The October 27, 2021 meeting opened on Zoom & in person with social time. The Zoom time was spent discussing road construction in/around Ann Arbor.
At 12:30, President Susan Froelich started the meeting by ringing the bell. Tom Strode led us in a “My Country Tis of Thee”. Inspiration was provided by Eric Lipson who read the poem by Seamus Heaney “The Cure at Troy”, along with an excerpt from Amanda Gorman’s The Hill We Climb”. Downs Herold led us in “The Victors” accompanied by Tom Strode.
President Froelich welcomed the attendees, new members & guests in attendance; thanked the set-up team, the photographer, reporter, and attendance taker. Birthdays for the week were announced. Lauren Heinonen and Michael Field were given special thanks for their ongoing assistance with the Ann Arbor Rotarian e-newsletter.
James Brown, Rotary Global Grant Scholar from Manchester, UK was introduced by Norma Sarkar (she and Ashish are hosting James). James shared his experience pursuing a U-M law degree focused on international law & human rights and expressed his gratitude for this scholarship opportunity. He will be pursuing a fellowship in refugee law.
Mary Avrakotos introduced new member, Ellen Putney-Moore. Ellen is an Ann Arborite, a former opera singer with a background in finance, luxury goods and nonprofits. She lived in NYC and launched the first-ever Kennel Club retail shop there. She is the Director of Sponsorship & Head of Member Experience at the Michigan Theater Foundation.
New member Miriam Perry was introduced by Yolanda Whiten. Judge Perry grew up in Ann Arbor and was the first Black judge to be appointed to 15th Judicial District Court by Governor Whitmer.
Judge Perry received her BA from Spelman College and received her JD from the U-M Law School. Prior to her appointment, she served as a clinical fellow at the U-M Veterans Legal Clinic. She was an assistant public defender for the Washtenaw County Public Defender’s Office worked as a judicial attorney at the Third Circuit Court of Michigan and then briefly as a law clerk at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Judge Perry is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, Washtenaw County Bar Association, Michigan District Judges Association, Association of Black Judges of Michigan, American Judges Association, Black Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, Women’s Lawyers Association of Michigan, NAACP, Ann Arbor Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the Kiwanis Club.
Joanne Pierson introduced new member, Spencer Symington who is also a Townie. He works at AVI Systems as Senior Account Manager and prior to that was with Full Sail University an entertainment business and performed audio engineering. He has spent the last 15 years in this industry. He’s volunteered for many organizations including St. John’s, where his daughters attend school and St. Francis. He has an interest in helping Rotary with Zoom meetings.
Norma Sarkar reminded members about signing up to attend the District Gala event scheduled on November 9 and announced some great auction items which can be bid on at the event.
The speaker, Marie Klopf, President & CEO of the Ann Arbor Art Center (A2AC) was introduced by President Froelich. She brings over 20 years of business experience to her role at the Ann Arbor Art Center. Marie’s management experience and education are well suited to lead the Art Center to effectively accomplish its mission. In 2005 she founded iSupplyCon where she provided strategic advisory and business development services to a variety of businesses throughout Michigan. She has a Masters in Administration and a Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering.
The presentation focused on the Case for Public Art. The A2AC wrapped an effort recently to connect both of their physical spaces but beyond that to focus on expanding art beyond the walls of the A2AC to make the art experience accessible & equitable for all. The benefits of public art include 1) economic development (draws pedestrians to downtown), 2) talent attraction/retention (public art attracts artists, designer, and entertainers creating important cultural anchors in these neighborhoods & districts, 3) place-making which capitalizes on local community assets to create public spaces that promote health, happiness & well-being.
Since 2019, the A2AC has been leading an initiative through their Art-in-Public Committee to install a concentrated group of public art projects in an emerging and growing section on the west side of downtown. In 2018 before launching the program, the Committee researched what public art exists around the country and how something similar it could be brought to Ann Arbor which the goal to establish a vibrant Arts District in downtown Ann Arbor to support local businesses through increased pedestrian traffic & exposure. The next step was to launch the effort in Spring 2020 and it was decided to move forward even in the midst the pandemic. 19 artists were paid to install ten new murals in the district and one sculpture as a way to pay artists, view art in a socially-distanced manner and to bring the community together to view the beautiful works of art. The mural project was funded by privately funded and well supported. Maps and activity books of the murals can be obtained at the A2AC located at 117 W. Liberty.
A2AC Murals 2.0 is expanding from murals to include alleyway installations, street banners, and other interactive works of public art. If you are interested there are two ways to get involved – reach out to Marie if you own a building in the district and 2) spread the word if you know someone who owns a building and might be interested. The A2AC acts as the facilitator of the mural installation and then the mural becomes the responsibility of the building owner for maintenance and upkeep.
Next week’s speaker is Mike Michelon, Executive Director of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival whose topic is “Reimagine in 2021, Redux in 2022”. Quote of the Day was from Georgia O’Keeffe – “When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not.”
President Froelich adjourned the meeting at 1:30.
Respectfully submitted by,
Jennifer Fike
Photos by Fred Beutler and Barbara Eichmuller
See below some more photos from the meeting:
