CHANGING OF THE GUARD … Luther Gautsche (center) became Archbold Rotary’s 68th president on July 1, taking over the leadership of the club from Jodi Herman. Luther joined Archbold Rotary in October 1984. Dale Kern (left) is serving as Luther’s assistant.)
During the recently completed Rotary year, the Archbold Rotary Club donated $18,980 to school, community and international projects. Nearly half of the donations supported student scholarships and school-related programs.
Specifically, $6,750 was awarded to Archbold seniors as college scholarships, $1,000 in college scholarships was given to two Archbold seniors for their community service and leadership in the school’s F.C.C.L.A. organization, and a $500 scholarship was given to an Archbold area student attending Northwest State Community College.
A $225 scholarship was provided to support an Archbold student’s participation in the Hugh O’Brien Leadership program and $300 was given to support the Archbold Elementary School book fair so all students would be able to purchase at least one book.
Four County Career Center was given $570 to support its drug-free program.
Several community programs received donations from Rotary: Fulton County Heart Radiothon, $1,000; Fulton County Christmas Cheer, $500; Sauder Village annual fund, $500; and Sauder Village golf outing, $500.
Archbold Rotary made its first payment of $2,500 to the village parks and recreation department for the splash pad that is expected to be installed next year in Ruihley Park.
Additionally, Archbold Rotarians made donations to support several Rotary programs, including $1,500 for the district’s Medical Equipment and Supplies Abroad (MESA) program to help ship donated medical equipment and supplies primarily to Central American countries.
Some $522 was donated to Rotary’s PolioPlus program, which is designed to rid the world of polio by vaccinating children where polio has not yet been eradicated.
And, finally, $2,613 was given to The Rotary Foundation through the Every Rotarian Every Year planned giving program.
After investing the funds for three years, Rotary allocates roughly half of the money to support international projects and returns the other half to the Rotary district where the club is located so it can be used to support local projects.
Jodi Herman served as Archbold Rotary president during the 2020-21 Rotary year, becoming the first Archbold Rotarian to serve two terms as president.
Club officers during the past year included: Royal Short, past president; Jeff Coressel, treasurer; Kirk Weldy, secretary; and board members Tim Meister, Dale Kern, Caleb Brinegar and Mark Hagans.
Luther Gautsche is the current president of Archbold Rotary with Dale Kern as his assistant. Other officers are Jodi Herman, past president; Jeff Coressel, treasurer, Kirk Weldy, secretary; and board members Tim Meister, Caleb Brinegar and Jennie Gilroy.
Archbold Rotary meets every Wednesday for lunch starting at 11:45 a.m. at The Barn Restaurant on the Sauder Village complex. Persons interested in learning more about Archbold Rotary can contact any officer or board member.
