Home Page Stories

From left) Rotary Club president George Hwang, scholarship winners Piper McElfresh, Gregory Friel, Flint Slankard, Charieon Doxley, Elizabeth Weir, Zoey Serna, and Rotary scholarship chair Jon Fancher.

The Lakewood-Rocky River Rotary Club awarded college scholarships to six area graduating seniors at its weekly lunch meeting on Monday, June 2. Recipients were Flint Slankard of Rocky River High School, Gregory Friel of St. Ignatius High School, Elizabeth Weir of Avon High School, and Charieon Doxley, Piper McElfresh, and Zoey Serna of Lakewood High School.

Each student will receive a $3,000 scholarship award from the Lakewood-Rocky River Rotary Foundation. This $18,000 scholarship program is part of nearly $78,000 that the Rotary Club donates to community programs each year.

Winners of Rotary’s Four-Way Speech Contest, and the annual music and visual arts competitions, were honored at a gala event at the Beck Center on April 14.

Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Lakewood and Rocky River, the contest annually highlights the incredible talents of students attending one of five high schools – Lakewood, Lutheran West, Magnificat, Rocky River, and St. Edward.

Speech contest first place winner was Alessio Matera from Lakewood High School with a speech entitled, “Trump 2.0.” Avani Sabharwal from Magnificat High School earned second place with a speech entitled, “The Dangers of American Isolationism.” Both students represented the club at the Rotary district 6630 competition on April 12.

Placing third was Delaney Starr, “The Box,” and fourth was Mel Diemert, “Title Generated By AI.” Both are from Lakewood High School.

peeches must be of original content and be based on “The Four-Way Test of Rotary” which asks, “Is it the truth, Is it fair to all concerned, Will it build goodwill and better friendships, and Will it be beneficial to all concerned?”

Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood has been a valued partner of Rotary for this event, serving as the liaison to educators at the high schools and providing the venue and judges for various phases of the competitions.

This is the 80th year for the club’s speech competition, and the twenty-eighth year that the Beck Center has collaborated with the Rotary club for these student competitions.


West Shore Career-Technical District Outstanding Student Award recipients honored by the Rotary Club of Lakewood and Rocky River on April 7 were joined by school administrators from Lakewood, Bay Village, and Westlake at the awards ceremony.

 

On April 7, the Rotary Club of Lakewood and Rocky River hosted the 27th annual West Shore Career-Technical District Outstanding Student Awards at its weekly luncheon. The 16 recipients were honored for their dedication, leadership, and accomplishments in their career-technical programs.

Each award recipient is automatically nominated for the “Career-Technical Student of the Year” award, which will be announced later in the school year at the annual Career Passport Assembly.

Our Meetings
We meet In Person
Mondays at 12:00 PM
Don Umerley Civic Center
21016 Hilliard Blvd
Rocky River, OH 44116
United States of America
We are meeting in person all but the 4th Monday of every month.
 
Officers & Directors
President
Executive Secretary
Treasurer
Sergeant-at-Arms
Immediate Past President
Community Service
Membership Chair
Upcoming Events
Speakers
Andrew Mangels
Jul 14, 2025
What Public Libraries have to Offer
Bob Orborn
Sep 08, 2025
District Governor
Chris Arnold
Sep 15, 2025
Foundation Annual Meeting
RI News
A chat with 2025-26 Rotary International President Francesco Arezzo

RI's new president talks about his top Rotary moments, his goals as president, and his love of olive oil and opera

Lesson plan given a global reach

Rotary clubs in Ontario’s District 7070 ensure Durham College’s virtual classroom has a global reach

For the love of nature

Camp Kawartha in Ontario is turning out a new generation of environmental stewards