Rotary Club of Painesville – Meeting Minutes
📅📅 Date: November 12, 2025
🕛🕛 Time: Meeting called to order at 12:15 PM
👥👥Members Present
Patrick Armstrong (Sergeant At Arms)
Lori Benjamin
Maureen Conway
Sue Ellis
Dan Garry (President)
Halle Graham
Dick Kretschman
Christy Maygar (Secretary)
Jerry Walker
Anita Walters (Treasurer)
🙋🙋Guests
Today we welcomed Jessie Baginski, President of the Mentor Rotary Club. Jessie joined us with Christmas wish lists for those who signed up to participate in the Christmas Kids Party at Lake Metroparks, a wonderful way to spread some holiday cheer!
🙏🙏Opening🙏🙏
🙏🙏Prayer –Led by Dick, who asked for blessings over our food and the many acts of service we share together.
Pledge of Allegiance –Boldly led by Halle with enthusiasm and pride.
Song – Our very own choir guru, Jerry, kicked things off in true patriotic spirit with “God Bless America” in honor of Veterans Day.
Song – Our very own choir guru, Jerry, kicked things off in true patriotic spirit with “God Bless America” in honor of Veterans Day.
💸💸 Happy Bucks / Sad Bucks
Sue shared a Sad Buck for Stu and his family, keeping them close in our thoughts.
Abby had two Bucks: a Sad Buck for Stu, gave a Happy Buck celebrating Ken Graham for being in “Fast Track”! Way to go, Ken — sounds like someone’s moving full speed ahead!
Anita contributed a Sad Buck for Stu’s brother, honoring his memory.
Dick gave a Happy Buck, saying, “My wife and I liked the Four Seasons — and I’m just happy to be here with all of you today!”
Jesse gave two Bucks: a happy buck because her son got married since we last saw her (congratulations) and a Happy Buck for an amazing experience — visiting Toledo for the Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald with a friend, something she’d never have done on her own.
Abby had two Bucks: a Sad Buck for Stu, gave a Happy Buck celebrating Ken Graham for being in “Fast Track”! Way to go, Ken — sounds like someone’s moving full speed ahead!
Anita contributed a Sad Buck for Stu’s brother, honoring his memory.
Dick gave a Happy Buck, saying, “My wife and I liked the Four Seasons — and I’m just happy to be here with all of you today!”
Jesse gave two Bucks: a happy buck because her son got married since we last saw her (congratulations) and a Happy Buck for an amazing experience — visiting Toledo for the Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald with a friend, something she’d never have done on her own.
♠ Queen of Spades Jackpot: $574
Daily Draw: $15
Cards Left: 30🎉🎉🎉🎉💰💰
Daily Draw: $15
Cards Left: 30🎉🎉🎉🎉💰💰
👑👑♠ Let’s give this pot something to talk about💰💰
🎤🎤Guest Speaker Spotlight
We were joined by Kevin Meier, our guest speaker and Coordinator for the D-Day Ohio WWII Museum in Conneaut, Ohio. Kevin shared that the annual D-Day Conneaut event, held the third weekend of August, has grown into one of the largest World War II reenactments in the world!
The event began when a family visiting Conneaut Beach in 1996 fell in love with the area and decided to host a small reenactment in 1999. Since then, it has grown tremendously, attracting over 75,000 visitors each year. Truly amazing!
Announcements📣📣 :(hot off the Painesville Rotary Press)
Remembering Craig Lucker: Dan shared the sad news that Stu Lucker’s brother, Craig, passed away on November 7th. The family will
celebrate Craig’s life on Saturday, December 13th from 2–4 PM at Brunner Sanden Deitrick Funeral Home in Mentor. Please keep the Lucker family in your thoughts.
Plastic Project Success! Dan proudly reported that he has officially assembled the bench we earned through all those collected
plastics — a true team effort! Lori proposed adding a plaque recognizing Dr. Lucker’s Rotary service (1965–2025), and Dan suggested placing the bench beneath a tree donated by Brooke Brown’s parents, in honor of Brooke’s special bond with Doc. The club unanimously agreed — a beautiful tribute all around.
Offsite Dinner with Mentor Rotary – January 29th Mark your calendars! We’re planning to join the Mentor Rotary Club for an offsite dinner meeting at the Auburn Room, where the culinary students will prepare a special meal for us.
*** Important: You must sign up in advance — no sign-up, no dinner! The students cook precisely for the number attending.
Youth Protection: All members are reminded to complete their Youth Protection Training as soon as possible.
District Fundraiser – This Thursday! Don’t forget about the District Fundraiser event happening this Thursday. Come out and support our
fellow Rotarians!
celebrate Craig’s life on Saturday, December 13th from 2–4 PM at Brunner Sanden Deitrick Funeral Home in Mentor. Please keep the Lucker family in your thoughts.
Plastic Project Success! Dan proudly reported that he has officially assembled the bench we earned through all those collected
plastics — a true team effort! Lori proposed adding a plaque recognizing Dr. Lucker’s Rotary service (1965–2025), and Dan suggested placing the bench beneath a tree donated by Brooke Brown’s parents, in honor of Brooke’s special bond with Doc. The club unanimously agreed — a beautiful tribute all around.
Offsite Dinner with Mentor Rotary – January 29th Mark your calendars! We’re planning to join the Mentor Rotary Club for an offsite dinner meeting at the Auburn Room, where the culinary students will prepare a special meal for us.
*** Important: You must sign up in advance — no sign-up, no dinner! The students cook precisely for the number attending.
Youth Protection: All members are reminded to complete their Youth Protection Training as soon as possible.
District Fundraiser – This Thursday! Don’t forget about the District Fundraiser event happening this Thursday. Come out and support our
fellow Rotarians!
St. James Dinner – November 18th Our St. James Dinner is next week — November 18th. Let’s show up and serve with the same Rotary
spirit you know and love
spirit you know and love
🎤🎤 What’s Your Why? –
Our shining star this week is none other than Alma — a true world traveler and heart of our club! Her first Rotary meeting was back in 1994 in Jeannette, Pennsylvania. (Yes, 1994 — Rotary roots run deep!)
Much like her beautiful presentation on Greece today, Alma’s very first presentation in Pennsylvania took us on another adventure — this time to the Dominican Republic! (We might just start calling her our very own Carmen Sandiego! )
All these years later, Alma continues to bring warmth, wisdom, and wanderlust to every meeting.
She shared how much she treasures the fellowship and camaraderie that Rotary brings — and we couldn’t agree more.
Thank you, Alma, for being such a special part of our Rotary family — it just wouldn’t be the same without you!
Much like her beautiful presentation on Greece today, Alma’s very first presentation in Pennsylvania took us on another adventure — this time to the Dominican Republic! (We might just start calling her our very own Carmen Sandiego! )
All these years later, Alma continues to bring warmth, wisdom, and wanderlust to every meeting.
She shared how much she treasures the fellowship and camaraderie that Rotary brings — and we couldn’t agree more.
Thank you, Alma, for being such a special part of our Rotary family — it just wouldn’t be the same without you!
✅Four-Way Test
- 🎤🎤✨ 🙌 As Rotarians we live the 4 way test and Alma assisted Dan to remind us of the words that we continue to live by.
📍📍 Next Meeting
🗓🗓 Tuesday, November 18th, 12:00 pm
📌📌 Location: Lake County History Center – 415 Riverside Drive –
🎙🎙 Speaker: Mike Piper, Miracle League
📌📌 Location: Lake County History Center – 415 Riverside Drive –
🎙🎙 Speaker: Mike Piper, Miracle League
🕧🕧 Meeting adjourned at 1:01 PM
Respectfully submitted,
✍ Christina Magyar, Secretary