President Rosemarie Rowney called our meeting to order at 12:35pm with an invitation to sing along as Tom Strode played our Patriotic Song, God Bless America. Lauren Heinonen gave us a quick introduction to Zoom etiquette and gave us a refresher on how to use it effectively.
An inspirational quote was offered by Sarah Paspal-Jasinski, drawing on her experience in non-profit development. She reminded us of the significance of every single human act of kindness in creating and building community.
We were treated to a video clip from the International Fellowship of Rotary Musicians, led by John Ackenhusen, in which the song “It’s a Great Day to Be a Rotarian” was sung by vocalists from all over the world. You can replay this clip by clicking here.
President Rosemarie then thanked those who served at the meeting, including Lauren Heinonen, John White, Sara Maddock, Jim Egerdal and Lori Walters who managed set up, Rob Shiff who managed attendance, Marlena Studer who served as Reporter, Fred Beutler who took photos/video.
We were reminded of the upcoming BIRTHDAYS of Club members and acknowledged esteemed Guests.
Norma Sarkar shared the successful results of the Pandemic Response Fund and Disaster Response Committee Grants. She reported that the Pandemic Response Fund Balance (now $52,551) has achieved a Dollar-for-Dollar Match status. Every dollar donated will now be matched! Your contributions can be accepted up through May 31st. Fund disbursements have been made to SOS Food Pantry (providing groceries to 1,302 vulnerable individuals), Packard Health (providing 105 Home BP monitoring units for those who are low income and medically vulnerable, Peace Neighborhood Center (providing vulnerable Youth with online activities), and the Corner Health Center (providing Summer Nutrition Program for 50 clients). Dan Lewan, (Chair) and all of the Disaster Response Committee members deserve our appreciation and support for their valuable contributions to our local community in this urgent time of need.
Peg Talburtt introduced our speaker, “Skip” Campbell, MD, former Chief Medical Officer of UM Health System and Professor Emeritus of the Medical School reminding us of his many accolades as a Professor at the University of Michigan in Clinical Care, Research, Education and Administrative Leadership. In addition, he is an member of the Ann Arbor community and a loving husband, father and grandfather.
Skip presented the gripping story of his father’s experience as a young surgeon during WWII, A Young Surgeon’s Experience on D-DAY. Through sharing notes from his father’s journals, illustrated maps, photos and video footage, Skip reconstructed for us what it was like to be a surgeon (or a soldier) on that fateful D-Day (Death day) of June 6, 1944. The Invasion of Normandy has often been cited as a horrific slaughter, in which 34,000 troops were loaded onto boats, taken across the sea and off-loaded at Omaha beach directly into the onslaught of German fortification. Tragically, there were 2,400 who died in one day (1,200 in the first hour. Skip’s father, Dr. Darrell Campbell, set up a makeshift hospital in a tent they put up near the battle-site and worked under the threat of gas attacks and bombardment. We are reminded on this Memorial Day week of our gratitude for the sacrifices of veterans like Dr. Campbell.
President Rosemarie closed with a quote from Tom Brokaw’s book, The Greatest Generation, “There on the beaches of Normandy I began to reflect on the wonders of these ordinary people whose lives were laced with the markings of greatness.”
Our meeting was closed at 1:30pm
