Club News

President John rang the bell, and after belting out a Rotary rendition of “God Bless America,” Eric Lipson provided the day’s inspiration. He asked, “What inspires me?” and answered, “The people in this room inspire me, Rotary inspires me, both words and deeds can be inspirational, acts of courage and bravery and decency. And, yes […]

The real opening of the luncheon meeting occurred during the piano prelude – President John killed it. Your reporter can’t cite the music performed, only say that it was a beautiful, continuous ‘wall of sound’; the Rotary equivalent of the B-side of Abbey Road. Then, jumping from bench to podium in a second, John announced, […]

The intent of the Survey Committee is to create, distribute, collect, tabulate and report a survey of all the members of the club annually. Last year, 2017, the Board recommended that the annual Rotary survey be revamped to focus more on member engagement. Based on feedback from Board members and President John, the Committee announced […]

Harpoon Notes for March 7, 2018 By Ed Hoffman, photos by Fred Beutler President John struck the Rotary bell gently as Deanna’s superb piano prelude luffed in our consciousness like regatta pennants at sunset. All rose to sing a full-throated “My Country, Tis of Thee” with a gravitas worthy of our speaker and her subject. […]

The average college student eagerly awaits spring break. They plan for weeks and dream of warm weather, partying, and relaxing on white sandy beaches. For 25 members of the U of M Rotaract club, while the weather will be warm, building bathrooms and removing invasive species will be the tasks at hand. 15 students traveled […]

By Carol Sewell The Survey Committee reviewed the results of the February Flash Survey, which consisted of two questions: What skills or interests would you like to develop or share more through Rotary Which of the following committees are you interested in serving on? 75 members responded to question #1, and the top skills/interests were: […]

The Rotary sponsored Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) tax clinic is in full swing.  The month of January was spent training our volunteers with sessions on Thursday nights and Saturdays.  We operate primarily out of the Washtenaw County United Way office on Platt Road, but also do taxes at MI Works in Ypsilanti and have […]

The Foundation Development Committee seeks to increase the Club’s permanent endowment fund by promoting annual contributions or pledges, and encouraging bequests and memorial gifts. Annual distributions from the Foundation portfolio have risen to $68,571, increased from $64,119 in FY2017, and averaging a 6.7% annual increase over the past 13 years. Here is a comparison of […]

ByAshish Sarkar, Past President During my recent trip to India, I visited two Global Grant (GG) project sites.  These projects are co-sponsored jointly by several clubs in District 6380 and Detroit Rotary Club. The first project is in Hardaspur, a village near Pune, in Southern India. The goal is to enhance the neo-natal care unit […]

The Board of Director’s Meeting was held Wednesday, February 21, 2017 at the United Way Building. President John called the meeting to order and motions were made and approved to accept the Agenda and December Minutes. The Club’s membership on January 31 was 306 Active Members plus six Honorary members and seven Inactive Emeriti. The […]