Rick has over 20 years of Fortune 100 and nonprofit communications, marketing and brand management experience. As President of the Regional Marketing Alliance of Northeast Ohio, he is leading corporate, civic and foundation-backed effort to market the Northeast Ohio region, including Cleveland, Akron, Canton and Youngstown, to external and internal audiences.  

Rick has served as director of Communications for Babcock & Wilcox; as a director of Communications and Brand Management for AlliedSignal; as manager, e-Media and News Management at Honeywell International; as Vice President for Marketing & Communications at The Cleveland Foundation; and as Vice President for Regional Marketing for the Greater Cleveland Partnership.

Rick is a graduate of Ohio University’s E. W. Scripps School of Journalism with a concentration in Public Relations and earned his Master of Arts in Public Relations from Kent State University. He holds his accreditation (APR) with the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). In 2009, he was inducted into PRSA’s prestigious College of Fellows.  He has been a speaker at regional and national professional association conferences. He has been published in the Public Relations Journal and has authored a chapter in an ABC-CLIO book on advertising and a chapter on entrepreneurship to be published in a University of Akron Press book. He is an adjunct professor at Kent State University’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Rick is chair-elect of PRSA’s East Central District (Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana and West Virginia), serves on the executive committees of Business Volunteers Unlimited, and on a number of nonprofit boards and committees. 

Our weekly meeting held on August 22, 2014, was the Annual Golf Outing.  It was a very hot, muggy day, but fortunately the rain held off for our golfers! Pictures of this event will be available on the Rotary Club of Canton's website in the next few days.  Chairman Nick Perini will announce the golf results to the membership at this Friday's meeting, and also present the winning golfers with their extremely valuable prizes.

 

The Executive Board met on August 18th at John's Bar and will receive a makeup for this meeting.  They were: President Tom Clevenger, President Elect Paul White, Vice President Craig Young, Treasurer Dave Schrade and Secretary Amanda Tietze.

 

The following Rotarians received a makeup for attending the August, 2014, Board meeting: President Tom, PE Paul White, Secretary Amanda Tietze, Treasurer Dave Schrade, Parliamentarian Bob Pattison, Asst. Parliamentarian Dave Ewing and PP Rick Sherer.  The following Trustees were present: Becky Clark, Tim Furbay, Jim Blake, Michelle Mullaly, Mark Rojek, Nick Perini, Suzette Matthews and Dean Wallace, as well as International Chair Mike Paris.  

 

President Tom presented the Board members with a surprise when they arrived to this Board meeting...sandwiches for everyone from That's A Wrap! Another surprise was the birthday cake Dave Ewing presented to Club Administrator, Lauri Coy, who was celebrating her birthday that day!!

 

Rotarians turning in makeup's at Friday's meeting: Tena Wilson (Plain).

     -Stacey Giammarco
       Stark County District Library
       Classification: Active: Assn/Library/Fund Development
       Proposed by: Tena Wilson

 

     -AZ Patterson
      Fifth Third Bank
      Classification:  Active: Personal Banking
      Proposed by: Becky Clark

 

If there are any objections, they must be received in writing at the Rotary Office within seven (7) days.

1. Where do you work and what do you do there?  WHBC Radio, Advertising Exexcutive
    
2. Family and Pets?  Husband: Mark;  Children: Delaney, Leland, Trevor; Stepdaughter: Rachel;  Grandchildren: Suri, and one due in September; New puppy Trooper and a cat named Cheerio
    
3. Where did you go to high school and college? Your major(s)?  Holy Name High School in Parma, Ohio;   Kent State University-Communications
    
4. What do you like to do in your spare time? Any hobbies?  Spare Time? I have four kids! And almost two grandkids!! Sleep is what I do in my spare time!
    
5. Where are your favorite places to go?  Anywhere! Just went to upper Michigan and loved it! Rode dune buggies in the sand dunes, climbed through lighthouses, went horseback riding, and tubed through a National forest! I also love to take cruises!
    
6. What’s your favorite place(s) to eat?  Anywhere where I don’t have to do the dishes!
    
7. What’s your favorite color?  The colors of fall!
    
8. Share a “fun fact” that most people don’t know about you.  I have interviewed and met many famous people like Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill…and Charlie Daniels once told me to call him gramps!
    
9. Why did you join Rotary and what do you hope to accomplish as a member?  I joined Rotary so people would stop singing to me! I love the mission of Rotary and the fellowship the members bring to one another. I look forward to being able to give back to my community through all the important projects Rotary supports.

On Wednesday, August 20, 2014, our Youth Exchange Student, Luiz Guiherme Morgado da Cunha, arrived at the Akron-Canton Airport.  He was greeted by his host family, Scott and Lisa Vaughn of North Canton, as well as a contingency of Canton Rotarians.  A special welcoming banner was prepared for this occasion.

 

The Rotarians making the trip to the airport to greet Luiz were: President Tom Clevenger, PDG Bob Pattison, PP Fritz Spring, PP Rick Sherer and Amy Mustafaga, Youth Exchange Chair.

 

We hope to have Luiz and the Vaughn's at an upcoming Rotary meeting so everyone will get an opportunity to meet this outstanding young man from Brazil!

 

 

On August 19, 2014, an email from Rotarian Bob Wade was received in the Rotary office.  Bob writes:

 

"To: Canton Rotary office, I wish to express my appreciation of the arrangements and presentation of the Paul Harris Honorary award recently to my daughter, Allison Ward.  All went well.  My special regards to Past District Governor, David Ewing, President Tom Clevenger and the Office Personnel."  ~ Dr. R.V. Wade

 

 

Due to the Labor Day holiday, the Rotary office will be closed on Monday, September 1st.  Regular business hours will resume on Tuesday, September 2nd.  Please feel free to leave a message on the answering machine with any issues and Lauri or Barb will return your call on Tuesday.

 

 

The village of Kumbharwadi is one of many in a drought-prone region near Mumbai, India. Until recently, its residents had access to only one well with drinkable water. During the summer months, the well runs dry, and the women and girls of the village travel three to four hours a day to search for water.

Enter Project Boond, undertaken by a Rotaract club, a Rotary club, and the Watershed Organization Trust to provide clean drinking water and sanitation facilities in Kumbharwadi. Nikunj Pherwani, 2013-14 president of the Rotaract Club of Hassaram Rijhumal College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai, India, says that droughts are a serious problem in India and often exacerbate malnutrition and illness in remote regions.

"Our major aim through this project was to provide clean water for drinking and domestic purposes to the drought-affected areas of Maharashtra," he says. "These villages not only suffer due to shortage of water but also due to several waterborne diseases."

Pherwani's Rotaract club teamed up with the Rotary Club of Bombay, Maharashtra, India, to raise funds for the project through donations and events, including a comedic play and black tie dinner. The project has over $13,000 in its coffers, and the clubs are using the funds to dig wells and install toilets.

Pherwani's club also worked with the Rotary Club of Bombay to choose a local nonprofit organization to partner with. They found the Watershed Organization Trust, a nonprofit dedicated to ending water scarcity and poverty in rural India. After meeting with officials and signing an MOU, the Watershed Organization Trust helped them choose a village, and the Rotaractors traveled there to speak to locals about the credibility of their partners. Pherwani says they continue to visit Kumbharwadi every two months to check in with the village and see if additional resources are needed. Village leaders have been trained to maintain the new facilities.

In addition to providing clean water and sanitation facilities, Pherwani says they also aim to provide villagers with chlorine tablets and a workshop on basic health and hygiene.

Among the seven Rotaract projects that were honored at this year's Rotaract Preconvention, Project Boond was chosen as the international winner of the Recognition of Outstanding Rotaract Project. Two members of the Rotaract Club of Hassaram Rijhumal College of Commerce and Economics attended the preconvention on 30 May in Sydney, Australia. They traveled there using miles that Rotary won through United Airlines' 10 Million Charity Miles giveaway. They, along with representatives from other winning clubs, presented their projects and received their awards.

REGIONAL WINNERS

In addition to the international award-winning project, top Rotaract club projects from six regions were recognized at the Rotaract Preconvention.

Asia Pacific: The Rotaract Club of National University of Singapore (District 3310), for Waves of Hope Swimathon 2013. Club members volunteering at Pathfinder School were impressed by its work helping children with autism develop social and vocational skills. To support services for low-income students, the club organized a swimathon in which 474 participants swam laps and raised over $20,000.

South Asia: The Rotaract Club of the Caduceus (District 3140), for EMcounter Kumbh -- Mapping the Mela. Club members, most of them medical doctors, volunteered to provide disease surveillance during the Maha Kumbh Mela, a gathering of tens of millions of Hindu pilgrims. They worked with local organizations to install disease surveillance software in clinics and sample water sources to prevent disease outbreaks.

Europe, Middle East, and Central Asia: The Rotaract Club of Casamassima-Bari Alto (District 2120), for DREAMbox. Rotaract club members from every district in Italy came together to provide 1,000 DREAMboxes, filled with books, toys, and art supplies, for children being treated for cancer at a local hospital. They are also raising funds to modernize a room in the hospital's pediatric oncology wing.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Rotaract Club of Nairobi Central (District 9212), for A Girl, a K, a Year. Rotaractors raised funds to provide sanitary napkins to 2,936 girls who would otherwise miss school during menstruation because they lack supplies. They also worked with local and international Rotary clubs to raise $22,000 for the project, which included a book drive and mentorship program.

Latin America: Rotaract Club of Carpe Diem Catolica (District 4455), for Involucrados: An Initiative for Communities at Risk. Club members organized training workshops on literacy, budgeting, and entrepreneurship for parents of local school students. They also supported the school by holding arts and athletic activities and improving classrooms and restroom facilities.

United States, Canada, and Caribbean: Rotaract Club of Boston (District 7930), for Guatemala Water Filters Project. Rotaractors worked with a local nonprofits and craftsmen to provide people living in the highlands of Guatemala with water filters, hospital supplies, beds, stoves, and toiletries. With the help of Rotary clubs in the U.S. and Guatemala, they raised over $7,000 for the project.