A good crowd turned out for Wednesday’s lunch meeting, and when President Joyce rang the bell promptly at 12:30 pm, we all rose to sing a patriotic song.

Joyce then called on past president John Ackenhusen to give a short remembrance of Rob Northrop, who recent passed away. We then observed a moment of silence for Rob

Barbara Eichmuller then came to the podium to give the inspiration. Barbara mused on the importance of birthdays. Birthday celebrations are important, she noted, because they are simply celebrations of you being you, nothing more, nothing less.

Accompanied by Jody Tull, Ingrid Sheldon then led us in a rousing rendition of “In the Good Old Summertime.” This was followed by Joyce thanking all those who made the meeting possible and welcoming guests and visiting Rotarians.

The announcements included:

• An event at Bicentennial Park on August 11.
• Installation of Sharna Hatcher, the new Distric 6380 district governor, also on August 11.
• Early bird pricing for the 2024 Golf and Pickleball Outing on September 16.

Friends in Deed

Ken Fischer was then called on to introduce our speaker, Tania James, Executive Director of Friends in Deed. For 40 years, Friends in Deed has worked to help Washtenaw County residents in need by filling in the cracks of assistance offered by other organizations and nonprofits in the community.

Their programs include:

• Direct assistance. Friends in Deed provides direct assistance programs to help people pay utility bills,  one-time prescriptions, monthly storage, work shoes, educational supplies for adult learners, and other things on a case by case basis.
• Furniture. Friends in Deed accepts donations of used furniture and passes it on, for free, to families who need it.
• Transportation. Friends in Deed offer scar repair assistance to families who need a car to get to work and/or to obtain medical treatment for a severe condition.
• Circles. Circles is a program  that aims to move families out of poverty by  developing meaningful relationships across socio-economic lines.

Barbara Niess-May shared her experience as a volunteer with the Circles program. It was clear that she developed a meaningful relationship with her partner in the program and that she was able to make a real difference.

The meeting ended promptly at 1:30 pm.