President Joyce Hunter rang the opening bell at 12:30 pm, and pianist Jody Tull deSalis launched into “America the Beautiful” for our patriotic song.

Jennifer Richards provided our inspiration, reading the story of the little boy and the starfish, reminding us that small, seemingly hopeless, acts can mean a lot to individuals.

Downs Herold then led us in singing a Rotary favorite, “Smile and the World Smiles with you.” Downs warbled the verse of this song as it was sung in the 1970’s, not just the chorus we sing today. We joined the chorus.

Announcements and more announcements

Kate Van Horn announced this week’s birthdays and anniversaries, and President Joyce thanked Barbara Eichmuller for a very successful Happy Hour at the Session Room last Wednesday. Thanks were extended to Cat Meyer, who resigned as our Club Administrator last week. President Joyce also noted that the leadership class on Thursday, February 27, will be on Peace Centers.

Wendy Zielen reported on the many activities of the International Humanitarian Projects committee. These projects, in which we partner with other Rotaries both here and abroad, are saving lives in Sierra Leone, Haiti, Cameroon, Guatemala, Honduras, Uganda and Mexico, to name a few. There are plenty of small tasks that help with this important and inspiring work, and Wendy invites us all to participate. Contact her at wzielen@gmail.com.

Greg Stejskal subbed in for Todd Kephart to announce that our annual Rotary Fights Summer Hunger Food Drive begins next week. This is the second largest food drive for Food Gatherers and helps feed school children when school is out for summer or holidays. There will be collection boxes around town but monetary donations are much more valuable because food banks can purchase food far below retail. Todd and Margaret Kephart will be matching our monetary gifts of more than $25.00. The drive runs from Monday, March 3 until March 17. Donations can be made on the Food Gatherers website – be sure to find the Rotary section. Checks made to Food Gatherers with Summer Hunger Food Drive in the memo line and brought to meetings or mailed to Food Gatherers at 1 Carrot Way, Ann Arbor, 48105-9290. 

Shelley MacMillan invited us to Rotary Night at “Wine, Women and Song” on Wednesday, April 9. This is a special night open only to Rotarians and guests, a dress rehearsal for the rollicking program of vocal music performed by talented, vivacious women that has filled Kerrytown Concert House since the 2004 Inaugural Performance. Preglow begins at 7:00 with wine and the program begins at 7:30. Check out the announcement and flyer published today for further information about getting tickets.

Norma Sarkar announced that nominations are being sought for the Rob Northrup International Humanitarian Award. This award is an official Rotary International award conceived by our member Rob Northrup which is given to a local humanitarian, whether a Rotary member or not, who is nominated by local citizens. The Anti Racism and Peace Committee is accepting nominations through March 12 and presentation is scheduled for April 30. Contact Norma with nominations: nsarkar@umich.edu.

My Heart, Your Heart

Dallas Dort introduced our speaker, Dr. Kim Eagle. Dr. Kim Eagle is the Albion Walter Hewlett Professor of Internal Medicine, Professor of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and Director of the Frankel Cardiovascular Center at the University of Michigan. 

Dr. Eagle discussed the need for pacemakers in low-income nations and the challenges of providing them. He shared the vision of Project My Heart, Your Heart, which aims to recycle pacemakers and provide them to patients in low income countries who cannot afford them. He explained the process of sterilizing and evaluating the devices, and mentioned that they have received over 60,000 used devices from around the country. He also discussed the ongoing clinical trial, which has enrolled 280 patients, with half receiving used pacemakers and the other half receiving new ones. He emphasized the importance of infrastructure for the success of the project and expressed hope that the clinical trial results would encourage more countries to participate. The clinical trial has run for a year with no failures or issues with the recycled pacemakers. He also addressed questions about the battery life of pacemakers, the procedure for implanting them, and the possibility of other countries setting up their own recycling facilities.

President Joyce closed the meeting after we recited the Four Way Test.