John White interrupted the pre-meeting chatter with the Zoom etiquette announcements, and turned the meeting over to Tom Strode, who played God Bless America.
Cyril White gave the Inspiration, talking about his grandmother, who with her husband and children, fled their town in Ukraine to escape the Soviet invasion at the beginning of WWII. After struggles, they were able to immigrate to the United States in 1949. Cyril’s message of courage and perseverance was definitely an inspiration. Downs Herald offered the video of the Rotary Music group singing “I Want to Teach the World to Sing” – a happy note to begin the meeting.
President Susan took the podium to invite Eric Lipson to introduce guest Angeline Smith, and Ashish Sarkar to introduce Steve Rand. She then thanked the people who make the meetings run smoothly and to announce birthdays. She also talked about the Food Drive and how important it is to the safety of children and families in our county. Any donations of $25.00 or more will be matched dollar-for-dollar. To donate, click here.
Norma Sarkar announced that nominations for the Robert S. Northrup Humanitarian Award are being taken through March 23. This is an award that was established in honor of our member Rob Northrup and goes to anyone in our community who has participated in humanitarian projects at home or abroad and who demonstrates the principles of the 4-Way Test. Nomination forms are available on the website and Norma is accepting informal nominations at her email address.
Edwin Portugal was introduced as a new member by Fanfan Zheng.
Dan Lewan told us of the effort by Rotary International to raise funds for humanitarian relief for the civilians in Ukraine. The International Humanitarian Projects Committee has forwarded $1000 and Dan asked that we all participate. Ashish and Norma Sarkar immediately donated $1000. The website to donate is HERE. rotary.org/en/disaster-response-fund. Be sure to notify Lori that your gift is for Ukraine.
Notes from the Program
Our favorite presenter, the ever energetic Clare Dahl, dressed the part for her presentation about Rosie the Riveter. The Rosies included any woman who worked in any capacity in the war effort. Clare started with a history of the building of the Willow Run airport and assembly plant and explained the origins and importance of the of the Mitchell B25s that were assembled there. When the United States joined WWII, the industrial workers needed to respond to President Roosevelt’s call for war materiel were also called to serve in the armed forces, and the government and business turned to women to fill the demand. Campaigns cast the skills needed to run a household as the same as needed to supply the war: sewing machines make parachutes, cookie making is an assembly line, ironing translated to welding. Six million women responded to the call.
In 1984 the Yankee Air Museum in Ypsilanti bought a B25 and worked with the manufacturer in Kansas City to restore it to its original battle strength. This plane had never had nose art, a shortcoming that was rectified in the restoration: the airship is now named Rosie’s Reply. It was returned to the Air Museum and now is available for anyone to ride. Clare showed pictures of the country trip she and a crew of six to Tulsa, OK, Kansas City, KN, and Bloomington, IL, showcasing Rosie’s Reply.
President Susan closed the meeting with this Quote for the Day: “We must reject not only the stereotypes that others hold of us, but also the stereotypes that we hold of ourselves.” Shirley Chisholm.
