The Board of Director’s Meeting was held on Wednesday, September 18, 2019 at the United Way Building. The Club’s membership on August 31 was 281 Active members, plus six Honorary members and seven Inactive Emeriti. Attendance for the month’s four meetings was 30%. Average attendance at each meeting was 80 members plus 10 others. The Engagement Ratio for the month was 53%.
President Rosemarie did an outstanding job of guiding the Board through an ambitious agenda on a fabulous September morning. She reported that she will be meeting at the Pioneer Interactors meeting on September 23. She also reminded the Board and membership that the October 2 meeting will be at the Ann Arbor City Club. There are 90 parking spaces so everyone should be able to find a nearby place to park. President-Elect Joanne confirmed that “Purple Pinkie Day” will be on October 23. Our speaker will be Ann Lee Hussey, a Rotarian and polio survivor who has made it her mission to immunize children worldwide with the polio vaccine. You won’t want to miss her inspiring story.
Club Service reported that the Social Committee has organized an Art Exhibition on Friday, September 20 from 6 – 8 pm at the Pierre Paul Art Gallery located at 3252 Washtenaw Avenue. The event is free and will feature original artwork by Shanavas Rahim. Check out his journey from India to Ann Arbor in this week’s Harpoon. Also planned is a New Member Reception Happy Hour on October 16 from 5 – 7 pm.
Club Outreach reported that the Membership Committee has processed five candidates;
Mark Froelich, Paul Izenberg, Ashok Natwa, Monica Swartout-Bebow and Katherine Waugh. They were approved by the Board and will be inducted on October 16 along with the rest of this fall’s class. Members-elects will be wearing a blue ribbon. We ask that you take a moment and make these new members feel welcome by introducing yourself. In addition, the reinstatements of former members Mike James and John Simpkins were approved. It was with regret that the Board accepted the resignation of Corey Hannahs. Past President John Ackenhusen has transferred his membership to the Poulsbo Club in Washington. The RCAA Satellite is now meeting in the Victors Room at the Pretzel Bell. The next meeting is Tuesday, September 25. Social hour is from 5:30 – 6:00 pm and the meeting is from 6:00 – 7:30 pm. All are welcome.
The International Humanitarian Projects Committee announced they are a possible clean water project in Haiti. HANWASH Haiti is a project sponsored by Rotarians whose ultimate objective is to provide clean water and sanitation to all the citizens of Haiti. The Malaria Partners Project, a nonprofit whose purpose is the eventual global eradication of malaria was introduced to the committee. Finally, the Kumasi (Ghana) Pediatric Hearing Loss Global Grant was considered. The Committee agreed to approve global grant contribution to which IHPC had committed.
The Peace Committee in cooperation with Wayne State University Center for Peace & Conflict Studies and the Rotary Clubs of Detroit, Ann Arbor, & Windsor 1918 invite you to Peace in the Streets on Oct. 25-26, 2019. This Cross Border Rotary Peace Symposium will take place in Detroit on Friday, Oct. 25th and in Windsor on Saturday, Oct. 26, with both days filled with engaging speakers on conflict and peace.
The Ad Hoc Membership Committee for Emeritus and Honorary Memberspresented a proposal for revised guidelines for Emeritus Members. In general, it provides that Active Emeritus status will be available to members who are over 80, have at least 20 years of Rotary service and have a total of age and service over 115. The proposal was approved and will be presented in detail to the membership at an upcoming meeting. Our Policy and Procedures document and Bylaws will be amended to reflect these new guidelines.
The Golf and Tennis Outing held on September 9 was a great success! While final numbers are not yet in, profits should exceed the budgeted $55,000 goal. A record 27 golf foursomes registered to play, the highest number ever. More than 235 diners enjoyed the dinner and John Bacon’s engaging talk. The final debrief meeting for the committee is set for October 1. The committee deserves much credit for this outstanding event.
The Community Allocations Committee has new co-chairs, Carolina Typaldos and Rick Price. Both have served on CAC previously and will be strong leaders. The calendar for 2020 grants is: release of the RFP on January 2; applications due February 22, and review will begin March 1 with recommendations in April.
The Veterans Initiative Hiring event will be held on Tuesday, November 5 at Washtenaw Community College, involving many Rotarians as guides. Wednesday, November 13 has been designated by RCAA as Veterans Day and a program highlighting our current military members will be presented. Finally, a Christmas Kit project to provide personal hygiene kits to about 120 Ann Arbor Veterans will happen this December. In addition, our group has received a District 6380 grant to sustain our different programs.
The Youth Achievement and Youth Development areas are back in full swing now that the school year has begun. Members interested in Rotary Readers and Tutors should contact Jim Egerdal at jim.egerdal@att.netto volunteer for this year’s program.
President Rosemarie ended the meeting with a big thank you to all of the volunteers who made this year’s Golf and Tennis Outing such a wonderful success. Mark your calendars now for next year’s event being held on Monday, September 14, 2020.
