The Westlake Bay Village Rotary Club held its weekly Wednesday meeting on October 16, 2024, at the Lake Erie Science and Nature Center. There were 14 participants. President Mangels called the meeting to order at 7:30 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 hosts and speakers, Catherine Timko and Maggie Watson from the Science Center.
Club news:
- Andrew read an email from Gary thanking everyone for their support of the golf outing. We should raise over $11,000 from this year’s event. Katie Yeager has offered to step and serve as co-chair of next year's outing.
- Our annual Rose Sale will be held on October 18th. Once again, roses are only $20 per dozen. There is still time to place your order or just stop by and pick some up.
- 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.
- 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.
- There will be a Rotary membership summit to be held at Mentor High School, 6465 Center St., on October 19th from 9:30-1:00.
- October 24th is World Polio Day. Dunkin will be selling purple donuts that day in partnership with Rotary. Order yours now for pickup on the 24th. There will be a table set up at the library from 9-11 to hand out
- donuts and to promote our club. Look for the email to sign up if you would like to manage the table.
- 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 will feature desserts made by the exchange students. Please consider joining Terri and help out by picking up Tubtim to save Terri a trip to the west side.
Our speakers today were Catherine Timko, Executive Director of the Lake Erie Science and Nature Center, and Maggie Watson, animal programs coordinator. They gave a very interesting account of the Center and showed us plans for Outdoor Wildlife Garden expansion and renovation, a $1.9 million project scheduled for completion in June of 2025.
The center was founded in 1945, and its building was built in 1960. They are a non-profit organization, independently funded by grants, donations, and class fees. They serve over 100,000 people each year. Their mission is to connect people with nature. They are the only wildlife rehabilitation facility in Cuyahoga County. The live animal ambassadors have over 50 species on exhibit. They offer nature-based preschool programs, and the planetarium is one of two public access domes in the region.
To learn more about them, visit their website at www.lesnc.org.
We had time for our happy thoughts, and the meeting adjourned at 8:31