Spring was in the air as Rotarians gathered online and in-person for the March 2 meeting. By the time the meeting got underway, online attendance was up to about 40, and it would eventually hit 60. As usual, discussion in the Zoom portion of the meeting was quite eclectic. Topics included:

• the decline of bowling in Ann Arbor,
• the coming spring (I’m personally predicting an early spring),
• the fortunes of the U-M men’s basketball team,
• traveling, kids, and, of course,
• Rotary!

At 12:28, the meeting was called to order, and via the magic of the internet, Tom Strode played the National Anthem for us, although with some technical difficulties. Eli Savitt then urged us to keep our hopes up, despite the dark clouds hovering above us and Don Duquette reprised his October music video, which depicted our October return to the Anderson Room.

After the announcement of our meeting volunteers and birthdays (Happy Birthday, B Yawson!), we had a presentation by Helen Starman of Food Gatherers. She gave us an overview of Food Gatherers’ programs and then talked about this years’ Rotary Fights Child Hunger food drive. This a really great RCAA project and helps many people throughout Washtenaw County. Please consider donating food or making a donation.

Joanne Peirson then announced the publication of our Annual Report. You can find an electronic version of the report on our website real soon now. Watch the Ann Arbor Rotarian for more information.

Two new members were then introduced. Rosemarie Rowney introduced Michelle Deatrick, while Fred Beutler and Collyer Smith introduced Ademola Osofisan. These two will be great additions to our club.

Marcia Lane then announced that nominations for the Robert S. Northrup Humanitarian Award are now open. This award celebrates the exceptional humanitarian service provided by Ann Arbor Rotarian Robert S. Northrup and is awarded annually to an individual who has demonstrated a long-term sustainable contribution to humanitarian efforts. This year’s nominations must be submitted via email by March 16, 2022 with the word Northrup in the subject to Norma Sarkar, nsarkar@umich.edu.

Eric Lipson then introduced our speaker, Matthew Altruda, who spoke about “The Ins and Outs of Cryptocurrency.” Right off the bat, Altruda made it clear that while he’s a crypto enthusiast, he’s not a financial advisor. Altruda then discussed a raft of futuristic topics, such as Web 3.0, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and how cryptocurrency is supposed to fit into our future. What he had to say was interesting, but I’m not sure that he sold the audience on this brave, new world.

Reporter: Dan Romanchik

Photographer: Fred Beutler