Our President, Joanne Pierson, officially called our meeting to order at 12:30pm with an invitation to sing along as our talented in-house pianist, Tom Strode, played the National Anthem, our Patriotic Song. (Prior to the ringing of the meeting start bell, Lori Walters gave us a brush-up on Zoom Etiquette. We were also reminded to type our names into the chat box to make sure our attendance was recorded). 

We were inspired by a personal story shared by Elizabeth Trinh, who shared her own family’s experience as immigrants being welcomed by neighbors during her childhood. She inspired us to reflect on just how much this simple act of a neighborhood welcome positively impacts the development of a young child, thus nurturing an adult who becomes a grateful and generous member of her community in the future.

Continuing the theme of being good neighbors, Richard Ingram treated us to a video of dear old Mister Rogers singing “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” It was heartwarming to hear the reminder, “Let’s make the most of this beautiful day!”

President Joanne welcomed all attendees and thanked those who served at the meeting, including Lori Walters who managed set up, Dan Romanchik who managed attendance, and Fred Beutler who took photos/video, and Marlena Studer who served as Reporter.

We were reminded of the upcoming BIRTHDAYS of Club members and acknowledged esteemed Guests.

We were notified that Past-President Rosemarie has completed the Annual Report, which is available to members upon request or online here. Also, we were notified that we can purchase the Membership Directory for $10, through Lori Walters.

We were reminded that February is Black History month and encouraged to take time to learn more about African-American history. For those interested in getting involved, there is an upcoming meeting of the Peace Committee on February 17, to which all are invited.

What’s in A NAME? Your newsletter, The Harpoon is soliciting your feedback for a new name! We are kicking off a Re-Name the Harpoon Contest to get your creative juices flowing. Please enter the contest with your suggestions.

We were reminded to Save-the-Date! This year’s Golf and Tennis Outing is now scheduled for September 13th, with Jack Harbaugh as honorary speaker. It promises to be a wonderful event! All are welcome to join the planning committee, which meets February 15.

The Cliff Dochterman Award presentation was made to two deserving Rotarians who have supported scouting. Roy More presented the Award to Robert Ause, MD, a radiation oncologist who has been an avid supporter of scouting. Dr. Tim Johnson presented an Award to Paul Harris fellow, Jim Irwin, who was himself an Eagle Scout and served as President of the BSA Council. We were informed that about a quarter of our Rotary Club members are Eagle Scouts.

Eric Lipson introduced today’s speaker, Tom Crawford, who is the City Administrator for Ann Arbor. Prior to his current appointment, Tom had been the city’s chief financial officer since 2004 and previously worked as a finance manager for Ford Motor Co. He is originally from North Carolina and has children who currently attend Ann Arbor public schools.

In his presentation, Tom Crawford gave us a valuable, inside perspective on how Ann Arbor is managing, operationally, with COVID-19 and its implications for next year’s budget. From the perspective of emergency management, Tom framed his discussion of urgent issues the city has faced over the past year in four categories: 1) a Health Crisis – finding sufficient PPE and providing urgent health care related to COVID-19, 2) Social Unrest due to inequalities and the need to support those exercising the right to free speech, 3) Environmental Crisis and the attending need of the City to address public safety, and 4) an Economic Crisis due to the economic shutdowns associated with the pandemic. Though Ann Arbor benefits from the stabilizing influence of the University of Michigan, the City budget suffered in the early part of the pandemic due to economic losses associated with shutdowns in major areas of revenue. However, with effective strategic management, the City closed the 2020 books on a positive note. Tom discussed the operational challenges of maintaining essential city services such as the Water plant, Police, Fire Protection and emergency response while protecting the workers engaged in those services. He also discussed the efforts made to keep public engagement high by setting up Zoom meetings when open public meetings could no longer be held. Looking forward, the City has put together a strategic plan for Ann Arbor to be a safe, engaged, vibrant, diverse and equitable community with a stable economy and a responsible government that also acts as an environmental steward.

President Joanne closed with a quote by Duke Ellington, “A Problem is a chance for YOU to do your best.”

Our meeting was closed at 1:30pm