President Dawn rang the bell at 12:30 pm. The meeting began by singing “God Bless America” with Rick Ingram on piano. After reciting the Four Way Test, Greg Stejskal inspired us with the background story of the Statue of Liberty and shared an excerpt from the poem by Emma Lazuras about what the Statue of […]

Rotarians – take action! If you read only the headlines it would seem that solar power in America is in decline. But in fact, solar power in the United States is experiencing one of its strongest growth periods ever. In the past quarter, the U.S. installed 11.7 GW (gigawatts, that’s a lot) of new solar […]

On the final day of December, our club had 200 Active Members, according to ClubRunner statistics. Attendance for December’s meetings was 40% (up 4% from last month). Average attendance at each meeting was 81 members and 7 guests. Our Engagement Ratio for the month was 54% (down 7% from last month). We lost one member […]

Contributed by Collyer Smith. On Wednesday, January 7, 2026,  I shared our upcoming collaboration with the University of Michigan Depression Center. The struggles in mental health are not diminishing, if anything, they are increasing. My visit with the West Bloomfield Rotary Club certainly highlighted what so many families are experiencing. It is not just the […]

At 12 noon, President Dawn called the meeting to order, and Rick Ingram led us in our patriotic song.  The membership then proceeded to recite the 4-way test. Wendy Zielen’s brief, but insightful inspirational message came from a philosophy course she took in college. The lesson is a quote attributed to the philosopher Epictetus:  “It’s […]

President Dawn Johnson called the first meeting of the new year to order at 12:25. Michelle Deatrick then spoke about the significance of the month of January in her inspiration. She referenced a poem by W.S. Merwin, highlighting themes of stillness and new beginnings. She encouraged us to look back on past events and ahead […]

K-12 education in the U.S. is truly in a state of crisis. Globally, among the 38 countries in the OECD, the US ranks 13th in reading, 18th in science, and an egregious 37th in math. Michigan is in the bottom 14% of all states, ranked 44th. This is not acceptable. To improve our ranking, there […]

Sakuji Tanaka was the President of Rotary International in 2012-13. In addition to his Rotary Service, he served as the Chairman of the Daika Company and President of the National Household Papers Distribution Association of Japan. When Tanaka was President-Elect, he published “100 Hints on How to Strengthen Rotary Clubs.” Here, I offer ten of those hints. […]

President Dawn  called Ann Arbor Rotary’s final 2025 meeting  to order at 12:25 p.m. 78 members were in attendance in the Anderson Room, along with 11 guests. 11 members attended the meeting via Zoom. Shelly McMillan shared inspirational quotes about the new year, including messages from Oprah Winfrey, JP Morgan, TS. Elliott, and Alfred Lloyd […]

The “One Big Beautiful Bill” (H.R. 1)  introduced significant changes to the U.S. tax code, and these reforms affect both individual and corporate giving incentives. Understanding these changes is crucial for donors looking to maximize their impact and for non-profits seeking to adapt their fundraising strategies. We’ll explore the key provisions, their projected effects, and […]