Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays:
  • Daniel Garry
    October 6
  • David McCall
    October 16
Join Date:
  • Dave Osborn
    October 24, 2006
    20 years
  • Pam Martin
    October 26, 2023
    3 years
 
Club Information
Welcome to our Club!
Painesville

Service Above Self Since 1926

We meet In Person
Tuesdays at 12:00 PM
Lake County History Center
415 Riverside Drive
Painesville, OH 44077
United States of America
Home Page Stories
Meetings held at the Lake County History Center, 415 Riverside Drive in Painesville, every Tuesday. Most meetings are in the barn at the back of the property. Join us!
 
 
 
 
July 21, 2026
 
We are incredibly honored to have Painesville City Council President Jim Fodor present the Rotary Club of Painesville with a proclamation today, recognizing the 100th anniversary of dedication to our community. Over the last 100 years, the club has woven itself into the fabric of Lake County through structural support, hands-on volunteering, and financial contributions. The recognition coincided with the club's "Century of Service" fundraiser. Thank you to the Painesville City Council for this tremendous honor. Here's to the next 100 years of making a difference together! 
Jim presenting the proclamation to Stu Lucker, club President. 
 
Congratulations on a "Century of Service".
 
 
 
 
 
June 30, 2026
"Out with the old and in with the new"
 
Today Dan Garry (Past President 2025-2026) handed the gavel to incoming President (2026-2027), Stu Lucker. 
Stu promptly took over identifying his staff and recognizing them. Halle Graham will be incoming Secretary. Kathleen Cotter and Debbie Garafalo will be on the board. Patrick Armstrong will continue as Sergeant of Arms and Anita Walters will continue as Treasurer. These were just the members of his staff that were able to attend today. 
Stu is stilling looking for a Membership Chairperson. Please let him know if you are interested in being on the committee or being the chairperson. Stu's biggest goal this year is to increase membership!
Congratulations Stu! And thank you Dan for a job well done! 
 
 
September 1, 2026
Today we had an off site meeting at Zapp's Custard and Mustard shop. We had Anthony Zappitelli tell about his father's dream to make this a fun corner! Boy, what fun it is!!
 
Anthony Zappitelli, Owner of Zapp's Custard and Mustard, Red Hawk Grill, and Zappitelli's Pizza. 
 
We had a choice of a hot dog, plain or with the fixins, or a burger or a cheese burger, with chips and a drink and of course any ice cream that you wanted for dessert. They have soft serve custard and about 25 hand scooped flavors. It's a great place to enjoy the end of summer treats! They do close sometime in September for the winter but reopen on Memorial Day weekend of 2027. 
 
Abby getting her food. 
 
Everything was tasty and hot off the grill but I think everyone enjoyed their ice cream the most!! If you haven't been to Zapp's Custard and Mustard, you still have a few short weeks before they close! Get there or be square!! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
September 15, 2026
 
Stu Lucker, President presented Dan Garry, Past President with a plaque honoring his presidencies of the Rotary Club of Painesville. Stu thanked Dan for his service and recognized what a wonderful job he did as president! Thanks Dan!!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
September 15, 2026
 
Every 3rd Tuesday of the month Painesville Rotary partners with St. James Church and The Western Reserve Junior Service League to provide a hot meal for those people of Lake County who face hunger and other challenges. Please join us, to help prepare the meal, serve, and clean up. Preparations begin at 3:30 and clean up is usually done by 6:15-6:30.
Part of the crew this month.
Debbie working hard to keep up with the dishes.
Ready to serve the community.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
October 27, 2026
 
Our speaker this week was Elizabeth Johnson, Development Director at Camp Ho Mita Koda. For those of you who don't know, but have driven by the camp on Auburn Road in Newberry, it's a camp for kids with Type 1 diabetes.  Elizabeth started her presentation with an overview of Type 1 diabetes. Type 1 most often begins in childhood with no other cases in a family. The individuals pancreas completely stops working (does not produce insulin) and requires the patient to be on lifelong insulin therapy. Because the pancreas no longer makes insulin sugar gets trapped in the blood leading to high blood sugar while the body's cells starve for energy. As you can imagine, prior to the introduction of manufactured insulin, this was pretty much a death sentence. 
 
Dr. Henry Johns was the first physician in the United States to use insulin therapy clinically. He was a staff member at the Cleveland Clinic and had summer property in Newbury. In 1929, he cofounded Camp Ho Mita Koda with his wife Betty on that property. It was the first outdoor recreational camp dedicated to children with diabetes and designed to teach them how to manage their condition while enjoying a normal childhood. The very first camp hosted 6 children overnight for a week. They now host 5 weeks of overnight summer camp, servicing children with Type 1 diabetes from 5-17 years old.  In 2026 they had 278 campers. There are approximately 7,500 kids in Ohio who have Type 1 diabetes.
Elizabeth Johnson, thanks for sharing information about Camp Ho Mita Koda.
 
The goal of the camp is to help kids and families take care of themselves for the long term. During camp they have diabetes education, which helps the kids take ownership of their care. Camp allows them to feel and do normal daily activities, while still monitoring their blood sugars. The camp allows the kids and families to meet others with Type 1 diabetes and it gives the family some respite time. The camp offers 24 hour blood streaming for each camper who has a device that is blue tooth. The clinic monitors them on a big television (computer) screen which is color coded, green: good, yellow: watch, red, help is needed. There is a 4 to 8 ratio of camp counselors to campers. About 30% of the camp counselors are also Type 1 diabetes patients. The camp also provides all supplies needed to care for a patient with Type 1 diabetes.
 
They offer some other activities as well. They have Teen Weekends in the Spring and Fall. They have Family camp. And they host a Women's Wellness Retreat. They also have Mission Partner Programming. They partner with other organizations to use the camp. They partner with Kids with Cancer, Kids with Special needs, kids who have experienced trauma, and kids from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and others to offer camps for these children. They also rent out the camp for weddings and corporate events. If you are interested in other programming visit their website: https://camphomitakoda.org/
 
 
  Our next meeting is November 3, 2026 at the Lake County History Center, 415 Riverside Drive in Painesville. Our speaker will be Karyn Timley-Gant, founder of Ground Zero Elevated.     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rotary Club of Painesville โ€“ Meeting Minutes
 
๐Ÿ“…๐Ÿ“… Date: September 8, 2026
 
๐Ÿ•›๐Ÿ•› Time: Meeting called to order at 12:22 PM 
 
๐Ÿ‘ฅ๐Ÿ‘ฅMembers Present
Patrick Armstrong (Sergeant at Arms)
Lori Benjamin
Kathleen Cotter
Halle Graham
Dick Kretschman 
Lisa Lewins
Stu Lucker (President)
Dave McCall
Dave Osborn
Alma Riley
 
 
 
๐Ÿ™‹๐Ÿ™‹Guests/ Guest Speakers
Jen Schuller & Jenni Kinniard: Jen Schuller, president of Lake Erie College (LEC), and Jenni Kinniard, provost at LEC, discussed the institutionโ€™s significant growth and financial turnaround. Enrollment has surged to over 1,300 students, with a 94% retention rate. The college now offers
32 undergraduate majors and 5 masterโ€™s programs, including a highly ranked physician assistant program. Despite inheriting a $7 million deficit, the college has balanced its budget and continues to explore different academic partnerships. The college also launched a tri-county scholarship for $15,000 per year and explained its career services and workforce development efforts.
 
 
๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™Opening๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™
 
๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™Prayer -Alma Riley
 
Pledge of Allegiance โ€“Halle Graham

Song โ€“Stu sang โ€œAmerica The Beautiful"
 
 
๐Ÿ’ธ๐Ÿ’ธ Happy Bucks / Sad Bucks
Kathleen:
- Happy Buck: Batman has yet to show, but the tho resident bats decided to leave of their
own volition with their own two wings right out the front door

 
Stu:
- Sad Buck: Sue is still out of commission
- Happy Buck: Lovely weather
- Happy Buck: Upcoming final dr. appointment for leg injury and PT is done in a few weeks

 
Alma:
- Happy Buck: Sister and brother-in-law from Florida will be popping in and out of Ohio
over the next three months

 
Lisa
- LEC football team had their biggest win ever, scoring 34-7
 
 
โ™  Queen of Spades  
 
๐ŸŽ‰๐ŸŽ‰๐ŸŽ‰๐ŸŽ‰๐Ÿ’ฐ๐Ÿ’ฐ
Dayโ€™s Pot: $10
Queen: $357

Winner: Dick again!๐Ÿ‘‘๐Ÿ‘‘โ™ ๐Ÿ’ฐ๐Ÿ’ฐDick pulled a joker, he gets an extra $10. Way to go Dick!
 
The Queen lives...
 
Announcements๐Ÿ“ฃ๐Ÿ“ฃ :(hot off the Painesville Rotary Press)
 
Rotary anniversary for Kathleen! She was gifted a charming ceramic bat, hand painted by Stu to commemorate her ongoing residential bat issues.
 
History Center will have an open house this Thursday 9/10 from 5-7pm as part of the All Ohio Open Doors movement, where history centers and museums open their doors for free to the public. Expect a preview of upcoming fall and winter programs and a sneak peek at the new speakeasy. There will be food and drinks!
 
Stu also announced that St. James dinner is September 15th. Come and help if your schedules allow.
 
Alma is bringing in an extra flag and stand that she has. No more pledge of allegiance to the flag on a box or our imaginary flag!
 
The October 13th meeting will be a fall picnic at Rec Park. In the past we have had a summer picnic but summer has slipped away!!

 
๐ŸŽค๐ŸŽค Whatโ€™s Your Why? โ€“
Same great members... until we recruit more. Who wants to be next??
 
 
 
โœ…Four-Way Test
  • Stu did a great job of facilitating the reading of the 4-Way test.๐ŸŽค๐ŸŽคโœจ ๐Ÿ™Œ 
 
๐Ÿ“๐Ÿ“ Next Meeting
๐Ÿ—“๐Ÿ—“ Tuesday, September 15th, 12:00 pm
๐Ÿ“Œ๐Ÿ“Œ Location: Lake County History Center, 415 Riverside Drive
๐ŸŽ™๐ŸŽ™ Speaker:
 Terri Speck, District Governor
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
๐Ÿ•ง๐Ÿ•ง Meeting adjourned at 1:05 PM

Respectfully submitted,
โœ Halle Graham, Secretary
 
Speakers
Karyn Gant
Nov 03, 2026
Ground Zero Elevated
Salvation Army Red Kettle Kickoff
Nov 10, 2026
Off site, Carver Financial, Mentor
Liz Brainard
Nov 17, 2026
LEAF
Off Site at the Manor House
Nov 24, 2026
Lunch and holiday decorations, Lake Erie College
Decibells
Dec 15, 2026
Bell Ringers Perform
No meeting
Dec 22, 2026
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to All!
No meeting
Dec 29, 2026
Happy New Year, see you in 2028!
Marissa Thomas
Jan 26, 2027
Dancing Wheels
Club Executives & Directors
President
President Elect
Treasurer
Sergeant-at-Arms
Immediate Past President
Executive Secretary