We recognized our Rotarians with May birthdays: Ed Plaspohl, Colton Rompala, Ken McEntee, Neha Dayakar, Tom Laub, Tom Gigliotti, David Riehl, Brian Kiplinger, and Dan Cricks.  Rotary Anniversaries were Bob Schmieler (21 years), Pete Nixon (9 years), Mike Weber (18 years), and Kris Heinrich (11 years).

Bill DeMarco gave a report after the Foundation Board Meeting.  Bill had attended the Senior Salute to pass out the scholarships.  The foundation funded a total of 13 scholarships for $21,000.  The foundation also approved a donation of $2,100 to Camp Cheerful to help replace the ADA compliant picnic tables that were wearing out as well as a donation to the Southwest General Community Foundation.

 

Volunteers needed.  The signup sheet will be at the meeting, or you can go online and signup.  There are still plenty of opportunities.

 

Duck Sales are open at the website: https://strongsvilleduckrace.com.  We are also doing the group sales from non-profit groups.  If you know of any group that would be interested in participating have them contact Kris Heinrich.  The non-profit keeps 50% of their sales.

Due to a misunderstanding our scheduled speaker for Memorial Day did not make it.  John Turnbull gave a brief history of Memorial Day, and how it differs from Veterans Day.  Memorial Day started the year after the Civil War as Decoration Day, when Confederate widows decorated the graves of fallen soldiers, and included both Confederate and Union graves, which was a well publicized and received act, and quickly spread in popularity.  The name and date of Memorial Day as the last Monday in May was formalized in federal law in the 1970s.  Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those who lost their lives in all wars, while Veterans Day honors all of those who served, including those still with us.

 

After that Bruce Kahn and Joyce Reed shared their experience of giving poppies for donations for the VFW the previous weekend, with David Riehl adding a bit of history of why poppies, which comes from the 1915 poem In Flanders Fields written during the first world war.

 

In Flanders Fields
by Major John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.