President Dawn Johnson opened today’s meeting with ringing the bell, and Jody Tull de Salis accompanied our club on piano as we sang our National Anthem. Together, 81 Rotarians (10 via Zoom) and six guests, recited the 4-way test.
Linda Wallis shared what has been inspiring, helping her to focus in the moment, and maintaining “pawsitivity” during her first year living in Ann Arbor: her friends in Rotary, and Allie, a six-month-old furry lagotto romagnolo puppy with a nonstop waggy tail.
Acoustic guitarist Matt Boylan shed his banker persona to lead the club in singing Elton John’s Rocket Man.
President Dawn welcomed our distinguished guests and thanked today’s meeting team who included Barb Dawes, Don Deatrick, Michael Field, Glenna Frank Miller, Larry Gray, Fernando Leon, Carolyn Hiatt, Dan Romanchik, Leo Shedden, Mary Steffek Blaske, Mary Sutton, and Jody Tull de Salis.
Birthday cheers to Dave Keren, Ramon Harris and Sam Kottamasu. Rotary huzzahs to Downs Herold celebrating 46 years as a Rotarian, and Carolyn Hiatt 25 years.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
President Dawn accepted a Certificate of Achievement from the Rotary Foundation at the recent Foundation Gala. The Certificate honors our Club’s work to End Polio Now during FY 25.
Mark your calendar for Wine, Women & Song XXIV, Songs in the Keys of Life, taking place at Kerrytown Concert House on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. Tickets to the happiest concert of the year are $40 for the “Rotarians and friends only” performance.
BUSINESS
Tom Millard proved to the Club that wherever you travel in Ann Arbor, you will see evidence of Rotary and Rotarians. Notable past members from the 1946-48 Rotary Directory who have had streets or buildings named after them include: Roscoe Bonisteel, Joseph Bursley, Harry Earhart, Albert Fiegel, Lewis Forsythe, Otto Haisley, Matt Mann, Fred Nielsen, Alexander Ruthven, Nicholas Schreiber, and Harry Towsley.
Rob Shiff summarized this year’s super-successful Send Hunger Packing project. $20,000 was raised and 60,000 meals were made. Rotarians from our Club, Ann Arbor North, Ann Arbor West, Rotaractors and Interactors made up 55 of the 225 volunteers. The Club gave Shiff another round of applause in appreciation for his work in directing and energizing this oh-so-timely and important project.
Mary Steffek Blaske invited Club members to become mentors for the growing U-M Rotaract Club. Currently there are 40 Rotaractors, 26 who have mentors from our Club. There are additional Rotaractors looking for a mentor in this engaging program. Please contact Steffek Blaske by email, call, or at an upcoming Club meeting.
Servant Leadership to Enhance the Brand and Grow the City
Club member Roger Fraser, who was Ann Arbor’s City Administrator 20 years ago, began his introduction with a shout-out to guest Geoff Larcom. Larcom’s dad was Guy Larcom, Jr., Ann Arbor’s first City Administrator from 1956-73, and for whom City Hall was named in 1995.
Fraser then introduced today’s speaker and current City Administrator, Milton Dohoney, Jr. Dohoney’s career spans more than 35 years, including serving as City Manager in Cincinnati, Chief Administrative Officer for the city-county government in Lexington, Kentucky, and performing as Deputy Mayor in Louisville. He joined the City of Ann Arbor as the Interim City Administrator in October of 2021 and became the permanent City Administrator in March of 2022.
“I came here to Ann Arbor by choice,” Dohoney began. “I understood the challenges I would face, and I believed that the gifts I have been given could be applicable here.” Together with the City employees, they have been “embracing the challenges and tackling issues as a team, working forward, and being unapologetically professional.” He is an advocate for making a business case for actions and giving the City employees “a free hand to give them a chance to use their expertise. In so doing, people are happy to work for the City of Ann Arbor.”
He serves as the chief executive for the administration’s workforce that is structured into four major service areas: Community Services, Financial & Administration Services, Public Services, and Safety Services.
In his four years he has been a proponent of elevating Ann Arbor’s brand. He noted we have to create and recognize excellence in our community. He uses storytelling to help communicate with the community he serves, explaining the what’s and why’s of actions are taken. “What makes Ann Arbor’s quality of life, and what sets Ann Arbor apart from other communities.”
Dohoney noted a key challenge as City Administrator is in the different interests of our community that welcomes not only retirees but those launching careers. He noted the challenge of working with 800 employees where there had formerly been 1,000 employees. He continued by noting that the work demands did not shrink, but no one is accepting mediocrity.
With a nod to Stephen Postema in the audience, Dohoney noted that he encourages problem solving as it forges partnerships among the various parties as they get to “yes.” “We partner to advance life in the community and for growth.” He looks beyond technical guidelines to improve City service delivery.
Dohoney also noted that one of his goals is to reduce “stories of failure,” and to have “success in our reservoir.” He introduced Joe Giant from his Economic Development team, (and husband of Club member Kristin Giant). He noted that Joe, like five of the six newly hired City employees, brings a non-government background which helps bring multiple perspectives to the table for open discussion and solutions.
“There is a practicality to my job,” Dohoney stated. “It is 28 square miles, and if we are not going to be annexing, we need to go vertical.” He said that he is apolitical, but as City Administrator he must focus on relevance and relationships with other community organizations. “Downtown is the city’s living room. It matters what it looks like.” Dohoney was candid in stating that our downtown is not clean enough and that there will be a service team to make it cleaner and more inviting to our residents and to visitors.
He noted that there is no crime wave downtown, but acknowledged that we have a housing problem. He said that he is inter-networking with City and regional organizations to create community-focused strategies, and not simply policing.
Dohoney concluded that “I would rather leave here not saying that ‘we tried but couldn’t’, but rather, ‘we tried and we did.’”
After several questions, the Club rose to give Dohoney a well-deserved standing ovation. We are so lucky to have his wisdom, experience, and leadership.
