AM CLUB —Meets at 7:30 am on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month on Zoom or in person at Northwest Arena
FALCONER — Meets on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month at 7 AM at the Falconer Fire Department Exempt Hall located at 1 Coleson Drive Falconer NY, 14733.
WESTFIELD / MAYVILLE — Currently meeting on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 5pm via ZOOM. Contact Janese Berkhouse at 716-397-8801 for Zoom details.
FREDONIA/DUNKIRK —
Meet Thursdays at 12:00 PM - Zoom Teleconference Meetings - Effective until further notice - Fredonia, NY 14063
Committee meetings or social events can also be used as make-ups.
Rotarily Yours - August 11, 2025
President Michelle Jones, led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the National Anthem with accompaniment by President Elect Cáitlín O’Reilly.
The invocation was given by Rhonda Johnson, who focused on a tribute to family, in recognition of her parent's recent 61st wedding anniversary.
GUESTS & VISITORS:
This weeks' guests were Hadley Weinberg from the Brookline, Mass. Rotary Club and his guest, Ken Brown. Also our exchange student from Tasmania, Australia, Heath Bounday, was recognized as a guest.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Cáitlín opened announcements by pointing out a donation box that has been set up by Hilton Doubletree to help area families in need. She also mentioned that volunteers are still needed to water and weed the Garden at Love School for the final two weeks of August and into September. She also asked members to consider signing up for weekly Club Service meeting duties, including being a greeter, selling 50/50 tickets, set up, and close out. Michelle also announced that a chair is still needed for the Club Service committee.
Ruth Lundin announced the the club is phasing out the use of the old member name tags. She asked members to please take their old names tags, if they want them, in the coming weeks. After that, any remaining old name tags will be discarded.
Ruth also reminded members the DEI Committee ismeeting September 2, the Day after Labor Day, at noon at the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation. The meeting will focus on committee goals for the new year.
Randy Sweeney provided an update on the Annual TRC Camp Onyahsa Kickoff Camp Fire event on Sunday, August 10. Randy reported that he had a fun time at Camp. It was a big group of campers and they loved Randy Graham. The campers were on their feet loving the singing and dancing.
Michelle also reminded the club that Youth Exchange students are always looking for things to do and encouraged members to consider spending time with them doing various activities in the greater Jamestown area. She pointed out her recent time spent with Heath, and also indicated that members may also want to find activities with Jan, once he arrives from Switzerland.
50-50 and HAPPY BUCKS
Lisa Goodell announced that $36 would go to the winner of the 50-50 drawing, who was David Troxell. David donated all his winnings back to the club.
Doug Conroe, the Sergeant at Arms, announced that both Mark Olson and Amy Rohler paid fines for leaving the meeting early. Other fines were levied against members involved with the United Way, including Amy Rohler, Kathy Burch, and Vince Horrigan, along with Andy and Lisa Goodell, who will serve as co-chairs of the upcoming annual United Way campaign.
Happy bucks were paid by Jason Sample, Vince Horrigan, Becky Robbins, and CáitlínO'Reily.
Becky Robbins introduced the speaker for the day, Misti Allen. Misti is not only one of the newest members of the Rotary Club, but is also the local District Executive of Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts.
Misti holds a bachelor’s degree in Cellular Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Penn State University. Before her current position, she served in the U.S. Navy, where she met her husband, also a Navy veteran. Now married for more than 29 years, the couple has a son, Jack, who is home-schooled.
Misti became interested in scouting as a mother when Jack joined a Tiger Scout troop. He now is working toward the rank of Eagle Scout. Her husband also serves as a Scoutmaster. In fact, the couple has held week-long Scouting camps at their home! That’s how devoted they are to Scouting.
A ten-year volunteer within the Scouting Trailblazer District and the Allegheny Highlands Council, she was honored with the Boy Scouts of America District Merit Award for outstanding service and leadership in youth development. She designed the Scout REACH program here and helped expand Scouting to underserved communities. She is also the Shooting Sports Director at Camp Merz.
Beyond Scouting, Misti has volunteered on school PTO boards, Lakewood village committees, and led local baseball and soccer organizations.
Misti shared various details about Scouting America, the different programs involved with the organization, and her role with the local district, having joined the staff in 2024. She said the mission of the organization is "Scouting is fun with a purpose", with a goal of raising awareness of various opportunities in the community, while also helping to build leadership skills and general life skills. The local district's territory covers all of Chautauqua County and half of Cattaraugus County.
For programming, Scouting America engages and collaborates with various organizations, including the YMCA and the Jamestown Community College Manufacturing Institute. Other groups include Veterans agencies and Public Safety. Misti said one of the most important programs is Scout Reach, which works to serve underprivileged and underserved areas on Chautauqua County. This includes both rural areas and within the city. She said the program has been very effective, reaching out to over 900 youth. Much of that is due to support from local funders, including the United Way of Chautauqua County and the Sheldon Foundation.
Misti explained that an important focus of Scouting America is to teach skills revolving around STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), but she also added that the Arts are also sometimes focused on, to help inspire creativity. She added later that often times merit badges are given out for specific arts-related projects and efforts.
When fielding questions, Misti was asked about the decline in campers at Camp Mertz. She indicated it was more driven by a lack of funding to cover costs, rather than interest from local youth. She indicated that efforts are underway to revitalize the summer camping program, including the possibility of collaboration with other organizations, including the Y's Camp Onyahsa.
Following Misti's presentation, the meeting was adjourned.
