Meeting Minutes 07-01-2026

Meeting Minutes: Westlake-Bay Village Rotary Club

 

Date: July 1, 2026

 

Location: Westlake Porter Public Library

 

Attendees: Jeff Appel, Alyssa Damm, Glenn Fehribach, Scott Goggins, Pat Graham, Lisa Hebert, Justin Hein, Joe Kraft, Kevin Krantz, Gary Lydrickson, Shane O’Brien, Steve Pettyjohn, Tim Smith, Terri Speck, Jim Strunk, Katie Yeager, Patty Zinn, AND Guest, Jeff Trowbridge

 

Transcription Summary from Audio Recording (Full notes available upon request.)

 

OPENING 

The meeting opened with Rotary protocol, including the invocation, Pledge of Allegiance, and the Four-Way Test. 

 

1. Guest Presentation: The Haven Home

The club welcomed Cynthia Rios from The Haven Home, an organization dedicated to providing shelter and comprehensive support for transitional families.

  • Operations & Programming: The shelter can house up to 14 families and is currently at near capacity with 13. They primarily serve pregnant women or mothers with children aged 5 and under. The Haven Home provides three meals a day, case management, and job/housing search assistance. They also run mandatory programs, including parenting classes, financial literacy classes, and a support group.
  • New Initiative - "Rights of Hope": Launching this month, this program teaches moms and alumni moms how to sew upcycled denim reusable bags. The bags are purchased back by the organization and sold online, allowing the mothers to earn extra income. The startup cost was under $10,000, aided by equipment grants and a partner non-profit called "Sofa Service".
  • Community & Alumni Support: The organization relies heavily on individual donations, grants, and community support. They offer rental assistance programs ($300/month) and partner with groups like "I'm in Ministry" to provide free furniture to transitioning families.
  • Upcoming Retirement: Cynthia announced that she will retire in March of next year. A comprehensive succession plan is underway with a newly hired communications and fund development manager.
  • Club Support & Sweat Equity: The club discussed future avenues for support, with a particular focus on physical "sweat equity" service projects such as landscaping, moving appliances, or future kitchen remodeling.

2. Old Business & District Updates

  • Flag Banner Exchange: The club celebrated a strong turnout for the recent District Banner Exchange event. It was a special evening in support of the new District Governor, Terry, who also inducted her daughter into Rotary during the event.
  • District Governor’s Core Focus: Terry highlighted her primary goal for the year: focusing on youth program participants to foster lifelong Rotary relationships and helping local clubs improve their public storytelling.
  • Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA): Three local students (Myra Hartford from Westlake High School, McKenna from Bay High School, and a third student from Bay) recently completed their RYLA week. Members noted the life-changing impact of the leadership and wealth dispersion exercises. The students are scheduled to present their experiences to the club at an August meeting.

3. New Business & Upcoming Events

Annual Art Festival

  • Volunteer Sign-ups: Physical sign-up sheets were passed around to fill remaining open slots. High school volunteer capacity is completely full (approx. 35-40 student volunteers), but more Rotarians are needed. Contact Jeff Appel if available to assist.
  • Key Volunter Needs: The biggest needs are for team leads (to assist artists with load-in/load-out) and golf cart drivers to shuttle artists and attendees around the park. Slots are also open for the Rotary booth and the raffle tent.
  • Planning Meetings: An Art Festival volunteer coordination meeting will be held this coming Monday at 6:00 PM at the library.
  • Promotions: Printed paper invitations are being distributed to members to share within their personal and professional networks. Flyers have also been shared with district club presidents and uploaded to the Ohio Art Fest website.

Rotary Club Apparel

  • New Rotary-branded shirts have arrived for use during upcoming service projects. Members who ordered can pick up their sizes at the next meeting. Terri will let us know about payment once the final invoice is received from the supplier.

Polio Eradication Baseball Game Fundraiser

  • Scheduled for August 19th. Members are encouraged to purchase tickets online via the district website and to invite non-Rotarian friends and family to join.
  • Terri is also selling raffle tickets.

Upcoming Golf Outing Fundraiser

  • Website & Registration: Information flyers for both players and sponsors are now live on the Club Runner website. Formal registration will open soon.
  • Sponsorships & Donations: The club is actively seeking Premier and Title sponsors, which represent the primary revenue drivers for the event. Members are asked to leverage their networks for local business donations to build raffle baskets and secure high-ticket items for a silent auction (e.g., golf packages or vacation rentals). Hole sponsor signs will be produced efficiently using the local Maker Space.

4. Club Fellowship & Good News

  • Diaper Drive: The ongoing diaper drive for Providence House will continue through the end of the month. Members are asked to bring donations directly to the weekly meetings.
  • Happy Bucks: A virtual "happy buck" was shared from South Carolina, celebrating an upcoming 10-day visit with grandkids and the formation of a brand-new local Rotary club in the area.