Trending
If a group or organization has served a region for more than a century, it has to be doing something right.
That was among the thoughts shared by Stephanie Urchick during the Rotary Club of Steubenville's 100th (Plus Two) Anniversary Celebration April 26.
"This is truly something to celebrate," she told the 130 or so Rotarians and guests who had gathered inside the St. Florian Event Center. "Your service to this community spanning 102 years is incredible."
That number -- 102 -- seems like a strange anniversary to note. While every anniversary is a reason to celebrate, most attention seems to be directed to those that end in zeros or fives. That makes everything neat and tidy, and it makes sense.
Just like many other things in our lives, though, the COVID-19 pandemic forced changes. And, rather than the club being able to mark its 100th anniversary around April 1, the date it was first chartered in 1921, the celebration had to be delayed, more than two years, to the last week in April.
Urchick was an easy choice as speaker for the evening. She will serve as Rotary's international president for the organization's 2024-25 year. Plus, she lives not too far away -- in Cannonsburg, Pa., and is a member of the Murrysville, Pa., Rotary Club,
"This community has benefited from what you have done -- students have gotten dictionaries, you've sponsored parties. All of the things you have done in this community are worth highlighting and worth celebrating," she said.
Like many service organizations across the country and around the world, Rotary has been looking for ways to increase its membership. A look at the Steubenville club can serve as an example. About 20 years ago, the club's membership was right around 100. That number has fallen dramatically during the years, and now stands between 35 and 40. Similar drops have been seen in most clubs through the region.
"For two decades," Urchick said of Rotary International, "we heard we have 1.2 million members. We never grew. However, we brought 150,000 new people into Rotary every year. The problem was we lost 150,000 every year, so we had become a revolving door, and that is not sustainable."
One of the ways Rotarians hit on was to increase the organization's impact. She used Rotary's efforts to eradicate polio as an example. Since that work started in 1979, the success of those efforts around the world have helped the organization attract new partners, and that makes it easier for work to continue.
"Since the beginning, we have been able to say that when polio is eradicated, when it is gone from the face of the earth, there will be 11 million children every year who will not get the disease. There will be $85 billion that will not be spent on health care," Urchick said.
Another of the priorities, she explained, is to expand the reach of Rotary and make the organization more attractive and appealing, especially to younger people.
"That's important as we think about our future and where we are going," she said. "I love Rotary, just like you do, but I recognize that I'm not going to be here forever. And I want to make sure there are people who are lined up behind me.
"I tell the story about when I was a young woman and I used to go out disco dancing and I used to wear platform shoes," Urchick added. "My father would grab me by the arm, and he'd say, 'Where are you going with those shoes on? You're going to kill yourself.' I'd say, 'Dad, don't worry about it. We all know how to walk in them, and we all know how to dance in them because that's how we do it.'
"I tell that story because I know that the Rotarians who are young professionals are going to want to do it their way, and that's OK," she added, "as long as they keep our core values of fellowship, leadership, diversity, integrity and service -- keep those intact, keep our guiding principles like our four-way test intact.
"We don't care how they do it -- just do the magic of Rotary, however they want to," Urchick said. "That's going to help us keep this organization alive."
≤≤≤≤≤≤≤≤≤
If you think Jefferson County residents were alone in not having anything to vote for on Ohio's May 2, ballot, you are wrong. According to Secretary of State Frank LaRose, only 3,326 precincts across 67 counties offered the chance for residents to vote. That means voters in 21 counties -- Jefferson included -- had nothing to vote on.
While it was disappointing to see so many of the seats that are up for election this year either had no party opposition in the primary or saw no one file at all, there will be some things to vote on Nov. 7. That makes it important to remember that if you have not done so, you really should register to vote. The deadline for the general election will be Oct. 10.
And, if you think this year's ballot is not all that exciting, remember that in 2024, the ballot will feature more of the races that tend to bring out greater numbers of voters. Not only will we get the chance to vote for president next year, but Ohioans will be casting ballots for U.S. senator, a race that will feature longtime Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown, who will be seeking re-election, running against a Republican opponent that will be chosen from an ever-growing field of candidates.
That all will happen about 18 months from now, but it's likely Nov. 5, 2024, will be here before we know it.
(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is executive editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times. He is a longtime member of the Rotary Club of Steubenville and served as co-chair for the anniversary dinner.)