Our meeting was called to order at 12:30 as President Mark rang the bell!
Tom Strode’s playing of our National Anthem was a most appropriate Patriotic Song with perfect timing, the day after Election Day!
Barbara Niess-May provided our inspirational message today, but not after a hearty congratulations sent to our member, and now State Senator, Sue Shink! Barbara spoke to how elections can be divisive and have a distracting effect on our country. She was remind of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s ‘six steps’: 1) gather information from a variety of sources, 2) educate those around you about that information, 3) make a personal commitment to be part of the change you want to see, 4) enter good faith negotiations, 5) if those break down, then consider direct action and 6) reconciliation. MLK said “We may have come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” Let us all work to break down misunderstandings and work toward cohesion.
Downs Herold announced birthdays this week: Leo Shedden, Michelle Deatrick, Rick Detweiler. Anniversaries: 1 year with A2Rotary is Eric Macke, 15 years – Bev Siefred and Collyer Smith. Congratulations!
Our musical selection was introduced by Rick Ingram who spoke about a new release of remastered recordings of Barbra Striesand from 1960-62. Ms. Striesand is part of the EGOT ‘club’ (has won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards)! The song played was A Taste of Honey, recorded live in 1962 in New York. Wow, what a voice!
Announcements this week:
John White gave a ‘wrap up’ (!) report of the Send Hunger Packing event held on Nov 5 and shared these numbers:
5,000 packets made equalling 32,000 meals, 200 volunteers working a total of 100 minutes. Supported by 56 donations and 3 local Rotary Clubs. Meals will go to 8 local charities. The 3 local Rotary Clubs arranged for the venue and volunteers; MLive and WDIV provided media coverage. Thanks to: committee members, Kids Coalition Against Hunger, donors, media volunteers and the charities that distribute the packets! Want to see what the event looked like? Visit this Google folder to see photos from Pioneer High School!
Kat Forsyth introduced the club’s newest member, her husband, Lars Gunstrom. Lars, now retired, spent his career working in finance at Ford and other companies.
Susan Froelich announced the Nominating Committee through July 2023: Mark Foster, Ebru Misirli Mansfield, Mark Ouimet and Ingrid Sheldon. The committee presents this slate of officers effective July 2023: Joyce Hunter, President Elect; Kathy Waugh, Secretary; Cyril White, Director of Club Service; Rob Shiff, Director of Community Service; Barbara Niess-May, Director of Youth Development. A nomination from the floor came in for Carlos Valderrama, Treasurer.
New Club Emeritus member: Dave McDowell. In accepting this status, Dave shared some thoughts: he joined in 1986, the Club has evolved from a genteel mens lunch club to a club with women members and is now considered a strong service organization. He was Club President in 1999-2000. He worked to start the annual golf outing which is now a strong community funding opportunity. He enjoys the friendships and camaraderie with Rotary. He ended with this quote: Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen. -Mark Twain
Our scheduled speaker, our District Governor Bala Murthy, had to reschedule. Instead we quickly arranged for our own Norm Herbert and Mark Foster to speak to us about the Ann Arbor Rotary Foundation, with some brief highlights below. More details will be on the website when the full presentation slides are available.
This Foundation was initiated in 1985 and is managed by a Board of Trustees with the goal of supporting humanitarian projects, improving the environment, educational opportunities, to name a few. In the last 15 years, we’ve distributed over $900,000, and the current value of the endowment fund is $2.2 million. Some uses of the fund are $60,000 in community allocation, $13,500 in scholarships to Washtenaw Community College, $17,000 to the Strive program and $28,000 in international humanitarian grants. Other programs who receive funds: RI Polio Plus, Rotaract, Peace Initiative, et al.
Mark Foster spoke specifically about the Investment sub-committee who oversees the foundation account. This endowment is completely separate from the Rotary International Foundation. Our foundation makes a significant contribution to the local community and beyond.
Emily Olson provided some information about a new club initiative called Rotary 1-2-3. You can check out our website for more details, but in short it represents:
- submit your Community Service Assessment of $200 by December 31st
- your voluntary contribution to the A2Rotary Foundation (for local community support)
- your voluntary contribution to Rotary International, to support the larger scale mission in our district and around the world (e.g. Every Rotarian, Every Year (EREY) and Polio Plus)
You can give online and designate funds and you don’t have to do it all at once! You must submit the Community Service Assessment by December 31st and complete the others as it fits your timeline.
To end our meeting, President Mark offered this quote, noting that it was National Fried Chicken Sandwich Day: “I want to live in a world where a chicken can cross the road without its motives being questioned.” – unknown.
Ring the Bell at 1:32pm
Respectfully submitted by Pattie Katcher
See below for more photos of the luncheon meeting (thanks to photographer Mary Steffek Blaske):
