Past President Ron Wise passed away. He served as our Rotary Club of Akron President in 2003-2004 and remained an active member after relocating and transferring to the Aurora Rotary Club.
Cards may be sent to Mrs. Wise at 245 Greenbriar Dr. Aurora, OH 44202
Ronald H. Wise, age 79 of Aurora, Ohio, passed away Wednesday, December 2, 2020. He was the beloved husband of Ruth (nee Malinchak) Edwards Wise; loving father of Julianne (Scott) Davis, Ronald Brian (Pam) Wise, and Lorianne (Thomas Jr.) Dray; caring step-father of Mary (Subho) Basu, David C. (fiancée Christi) Edwards, John T. Edwards, Michael R. Edwards and Mark J. Edwards; cherished grandfather of Gabriel, Brandon, Asher, Noelle, Hunter, Collin, Riley, Nathaniel, Owen, Brandon, Kyle, Hannah, Gavin, Elizabeth, and Michael; loving great-grandfather of Levi; and dear brother of Bill (Linda) Wise.
Ron was a graduate of East High School in 1959 and earned his degree in Business Administration from The University of Akron. He worked for Americhem in Cuyahoga Falls for 40 years and retired as Vice President of Human Resources. Ron was an active member of Rotary, serving as president of the Akron club from 2003 to 2004 and volunteered at Habitat for Humanity. Ron was dedicated to God, his family and his country and enjoyed spending time with his children and grandchildren, he loved to travel and giving back to his community.
The family suggests memorial contributions be made in Ron's memory to the Habitat for Humanity (www.habitat.org), the Church in Aurora (www.tcia.cc), Rotary International (www.rotary.org), or to the American Red Cross (www.redcross.org). Due to the pandemic, Ron's services and burial at Aurora Cemetery will be held privately. Arrangements by Johnson-Romito Funeral Home, Hudson, OH.https://www.johnsonromito.com/obituaries/Ronald-H-Wise?obId=19193488#/obituaryInfo
We are currently accepting donations of toys and gift cards for our annual Holiday Party on December 20th. Like all of us, our campers’ and their families’ lives have been completely turned upside down this year. This year’s Holiday Party for Camp will most likely be a drive through event due to COVID-19 precautions but for many of our campers it is the only time they see Santa, so our goal is to make it as joyous as possible. Help us spread a little joy by purchasing a gift that Santa can share or a gift card for groceries.
Gift cards in any amount from major stores such as Target, WalMart, ACME, and Giant Eagle are also being accepted.
Gift cards and donations can be mailed or dropped off at Akron Rotary Camp, 4460 Rex Lake Dr., New Franklin, OH 44319. Questions? Call camp at 330.644.4512 or email Dan Reynolds at danr@akronymca.org.
Rotary Youth Exchange Committee held its 1st meeting in months Dec. 1 via Zoom. It was exciting to see returning members since we have NOT worked together since March. We referred to documents that that set out new Rotary policy for Youth Exchange from RI President Holger Knaack* and Bob Heydorn*, Rotary District 6630 Youth Exchange General Chair. There will be no exchanges before Jun 30, 2021. The decision to accept exchanges will be made at that date. Our patience has been alerted and we are working to maintain the momentum the RYE Committee had developed over the last two years hosting two exchange students each year. It’s important that we be ready to help the young people of Akron engage in this life changing experience when the exchange becomes possible. (*These communications were also in the most recent District Newsletter.)
Topics we discussed focused on finding strategies to strengthen the RYE Program during this Stay-at-Home period. We plan to build greater Club knowledge of RYE Program and connect with Interact and RYLA clubs to get the message out to other youths. To do this, we will reach out to former Inbounders (Zoey Mayer, Elin Na and others) so they can attend a Zoom meeting and share (5 minutes) about what they are doing now. We also intend to work with John Margida to invite Rotex (former District Outbound students) to present their experiences to the Club (Audrey Carroll, Viet Nguyen, Auri Gaston, etc.). Another way to reach young people and their parents is to put the message about RYE programs in school districts’ newsletters to parents (Akron, Coventry, Stow, Green, Norton). We’d like to meet with Mark West, District 6630’s person in charge of RYLA, to share information about the Exchange. We intend to reach out to Janice Weaver and Alma De Blasio, Interact Advisors at North High School. It would be wonderful for The Rotary Club of Akron to facilitate a H.S. Interact project to promote International Peace through Exchange.
Another focus was Protecting Youth Program Participants, a concern that stems from the need for Rotary to send students into a “safe environment.” So, by announcing that there will be no exchanges before June 30, 2021, and that the decision will be made then whether to allow the exchanges to proceed guarantees that Rotary is protecting our young participants. In addition, our Akron Risk Committee will clear any documents that go to members or to the general public.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion was another focus of discussion with ways to include it in our program. We talked about ways to make the program available for a committed student who can’t afford the cost of fees and air transportation, since we have had students in the past who dropped out because of financial challenges. We are looking into multiple ways to address this concern. We would like to see greater diversity of young people applying for the program. We can definitely work with schools and districts to encourage more students to apply if they know there is support there for them.
There is also a new option for students, the virtual exchange. We hope to learn more by talking to Rotarian John Koetz (in Columbus) who has been in charge of virtual exchanges to date. A couple of committee members plan to attend a Webinar on 22 January on this topic. We are also looking at ways to help students become more language proficient before they go abroad or during a virtual exchange.
Another important topic, Develop recruiting strategies, guided our brainstorming. Suggestions ranged from
1) get in contact with all past host families to engage them in supporting our host family recruitment;
2) place notices about our program in local high school or district newsletters regularly to get the contact information out there for hosting, a description of short-term program, a description of long-term program; 3) send articles to local papers like Stow Sentry, the West Ender, etc.; and, 4) bring in past Outbound students (Rotex) to keep the topic on the front burner for the club.
Next meeting in January will be 12th or 19th at 11 am before General Meeting. TBA later.
We are open to new members who would like to work with young people, welcoming them, making certain their experience is going well, helping them get used to the American culture, acting as a guide to Akron’s cultural offering.
The Rotary Club of Akron had the privilege of listening to Ali Miller and Chris Meyers from Playhouse Square at our Tuesday, December 8, 2020 weekly meeting. View the video by clicking here.
Chris has been employed with Playhouse Square for the past 18 years, the past 12 years as Sales Manager. Ali is an Akron native and graduate of Firestone High School. Ali’s work experience includes the Akron Civic Theater, The Public Theater in New York City (famous for some little shows called A Chorus Line and Hamilton), Broadway.com and Broadway Across America in New York City, and finally a return to Ohio to work with Playhouse Square. It was a very engaging presentation with multiple follow-up questions about the organization, its challenges, successes, etc.
Playhouse Square is a theater district in downtown Cleveland. It is the largest performing arts center in the US outside of New York City. Constructed in a span of 19 months in the early 1920s, the theaters were subsequently closed down, but were revived through a grassroots effort. Their renovation and reopening helped usher in a new era of downtown revitalization in Cleveland.
Playhouse Square is one of Broadway’s premier touring partners, made possible by the region’s enthusiastic Broadway audiences - the largest base of season tickets holders in the country (over 50,000), skilled labor force, knowledgeable and hard-working staff, dedicated volunteers, and beautiful venues.
Playhouse Square is a Not-for-profit performing arts center whose mission is presenting and producing a wide variety of quality performing arts, advancing arts education and creating a destination that is a superior location for entertainment, business and residential living, thereby strengthening the economic vitality of the region.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & EDUCATION
Playhouse Square understands its vital role as an educator in the community and is committed to providing arts learning opportunities of the highest quality to enrich the lives of students, families, teachers, and adults.
Since its inception in 1998, the Community Engagement & Education Department has offered thousands of events, workshops, classes and more, most with minimal or no fees, to people of all ages from all areas of Northeast Ohio.
Playhouse Square is proud to commit to arts education, providing a variety of free and low-cost programs dedicated to inspiring and invigorating people of all ages, perspectives, and abilities. As a result of the pandemic impact, Playhouse Square has modified their community education programming.
Educators have been given rights to all nine shows that have been recorded. Currently 900 classrooms have signed up and over 19,000 students have benefited. In addition to the ability to view these shows in the classroom, there are also pre- and post- show activities for the students to participate in as part of their learning experience.
While Playhouse Square is known for the great performances that are produced to interested ticket holders, what is more impressive are the sensory-friendly programming that the Playhouse Square has implemented. Their sensory-friendly initiative is dedicated to increasing access and inclusion for those with sensory needs including persons with autism.
Like many businesses, Playhouse Square has been impacted significantly as a result of COVID 19. To date, they have had to cancel over 600 performances and have sustained a $7 million dollar loss. They will be implementing a fund-raising campaign to help them continue to weather the pandemic. Current plans call for a resumption of their programming in the Fall of 2021.
Playhouse Square has partnered with the University of Akron/EJ Thomas Hall for the past 5 years to share their Broadway Series. Currently EJ Thomas has over 2500 ticket holders for the Broadway Series. This partnership will continue when the Broadway Series returns in the Fall of 2021.
To learn more about Playhouse Square and their numerous initiatives, growth plans, etc., I encourage everyone to go to their website www.playhouse.square.org.
Thank you and please keep up the great work...we WILL get there!!
Although the Chili Open will look different from previous years due the impact of COVID-19, and whether you choose to attend in person or virtually, your gift will make a significant impact allowing us to continue to serve the vulnerable youth in our community.
The annual fundraiser represents 30% of operating costs to the Rotary Camp's annual budget. This ensures that no child is turned away due to their family’s inability to pay. We are extremely thankful to our Chili Open Presenting Sponsor, Wayne Homes for their continued commitment to the camp.
Fellow Rotarians, it's that time again! Help Akron Rotary Camp earn $ to send kids to Camp! Save your ACME receipts from August 6 to December 26 to earn some Community Cash Back on ACME Fresh Market Store Brands. Receipts can be mailed or dropped off to Akron Rotary Camp, 4460 Rex Lake Drive, Akron, Ohio 44319. As always, thank you for your support!
Do you shop on Amazon? If yes, AmazonSmile is an easy way to support Rotary Camp with every purchase. Just takes a few minutes to set up.
At no cost to you, Amazon will donate 0.5% of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases
If you are not already an AmazonSmile member, sign up on your web browser. Simply select Rotary Camp for Children With Special Needs Inc to start generating donations.
AmazonSmile customers can now support Rotary Camp for Children With Special Needs Inc in the Amazon shopping app on iOS and Android mobile phones. Simply follow these instructions to turn on AmazonSmile and start generating donations.
Open the Amazon Shopping app on your device
Go into the main menu of the Amazon Shopping app and tap into 'Settings'
Tap 'AmazonSmile' and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process
If you do not have the latest version of the Amazon Shopping app, you will need to update your mobile app. Click here for instructions.
If you have questions or need assistance, please contact Mella Castner, director of development at Rotary Camp (330) 644-4512.
Your health and safety is important to us.
Our thoughts are with all of you and our sincere appreciation goes out to every individual working to help keep us safe and healthy.
internship with the Montgomery County Historical Society, she decided to become a museum curator and attended graduate school at the Cooperstown Graduate Program in upstate New York.
Julie Brandle is a past president of the Rotary Club of Akron and currently serves District 6630 as Assistant Governor for Summit S - Medina County Cluster, chair of the District Conference Committee, and member of the Foundation Gala committee. She has also served the District as a facilitator for the Tri-District Membership Event and chair of the public image committee.
Chris has been employed with Playhouse Square for the past 18 years, the past 12 years as Sales Manager. Ali is an Akron native and graduate of Firestone High School. Ali’s work experience includes the Akron Civic Theater, The Public Theater in New York City (famous for some little shows called A Chorus Line and Hamilton), Broadway.com and Broadway Across America in New York City, and finally a return to Ohio to work with Playhouse Square. It was a very engaging presentation with multiple follow-up questions about the organization, its challenges, successes, etc.
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