The Rotary Club of Westlake Bay Village held its weekly Wednesday meeting on June 21, 2023.  The meeting was a hybrid with 20

members meeting via zoom and in person.  We had several guests, Sana and Abdul Hamid Altabbaa, Megan DeFranco, and Jim Phillips, a visiting Rotarian from Michigan.

 

Our installation dinner is next Monday, June 26th. We will be meeting at Arrabiata’s Italian Restaurant, 600 Dover Center Rd. in Bay Village at 5:30 pm. Spouses are welcome but will be paid for by the member. Drinks are also the responsibility of the members. We look forward to celebrating Terri and welcoming Bob as our new President.

 

Joe Kraft attended the RYLA camp banquet last Thursday. All four of our students were very excited and appreciative of the opportunity to attend, and we look forward to hearing from them at a future meeting.

 

The deadline for contributions to the Rotary International Foundation is June 30^th. Terri would like to see every member participate at some level. If you haven’t already contributed, please contact Jim Strunk and make your contribution.

 

We are up to 56 artists for the Art Festival. There will be a committee meeting on Thursday, July 13^th, at the Elks at 6:00 pm. Joe thanked Tim Smith for graciously donating several Rotary signs to be placed around the venue.

 

Start lining up your foursomes for our golf outing to be held October 13^th at Mallard Creek. More details will be coming but save the date.

 

Plans are being finalized for our two exchange students for next year. We have an out-bound student, Amy Kirkland, going to Italy, and Flavia, an inbound student from Spain.

 

Joe introduced our Westlake scholarship winner, Sana Altabbaa and her father, Abdul Hamid Altabbaa. Sana was very involved in many activities, clubs, and sports during her high school years, and will be attending Cleveland State University in the fall to pursue studies in the medical field.

 

Terri introduced our speakers for today, Ben Altemus, Executive Director, and Megan DeFranco, from the Westshore YMCA. The mission statement of the YMCA is To put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind, and body for all.

 

Ben came to Westshore after previously serving at the French Creek Y. His focus is on adaptive programming, making all of their activities available to anyone, regardless of the physical limitations. With two other Y’s and the Rec Center in close proximity, Ben and his staff have come up with innovative programs such as fencing, archery and camping to differentiate themselves.

 

The YMCA was founded in London in 1844 and came to Cleveland 10 years later. The Westshore Y was opened in 1965. For more information on the Y, visit their website at www.clevelandymca.org and click on locations for Westshore.