President Susan rang the bell at 12:28 pm, and Tom Strode treated us to the National Anthem.
Today’s inspiration was given by Daphne Schalbetter, who quoted from a book that contained messages from children to a U.S. senator with concerns about the environment. Daphne was followed by Marlena Studer, who led us in “What a Wonderful World.”
After introducing the meeting volunteers and announcing the birthdays, Tom Millard humorously invited Rotarians to join his roadway warriors at 9 am on Saturday, April 23, to clean up the shoulders of I-94. More info here.
Next, we continued our celebration of our club’s women presidents. First up was Beth Fitzsimmons, out 99th president. She recounted her history with Rotary, including her stint with the Rotary Readers and her attempt to start a community Rotaract club here in Ann Arbor.
Next, Karen Kerry (president #103) and Joanne Pierson (president #109) combined their turn at the podium. In quiz show fashion, they asked those assembled in the Anderson Room six humorous trivia questions. Those who got all six correct or five correct won fabulous prizes.
Don Duquette then introduced our speaker, Dr. Missy Stults, Ann Arbor’s Sustainability and Innovation Director. In this role, she works with all city operations, residents, businesses, the University of Michigan, nonprofits, and others to make Ann Arbor one of the most sustainable and equitable cities in America.
She explained to us A2Zero, Ann Arbor’s plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. “It’s all hands on deck,” Missy said, as she talked about the six strategies and 44 actions that the city has to achieve this goal. These include powering our electrical grid with renewable energy, beneficial electrification, increasing energy efficiency, mobility, and resilience.
For example, as far as powering our city with renewable energy, Stults described the solar energy projects that the city is currently pursuing. She also noted that groups in Ann Arbor have begun exploring the possibility of setting up a city-owned electrical utility. As far as beneficial electrification goes, she noted that she’s working with contractors to teach them about electric appliances and that the city just purchased two electric garbage trucks.
Stults outlined two upcoming projects:
- Ann Arbor’s next fire station is planned to be the first net zero fire station east of the Mississippi River.
- She’s started a program that will attempt to turn the Bryant neighborhood into the city’s first decarbonized neighborhood in the Midwest.
Stults ended her talk by describing opportunities for more community involvement. She outlined several possibilities, including a tree-planting program, something our club certainly has some experience with. For more information on the A2ZERO program, download the presentation slides, go to A2ZERO web page, or contact Stults directly by emailing mstults@a2gov.org.
Notes by Dan Romanchik
Photography by Fred Beutler
