AM CLUB —Meets at 7:30 am on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month on Zoom or in person at Northwest Arena.
FALCONER — Meets on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month at 7 AM at the Falconer Fire Department Exempt Hall located at 1 Coleson Drive Falconer NY, 14733.
WESTFIELD / MAYVILLE — Currently meeting 2nd and 4th Tuesday at 5 pm at the Westfield YWCA - 58 S. Portage St.
FREDONIA/DUNKIRK —
Meet Thursdays at noon at SUNY Fredonia University Village Conference Room, 2nd floor.
Committee meetings or social events can also be used as make-ups.
Rotarily Yours - May 4, 2026
UPDATE: (Announced Wednesday, May 6): The Highway Cleanup announced for this weekend has been postponed until a future date to be determined.
For the May 4 meeting, Rotary President Michelle Jones called the meeting to order, led the Pledge of Allegiance, and asked President Elect Caitlin O’Reilly to lead us in the Star-Spangled Banner. Sue Jones provided the invocation, focusing on our international exchange students.
Caitlin O’Reilly introduced the guest, Fran Lapinski, guest of Becky Robbins. She also welcomed Jan Steinmann, our exchange student from Switzerland, and Sophia Cama (who will be our 2026-27 out-bound student).
For announcements, Michelle reminded members of the Literacy Committee's plan to read at Bush School later this month, with sign ups now underway. Also, the annual Camp Onyahsa singalong will take place on Wednesday, June 10. And Max Eimiller announced that sign-ups for participation and sponsorship are now open for the annual Rotary Charity Golf Classic, scheduled for July 13 at Moon Brook Country Club. The event is the largest fundraiser of the year for the club. Sponsors, gift basket items, and teams are all needed. For inquiries contact Max on 716-338-5626.
Michelle also asked Rotary Club members to provide her with any dietary restrictions, including vegetarian or vegan preferences. This is to ensure that the Doubletree is able to provide alternative food items during lunch for anyone who needs them. It also helps the staff know just how much food is needed on a weekly basis.
Joni Blackman announced the May birthday celebrants, with a total of 11 Rotarians celebrating birthdays this month. They included Zach Agett (May 5), Caitlin O’Reilly (May 7), John Felton (May 8), Eric Harvey (May 9), Max Eimiller (May 11), Lillian Ney (May 14), Vince Horrigan (May 17), Tim Edborg (May 20), Irene Doby (May 25), and Todd Allen (May 27).
Joni also pointed out that this month's Rotary Magazine features the incoming District Governor for our district and encouraged everyone to read about her and focus, which will be to raise awareness about and to stop human trafficking.
Treasurer Ruth Lundin also reminded members that 2026-27 membership dues are coming up and there will be a slight increase. Members can pay $200 (cash/check) or $210 (credit/debit card), and payments can be made in two installments, due June 1 and December 1.
Emily Cama announced that the winner of the 50/50. This week it was Greg Jones.
Sergeant-at-Arms Doug Conroe fined Tory Irgang for the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation being featured recently in the newspaper for the new partnership with the Community Heart & Soul program, which works to strengthen communities across the Chautauqua Region by expanding access to a proven, resident-driven approach to community engagement. Tory also paid a fine for the recently announced Women's Giving Circle Childcare Innovation Challenge.
Happy Bucks were paid by John Bauman, Joni Blackman, Sophia Cama (who announced she will be going to Agen in Southern France when she begins her student exchange this summer), Deb Kathman, Andy Goodell.
Jan Steinmann, our exchange student from Switzerland, was the featured speaker for the day's lunch. Jan was introduced by Caitlyn, who has been hosting Jan for the past several months. Jan is from Lucerne and is a student at Southwestern, where he participates in Cross Country. She said that since he's been in the United States, he has become more understanding of American humor and loves American food.
Jan provided an excellent presentation, sharing details about his life in Switzerland, as well as what he's been up to since coming to the U.S. and Jamestown. He shared details about his home country, noting that it is relatively small (about the size of Connecticut) with a population of $9.1 million. The main language spoken there is German, along with French, Italian, and Romansh. It is known for being located in the Alps. When it comes to food, its mostly known for its cheese (including Fondue) and chocolate. His hometown of Lucerne is known for the Chapel Bridge, built in 1333 and renowned as Europe's oldest covered wooden bridge and the world's oldest surviving truss bridge.
Jan shared that he speaks German, but also speaks English and some French. He enjoys the outdoors and plans to be a graphic designer when he returns home. He said that his father is a nursing home director, his mother is a nurse, and he has one sibling (a younger sister). He said that his father is a Rotarian, and encouraged him to join the Rotary Exchange program. He admitted that he hoped to go to either New Zealand, Norway, or Canada. He was accepted to placed in District 7090. He was unaware that District 7090 includes Western New York and was surprised he was placed in Jamestown. However, he said that he wasn't disappointed and actually enjoys staying in the U.S. and in our community - where he is learning more about American Culture and has also gotten much better with his English. He also looks forward to traveling and will soon visit both New York City and Washington, DC. He said traveling has been his favorite part about staying here.
During Q&A, Jan answered a variety of questions. He talked about education in Switzerland, saying that schooling typically lasts nine years there and then they move on to work, apprenticeship, or university. He also said that he doesn't have a specific favorite food (it all tastes good) and likes to eat anything. He said one of the biggest surprises for him is how dependent Americans are on automobiles and how frequently they use them. But he added he understands why, because things are more spread out here. Everyone Thanks Jan for his presentation and sharing more details about his life and time here in the U.S.
Following Jan's presentation, Michelle thanked everyone for attending. The meeting was then adjourned.
