Our meeting was called to order today by President Joyce Hunter followed by our patriotic song, compliments of Rick Ingram.  Dave Keren offered our inspirational message today which was tied to our Rotary 4-way Test motto – specifically Is It the TRUTH?  It’s a simple question but one that is not always easy to answer.  He then read a lovely poem by Penny Evans about truth which included these few lines: ‘each of us brings our own truth’, ‘we seek to address our own truths’, and ‘we should strive to hear and honor other’s truths’.

Marlena Studer offered our musical selection today by leading us in the 1959 song written by Pete Seeger and performed by the Byrds in the ‘60’s – ‘Turn! Turn! Turn! (aka To Everything there is a Season).

Several guests were introduced and welcomed including Marlena’s husband, a visitor from the Michigan Theater, a visitor from Avalon Housing and a visitor from Rotary Ann Arbor North’s club.

Dennis Powell also introduced the President and Vice President of the UM’s Rotaract Club for the 2024-25 academic year:  Claire Jansen who is pre-law, and Carly Peterman who is pre-business.

Thank you to all the helpers for today’s meeting:  Tucker Rossmaessler, Dave Keren, Kathy Waugh, Greg Stejskal, Michael Field, Ingrid Sheldon, Mary Avrakotos, Pattie Katcher and Larry Gray.  One birthday and two anniversaries were announced – Congratulations!

Announcements

• “Monuments”, an exhibit held in Wheeler Park and sponsored by the AADL and A2SummerFest will have an opening reception on Wednesday September 4.  Also look for reminders in our email about Rich Sheridan’s tour of Menlo Innovations being offered to Rotarians on September 26 at 3pm, which a social hour at Ashley’s to follow.
• Golf & Pickleball Outing:  Collyer Smith and Kathy Waugh provided some updates about the 50/50 Raffle, which will benefit our programs that help kids succeed.  We also had a sneak peek at several auction items (football tickets, a stay at a beautiful home in Copper Harbor, etc.) and Kathy explained the process for bidding this year, which is via QR codes.  You’ll use the QR code to place a bid (you’ll need to preregister) and you will then receive a text if you are outbid.  You can then decide to bid again if you wish.  The auction will close at 7pm on the day of the GPO.
• Adopt-a-Highway. Leo Shedden announced the upcoming Adopt-A-Highway scheduled for Sunday, September 22 from 9am – 11:30am.  Email adoptahighway@a2rotary.org if you want to volunteer – and lunch is included!

The Power of Together!

Norman Herbert then introduced our speaker today, Matthew VanBesien, President, University Musical Society.  Matthew has been with UMS since 2017 when he replaced Ken Fischer and is only it’s 7th president!  He’s held several leadership positions prior to UMS, most recently with the New York Philharmonic.

Matthew’s presentation, the UMS Season Preview, provided us with information about this year’s theme – building on the sense of collaboration and being together…The Power of Together! The UMS was founded in 1879 and has several focus areas including strategic planning for the 150th Anniversary and exploring the potential for a specific UMS physical structure, to supplement current UMS venues (Hill Aud, Michigan Theater, etc.).  Matthew went on to highlight the various series planned for this season:  The Choral Union which includes the London and Berlin Philharmonic, the Theater series, the Dance series which includes the Cloud Gate Dance Theater, the Jazz series which includes both Wynton and Branford Marsalis, and finally the Chamber Arts series including the very popular Takacs Quartet.

Our community is lucky to have such a great arts organization in our backyard bringing us together through music and theater!

Our meeting ended with us reciting the 4-Way Test:

Of the things we think, say or do…

• Is it the truth?
• Is it fair to all concerned?
• Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
• Is it beneficial to all concerned?