PeopleClips

Tiffin Rotary President Amber Stover opened the Aug. 8 meeting at Camden Falls. Rev. Phil Moerdyk gave an opening prayer. There were no guests today. Attendance was 21. The Basket Fund raised $22. Chris Lewis won the Weekly Drawing and Tom Debbink the Free Lunch. Dave Spridgeon encouraged members to complete their calls to potential sponsors. Matt Ross noted the Centennial Committee will meet at 8:30 a.m. Monday at the library. Our program today was the Dogman Project, presented by Jacob Michael. He is a Rotarian in Westland, Michigan, who became interested in Rotary through his uncle, who was a Rotarian. After high school, Jacob moved from Detroit to Los Angeles in hopes of becoming a filmmaker. During Covid, he wrote a script on Trafficking—both sex and labor. Initially, he thought he would document the story of a young girl being trafficked. He later changed his mind and decided it was important to talk about how these victims recover. As horrible as the trafficking part is, Jacob believes recovery is just as horrible. Victims deal with drug addiction, trust and self-worth issues--not just for a month or two but for a lifetime! Jacob believes that the solution is "community." People need to be aware and need to start talking about trafficking and how to help and support someone who is in recovery. He believes Rotary clubs offer the perfect opportunity to get the message out, so he speaks to many clubs. His film, "Now That We're Older, " will be completed soon. For more information on how Rotary supports this effort, go to www.rotariansfightinghumantrafficking.org. Kiwanis Club of Seneca County The Kiwanis Club of Seneca County held its Aug. 15 meeting at Little Faith Ministries, the location for the Impact After School program. Sharon George, the director of the Family and Children First Council, was the speaker and provided the group an overview of the programs available to families and individuals in Seneca County. She explained the structure of the FCFC, its fiscal agent structure, how funding is obtained, and initiatives mandated by the state of Ohio. One of their funding sources is the Ohio Dept of Education grant, which assists with the Impact after-school program. This structured after-school program for students in grades 6-12 offers homework help, mentoring and pro-social skill building. They start with a snack, then it's phones down time and students spend time learning from scheduled speakers, participating in structured activities or in community service. Other initiatives of the Seneca County Family and Children First Council include SMYL- a program for pairing youth ages 6-17 with mentors to provide a positive, stable influence in the youth's life, CARES- aimed at reducing the effects of substances, the Friendship Club- a social interaction group for young adults 18-25, a Women's Empowerment Group, along with Wrap-around services for Seneca County families. Their offices are in the NCOESC building at 928 W Market St, and they can be reached by calling 419-447-2927. Kiwanis Club of Tiffin Dave Spridgeon, owner of The Renaissance of Tiffin, The Renaissance on Wheels, Jolly's, and The Deli Café at Frost Village, was the featured speaker with 22 in attendance for the Aug. 17 meeting at Kiwanis Manor. Dave's first foray into business in Tiffin was The Renaissance of Tiffin, a roaring 1920s-style bar featuring classic cocktails decorated in the spirit of the Prohibition Era. When Covid struck, Dave looked for ways to offset the temporary closure of the business. It was at that time that he put a food truck, The Pink Lady, on the road. He has since started up The Renaissance on Wheels - three vehicles, including two party busses (that hold up to 14 persons each) and a Hummer limo (10 – 12 seats) that serve as parties on wheels. All three vehicles are booked all of the weekends through December. Two years ago, Dave was approached by Diane Hassinger, who offered to sell his and his wife, Amber, Jolly's, a local iconic business that was started by Roy Jollivette in 1947 and had been family-owned ever since. The Spridgeons and Diane came to an agreement and the tradition continues with the same original recipes along with a few improvements to the business now located on East Market Street. Dave says the biggest issue has been the drive-up window, which can back up traffic on East Market Street. He and Amber are looking into ways to alleviate the problem and are currently going traditional with car hopping offered for three parking spots out front, a well-liked service at Jolly's previous location on West Market Street, where the current Tim Horton's sets. The latest adventure is The Deli Café at Frost Village. When Andrew Kalnow needed an anchor for Frost Village, an area he is renovating, The Deli Café filled that role. Aside from a delicious menu, The Deli Café also offers catering and rental of the facility. Dave said that one of the newest offerings is French Toast, which is infused with your choice of flavoring, including strawberry, blueberry, caramel apple, and lemon berry. Dave also touched on his three principles for those who work for him – trust, empowerment and being held accountable. Club president Tom Schweitzer opened the meeting by leading club members in the Pledge of Allegiance and Mission Statement. Kurt Huenemann provided the prayer. Eric Willman reported that the club netted approximately $550 from The Ohio State University football fundraiser raffle. Bernie Steinmetz reported that $800 was realized from the Dine & Donate day at XCaret Mexican Restaurant. The Kiwanis Club of Tiffin Garage Sale, taking place Aug. 19 and 20 during the Seneca County Flea Market, has a new location this year – the Fine Arts Building across from the grandstand at the Seneca County Fairgrounds. Tom reported on the recent board meeting. Board members voted to again host the Christmas Lights at the Fairgrounds and to increase club dues from $150 to $175 annually beginning with the new Kiwanis year Oct. 1. Help is needed for the Grade A Celebration that will take place on Aug. 27 at Sentinel Vocational School. Shirley Smith and Nancy Miller are chairing the event. The Kiwanis Club of Tiffin family picnic will take place at the barn at Hedges-Boyer Park from 6-8 p.m. Sept. 14. Lewis Miller won the 50/50 and Beth McFarlan-Hutson the free lunch. Richard Ellinger celebrated his 47th club anniversary and Rich & Andrea Traunero celebrated their wedding anniversary. The speaker for the August 24 meeting will be Nicole Miller from State Farm Insurance. Seneca County Retired Teachers The retired teachers met on Aug. 15, at the NCOESC Building in Tiffin, Ohio. In the absence of our President, Charlotte Cole, Roland Zimmerman, vice president conducted the meeting. We opened our meeting with Roland saying a prayer and thanking God for our membership and for the victims of the Maui fires. We then enjoyed a luncheon provided by Eighty-eight Catering out of Upper Sandusky. Following the luncheon, we had a program introduced by Linda Larimer. She introduced Casey Enders, who operates a maple sugar camp and owns Choice Lawn Care out of Republic, and his daughter, Autumn, presented the program about collecting and processing maple syrup. He demonstrated how to select trees, the many ways of tapping a tree and collecting syrup, how syrup is processed, and the many ways that maple syrup can be integrated into our daily diet. Casey provided samples of cotton candy, two types of cookies, and maple syrup butter. Roland then conducted the business meeting. Larry Clausing, treasurer, reported that we had $7,033.10 in our savings account, $969.54 in checking account, and there is $985.96 in our scholarship fund. Larry was concerned about the interest we were receiving and the cost of maintaining these accounts. Larry Cobb moved that we form a committee to determine the best place to hold these funds. Motion was seconded by Paula Crum. By a show of hands, motion passed. Larry was appointed chairman of the committee and will get two members to work with him on this process. -Linda Heilman, chairman of Nominating Committee for new officers, gave her report. -Roland, chairman of the audit committee, reported all expenditures and receipts were duly recorded and found to be correct. -Larry Cobb, chairman of the volunteer committee, gave his report on volunteers needed for the Sharing Kitchen. New Business: Darlene Dennis would like to see us support retired teacher's position on the state retirement board and Linda Heilman volunteered to send out information for us to read from ORTA about this article. Our business meeting was concluded and our next meeting will be on October 17 with Brenda Luhring from NCOESC giving our program. Following our program, we will be making Christmas decorations for nursing home residents. Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Recognition Award Dinner Seneca County EMA Administrator John Spahr was Master of Ceremonies for the Seneca County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Recognition Award Dinner on Aug. 15 in the Frost-Kalnow Room at the Tiffin-Seneca Public Library. The event was opened by Suzanne Black, coordinator of CERT, with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. A buffet dinner was provided by Rock Run Catering and arranged by recent CERT graduate Melissa Linke and a team of recent CERT graduates: Pam Faber, Janice Kontak, Mark Kontak and Alfred Linke. A patriotic theme of red, white and blue decorated the dining room. Tammy Feehan, Ohio EMA assisted Spahr in presenting the awards. CERT members accumulating more than 100 hours during their membership received a certificate from Ohio EMA. Seneca County Commissioners Bill Frankart, Tyler Shuff and Anthony Paradiso provided a proclamation that was read during the ceremony. Those receiving Recognition Awards were: Dennis Behm, James Black, Suzanne Black, Joseph Brandt, Debra Hinton, Cindy Jordan, Michael Klaiss, Lori Knupp, DJ Leary, Amanda Maynard, Jason Maynard, John Meisner, Jennifer Ryman, Jennifer Sanders, Dan Stahl, Michael Spencer, James Stark, Tammy Waugaman, Charles Thomas and Christopher Woodruff. Suzanne Black presented "Above and Beyond the Requirement of Being a CERT Member" awards to: Jason Maynard, Team Leader, Amanda Maynard, the woman behind the man, Mike Spencer, first on scene and Charles Thomas, first on scene. These four represent the first response team in Fostoria. Always ready, and at a traffic scene, accident scene or fire scene within minutes of dispatch. Beyond-the-scenes awards were presented to those who continue working behind the scenes to keep the team on track: Cindy Jordan takes charge when the Coordinator is out of town, and Jennifer Sanders is the creative member of the team. She provides brochures, form letters, ID badges, raffle tickets and a multitude of forms to keep track of various events. Dennis Behm provided a way to advertise raffles and publicly show various events that we do. Christopher Woodruff, the parade master, keeps us informed of upcoming parades and gets CERT out into the community. James Black is a jack of all trades, keeping the Rehab 1 vehicle in running order, teaching classes and training drivers. Dan Stahl was recognized for giving his blessing for CERT to be under the direction of EMA many years ago. He saw a vision that "trained volunteers can make a difference in Seneca County." Seneca County CERT has been recognized as the most active CERT program in NW Ohio, proving his vision to be true. John Spahr was recognized as our support and guidance, always available to answer questions from all members. Seneca County CERT can be seen at various times throughout the county doing traffic control, parking cars, providing canteen and rehab services to the thirteen fire departments in Seneca County. Anyone interested in giving back to the county can become a CERT member by completing the eight-week class beginning September 21, 2023. The flyer gives all the class details and includes a registration form. Be sure to return the registration form soon in order to secure a seat. For further information, please call Suzanne Black at 419-937-5599.