After a July 4th hiatus, the Rotary Club of Garrettsville-Hiram began their 2017-2018 club year with a new president, Amy Crawford, and the following fireworks :
Louis Nonte, 2016-2017 Rotary Exchange Student at James A. Garfield H.S., having just returned from a Rotary trip to the American West, bid the club a fond farewell, with some mentions of the experiences which he had had during his year of living with the Gorby family. The soccer team, fast food and Facebook figured in many of these reminiscences, as did the western sights such as Yellowstone, San Francisco and the Grand Canyon. All are hoping that he remains in touch as he returns home to continue his education.
Departing president, Delores McCumbers also gave her farewells, intertwined with a plea for supporting and encouraging new leadership for the club.
Steve Zabor, of the Manua-Shalersville Rotary, was in attendance to install incoming president, Amy Crawford. He prefaced this ceremony with a brief background of Rotary International and its focus on the eradication of polio and noted the number of Rotary clubs worldwide (35, 000+), which, like the local group share the same qualifications of leadership toward this goal and their own local goals.
Amy Crawford, duly installed, then presented a Paul Harris Fellow Award to past president Delores McCumbers for her contributions to the humanitarian aims of Rotary. Receiving this award means that $1000 will be presented in her name to the Rotary International for further progress toward these goals.
David Michalec, of the Rotary Club of Warren(District 6650) and an official with the Boy Scouts, was welcomed as a visitor and invited to return.
There was some discussion of the incoming exchange student from Chile; no students from Garfield will be going abroad this year. Should there be some recruitment/information efforts being made? Host families are always welcome to volunteer to have an incoming student. There are also short-term summer exchanges available.
Steve Zabor returned to the stage briefly with information concerning the polio immunization drive by Rotary International and the trip which he and Delores McCumbers took to India as part of this concern. Over 90% of the U.S. population is immunized; the last verified case was found in 1993. There are still some countries in which the disease is endemic but Rotary International and UNICEF continue to mobilize efforts to combat this and to monitor situations to prevent outbreaks worldwide. Vigilance can be its own reward.
