Member News

Greetings Ann Arbor Rotarians, As we bid farewell to 2020, or good riddance as the case may be, I would like to take a moment to reflect and look forward.  Our Zoom culture has proven to be quite exceptional.  The Club’s fundamentals have not been lost even though our contact is remote.  We sing we […]

The Rotary Cares Committee, at the suggestion of Past President Rosemarie, prepared gift bags for our member residents at Glacier Hills who have been sequestered since last March. Among the goodies that were assembled were very special Christmas cookies baked by new member Julie Picknell. Julie is a realtor with Reinhart Realtors and every Christmas […]

The Board of Director’s Meeting was held on Wednesday, December 16 via Zoom. Club membership on November 30 was 253 Active members, plus six Honorary members and seven Inactive Emeriti. Attendance for the month’s four meetings was 36%. Average attendance at each meeting was 93 members plus seven others. Our Engagement Ratio for the month […]

On Tuesday, December 15 from 10:00-11:00 a Zoom meeting was held to Celebrate a $15,000 grant to Gleaners Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan from the Pandemic Relief for Detroit Project which was matched by the Kroger Foundation ($15,000). This $30,000 donation will provide 90,000 meals to provide food assistance to the hardest hit areas around Detroit […]

Most of us know Jim Egerdal as one of our tech guys, but did you know that he raced catamarans most of his adult life, and only recently decided that catamaran racing is a younger man’s sport? He traded his catamaran for a 38-foot sailboat and now spends much of his summers exploring the Great […]

As we’re all aware, 2020 has been a challenging year. Our annual Rotary Fights Summer Hunger food drive with Food Gatherers, which takes place each spring, was changed this year to be Rotary Fights Child Hunger, and we’ve kept the drive open since it commenced in early spring. COVID-19 has impacted many in our community, […]

Notes from December 16, 2020 Ann Arbor Rotary Meeting Our zoom meeting began at noon with a half hour of social time. At 12:27, Lori Walters thanked Club members for their outstanding support during the past year. She wished everyone a very happy holiday. President Joanne rang the bell at 12:30, opening the business meeting. […]

President Joanne Pierson rang the bell to open the meeting. Tom Strode played America the Beautiful. Dawn Johnson provided the Inspiration, noting that December is Disease Prevention and Treatment Month. She referenced Rotarians’ resilience and perseverance in its effort to build goodwill and improve the quality of life for others. Don Duquette provided a video featuring […]

…that Mary Avrakotos was born in Egypt and has lived in Syria, South Africa, Burma (Myanmar), and what was Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia? The daughter of a Foreign Service Officer, she attended high school in Paris for three years and Holland for one year. After graduating from NYU, she worked at the Museum of African Art […]

Our very own Past President Collyer Smith was selected to be District Governor for District 6380 for the 2023-24 Rotary year. We cannot imagine a better person for the job. Congratulations! Collyer will be the first DG from our club since since Brymer Williams (Dave William’s father) in 1990-1992. Wyeth Allen, in 1965-1966, was our […]