The Rotary Club of Westlake Bay Village held its weekly Wednesday meeting on October 23, 2024. The meeting was a hybrid, with 18 participants meeting via Zoom and in person. President Mangels called the meeting to order at 7:32 a.m. and began with a prayer followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the Rotary Four-Way Test. 

Andrew welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced our speaker, Mary Manning from the Western Reserve Historical Society, and Amy introduced her sister, Elizabeth Fox. Elizabeth was in town for Amy’s birthday and spoke briefly about her work alongside Rotary in eradicating polio.
 
Club news:
  • Our annual rose sale was held on October 18th. While we did not reach our goal of 300 dozen this year, it was still a successful event. A full report will be forthcoming.
  • October has 5 Wednesdays. We will be collecting diapers for Providence House once again. They can be dropped off at the library or at Tim Smith’s office. 28045 Ranney Pkwy. In Westlake. Andrew and Jeff will be delivering them and then having breakfast at Grumpys. All are welcome to join them.
  • October 24th is World Polio Day. There will be a table set up at the library from 9-11 to hand out donuts and to promote our club. Stop by and join in the festivities. 
  • Our grant service project for the Literacy Project will be held on the 5th Wednesday, 10-30, at Justin’s office, 159 Crocker Park Blvd. #309, at 5:30. His office is in the Gordon Building above Aladdin’s. 
  • The Rotary Gala will be held on November 7th at the Center, 4157 Hudson Dr. in Stow. The event will run from 6-9 pm and features desserts made by the exchange students. Let Terri know if you are interested in attending. Rotary will be collecting hats and gloves at the gala. If you are interested in donating, you can get them to Terri. 
  • The dates have been set for the Epiphany Project for the Redeemer Crisis Center. We will stuff the boxes at the St. Paul Church cafeteria on December 26th, 28th, and 29th. Please mark your calendars and plan on participating.
  • The Donation Committee recommended two member-request donations. Andrew requested $500 for Life Act, an organization working to educate and help prevent suicide among young people, and Terri requested $500 for the Peace Jam Youth Leadership Conference. Amy motioned that we make both donations. Patty seconded, and the motion carried.
  • In preparation for the 2025 Art Festival, the committee will meet on the first Wednesday of each month at 6:00 pm at the library. The first meeting will take place on November 6th. 
 
Our speaker today was Mary Manning from the Western Reserve Historical Society. The Society was founded in 1867 by a group of men called the Arkites, who collected artifacts from the western reserve area. The mission of the Society is to inspire people to discover the American experience by exploring the tangible history of Northeast Ohio. You can visit them at Hale Farm, The Crawford Auto and Aviation Museum, and the Cleveland History Center. To learn more about them and to see a list of their extensive programs, visit their website at WWW.WRHS.org. 
 
We had time for our happy thoughts and the meeting adjourned at 8:26.