President John rang the Rotary bell, and the crowded Anderson Room rose at once to belt out “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Then Joanne Pierson bounded to the podium to deliver a fabulous Inspiration. “Please be seated, Rotarians,” she began. For some reason a tradition has arisen at our meetings whereby Rotarians react to the way the […]

The Rotary Club of Ann Arbor embraces with love Collyer and Annie Smith, parents of Cam, who passed away unexpectedly last Friday.  While various arrangements are being made to free Collyer from club responsibilities, the most important thing is to let Past President Collyer know that we are all there for him and his wife […]

After Carolyn Grawi announced that she will be leaving her post as executive director of the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living, Ann Arbor Mayor (and Honorary Rotarian) Christopher Taylor honored her with a proclamation at the city council meeting. The Mayor proclaimed Jan. 8 to be known as “Carolyn Grawi Day” in the City […]

The January meeting takes place on Friday the 19th in the Board Conference Room in The Manor of Glacier Hills Senior Living Community (1200 Earhart Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105). Doors open at 9:45am for coffee and cookies, and the meeting runs from 10-11am. The guest speakers are Club member Joanne Pierson, Ph.D. and her […]

The Junior Rotarians from Gabriel Richard High School finally got their chance to join us on Wednesday, January 10. From L to R, they are: Claire McNally, who is planning to study biology and become a research biologist. Andrew Putlock, who has been accepted into both the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Naval […]

Crain’s Detroit Business reports that Gov. Rick Snyder has appointed Ann Arbor Rotarian Omari Rush to chair the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. The 15-member council, appointed by the governor and housed within the Michigan Economic Development Corp., is charged with granting the state arts funding each year to arts and cultural groups […]

Revered Rotarian John Barfield passed away on January 3, just over a month short of his 91st birthday. Although he was a member of the Ypsilanti club, he was well known around our town and recently told his inspiring life story to us at our meeting at Glacier Hills on November 17. Viewing and services […]

Monthly Membership Report to the District: After the departures of Loveleen Bajwa, Thomas Bradshaw, Yulanda Curtis, Joh Kang, Bruce Martin, Linh Song and Rob VanRenterghem, we finished the month of December with 306 Active Rotarians. Average attendance during the month was 36% for the three meetings. Not reported to the district but calculated for club […]

Ride to End polio raises $11.7 million The 2017 Ride to End Polio posted another successful year at El Tour de Tucson (AZ) in November. A team of staff members and Rotary General Secretary John Hewko joined about 120 cyclists from 18 U.S. states and Canadian provinces, Australia, Brazil, Germany, and France. Considering the match […]

Rotary International Annual Report 2016-2017 RI has recently released its Annual Report for the 2016-2017 Rotary Year. You can click here [https://www.rotary.org/en/annual-report-2017] to see entire report but here are a few highlights: Rotary by the numbers: 35,656 Rotary clubs 883 new Rotary clubs 1,202,937 Rotarians worldwide 241,408 estimated Rotaractors (ages 18-30) 508,185 estimated Interactors (ages […]