THE ROTARY Club of Perrysburg’s 43rd annual Charter Night was June 5 at Belmont Country Club. Members and guests enjoyed a surf and turf dinner and camaraderie once again after the past year’s pandemic.
President Tami Wise welcomed everyone.
“In a year when we could not be together in our usual Rotarian ways, we certainly came together and made an impact as a club who believes in service above self,” she said.
President Wise reported that this year Perrysburg Rotary Club gave over $74,000 in grants and student programs to the community including more than $29,000 to Wood County Plays to build an all-inclusive playground at Perrysburg’s Rotary Community Park, the city’s newest gem. In addition, there was a fund-raiser for the ongoing support of building out the park in the coming years, and the raffle netted $22,550.
Kim Klewer, there with his wife, Nancy, was honored as the Rotarian of the Year.
Then Rotary District 6600 Governor Keith Hodkinson inducted president-elect Lorena Gloden for the 2021-2022 year. Special guests were Duane and Debbie Chappuies, Mrs. Gloden’s former Rotary exchange parents, and Mrs. Gloden’s husband Dan Gloden and son Sebastian Gloden.
Mrs. Gloden’s Rotary career started at the age of 15 as a member of Interact in Cucuta, Colombia. Then at 17, she was a Rotary international exchange student from Cucuta to East Jordan, Mich., where seeing a female member changed her view of Rotary. After her year, she went back to Colombia and joined Rotaract.
As a Rotary exchange student she attended Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan to pursue her master’s degree and joined the new Saginaw Sunrise Rotary Club, becoming the club’s youth exchange officer.
Then as the inbound coordinator chairman she attended the multidistrict conference at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., the same one she had attended when she was an exchange student.
She and her husband hosted a Rotary exchange student for a year and became noted as the inbound coordinator couple on the youth exchange committee for several years. She has enjoyed many positions in Rotary including being a guest speaker in Tulsa, Okla., the youth exchange coordinator for Colombia to the United States, and the representative for Perrysburg Rotary Club in Cucuta, where the club contributed a grant for the “Hope for the Venezuelan Refugees” project.
“With this year’s logo, serve to change lives ... it has also changed my life.” Mrs. Gloden said.
Among the new slate of officers is president-elect Mitchel Skotynsky, who will be the youngest president.
Seen were foundation chairman Jack Sculfort and his wife Cyndi, co-chairman Susan Nelson and husband Jeff Nelson, Perrysburg Mayor Tom Mackin and wife Allison, Wood County Sheriff Mark and Jenna Wasylyshyn, Judge Dwight Osterud and wife Judy Reitzel, Dave and Cary Wise, Scott and Robin Libbe, Jim and Joyce Euting, Jeff and Laurie Huskisson, Chris and Mary Ann Vogel, Bob and Jackie Venzel, and Bill and Pam Davis. Also seen were Sherina Ohanian and Judge Aram Ohanian, Cassie and Paul Egli, Phil and Maggie Bollin, and charter members Bill Irwin and wife Mary Ann Irwin, and John Kurfess with Ruth Glanzman.
THE ANNUAL Pork-A-Lean fund-raiser was at the Bowling Green Farmers Market at the corner of South Main and Clough streets on June 16. The donation-based event for the B.G. fireworks, B.G. Boom, raised more than $2,000.
B.G. Boom, slated for Saturday, July 3, is organized in cooperation with the city of Bowling Green and the B.G. Chamber of Commerce and Foundation. Fireworks begin at dusk, approximately 9:45 p.m., at a new location this year — in the parking lot of the Wood County Fairgrounds.
The rain date is July 5.
Thanks go to Uncle Sam Sponsors: the city of Bowling Green, Bates Recycling, and BGSU’s Office of the President, among many other businesses and individuals that can be seen on the chamber website.
Donations can still be made to the B.G. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and sent to the chamber office at 217 S. Church St.
The prime location to view the display will be from the Wood County Agricultural Society property located in the camping area behind the fairgrounds.
Access to this lot will be from Brim Road and will be open at 7 p.m. Volunteers will guide guests to the proper parking spaces to maintain a safe and organized experience and the Wood County Sheriff’s Office will be present. Additional parking will be in the lot across from the fairgrounds on Poe Road, however, no volunteer guides will be in that area.
The fairgrounds proper will not be accessible for this event and roadside parking will not be permitted.
The launching of the fireworks will happen within the National Tractor Pulling Championships property, and no unauthorized persons will be allowed past the cement barriers around this area.
After the pyrotechnics display, those leaving the main parking area from the north exit onto Brim Road will be directed to turn left and those exiting the south exit onto Brim Road will be instructed to turn right. Those parked at the Poe Road lot will only be able to exit onto Haskins Road.
The Bowling Green Police Division will provide crowd control and traffic direction.
SPECTATORS enjoyed watching artists at work on location in the fresh air during the Anthony Wayne Area Arts Commission’s annual plein air event, Art and About 2021: Jim White Memorial Paint Out in Waterville, on June 17-19.
Artists, sitting and standing at their easels, used a variety of mediums including oils, acrylic, watercolor and pastels to create their masterpieces.
A popular subject was the Roche de Boeuf bridge across the Maumee River, a historic landmark. But there were also paintings of flowers, buildings, and more. The event was open to anyone and drew participants from all over the region.
First Published June 27, 2021, 10:30 a.m.
