On Friday, June 5, John White zoomed in on the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of Lansing. Their club is now just under 200 members and the peak of attendees was 79. On the call was their Executive Director Cathy Andrews and Donna Gardner. Donna was a member of our club in 2001-2002 while working in Ann Arbor. She was sponsored by Beth Fitzsimmons and the late Bob Lyons. The format of their meeting was essentially the same as ours but they routed the early attendees to “Virtual Tables” (Breakout Rooms) for small group conversations. Very nice touch.
The meeting started with a religious invocation and patriotic song followed by various business items, like their work to distribute PPE, an update on their Rotary Park, and what we called a “Legacy Conversation” in which a newer member reported on an in-depth contact with a longtime Rotarian. Quite touching.
They had three speakers, each one from a local tourism-related organization. Their topics were how they were addressing the pandemic and how they plan to recover. Next week’s speaker is Samuel Stanley, President of MSU. Contact John White if you want an invitation. President Stanley’s presentation should be a good one, especially in advance of the one to us by U-M President Mark Schlissel.
Submitted by John White
