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 […]

Past President Jerry Prescott passed away peacefully on March 21, 2018 at the Avow Center in Naples Florida. Born in Flint Michigan on May 26, 1934, to Gerald James Sr. and Beatrice Smith Prescott. He lived all of his adult life in Ann Arbor. Jerry married Lorna Ball in 1957. Together they raised 4 children; […]

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 […]

Spring Break is over and Spring comes this weekend with Daylight Savings Time.  That means time for Spring Cleaning, and that means time to Rent A Rotaractor to help clean up yards and closets.  Rent monies go towards funding Rotaract projects, especially the Spring Trips that have meant so very much to Rotaractors these last […]

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 TOILET WARRIOR IS COMING! Mark Balla, Rotary Club of Box Hill in Australia, embraces the name Toilet Warrior and he is bringing his message of sanitation to DisCon2018. Mark has spent the last six years advocating for toilets in schools as a means of keeping adolescent girls in school to continue their education. He […]

My Rotary is a collection of stories about the Rotary experience, including the foundations of Rotary and our personal experiences of Rotary. If you have a story that you would like to contribute, email Dan Romanchik. The treasure of fellowship By Dan Romanchik When I first joined our Rotary Club, I was actually kind of […]

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: […]