President Dawn Johnson rang the Rotary bell to begin our meeting and pianist Jody Tull de Salis accompanied the club as we sang our national anthem. President Dawn then led us in reciting the 4-Way Test. Dennis Burke prepared us for our country’s upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence by encouraging us to read it in its entirety.
Song leader Shelley MacMillan, backed up by Rotarians Susan Shipman, Joanne Pierson and Joe Diederich, led us in a lyric rewrite to Getting to Know You from The King and I. Lyrics close today’s Minutes.
Oodles of guests joined the full house of Rotarians in the Anderson Room, along with 20 Zoomers. President Dawn thanked today’s meeting team: Andre Anderson, Dennis Burke, Debra Bolino, Barbara Eichmuller, Roger Fraser, Larry Gray, Linda Kentes, Fernando Leon, Shelley MacMillan, Mary Steffek Blaske, and Jody Tull de Salis.
Hip-hip hoorays for Ingrid Sheldon and Richard Ingram on their birthdays! And cheers to Nishta Bhatia who celebrates 35 years, and to Ken Fischer who celebrates 38 years, as Rotarians.
With sadness, President Dawn announced that long-time Club member Dr. Suzanne “Sue” Beutler has died. We will recognize her achievements during next week’s Club meeting.
Leo Shedden came to the podium to announce a new Club membership category being introduced. “Corporate” membership will be our fifth type of membership category. It is already employed in other clubs around the United States. It is designed for people who work in non-profit as well as for-profit organizations as well as for those employed in governmental agencies. Developed to enhance active community volunteerism, this new category will also promote leadership opportunities for the individual as well as our Club. Our Rotary board is finalizing the fee structure and the appropriate update to our Bylaws.
Barbara Eichmuller and Joanne Pierson came to the podium to present Mark Ouimet with Rotary’s prestigious Distinguished Service Award. The duo gave a full-court press of accolades to Ann Arbor’s hometown coach / banker / councilman / legislator / commissioner / deacon / elder / multiple Paul Harris Awardee / and 2022-2023 RCAA President. Ouimet recognized his mentors by saying he was “blessed by people who helped him.” He continued by emphasizing “the ability to serve others is truly important.” He concluded by giving a shout-out to “having the right partner, Donna.”
Advancing health to serve Michigan and the world.
Awardee Ouimet introduced today’s speaker, Dr. David Miller, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and CEO of Michigan Medicine. Miller noted that he has strong Ann Arbor roots immediately recognizing many friends and neighbors in the room. Miller received his M.P.H. in epidemiology from the U-M, did his Residency in the U-M’s Urology Department, and joined the U-M faculty in 2008.
Miller’s theme was that his professional goal was to build trust and accountability, and that changes only moves forward with that rate of trust.
Miller began by noting that the five pillars for the U-M and Michigan Medicine are to provide:
- Life-Changing Education.
- Human Health and Well-Being.
- Democratic, Civic, and Global Engagement.
- Energy, Climate Action, Sustainability, and Environmental Equity.
- Advanced Technology.
Within those five pillars house the Medical Center’s commitment to:
- advance health through clinical care, research and education to serve Michigan and the world.
- discoveries that change care which in turn, change lives.
- caring, innovation, inclusion, integrity and teamwork.
Miller opened the Club members eyes to an impressive number of facts about Michigan Medicine including that it:
- encompasses 12 acute-care hospitals.
- includes 48,000 team members.
- provided 900 survival flights this past year.
- provided $4.7 million outpatient visitors last year.
- received $820M in research awards.
Miller’s goal is that the U-M be the most consequential academic health system in the world. Already one of just two public universities who receive top NIH funding, Miller is working to increase access to care in our community and throughout the State of Michigan. The Ypsi Health Center, opening the Kahn Pavilion and an Oakland County medical campus are three examples. Another goal is to increase the education for all U-M medical professionals.
Miller noted that discoveries change care. He cited as an example, the discovery of histotripsy – the groundbreaking non-invasive technology developed at U-M that uses ultrasound waves to break up liver tumors, and the development of a new drug to treat acute myeloid leukemias through gene mutation. [Refer to October 15, 2025 Meeting Minutes for more on histotripsy by Engineering Dean, Dr. Karen Thole.] These two examples provide a strong case for academic research and drug discovery.
He concluded by sharing his philosophy, “I believe in us and committed to community, the State and to discovery.”
