Message from the Grand Counselor - Ken Milliser

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1 Winter 2013 The OHIOAN The official newsletter of the Ohio Grand Council GRAND OFFICERS Grand Counselor Ken Milliser (614) Grand Junior Counselor John Raptosh (937) Grand Past Counselor Ron Shively (330) Grand Secretary Larry Morton (419) Grand Treasurer Jerry Thomas (614) Grand Conductor Al Lutz (330) Grand Page David Van Order (614) Grand Sentinel Don Sutts (513) Grand Chaplain Jim Edwards (614) Grand Executive Committee Chairperson Mindy Van Order (614) Phyllis Burt (740) Grand Membership Director David Burt (740) The Ohioan Editor Tom Smith (614) or Message from the Grand Counselor - Ken Milliser Rita and I have come to the midpoint of our term as your Grand Couple. We have experienced the history and tradition of Ohio UCT like a Grand Counselor can. We have seen and been a part of the wonderful spirit of UCT fraternalism wherever we have traveled, and believe me, Rita and I have traveled. Where have we been? Calgary and Canmore, Alberta, Canada; Bucyrus; Salem; Dayton; Columbus; Jackson; Toledo; Alliance; and Cleveland. We have been late and we have been early and there are still many places to visit here in our great state. We have toured an Air Force museum, an Amish hardware store, a cheese house, played bingo, played golf, drank wine and eaten great food wherever we have visited; and through it all, we have been with friends. And to think, this all started because Doyle Red Hummell asked me, or was it informed me that I was going to become a UCT member. He paid me a great compliment and service by inviting me into the folds of UCT. Are we still that UCT Red offered Rita and I 39 years ago? In spirit, the fraternalism is still as strong as it was in 1888 and I can feel it in everyone s heart. But when I look with my eyes, I see reasons to be concerned. Some of the friends I made over the years are gone now, and I do not see new faces in their place. The black and white of it is, we are losing members. I do not have a panacea that will make it all better. What I do know, is, I cannot do it on my own. I am asking each of you for your help. Won t you write a new member or invite a past member back? Going forward there is a lot yet for me to do as your Grand Counselor and as a UCT member. I still have some calls and visitations to make and some members to write. I would like to attend one of your regular meetings, so give me a call. Do not forget the ASHA hockey tournament in Toledo going on in February. We have a Grand Board meeting in Alliance on March 2, The Grand Convention is in Columbus at the Holiday Inn, Worthington, Ohio June , Our Supreme Couple Larry and Carol Pilon will be attending our Grand Session before they head off to Schaumberg, Illinois for their own Supreme Convention. Look for more information in The Ohioan Newsletter and The Sample Case for the appropriate convention detail. Rita and I are looking forward to upholding some old traditions, and trying out some new ones. Hey, here is an idea, maybe you could help. Have you ever attended a meeting or convention where you had an activity that you enjoyed so much that you said, Boy why can t we do that at Our Grand Convention? Well I am here to say, maybe we can, but we can t do what we don t know. You have to let me know what s on your mind. I think there could be some surprises along the way, so be ready for an interesting session. Columbus is so close, why don t you come, or better yet come and bring a friend. As we go forward, let s get more of the state involved in the Ohio Swing Thru. Can you talk with your neighboring sister councils and do a joint session for the swing through? Everyone could help! What if we looked at the state as quartered into northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest? Alliance and Salem have done it for a number of years. Can t you look to your sister councils to pull off a Supreme visitation in your section of the state? Don t make me mention names! Fraternally Submitted: Ken & Rita Milliser The Ohio Grand Couple Kudos to River City Council 11, Portsmouth for donating $500 to Vern Riffe School

2 Message from the Ohio Grand Membership Director Share your UCT success stories!! Do not let your stories go untold! Grand Counselor Ken Milliser said, Are we content to just sustain our Order, or do we want to see it grow? Your decision. We have strong roots to build for tomorrow, however; we need to write new members for tomorrow to be successful and carryon. Think of all the good work the Ohio councils do in their local communities. Don t let these actions fall by the wayside for the lack of members to carry them out. This is why it is so important to invite friends, family, neighbors, and others you know to join UCT. I want to thank those who brought signed applications to the Ohio Swing Thru and were able to present them to our Supreme Counselor Larry Pilon. The membership year is half over. Thank you to all the Ohio writers for their efforts during this time. What can we do the second half of the year?? Renew your efforts to invite and write new members this year. How great it would be for UCT if we each wrote one new member!! Fraternally, David L. Burt Let s welcome two new Alternative Councils to Ohio UCT Council 2000, Columbus and Columbus Special Hockey Council 2004, Columbus Members of UCT Council 2000 celebrate its formation as UCT s first alternative council on Aug. 22, Gem City Council 3, Dayton, Ohio Attendees at Council 3 s annual Halloween dance for clients of the Montgomery County Department of Mental Disabilities get dressed up and have some fun! Nearly 240 individuals from more than 12 area workshops attended this year s party. Alliance, Ohio Council 261 And they re off! Participants in the 15th Annual Great Pumpkin Race dodge raindrops to complete the 4-mile run/walk that raised over $5,000 for Stark County Developmental Disabilities Special Olympics. Council 261 was a race sponsor and four members took part in the race. Strong Roots For Tomorrow Alliance, Ohio Council 261 wins fourth quarter photo contest! Congratulations to Alliance, Ohio Council 261 for winning our fourth quarter photo contest! The council s photo of its junior golf tournament is a great example of the kinds of members in action photos we want councils to submit to us for use in The Sample Case and on our Facebook page. The council received a Flip UltraHD Video Camera for its efforts.

3 Lace Em Up and Get Ready to Skate That s right, UCT is getting ready to sponsor the Second Annual UCT Winter Hockey Festival for ASHA teams in our region. As most of you already know, the Winter Hockey Festival was going to be held in conjunction with the NHL All-Star Game in Columbus. However, due to the Lock-Out of the NHL players, the hockey season has been cancelled up to this point. Therefore, there will be no All-Star game. Ottawa Park in Toledo has graciously accepted our request to hold the Festival there once again. The dates are: Saturday February 16th 9:00am to 6:00pm Sunday February 17th 9:00am to 12:00 noon We have invited teams from Ohio, Michigan, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, New York, Missouri, Maryland and Indiana. We hope that many of you will be able to go to Toledo to watch these enthusiastic athletes in action on the ice. We will be asking for volunteers again this year and, of course, monetary donations are always welcome. Renting the ice is the most expensive portion of this wonderful event and your help will be appreciated. We look forward to seeing you and our Special Athletes in Toledo to enjoy the 2nd Annual UCT Winter Hockey Festival. If you have any question or comments, please call or me at: or kward@uct.org. Keith Ward PSC Community Outreach Manager Message from the Supreme Secretary- Treasurer - Jerry Thomas Dear Friends, David Burt and I have just recently returned from the December UCT Board of Governor s meetings. As always the schedule was rigorous with lots of business to discuss. Here s some exciting news from the board meetings. UCT recently received a 1.5 million dollar donation from the estate of Jack and Betty Heaston of Reno, Nevada. The gift will be safeguarded by UCT Charities, Inc. and used to provide four-year scholarships. The $10,000 UCT Gives Back video contest is well under way. The contest for schools with programs for people with intellectual disabilities and universities with programs to train special education Lancaster reaches out to local organizations Members of Lancaster Council 6 has once again supported local community organizations with annual monetary donations, sponsorship, and collecting personal items for the local emergency center. At Thanksgiving local members Richard Fosnaugh and David and Phyllis Burt presented a check to Carol Wagner, Director of Community Action in Fairfield County. The donation assisted the pantry to purchase bulk items to stock their shelves. In the past year, Mrs. Wagner stated she had noticed a ten percent increase in requests for assistance from the pantry. We also presented items for the Emergency shelter; tooth brushes, tooth paste, soap, mouth wash, lotions, and shower caps. With cold weather coming on, she appreciated the items that could be teachers began October 2, The videos have been received and the finalists will be posted on UCT s Facebook page at beginning January 14, You may vote for your favorite once per day until February 15th. Debbie and I wish each and every one of you a very Happy New Year and hope that your Christmas was filled with joy. This year, 2013, marks UCT s 125th year. That is Supreme Counselor, Larry Pilon s theme: UCT-125 years and still making history! Let s make some history in Ohio this year too! As always, Debbie and I thank you for the opportunity to serve as Supreme Secretary-Treasurer knowing full well that this would not be possible without your support. Thank you Ohio Grand! Jerry & Debbie Thomas distributed as needed. For the upcoming Christmas holidays, the council will again fulfill a tradition that has taken place over the past fifty years. Checks are presented to the local groups that support people with intellectual disabilities. Clients from the Forest Rose School, Fairfield Center for Cerebral Palsy and Fairfield Industries Opportunity Center will have a brighter holiday season. Lancaster Council 6 will once again sponsor a Little League Baseball team in Fairfield County. This sponsorship will allow a group of fifteen boys and girls to play ball in the spring and early summer. Each player receives a t-shirt with the council s name imprinted upon the shirt. Oh to be young again, hit that ball, and run the bases!! We are grateful that we can still support our local community and reach out to help those in need at a time when they think no one cares. SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT UCT The home office has given us all several tools to show off what UCT is and does to help others. If you have a computer you can access the new version of the Ohio Grand website at and also use the UCT s Facebook page at Presently local Councils can utilize the ability to create their own website. Free, easy to maintain website templates are available. If you re Council is interested in using a local website please feel free to contact Heather Darling at the home office at hdarling@uct.org. We also have the OHIOAN newsletter that goes out for publication at least (4) four times per year. If you wish to add news of an event, article, or pictures please contact Tom Smith at tsmith@eandicorp.com ( until June 28, 2013) or tsmith3341@ gmail.com (Home). Please try or continue to use these tools to tell all the good things about United Commercial Travelers. Thanks, Tom Smith, PSC

4 Fraternal Council 380 had a great turnout for their annual Grand Counselor s Night. Pictured left to right are Senior Counselor/ President Fred Altherr, Ohio Grand Counselor/President Kenny Milliser, his wife Rita, Grand/Regional Chaplain Jim Edwards, his wife Phyllis, and Junior Counselor/Vice President Mary Nutt. Receiving 25-Year pins are Fraternal Council 380 members Ruth Ruth, Junior Counselor/Vice President Mary Nutt and Executive Committee Member Jean Lloyd. Get out the vote for our Ohio school UCT Gives Back video finalists! In the autumn issue of The Sample Case we told you about our UCT Gives Back video contest for schools with programs for people with intellectual disabilities or universities with programs to train special education teachers. Schools throughout the U.S. and Canada were encouraged to submit creative videos explaining their need for UCT s $10,000 donation and how they would use the cash prize if they received it. And they did! Now we want your help in selecting the winner! Videos from nine finalists are posted on our Facebook page at UCTinAction, and we need you, your fellow members, and your friends and family to vote for your favorite video. The school whose video receives the most votes by Feb. 15, 2013, will be given the $10,000. Who knows? It might be a school in your community! Voting is easy. All you have to do is Like us on Facebook, click on the UCT Gives Back tab and cast your vote - once every 24 hours, if you like! So, start sharing the word and help us support UCT s very important service project. Contact Marketing Manager Heather Darling at hdarling@uct.org, or at (800) , ext. 206, with questions or for more details. UCT Gives Back participating schools Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma Centre de Formation et de Soutien L emploi, Saint-Leonard, New Brunswick Islands High School, Savannah, Georgia University Place Elementary School, Tuscaloosa, Alabama Portage Collegiate Institute, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba Carleton School, Pomeroy, Ohio Galax Elementary School, Galax, Virginia Ruby Van Meter, Des Moines, Iowa Roosevelt High School, Des Moines, Iowa

5 David Knapp UCT Ohio Grand Council 2491 Gardenia Drive Columbus, OH UPCOMINGevents mark your calendars Feb.16-17, 2013 Second Annual UCT Winter Hockey Festival (See Keith Ward s message for further details) March 2, Ohio Grand Executive Board Meeting - Comfort Inn Hotel, Alliance, OH. Meeting starts at 3 p.m. March 2, Alliance Council 261 Annual Past Counselors and Ladies Night - Dinner is open to all UCT members and a guest. Dinner begins at 6:30 pm, Family Style Roast Beef at a cost of $12.50 per person at the Maximo Zion Church. Contact Sarah Akins at between 6 and 10 p.m. to place reservations. DEADLINE IS FEB. 20. Hotel Reservations: Comfort Inn Alliance, 2500 West State St., Alliance, Oh Phone: Reference United Commercial Travelers. June 12-14, Ohio Grand Council Convention at the Holiday Inn Worthington, OH. July 14-17, Mark your calendars for UCT s 126th annual convention, which will take place, at the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg, Chicago. In Memoriam Home Office Employee Cynthia (Cindy) Jo Eastman Longtime UCT employee Cynthia (Cindy) Jo Eastman, 62, passed away Sept. 6, Cindy began working at UCT in 1967 and functioned as the organization s accounts payable clerk/payroll clerk. In 1996 she received UCT s Superstar of the Third Quarter for her outstanding efforts and was later honored as Superstar of the Year. When nominated for this honor, Cindy was described as, Going above and beyond without even thinking about it, conscientious, going out of her way to do for other employees what she would want done for herself, dedicated and always doing the best job possible. To co-workers and many members, she was very special and considered an important member of our UCT family. Memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 15120, Chicago, IL