John White

Week two of our five-week “Pennies for Polio” campaign brought in almost $40 in pennies (about 20 pounds – whew!) and $34 more in change and dollar bills. With over $50 from the first week, a 2:1 match by the Gates Foundation, and a $0.60 cost per dose, Rotary will be able to immunize over […]

Pennies are on the way out. Nevertheless, our pennies can still help with polio eradication. It’s time to go through your jars, cans, and couch cushions and bring them to lunch on Wednesday. We will be set up to weigh your pennies, reward you with a “purple pinky*” and announce the results from the podium. […]

The 70th anniversary of the announcement that the Salk polio vaccine was “Safe, effective, and potent” is Saturday, April 12. The announcement was made in Ann Arbor by Thomas Francis of the U-M’s School of Public Health. Here’s a link to the original press release: https://sph.umich.edu/polio/ On Friday, April 11, 2025, the School will be […]

It may be a wee bit after St. Patrick’s Day, but it’s still a “Good Time to Share your Lucky Charm” by giving blood to help those in need. Our brothers and sisters in service at the Kiwanis Club of Ann Arbor are hosting the Red Cross on Friday, March 21 from 8:00 to 2:00. […]

Condensed from history.com. Click here for the full link. On December 9, 1979, a commission of scientists declare smallpox has been eradicated. The disease is the only infectious disease afflicting humans that has officially been eradicated. Something similar to smallpox had ravaged humanity for thousands of years. In 1796, the English scientist Edward Jenner discovered […]

The polio vaccine is “safe, effective, and potent.” With these words on April 12, 1955, Dr. Thomas Francis Jr., director of the Poliomyelitis Vaccine Evaluation Center at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, announced to the world that the Salk polio vaccine was up to 90% effective in preventing paralytic polio. Dr. Francis […]

New (plus not so new and even veteran) Rotarians are invited to attend a district-wide training session at the Brighton Community Center from 9:00am to 1:00pm on Saturday, November 9. Speakers will cover a wide range of valuable topics. The price is right (free) and includes a light breakfast and pizza lunch! Here’s the link […]

Newish (not quite one year) Rotarian Alexis Antracoli was featured on page 27 in the September 2024 issue of the Ann Arbor Observer. Alexis is the Director of the U-M’s Bentley Historical Library. The article notes her undergraduate time at Boston University, PhD from Brandeis, and Master’s Degree from the U-M School of Information (2011) […]

The Rotary Club of Ann Arbor bowling team enjoys camaraderie and bowling on Monday nights from September until April at Station 300 in Saline, Michigan. Bowling has always been a traditional club activity and the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor team has been in existence since the 1940s! While Rotarian bowlers strive to do their […]

Recent figures from RI show a total of 36,530 Rotary Clubs with a total of 1,145,462 Active Rotarians. Thus, the average club has 31 members. The median is 25. At 202, our club ranks in the 99.8 percentile. We are 82nd in the world and 44th in the US. The big shift in recent years […]