The Scouting America National Court of Honor recently awarded RCAA member Joe Diederich the National Outstanding Eagle Scout Award (NOESA), one of only seven for the entire state of Michigan. From the presentation: “Joe Diederich began his lifelong commitment to Scouting in Glassport, Pennsylvania, earning the rank of Eagle Scout in 1958. He went on […]

President Dawn Johnson opened our meeting with the ringing of the bell and pianist Jody Tull de Salis accompanied the 63 Club members, guests and Zoomers in singing our National Anthem.  As a group, we recited the Rotary 4-way Test.  Jody moved from the piano bench to the podium to highlight several Ann Arbor cultural […]

To pay respect to the Flag of the United States of America when should you place your hand over your heart? 1. when the National Anthem (Star Spangled Banner) is played, 2. when saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag 3. when TAPS is played. (See Note 1 below) When not to place your […]

The Rotary Club of Ann Arbor just completed its 22nd annual Rotary Fights Child Hunger food and fund drive, supporting Food Gatherers, the largest sponsor of the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) in Washtenaw County. The SFSP is a critical source of food for children and teens in the summer, replacing the free and reduced-price […]

This year, the Washtenaw County Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program assisted in preparing 1,392 tax returns in the 2026 tax season, a 31% increase over last year. Refunds and tax preparation fees avoided came to a total of $3,270,430, an increase of 65% over the prior year. RCAA supported VITA’s 2026 tax season with […]

Rotary International is asking Clubs to work collaboratively with other service organizations in your communities to undertake a service project on EPIC Day May 16th this year. Rotary Club Ann Arbor (RCAA), with Rotary North, Huron Watershed Council, Ann Arbor Parks Dept., and Washtenaw Parks Dept. has organized a Huron River Day of Events May […]

The Club’s Environmental Action Group and the U of M student led non-profit organization Blueprints for Pangaea offered an opportunity for community members to donate new or used medical equipment and supplies Saturday, May 2, 2026 at a local self-storage facility. The event was promoted in the Rotarian Newsletter and online by several social media […]

Today’s meeting was called to order by President Dawn and together we sang ‘My Country ‘Tis of Thee’ as our patriotic song. The membership then proceeded to recite the 4-way test. Collyer offered words of inspiration today, generated from thank-you cards from Strive scholarship recipients that demonstrate our impact on the students themselves and also […]

Maker Works, Ann Arbor’s largest nonprofit “makerspace” (a/k/a hackerspace, tech shop, and/or or DIY workspace), offered up a class in pewter sand casting at the GPO Auction last September. A dozen RCAA members, together with family and friends, bid on and participated in the class and were also treated to a tour of their fascinating […]

The Final Jeopardy answer in the episode on April 23 related to the announcement of the Salk vaccine and the significance of the date of April 12, 1955. Two of the contestants, including ultimate winner Jamie Ding, responded with the correct question. As many nearby Rotarians know, the announcement that the vaccine was “safe, effective, […]