Two Weeks Ago                 Three Weeks Ago

08/26/2010

Greeter:  None

Presiding:  Tom Theller

Invocation:  Offered by Joe McNemar.

Visiting Rotarians:  (Read by Ned Riegel) Lancaster – Warner Searls.

Guests:  Tom Theller brought D.J. Dumm, for what Tom hopes to be the last time as a guest as Tom is “getting tired of paying for him!”  (We look forward to seeing your membership paperwork soon D.J.!); Drexel Poling introduced his two guests: Kathy Hardy & Scott Applegate; Dwight Radcliff was accompanied by Cathy Jones.

Absentees:  Wendell Brown, Eitel, Elsea, Feeley, Fluhart, Fouts, Dick Gerhardt, Kuehnle, McMahon, Patrick, Powell, Prince, Scherer, Sneed, Stickel, John Stout, Vickers, Woodward, Yaniga.

Make-ups:  eClub One – Roger Wolfe (2).

*New membership proposal: William Anthony (“Tony”) Robinson had submitted his paperwork to request membership.  Tony is Owner & Operator of Buckeye Barber Shop.  He resides in Circleville.  Tony is Past-President of the Ohio Society Sons of America (SAR), Past-President of Camp Charlotte & Arthur St. Clair Chapters SAR National Trustee for Ohio, Delegate for Explore Scouts in 1967, and is currently Eagle Scout Chairman for SAR.  Any questions/comments regarding a membership proposal should be directed to Drexel Poling.

August Birthdays: 3^rd – Glenn Reeser; 5^th – Bill Stout; 9^th – Bob Cole; 15^th – John White; 16^th – Bud Brehmer; 21^st – Dick Tootle; 31^st – Kelly Feeley.

August Anniversaries: 3^rd – Jack Hooks, John Prince; 4^th-  Drexel Poling; 7^th- Jerry Leist, Charlie Pockras; 14^th – Dan Fouts; 18^th – Tom Tootle; 19^th – Bob Sneed; 20^th – Mark Smith; 26^th – John Stout, Bob Tootle; 30^th – Tom Theller.

September Birthdays: 4^th – Jack Hooks; 5^th – Dale Delong, Mike Fluhart; 6^th – Harry Canfield; 9^th – Ed Peters, Jim Hill; 14^th – Dwight Radcliff; 21^st – Dan Fouts.

September Anniversaries: 5^th – Hayes Wilcox; 6^th – Ty Ankrom; 13^th – Clark Cellio, Gary Gillen; 14^th – Chris Mullins; 15^th – Ellery Elick; 21^st – Dan Dailey; 23^rd – Todd Stevens; 30^th – Dave Webb.

Piano: Don Metzler

Songs:    Mark Taylor chose “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and “Sing Out a Song of Rot’ry.”

Student Guests: None, due to summer break.

*New Member Inducted:  David “Dave” Pigion became a Rotarian today.  Dave is the new Plant Manager for DuPont-Circleville.  He moved here from Prairieville, LA, and just moved into his new home in Circleville within the last two weeks.  He & his wife, Gail, have three daughters together.  His hobbies included running, fishing, and woodworking.

Dave holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Washington State University.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Ohio Manufacturing Association (OMA).  In the past, he was on the Board of Directors & Executive Committee of Junior Achievement of S.E.Texas, and was appointed to the Private Industry Council.

Welcome aboard Dave!!

Announcements:

• Dave Moss gave another reminder regarding our club’s 13^th Annual Golf Scramble, which will be on Thursday, Sept. 9^th at Cooks Creek Golf Club!  Raffle tickets are still available, and foursomes are still being accepted.

• Clark Cellio added to Dave’s note by explaining that volunteers are still needed.  He passed around the sign-up sheet again.  Remember that the funds from this tournament & raffle tickets go to a most worthy cause…our Rotary Scholarship Fund!!

• Tim Tener gave a formal “thank you” to those who volunteered at the Community Kitchen this past Monday: Harry Canfield, Walt Spangler, Jack Hooks, Bill Stout, Debbie Hoffman, and her niece Kenna.

• Geralyn Yingling, being in charge of our Youth Affairs Committee, informed us that Nov. 6^th & 7^th will be the visit from Youth Exchange Students.  Since this will be a two-day & one-night event, the committee is in need of accommodations and as well as ideas for things for the students to do during their visit.  She estimates that there will be approximately 50 students.  Please contact Geralyn or anyone on the committee with your ideas &/or if you’d like to volunteer.

• Tom Theller told us of a scam e-mail that Dan Dailey had alerted him of that is supposedly from Rotary.  As always, be cautious of any e-mail that you did not initiate/request!

• Via snail mail:  Columbus State Community College submitted a flyer announcing “Columbus State is here!”  They are offering classes in the evening at Teays Valley High School.  Registration began in July, and classes on September 22^nd, 2010.  Call toll-free for details: (800) 621-6407.

SAA:  Jeff Spires

Mark Taylor was given the option of “paying a buck to keep (the reason for his fine quiet.”  Mark paid the dollar, so the fine remains a mystery.

All birthdays & anniversaries for August were fined.

Judy Wolford had to throw a dollar into the arena for her photo in the paper regarding cattle competitions.

All women were asked to stand & pay $1 each “because it’s Woman’s Equality Day.”

Lottery:  Charlie Hedges had a grin on his face when he gained $23, but the golden pebble is yet unfound.  The pot has grown to $1,562.

Program:  Dave Webb introduced today’s speakers: fellow Rotarian Carly Neff, & her brother Brett Rhoads, as they represent their family’s businesses, Rhoads Farm Market, Rhoads Farm, and Split Rail Nursery.

Brett graduated from Logan Elm in 1997, and then received his BS in Horticulture and Crop Science, with a minor in Agricultural Economics, from OSU.  In addition, he is a graduate of Ohio State LEAD program, which is a two-year program dedicated to enhancing agricultural leadership.  Brett is married to Tara, and they are the proud new parents to triplets! (Ignore the bags under his eyes!!)

Carly graduated from Logan Elm as well, and received her BS in Business Administration from OSU.  Carly is married to Jeremy, and they have two children.

Brett stepped to the podium while Carly took charge of the PowerPoint presentation via their laptop.

Here are some of the highlights:

·        They are a 4^th-generation family business.

·        It was started in 1958, and consisted of a small market stand.

·        In 1961, it moved to State Route 56.

·        In 1981, they entered the wholesale tree nursery business by establishing Split Rail Nursery.

·        Carly is in charge of the retail portion of the business (Rhoads Farm Market), while Brett is in charge of the production side (Rhoads Farm, and Split Rail Nursery).

·        They plant trees, then move to strawberries and other crops, and then to Fall crops, and finally end the year out with Christmas trees.

·        They earned their GAP (Good Agricultural Production) certification, even though it wasn’t a requirement.  It was something they chose to do to reflect their elevated standards.

·        Strawberries are an annual staple in their crop production plans.  They go to California to purchase the seeds, which they plant and grow themselves.  They are always on the look-out for new and different varieties.

·        Strawberries are planted in Sept., covered in Oct. & Nov., and then taken off in Spring.  Their target volume is 1 ½ - 2 pounds per plant.

·        Brussels sprouts are a new crop item, due to their trendiness.  There is a demand for them in the high-end niche market stores.  They are planted after the strawberries are harvested.  They are harvested in Sept, and they target approximately 2 pounds per plant.

·        Blackberries are a fragile crop, and this is the first year that they have had a full crop since 2006.

·        Average annual crops:

o       65 acres of sweet corn (70,000 dozen)

o       8 acres of peaches/cherries

o       3.5 acres of Brussels sprouts (20 tons)

o       6.5 acres of strawberries (35 tons)

o       13 acres of blackberries (75 tons)

·        Rhoads won recognition from a high-end market for the “Best Mellon & Berries.”

·        Their crop yields are based on a percentage…50% Rhoads, 50% Mother Nature!

·        Consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about their food.

·        Animal pests (raccoons, deer, birds, etc.) are “always a challenge.”  Rhoads practices live-trapping of raccoons.

·        There is a good population of bees locally, so pollination is fortunately not a problem.

·        They go out of the pumpkin-growing business about 10 years ago.  Just wasn’t profitable.  They do purchase their pumpkins for their retail customers from a farmer in the area that Brett knows personally.

·        Their Christmas tree business is increasing every year.

In conclusion, Brett opened the floor to questions.

Contact info: 

 Rhoads Farm Market

1051 St. Rt. 56 East

Circleville, OH 43113

(740) 474-2028

Tom Theller regained the podium to thank our speakers and to announce that a donation will be made in their names to the Mike Harrison Park Fund.

Meeting adjourned.

September’s program schedule:  (as submitted by Don McIlroy)

·        2^nd : Pickaway Co. Visitors Bureau – Charlie Jackson

·        9^th:  ROTARY GOLF OUTING – go to Cook’s Creek for the meeting!

·        16^th:  Pickaway Co. Farm Bureau – John Torres

·        23^rd:  Circleville High School Athletic Boosters – John Ankrom

·        30^th:  Haven House – Lisa Johnson

October’s program schedule:  (as submitted by Dave Moss)

·        7^th:  Lt. Cassandra Kocab, Ohio State Highway Patrol’s local Post Commander.

·        14^th:  Joel Schomaeker of Bergman Group, and Nate Green of P3 – to discuss Job Ready Grants & the plans for the former TCE site.

·        21^st:  PUMPKIN SHOW

·        28^th:  District Governor visits

Until next week…,

Patty Rothe,

Editor

E-mail: pjrothe@rpjohnson.net