Gina Bannevich, currently is the marketing director for Belden Village Mall. She has been with the mall since May of 2013. In this time she has seen the mall transform from a Westfield Corporation to a Starwood Retail Partner's, including the return of the beloved name - Belden Village Mall.
Through the year Bannevich has seen various industries through the eyes of marketing. Starting young in her career as the tourism marketing manager for the Canton / Stark County Convention and Visitors' Bureau from there she was given the opportunity to step into the marketing and promotions director for WHBC. While at WHBC, she was sought by her Alma Mater to step into a new role as marketing director of the now University of Mount Union. During that time she took on the transition to college to university.
In 2013, Bannevich decided to add a new industry to her career path - retail. She has now been with Belden Village Mall for two years and in that time she has seen it come back to the community not only in name but in mission. Belden Village Mall is a mega-multi-million dollar corporation who position in the community is strong and growing.
Bannevich,is extremely active in the community and currently serves on the boards of Thee Golden Key Center for Exceptional Children and The Spectrum Education Foundation. She is a recipient of Twenty Under Forty in 2011 and is a currently in the 28th Class of Leadership Stark County. Originally from Dennison, Ohio she graduated Tuscarawas Central Catholic from there graduated from the University of Mount Union in 1996. She is a resident of Jackson Township where she and her husband Jason of 11 years have two children - Dominick and Giavonna. She is a strong advocate for Autism Awareness and in her spare time she loves to be with her family and she actually likes to shop!
The Rotary Club of Canton celebrated its historic “100th” anniversary milestone of the founding of the club on Saturday, April 11, 2015. Over 200 Rotarians, partners and guests attended this event at the Historic Onesto Lofts in downtown Canton. The Rotary Club of Canton met in this very ballroom of the Onesto Hotel every Friday for over 40 years from 1933-1973. It was a wonderful feeling for members to be back in the venue site where so much history of the club and “Service Above Self” took place.
The evening began with President Tom Clevenger welcoming the Timken High School ROTC with the presentation of the Ohio State Flag along with the American Flag. Rotarians Michelle Mullaly and Ryan Parkinson began the singing of the National Anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance. PDG/PP Bob Pattison gave the Invocation for the evening’s meal.
The Chairman of the event, President Elect Paul White, introduced the speaker for the evening, Ohio Lt. Governor Mary Taylor. The Lt. Governor spoke very highly about the work of Rotary and how honored she was to be in attendance at this very historic event.
President Elect Paul then introduced the Master of Ceremonies for the evening, Marvin Montgomery. Marvin is a business trainer, author and motivational speaker who kept the audience entertained. He had everyone laughing when instead of saying “Rotary” he accidentally said “Rodeo”!
The presentation of the 100 year Citation Award was then presented by the Congressional Aide to Congressman Bob Gibbs, Jennifer Kiko. Mayor William Healy took to the podium to present the Proclamation to the club. The Master of Ceremonies then recognized all past District Governors and Past Presidents who were in attendance at the evening’s event.
A special moment then took place when Vice President Craig Young announced the “Rotarian of the Year” Award to recipient Past District Governor/Past President Bob Pattison. Bob was congratulated with a standing ovation by the 200+ attendees. Bob is a 42 year member of Canton Rotary and is currently the Parliamentarian for the club. He is a PHF+8.
The evening concluded with a live auction by Theresa Blocher from Kiko Auctioneers & Realtors. Theresa was much honored to provide her services to a club that meant so much to her uncle, Richard Kiko. Dick was a longtime Canton Rotarian who passed away in 2013, having served 19 years with the club.
President Tom then closed the evening off by thanking everyone for attending this historic event. We all look forward to the 125th anniversary of the “finest Rotary club in the world!”
At the Rotary Club of Canton's "100 Year Celebration" held on April 11, 2015, Vice President Craig Young announced the newest "Rotarian of the Year". This year's recipient was PDG/PP Robert E. Pattison.
Bob Pattison is a 42 year member of Canton Rotary and has held the position of Past President as well as a Past District Governor. He is a PHF+8. Bob was born and raised in Gering Nebraska, a small farming community in Western Nebraska. Bob graduated from the University of Nebraska with a BS Degree in Chemistry and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Kent State University. He has been involved in public health for more than 45 years. Bob and his wife Jan, have two sons, Jeffrey and Benjamin, and a daughter, Rebecca.
At our weekly meeting on April 10, 2015, Past President Curt Werren (sponsor) introduced our newest member, Kim Kroh, to the Rotary Club of Canton.
Kim is the Executive Director of the Stark County Red Cross. Kim earned a bachelors degree from Ohio State University in Business Administration in 1986 and a Masters degree in Counseling & Human Development from Walsh University in 1993. She began her counseling career at the Grief Support and Education Center where she provided individual, group and family therapy for adults and children grieving from death and divorce.
In 1997 she became employed at the Community Drug Board where she provided group and individual therapy for adults addicted to drugs and alcohol. In 1998 she took a counseling position at Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health in their Day Treatment program. Kim provided daily group therapy, individual therapy and family home visits for adolescent with severe behavior problem and other mental health issues. In 2001 she joined American Red Cross Rape Crisis Services where she remains today.
For 13 years Kim has been assisting children, adolescents and adults through the difficult recovery process of sexual victimization and has qualified as an expert when providing testimony in the courtroom. Kim currently is the Executive Director of American Red Cross Stark & Muskingum Lakes Chapter. She also sees clients in a private practice setting at Vista Psychological & Counseling Centre. Kim is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor with a supervisor status and earned recognition as a National Certified Counselor. She is a member of the American Counseling Association, Rape Abuse Incest National Network, The National Center for Victims of Crime and participates in numerous coalitions throughout Stark County.
Kim resides in Canton and has a daughter Courtney and a grandson Trey.
ROTARY CLUB OF CANTON
1978 – 1979
John R. Werren, President
The members of the Rotary Club of Canton met at the Mergus Restaurant in 1978-1979. The meeting was held in the Garden Room on the second of the Mergus above the bar room on the Second Street N.W. entrance. The main restaurant was on the first floor facing Tuscarawas Avenue and the Grill was located on the lower level. Each week Matt Watts, Principal of Lehman High School and Leo Punches, owner of Punches Jewelry, would arrive early to place song books on our tables. They would always stay after the meeting to collect the books and return them to storage as singing was a weekly event at the Rotary Club meeting. There were 300 plus members in Rotary in 1978-1979 of which of which 200 to 250 attended the weekly meetings which were held on Fridays at noon. The members were all male and the following article appeared in the July 25, 1978 Rotogram.
READ YOUR AUGUST ROTARIAN
There is also a most interesting article about the Duarte California Clubs’ futile effort to take in female members. Many other bits of interesting information to keep yourself informed!
The President and his Rotary Ann attended the International Convention in Tokyo in 1978 with 40,000 Rotarians worldwide in attendance. It was a lifetime experience of great reward.
The club was active in a group study exchange which took place in Mexico and also supported Boys State and scholarships for young men to attend Camp Miniwanca in Shelby, Michigan. The President of Rotary in Canton himself had attended Camp Miniwanca on a Rotary scholarship in 1953.
Speakers during the year included William J. DeLancey, President and Chief Executive Officer of Republic Steel Corp.; Gary W. Mull, President of the Canton Jaycees; Vic Maitland, Executive Director of the NFL Alumni Association; Charles Bradshaw of Corpus Christi, Texas originator of the Wonder World of Work Program which Canton Rotary adopted in 1978; Bill Fitch, Cleveland Cavaliers Coach; W.G. Hulbert, Vice President of the East Ohio Gas Company, R.C. Lewis, Head of the Section of Electrocardiogram at Cleveland Clinic; Bill Willis, Director of the Ohio Youth Commission. Herbert E. Markley, Timken Company President and Chairman of the National Association of Manufacturers; Norman E. Jackson, presenting a slide presentation on Newmarket and the future of downtown Canton; and Robert T. McCowan , President of Ashland Petroleum Company; Ray Whitman, World Bank, Washington, D.C. and many others. Almost all programs at the Canton Rotary Club were the subject of an article in the Canton Repository on the following day written by one of the most active Rotarians in our club, Jack Maxwell.
The Rotary Club of Canton was active in the student exchange program sending six students abroad who reported to the club when they returned. The club hosted Andrew Bredin from New Zealand; Karen Kemp from South Africa and Glen Ward from Australia. Mr. Ward recently visited with Chuck Hoover at his residence in Stark County having been a member of the Larry and Nancy Hoover family when he was living in Canton as an exchange student sponsored by the Rotary Club of Canton.
Membership was controlled by the Classification Committee whereby it became difficult for an individual to become a Rotarian if the holders of the classification of the proposed Rotarian did not agree. There were generally two to three new member proposals submitted each week.
Naomi Wiskofski served as administrative assistant and she ran a tight ship. No one was permitted to make announcements from the podium during a meeting except the President. Politicians were not permitted to speak in any year in which they were running for office. Tickets to events not sponsored by Rotary were not permitted to be sold at Rotary meetings. Attendance was scrupulously recorded and failure to attend meetings according to the rubrics of Rotary resulted in termination of membership.
The Rotary Club of Canton acted as host club for the 1979 District Assembly. Lowell Bourns of Wooster, Ohio was District Governor. The Rotary Club of Canton won the governor’s cup in 1978-1979 as was true to form for many years.
Bowling continued to be an active part of the Rotary experience and Rotary scores were announced each week at the weekly meeting. The club initiated the Wonderful World of Work Program under the chairmanship of Jon Stein. The Board of Directors met monthly at Charlie Brown’s restaurant which was directly under Naomi Wiskofski’s office. In addition to the conduct of business for Board of Directors meeting was a great social event enjoyed by all who attended.
The club inducted five persons as Paul Harris fellows during the year. Mrs. Charles W. Stoneburner donated $1,000 to the Rotary International Foundation in memory of longtime Rotarian , Charles Stoneburner. A second $1,000 check was also presented on behalf of Mrs. Stoneburner to the Canton Rotary Foundation. This was to be used to establish the “Charles W. Stoneburner Memorial Fund”, of which the income was designated solely for the assistance of crippled children, the name associated with the Handicap Scout Committee. Leo Punches also bequeathed one-half of his estate to the Canton Rotary Foundation to assist the crippled children programs. This gift exceeded $150,000.
Pancake Day was a major fundraiser in 1978-1979 together with voluntary tax deductible gifts to the Canton Rotary Foundation. The June 1979 Board of Directors meeting, which was the last meeting of the Rotary year, was held at the home of President and Mrs. John R. Werren. The annual outing was held at Congress Lake Country Club in September 1978 and the annual August Directors Meeting which was a corn roast was held by Treasurer Paul Syler at his home in Wayne County, Ohio It was a good year!
As a follow up to our correction in last week's Rotogram, Rotarian Tom Schervish has provided the following information to editor Rick Taylor:
"I remember the first kitchen manager for pancake day was a North Canton Rotarian: Dick Stratton. He and his family ran our kitchen the first few years until Mark Netro took it over sometime in the later 1970s. I followed Mark as chairman for a few years but I don't know exactly when. Attached is a copy of the thank you letter Joe Niamtu sent to Dick and his family after the 2nd annual pancake day. I hope this clears up the kitchen manager issue."
During the past several months, the Rotogram has been highlighting the Rotary Club of Canton's Past Presidents' thoughts and experiences during their year as president.
We would like to ask you to share your favorite stories or memories of the Rotary Club, or any story about our Club's involvement in an activity or project that has meant something to you.
Please submit your story or comments for publication to the Canton Rotary office via email at info@cantonrotary.org. Thank you!
At our weekly meeting held on April 10, 2015, President Tom Clevenger asked the members to keep the families of Rotarian Amy Mustafaga and Rotarians Fritz, Dan and Brian Spring on the passing of their family member. President Tom also announced the need for an immediate Host Family for our Youth Exchange Student. He is currently residing with Fritz Spring.
Past President Dan Matthews continued with his "Game of Knowledge" involving the 100 Year Celebration of Canton Rotary. His contestants were Rotarians Jan Baker and Virginia Neutzling. Their winning answers were awarded by a jar of Mid's Spaghetti Sauce provided by our speaker, Scott Chovan.
Club Secretary Amanda Tietze welcomed the following guests to our meeting: Alana Daveduk (Akron Rotary), Maria Rodriguez and Luiz Guilherme Morgado (Exchange Students).
The "Happy Bucks" news was then provided by the following Rotarians: Steve Fettman gave a "shout out" to Ernie Schott. Steve stated Ernie personally added to the proceeds for the Philomatheon Society Fundraiser held at Taggart's Ice Cream Parlor on April 8th; Ryan Parkinson said "Go Tribe" and he was glad to celebrate and sing at the "100 Year Celebration"; Bob Pattison stated he knows everyone missed him and he was glad to be back; Denny Fulmer announced he was happy because Rotarian Stacey Giammarco now works for him; Fred Whittier was happy he ran into Lou Thurin and had the opportunity to talk to him.
The following Rotarians will receive a makeup for working on the History DVD for the 100 Year Celebration: Dave Ewing, Jan Baker, Dan Matthews, Virginia Neutzling and Jack Barkan.
The following Rotarians turned in a makeup during Friday's meeting: Charles Smith; Robert Pattison (Cocoa Beach FL); Virginia Neutzling (North Canton); and Tom Sinclair.
Gina Bannevich, currently is the marketing director for Belden Village Mall. She has been with the mall since May of 2013. In this time she has seen the mall transform from a Westfield Corporation to a Starwood Retail Partner's, including the return of the beloved name - Belden Village Mall.
The Rotary Club of Canton celebrated its historic “100th” anniversary milestone of the founding of the club on Saturday, April 11, 2015. Over 200 Rotarians, partners and guests attended this event at the Historic Onesto Lofts in downtown Canton. The Rotary Club of Canton met in this very ballroom of the Onesto Hotel every Friday for over 40 years from 1933-1973. It was a wonderful feeling for members to be back in the venue site where so much history of the club and “Service Above Self” took place.
At our weekly meeting on April 10, 2015, Past President Curt Werren (sponsor) introduced our newest member, Kim Kroh, to the Rotary Club of Canton.
The members of the Rotary Club of Canton met at the Mergus Restaurant in 1978-1979. The meeting was held in the Garden Room on the second of the Mergus above the bar room on the Second Street N.W. entrance. The main restaurant was on the first floor facing Tuscarawas Avenue and the Grill was located on the lower level. Each week Matt Watts, Principal of Lehman High School and Leo Punches, owner of Punches Jewelry, would arrive early to place song books on our tables. They would always stay after the meeting to collect the books and return them to storage as singing was a weekly event at the Rotary Club meeting. There were 300 plus members in Rotary in 1978-1979 of which of which 200 to 250 attended the weekly meetings which were held on Fridays at noon. The members were all male and the following article appeared in the July 25, 1978 Rotogram. 
During the past several months, the Rotogram has been highlighting the Rotary Club of Canton's Past Presidents' thoughts and experiences during their year as president. 
At our weekly meeting held on April 10, 2015, President Tom Clevenger asked the members to keep the families of Rotarian Amy Mustafaga and Rotarians Fritz, Dan and Brian Spring on the passing of their family member. President Tom also announced the need for an immediate Host Family for our Youth Exchange Student. He is currently residing with Fritz Spring.