Events

Megan O’Leary is a communications professional, currently serving as Public Information Officer for Montgomery County Environmental Services. In this role, she establishes and maintains cooperative working relationships with local media, elected officials, and the public, to convey consistent messaging in support of the Board of County Commissioners' mission, goals, and initiatives. Prior to working for the County, Megan was a Web Producer at various news entities across the country, writing online news articles, and regularly ran social media pages of those outlets.

Megan is a graduate of the University of Dayton with her bachelor's in Communication and a Minor in Anthropology.

Megan is married to her husband Derek, and is a mother to two girls, Shannon and Emma. When she has the time, which is rare, she enjoys running and being out in nature. She also has two dogs at home – Carl and Simon.

Welcome Megan to Kettering Rotary! And thank you Tim McCrate for arranging these and other speakers to educate and inform us about our Community's infrastructure.

Dinner Meeting. Celebration and Fellowship. White Elephant Gift Exchange - Gift Wrap Your Forgotten Treasures! -  Surprise Musical Treats - Who Knows What Else?!?!? 

https://www.greatschools.org/ohio/dayton/940-Orchard-Park-Elementary-School/#Teachers_staff

Micki is Principal of the third smallest elementary school in our Kettering City School District.  Orchard Park has been honored as a Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education. An amazing story. Join us and celebrate this at our Christmas Meeting - last meeting of the year.

Micki has served Kettering City Schools for nineteen years. She holds two Master’s degrees, one in Special Education and a second in Educational Leadership. She started as a special education teacher and has taught at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Including St. Albert the Great, Kettering Middle School, Southdale, John F. Kennedy, and Fairmont .

Micki is happy to serve wherever her skills are needed. This led to roles as special education coordinator for Fairmont and John F. Kennedy, with over 430 special education students, and our district’s compliance with special ed guidelines.  She also served JFK as assistant principal, while continuing as special education coordinator for JFK and Orchard Park Elementary. In addition, she started two new multiple disabilities classrooms at OP.  

In 2016, Micki became principal at Orchard Park, vowing to lead OP to the best elementary school in the district. Staff, parents, and the community all came together. This collaboration led to the school's award as Exemplary High Performing National Blue Ribbon School of 2021 by the United States Department of Education. OP now joins the elite list of great American schools. Fewer than 1% of our nation's schools hold this distinction!

Last month, Micki and two teachers presented at the 23rd Annual Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellent Conference at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. They continue to share educational strategies and knowledge to inspire other districts nationally. 

Micki, welcome to Rotary at Kettering!

We welcome Dr. David Alan Schmidt back to our Kettering Rotary Speaker's Lectern. David brings a lasting passion for the rich history of our region. He grew up right here in Kettering, and has delivered several presentations, including several to the Oakwood Historical Society.

Last year, David brought to life for us Dayton's Great Flood, and revealed several events and aspects of that event which were new to us Rotarians, even those with active interest and long study of the Great Flood.

He earned the Ph.D. from the Department of Geological Sciences at The Ohio State University in 2006. In 1999 and 2001, respectively, he received a B.S. and M.S. from the Department of Geological Sciences at Wright State University. Dr. Schmidt serves WSU as its Director of Undergraduate Programs in Earth and Environmental Sciences at Brehm Lab. His teaching involves classes in Environmental Science and Society, Earth Systems, and Process Geomorphology.

Dr. Schmidt, Welcome to Rotary at Kettering!

Mayor's Party with a Purpose Meeting

David Fierst is a Dayton-based attorney and Author of Hidden Disgrace: Revealing the Distress Signals Covered by North American Indian Myths

https://prairieedge.com/tribe-scribe/hidden-disgrace-revealing-the-distress-signals-covered-by-north-american-indian-myths-/ 

On Amazon Book list: https://tinyurl.com/3adzwu7r  | The Amazon book preview says: 

Through meticulous research, Hidden Disgrace pierces through the veil of descriptions of Indians as either savages or "Noble Savages" and describes them as real people with both strengths and weaknesses. Likewise, it takes a hard look at the notion the conquest of North and South America by Europeans was "inevitable" and was, in reality, the result of deliberate choices.

Books that dive beneath the superficial explanations of Westward Expansion are often criticized as being "revisionist history." Such claims ignore the obvious explanation that aspects of history cannot be "revised" if they were never reported properly in the recording of history.

Among other historically docum'ented myths, Hidden Disgrace explains why the casting of the Wounded Knee Massacre as the result of an attempt to suppress an uprising fueled by the "Ghost Dance" is patently absurd. Important facts surrounding that dark episode in United States history are often ignored, miscast, or misrepresented altogether.

With this work, the author seeks to shed light on the true course of history.

Milt Hakel (HAW-kuhl) and his wife Lee are joining us from Bowling Green.

Andy Scholes connected us all together. Milt reports that Andy. at age 4, served as ring bearer at Milt and Lee's wedding! Nice work Cupid Andy!

Milt devoted his career to Organizational Psychology, and he loves to study How Things Work! Now that people are travelling again, Milt plans to take us on a tour of some of America's scenic places and cities.

Milt's best advice? Include "Blue Highways" in your car travels this year. They take you off the Interstates to places you would miss otherwise! You will find interesting people and see amazing sites. Milt will show us scenes of many he and Lee visited en route to Cape Cod (2021), New Orleans and St Paul (2022).

Welcome, Milt and Lee to Rotary at Kettering! 

Here's the full Milt Hakel Professional Story! Wow!

Milt is Ohio Eminent Scholar and Professor Emeritus at Bowling Green State University. His Ph.D. is from Minnesota (1966).  He served on faculties at Minnesota, Ohio State, and Houston before moving to BGSU in 1991, retiring in 2009. He received research support from the National Science Foundation, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Army, and the private sector.

During 43 years as a faculty member, Milt advised 79 students through the completion of their doctoral dissertations.  While at BGSU, he created Springboard, a freshman-level personal development course modeled on assessment-as-learning practices from Alverno College and intensive feedback and coaching practices from the Center for Creative Leadership.  This led in turn to R&D work on electronic portfolios as a means for documenting student growth in applying knowledge to solve practical problems. 

He edited Personnel Psychology for a decade, and then was its publisher for 20 years. He served as president of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) in 1983-84, and has just completed 13 years as the President of the SIOP Foundation.

Milt served on many committees for the National Research Council, and also for the Ohio Board of Regents.  He is a fellow of SIOP and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Strive Mentors and students will create works of art. Members are encouraged to attend too. 

Kettering Rotary welcomes our District 6670 Governor, Frank Scott to our Speaker Podium.

Frank, welcome to Rotary at Kettering!

Frank “drank the Rotary Kool-Aid” in 2007 at the Dayton City Club. His sponsor suggested he look at the Club’s org chart. “If he found an area I would like for participation, to choose it and let him know.”  His choice led eventually to his service as Club Foundation Committee Chair.

In his day job as Investment Advisor, Frank has raised funds for charities for many years. In Rotary, he found an organization in our world determined to eradicate polio. His dollars would go so much farther with The Rotary Foundation.

During the 100th Anniversary Year of his Dayton Rotary Club, he served as Club President, one of his most cherished honors. Dayton Rotary celebrated big time, and presented a check for $100,000 to Five Rivers Metro Parks to create a kayak entry point in one of our local parks. Now, you can kayak downtown on the river! That was the first of 4 entry points now in service.

He progressed through Rotary Club leadership progression as Vice President, President Elect, President, Immediate Past President, with each role teaching certain responsibilities. “Finally,” says Frank, “I began to learn about Rotary.”

With his experience in Club leadership, Rotary asked Frank to serve as an Assistant Governor, where he got to know other clubs in our District as well as the District 6670 Leadership.  In 2016, our District asked Frank to serve as District Rotary Foundation Chair “for 3 years.” This further extended his warm fellowship with Rotarians throughout the District. He agreed to renew another 3 years until 2022. On July 1, 2022, Frank our District inaugurated Frank as our Governor for District 6670.

Frank has attended numerous Rotary International Conventions and Rotary Zone Summits. His progression in his service and celebration of “all things Rotary” includes this journey:

• Club Foundation Chair 2007
• Past Club President 2012 2013
• Assistant District Governor 2013 to 2016
• District Rotary Foundation Chair 2016 2019
• Rotary Leadership Institute Graduate October 2017
• Assistant District Governor 2017 2020
• District Rotary Foundation Chair 2019 2022
• District Membership Committee Member 2018-2020
• District Grant Sub-Committee Member 2019 2022
• District Peace Scholarship Chair 2019 2020
• District Governor Nominee Designate 2020
• District Governor Nominee 2020 2021
• District Governor Elect 2021 2022
• District Governor 2022 2023

Degree: B.S. Accounting, University of Colorado, Boulder, Boulder. Colorado

M.S. Logistics Management, AFIT, Dayton, Ohio Business Information

Classification: Financial Services, Banking & Investments.

Professional Position: Vice Pres/Senior Investment Advisor Company: PNC Wealth Management

Website: PNC.Com

  Jane serves as the Community Relations and Engagement Manager for Bridgid's Path, Kettering Rotary's designated beneficiary at this year's Mayor's Party With a Purpose. She likes the title Brigid’s Path gave her, Chief Officer of Happiness.

  After losing a sister to the disease of addiction, she knows that hope is the most important gift we can offer one another. Jane joined Brigid’s Path before the building was even renovated, sharing the call to give back to families like hers. Providing personalized care to help families achieve healthy outcomes requires a great deal of coordination with community partners to fund our work. Jane uses her creative flair to produce fun and engaging events in celebration of the mission while also building relationships with our supporters and donors. Her passion has brought Brigid’s Path to life within the community since day one.

  Jane has lived in the Dayton area for over twenty years and calls it home. Having graduated from Bowling Green, Jane taught school for several years in Atlanta, before entering the corporate world in performance improvement in St. Louis which allowed her to see the world. She considers herself fortunate to work at a place where she has a passion for Brigid’s Path and is able to make a difference.

Jane, welcome back to Rotary at Kettering!

Ron Hollenbeck is a native Delawarean, and a graduate of the University of Delaware.  He spent most of his working career in the Pharmaceutical industry.  Ron’s focus was in the areas of Operations, Production Planning, and Supply Chain/Logistics.  He was a member of numerous project teams focused on Re-Engineering activities, and the implementation of Business Enterprise software.

Ron has been a BOD member of the Centerville Rotary for ten (10) years, including his year as club President during the 2016-2017 Rotary year.  Ron is in his fourth year as an Assistant Governor for District 6670.  He is a Paul Harris Society member and a Major Donor.  Ron also sits on the Board of Zoning Appeals for Washington Township.

After jobs moves which took him from Delaware to California, Maryland, England, and Pennsylvania, Ron moved to Ohio so his wife Lori could be close to her family.  They have one son and two granddaughters who live in the San Francisco area.

Ron is a terrific, consistent friend of our Rotary Club.

Ron, welcome back to Rotary at Kettering!

Ted serves as Kettering Rotary Club President for the 2022-2023 year. He is a practicing attorney, author, and teacher.

Last summer, Ohio State University and OSU Law asked Ted to design and pioneer a coursel the faculty named "Difficult Conversations in Polarized Times.". University leaders had become concerned with the low levels of tolerance on campus as students returned to in-person education and all related activities of student life.

Ted will tell us about that experience and share some of the content developed and used in that Fall 2022 course that included students from Law, Engineering, Business and other fields of study.

Why does it seem increasingly tough to talk about "difficult" things? Is this the worst it's ever been in America? Will "Uncle Rufus" ever again be welcome at Thanksgiving Dinner? What hope lies ahead for improved, productive conversation and coexistence throughout our Amerian Republic, once globally considered the leading democracy in the world?

Hon. Kimberly A. Melnick

Judge Melnick came to the Bench, in March 2022 after serving most of her 28-year career prosecuting criminal cases.

She began her career in the Prosecutor’s Office in January 1994.  In 1998, she entered private practice before returning to the Prosecutor’s Office in 2000.  From 2002 to 2006, Judge Melnick served as a Deputy District Attorney in Jefferson County, Colorado, returning to Dayton and the Prosecutor’s Office in November 2006.

At the Prosecutor’s Office, her duties included Supervising Attorney of the Grand Jury/Intake Division, Supervising Attorney for the Adult Protection Unit, as a Trial Supervisor, training and managing trial attorneys and most recently with the Violent Crimes Bureau, prosecuting only homicide cases.

Judge Melnick graduated Wright State University 1990, with a B.S. in Marketing, and earned a Juris Doctor in 1993 from the U.D. School of Law.

She is a member of the Dayton Bar Association and the Carl D. Kessler Inn of Court.  She serves on the Common Pleas Court’s Information Technology and Security Committees.

Her courtroom is Number 10, on the fourth floor, the second courtroom on the left hand side of the hallway. Hope you get the chance to visit Judge Melnick's Courtroom; just hope you are there in civliian clothes!

Judge Melnick, Welcome to Rotary at Kettering!

Every three years, the County Auditor is required by the State of Ohio to reappraise all property in the county. The Montgomery County Auditor’s Office completed a full reappraisal in 2020 and is scheduled to complete a Triennial Update of property values in 2023. Auditor Keith will be discussing the Triennial Update and how these new values will impact Montgomery County. 

Karl Keith has served as Montgomery County Auditor since 2000 and was recently re-elected to serve a 7 th term. He brings our County more than 40 years of experience in government finance and publicadministration.

After beginning his career as a state examiner for the Ohio Auditor of State. He served eight years in the Montgomery County Treasurer’s Office. He was appointed chief deputy auditor in 1991, a position he held for over nine years prior to his appointment as auditor.

Karl was named Ohio’s Outstanding County Auditor in 2012. He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ohio Government Finance Officers Association in 2016. Karl is a lifetime member of the NAACP and was awarded the Dayton Realtors’ 2020 Fair Housing Award.

A Certified Cash Manager, Karl earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Ashland College and a master’s degree in political science from Miami University.  He and his wife, Doris, reside in the City of Dayton.

Auditor Keith, Welcome back to Rotary at Kettering!

Milt Hakel (HAW-kuhl) and his wife Lee are joining us from Bowling Green.

Andy Scholes connected us all together. Milt reports that Andy. at age 4, served as ring bearer at Milt and Lee's wedding! Nice work Cupid Andy!

Milt devoted his career to Organizational Psychology, and he loves to study How Things Work! Now that people are travelling again, Milt plans to take us on a tour of some of America's scenic places and cities.

Milt's best advice? Include "Blue Highways" in your car travels this year. They take you off the Interstates to places you would miss otherwise! You will find interesting people and see amazing sites. Milt will show us scenes of many he and Lee visited en route to Cape Cod (2021), New Orleans and St Paul (2022).

Welcome, Milt and Lee to Rotary at Kettering! 

Here's the full Milt Hakel Professional Story! Wow!

Milton D. Hakel is an Ohio Eminent Scholar and Professor Emeritus at Bowling Green State University. His Ph.D. is from Minnesota (1966).  He served on faculties at Minnesota, Ohio State, and Houston before moving to BGSU in 1991, retiring in 2009. He received research support from the National Science Foundation, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Army, and the private sector.

During 43 years as a faculty member, Milt advised 79 students through the completion of their doctoral dissertations.  While at BGSU, he created Springboard, a freshman-level personal development course modeled on assessment-as-learning practices from Alverno College and intensive feedback and coaching practices from the Center for Creative Leadership.  This led in turn to R&D work on electronic portfolios as a means for documenting student growth in applying knowledge to solve practical problems. 

He edited Personnel Psychology for a decade, and then was its publisher for 20 years. He served as president of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) in 1983-84, and has just completed 13 years as the President of the SIOP Foundation.

Milt served on many committees for the National Research Council, and also for the Ohio Board of Regents.  He is a fellow of SIOP and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Members and Guests!

Join us at our Annual Celebration of Awards for our STRIVE Program Winners. Mentors, Fairmont High School Counselors, and our Six Winners all will be on hand for this very special meeting. 

Get there early... lunch starts at 11:30. And yes, IT WILL BE COOKIE DAY!

John Di Pietro, CPS, /CPS, CLEE, NCPS II | Deputy Chief of Police (Retired)

Major John DiPietro joined the Miami Township P.D. in 1986, progressing through Patrol Officer, Detective, Corporal and Sergeant.

In March of 2013, John retired as Deputy Chief of Police, where he oversaw both the Department's Operations and Support Divisions. He holds four Certified Prevention Specialist credentials by the: Ohio Crime Prevention Association, New York State Crime Prevention Coalition, National Crime Prevention Council, and the International Society of Crime Prevention Practitioners.

John is an academy instructor, who holds a degree in Police Sciences from Sinclair College and is a graduate of the Police Executive Leadership College. He achieved his credentials as a Certified Law Enforcement Executive (CLEE) from the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police in 2010, and is a graduate of Penn State University's (POLEX) police executive leadership program.

John has been a member of the Ohio Crime Prevention Association since 1992 and has remained active in the Association as president from 2003 to 2004. He is the former Vice Chairman for the Crime Prevention Coalition of America, which serves as an advisory board to the National Crime Prevention Council in Washington.

He is former First Vice President for the International Society of Crime Prevention Practitioners, which awarded John the Lifetime Achievement Award.

John is an active member with the Miami Valley Crime Prevention Association and has appeared on television shows and newscasts, including CNN, MSNBC and The John Walsh Show, as a Crime Prevention Specialist.

He now serves as President of the Fraternal Order of Police, Ohio Lodge # 117, and is Past State Chairman for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Ohio, which  in 2003 selected him as MADD's TOP COP.

He is a former Board Member for Greater Dayton Humane Society and is a State Certified Humane Agent.

In 2000, Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery honored John with the Distinguished Law Enforcement Service Award. In 2017, the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police named John Member of the Year and assigned him to the National Fraternal Order of Police Education Committee. In 2018 he received the Blankenship Award, the highest honor from the Ohio Crime Prevention Association for his lifetime of service in prevention.

John received a commission as Kentucky Colonel from Governor Matthew Bevin in 2019 for his prevention and community service endeavors. And, in 2013 he earned a lifetime membership for the NAACP as well as a lifetime membership of the National Crime Prevention Association in 2009.

John is an experienced photojournalist and news reporter having worked for WHIO TV, assigned to the station's news helicopter, NewsChopper 7. In 2002, he received a Regional Emmy Award from The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

John has worked for several companies and non-profit organizations both as a consultant and trainer. His expertise is specific to crime prevention, physical security, house of worship safety and security, crime prevention through environmental design, community engagement, media relations and non-profit leadership. He has conducted many physical security assessments, both for the Veterans Administration hospital systems and for Ohio Crime Prevention Association, with a focus on houses of worship and non-profit organizations.

John frequently is requested as a guest speaker or workshop presenter with topics related to crime prevention, risk management and public safety. He is also an active member of the American Society of Industrial Security, or ASIS International, Cincinnati, Ohio Chapter.

John, welcome to Rotary at Kettering!

Today we delight in welcoming Don Walls as our Guest Speaker. 

Don served as an educator over a career spanning  42 years, culminating at Wright State University as Director of the College of Education and Human Services.  His list of positions along the way inlcude teacher, coach, principal, assistant athletic director, and coordinator of school business relations. 

Don volunteers at TRI and enjoys Rotary meetings as one of our most faithful and active members in attendance and participation. He also enjoys attending grandkids activities, and travel. 

Don and Donna have been married "for many moons," and they are blessed with 3 children and 6 grandkids. 

Throughout Don's great work in and for our Community, he also has served as President of the Kettering-Moraine Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Board at the MonDay Correctional Center, the first two-term president of our Kettering Rotary Club,  Board member of TRI, and the Benevolence Chair of his church.  

Don, thank you for your service to our City and beyond, and welcome back to the Guest Speaker's podium here at Kettering Rotary!

Scott Dawson holds degrees in Art and Music and sings in several acapella groups for fun. At his day job, Scott teaches Graphic Arts at Clark State College.

In 2017 the State of Ohio (while our fellow Rotarian and Kettering Mayor, Peggy Lehner, served in the Ohio Senate) adopted legislation for "community colleges" like Sinclair and Clark State to offer 4 year Bachelor degrees, in addition the the two-year. Associate degrees.

This change is important for many reasons and is important to address the workforce placement challenges that face many employers. Expanding "community college" offerings to four-year degree options lowers cost to students, making higher education more affordable.  This creates a larger pool of qualified workforce and enhances Ohio's image as a great place to start and maintain a business

Welcome, Scott Dawson, to Rotary at Kettering!

We are pleased to welcome two of our fellow Kettering Rotarians to the Speaker’s Podium today.

Bruce Chan serves as Executive Director of the Brain and Spine Center at Kettering Health. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and Accounting degree from Pacific Union College and an MBA from the University of Central Florida. He is a Six Sigma Black Belt and is certified as a Leadership Development Instructor.

You can find Bruce on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-chan/

Ashley Runk has served our Club this 2022-2023 year as co-chair of Membership and will be nominated to the Board to serve as President Elect for the coming year. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-runk-45409a1/

 Ashley works at Day Air Credit Union as a Specialist in Business and Community Development and Learning