The Rotary Club of Westlake Bay Village held its weekly Wednesday meeting on August 16, 2023. The meeting was a hybrid with 17
participants meeting via zoom and in person. President Maver called the meeting to order at 7:30 a.m., began with a prayer followed by the
Pledge of Allegiance and the Rotary Four-Way Test.

 

Bob welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced our guest, prospective member Ed Trela from Edward Jones, who attended his
second meeting, and our speaker, Mary Macias.

 

Terri met Flavia, our inbound exchange from Italy, at the airport Wednesday evening. Flavia is getting to know her host family and
looking forward to starting school at Bay High.

 

This month has 5 Wednesdays, so we will once again do our diaper drop at Providence House. Diapers can be dropped off at the library or at Jim Strunk’s office. Cash donations will also be accepted.

 

We will also be bringing back the 5th Wednesday happy hour at a location to be determined. Mark your calendars for August 30 th and plan to attend.

 

Due to a space conflict at the library, our meetings on October 11th and
18th will be held off site. We will meet on the 11 th at the Lake Erie Science and Nature Center on Wolf Rd. in Bay Village. The meeting site for 18th will be announced at a later date.

 

The golf outing has been rescheduled for Friday, October 6 th . Please note the date change and line up your foursomes.

 

September 6th is an open date for speakers, so we will have a club assembly and discuss Clubrunner and social media. We are currently
booking speakers into November.

 

Tomorrow evening is End Polio night at the Guardian’s game. All the Rotary tickets have been sold, but you can still have lunch with the RI President Nominee, Stephanie Urchick, who will be speaking at the Cleveland Rotary Club tomorrow. The meeting is at the Union Club, cost is $25. Contact rotarycle@gmail.com for reservations. 

 

Our speaker today was Mary Macias, President, CEO, and co-founder of the Footpath Foundation, which improves kids lives through the outdoors. Their mission statement: Connecting kids with nature to
develop personal growth and improve access to the natural world.

Footpath Foundation believes all children deserve access to nature and to outdoor experience. These experiences are the building blocks that help kids become responsible adults and leaders in their communities.

The children they serve spend on average 7-8 hours in front of a screen and only 34 minutes outside. 54% live in poverty and the illiteracy rate is 66%. They serve kids 5-16 years old, but most of the programs are geared towards 5th and 6th grades. This year they will serve over 2200 kids between their outdoor adventure program, school based programs,
equestrian therapy, and summer camp.  

To learn more, visit their website at foothpathfoundation.org.

 

After our speaker, Sergeant at Arms Scott Goggin levied several fines, including one on himself for being featured several times on local TV.

 

There was time for our happy thoughts and we adjourned at 8:33