The meeting was called to order at 12:25 by President Dawn Johnson. After reciting the Four-Way Test, we sang “America the Beautiful.”

Greg Stejskal’s inspiration emphasized the importance of investigative journalism and a free press in democracy. He gave an example of a successful undercover steroid operation in the early 1990s, which was inspired by Bo Schembechler and Bob Gittleson’s concerns about the prevalence of steroids in sports. The operation led to the arrest of a dealer who supplied major league baseball players, and the information was shared with a Senate committee by the Ann Arbor FBI. Despite warnings, Major League Baseball ignored the issue and the information was suppressed, leading to the steroid era.

Following the inspiration, Downs Herold inspired us further by leading us in a rousing rendition of “Hail to the Victors.”

Thank yous and announcements:

• 

  Meeting setup members were thanked and birthdays were announced.

• Bob Buckler and Bonita Singal, Program Committee co-chairs expressed concerns about a recent political speech that violated club guidelines and leading to plans for policy review.
• Dan Romanchik is working on Strategic Plan additions to the newsletter.
• John White provided each table with a calendars of club events.
• President Dawn announced that Agnes Reading is on Hospice and members were encouraged to sign her card.
• Ann Arbor Public Schools need tutors. Please sign up.
• It is time to sign up for Adopt a Highway on September 27th with Leo or Ed.
• Marlena and Collyer promoted the GPO 50/50 raffle.  The goal is $10,000.

GPO: September 15 Mark your calendars and attend!

Peg Talburtt entertained us with a terrific poem highlighting all of the events and auction items. There are two items on presale.

• 2 Bank of America corporate suite tickets for this week’s football game
• Tigers Game for 14 guests Sept 18 Suite #108

Wallace House Center for Journalists: fostering excellence in journalism.

Our speaker was Lynette Clemetson, who discussed the Knight Wallace Fellowships. These fellowships serve as a sabbatical for 18 accomplished journalists annually from across the globe, allowing them to explore various interests such as post-trust society, Dutch-American immigrants and US education, global displacement, the vanishing American dream, sustaining local newsrooms in the Great Lakes,  applying sports podcast strategies to news, and fostering connections for survivors of gender-based violence. The fellowship includes travel opportunities, exposure to diverse speakers, and the chance to build a community. For information on this year’s scholars see: wallacehouse.umich.edu/knight-wallace

She discussed the state of local news in the United States, highlighting the decline in the number of newspapers and the impact on communities, especially in rural and low-income areas. She emphasized the importance of supporting local news infrastructure and public media, which are facing budget cuts and potential closures, and encouraged attendees to talk to others about the value of diverse and reliable news sources for their communities, stressing that the focus should be on meeting current needs rather than preserving outdated models.

Ms Clemetson introduced the recent creation of the Great Lakes Local News Fellowship, funded by a $1 million challenge grant from the Song Foundation and supported by the Joyce Foundation. The fellowship aims to support two journalists annually from different Great Lakes states, connecting them to build a regional network and experiment with new models. She introduced the two inaugural fellows, Elizabeth Jensen from Michigan and Irani Romulo from Illinois, who are focused on serving their communities through local news solutions.

Upcoming Wallace House events:

• September 11 at 5 PM: The 38th Graham Hovey Lecture with NPR’s Andrea Hsu  Wallace House Gardens
• September 17 at 4:30 PM: Pete Buttigieg “On with Kara Swisher” Rackham Auditorium
• October 20 at 4 PM: Karen Hao “Empire of AI” Rackham Auditorium

The meeting was adjourned at 1:30