FLORENCE – No one was surprised when Mark Staggs turned attention at the Florence Rotary Citizen of the Year ceremony to Special Olympics volunteers. The Rotarians honored Mark and Debbie Staggs as 2017 Citizens of the Year for their 27 years of leadership of the Special Olympics of Northern Kentucky at a luncheon on Monday, Aug. 14. The Staggs have…
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Weinberg Introduces Ronald McDonald House to Rotarians
FLORENCE – Mike Weinberg says the Ronald McDonald House is much more than an affordable place to stay for family members with critically injured youngsters at Children’s Hospital Medical Center. “We’re not just a shelter,” Weinberg said. “We provide all the things people are missing from home. “It’s important to us that the families feel comfortable and happy … that…
Read MoreRotarian’s Welcome Irish Heritage Center
FLORENCE – Maureen Kennedy and Kent Covey are “awakening the Irish” in Greater Cincinnati. They founded the Irish Heritage Center (IHC) of Greater Cincinnati eight years ago. They are transforming a late 19th century school building on the east side of the Queen City into a museum, theater, library, tea room, pub and music and arts venue. The center currently…
Read MoreHost Families Needed – Youth Exchange
Update from James Glass via Jack McAllister District 6740 has 4 Youth Exchange Students scheduled for our district this this coming 2017 – 2018 school year. We are urgently looking for host families. If you or someone you know may be interested in hosting a student (remember, they do not have to be Rotarians), then please let me know as…
Read MoreAviatra Accelerators Visits Rotary
Florence, Ky. – What’s in a name? The change in name from Bad Girl Ventures to Aviatra Accelerators personifies a new growth strategy for the seven-year-old women’s business accelerator in Northern Kentucky. The name change signals an expanded emphasis on attracting new clients, opening new markets and “encapsulating who we are,” said Angela Ozar, the organization’s market manager. “Our mission…
Read MoreLiving With Polio
FLORENCE – Rotary International’s three-decade battle to eradicate polio worldwide means more to Barry Kienzle than to most others. Kienzle, the chief financial officer for Paul Hemmer Companies, contracted the crippling disease a month before his second birthday. After six surgeries stretched over 15 years, he enjoyed a pretty normal life for half a century, he said. That all changed…
Read MoreBray Brings Animal Shelter Awareness to Rotarians
FLORENCE – Hedgehogs can be a problem. They are a bit prickly to handle. Cats can be a problem, too. They tend to proliferate. That’s the assessment of Colleen Bray, field sergeant for the Boone County Animal Shelter in Burlington. “Cats are our biggest challenge, especially in the spring and summer,” Bray said. “We get kittens all year long.” Bray…
Read MoreInteract Students Share Dominican Republic Experience
FLORENCE – Last year, the video produced by the Interact Club of Boone County to document a trip to the Dominican Republic highlighted the students’ activities. This year, their video focused on the people they helped … and their smiles. “This trip was just as amazing as the first time,” said Alex King, who returned with the Interact Club for…
Read MoreShawn Carroll Inducted into the Florence Rotary Club Heritage Hall of Fame
FLORENCE – Shawn Carroll has been named to the Florence Rotary Club Heritage Hall of Fame. Carroll, executive director of New Perceptions in Edgewood, is a native of Boone County who is well-known for his involvement in church activities, charitable events and youth sports. “He is a man of faith, a man of integrity and a man of service,” noted…
Read MoreFlorence Rotary Presents Scholarships to Six Boone County Students
FLORENCE – The Florence Rotary Club has presented $1,000 college scholarships to six Boone County high school seniors. The scholarship winners were recognized at a luncheon on Monday, April 25, at the Hilton Cincinnati Airport in Florence. The selections were based on interviews of nominees from each of the high schools by Florence Rotary members. The selections were based on…
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