Rotary Informer

Petoskey Rotary Noon Club NEWSLETTER

April 13, 2022

1921 – 2021          100 Years of Service Above Self

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Petoskey via Zoom on the world wide web and in-person from here on out if God willing and the creek don’t rise. President Ashley Whitney officiated the meeting. If you did not get the chance to attend, you can watch it from this:  Recording

Pledge/Anthem:  Our very own Howard Richards was back and led us in America the Beautiful

4-Way Test:  Jim Beno

Invocation:  Jeff Wynder

Let your smile change the world
But don’t let the world change your smile

Unknown

Calendar Winners:  Read off by Andrea Coronado

Calendar Winners April 13, 2022

Visiting Rotarians:  None

Guests:  Bart English, Prospective Member

Life Events: 

Birthdays: 

Tim Dykstra

Nick White

Anniversaries:  

Doug Buck – 5 Years

Ashley Whitney – 7 Years

Jeff Jay – 17 Years

Singing/Song:  We sang Take me Out to the Ballgame and Smile. It sure is nice to have Howard back with us.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Roadside Cleanup Chair Needed:  Thank you to Tim Kaufmann for his many years of organizing our club's semi-annual roadside cleanups. Due to recent health challenges, Tim needs to step down from this role. Our club is looking for a new chairperson to take over this activity! Please contact Christian Smith if you are interested.

Spring Roadside Cleanup on April 23:  Reg Smith made a personal appeal to the club -- especially to newer members -- to please sign-up and help with this longstanding club tradition. Twice a year we clean-up a 3-mile stretch along US-131. Our stretch of road is near the border of Charlevoix County, so it is literally the first thing that people see when entering Emmet County. The clean-up this spring will have an earlier 8:00 AM start time. We'll meet in the usual spot at Walloon Lake Marina. Check your email for the signup link or contact Reg Smith if interested in helping.

District Conference:  Thursday, May 12th - Saturday, May 14th.  This year's District 6290 conference will be held in Elk Rapids (with lodging nearby at the Grand Traverse Resort). Registration closes April 30th. Link

Winter Sports Park Fundraising:  Kendall Klingelsmith welcomes anyone who would like to join a Winter Sports Park fundraising committee. The first meeting is next Tuesday, April 19 at 6:00 PM at the Winter Sports Park. Rotary has been a key partner in fundraising for the forthcoming roof over the hockey rink. Next Kendall would like to fundraise for additional hockey rink improvements to complement the new roof. Please contact him if interested. 

Paul Harris Fellowship (PHF) activities:  Dibby Smith announced that Bill Hicklen has received his PHF +8 pin, and Ron Snyder received a PHF +4 pin. She also drew names from the 2017 and 2018 PHF pools -- congrats to Joe Blachy, Jeff Wynder, Neil Bidwell and John Emley! Dibby also reminded us that a PHF match is now in place. If you donate $500 to the Rotary Foundation by June 13, the Rotary Foundation will match your gift, making you eligible for a PHF. Lastly, Dibby will be starting a 2022 PHF pool soon -- stay tuned for details!

Support for Ukraine, Part 1:  Chris Etienne shared that our district is participating alongside 9 others for a matching grant opportunity with the Rotary Foundation. Our district has been connected with a doctor in Chicago who runs the Ukrainian Medical Association of America. He is working with Rotary to coordinate shipment of 60 tons of medical supplies to Poland, to support Ukrainian people. The cost to ship is $250,000 -- so each of the 10 districts (including ours) is applying for a $25,000 grant.

Jump for Polio:   Grand Haven, Michigan June 25, 2022 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. All District 6290 Rotarians plus family and friends are welcome to come to Grand Haven on June 25 to skydive to raise money to fight polio worldwide.

Our very own Betsy Newton has volunteered to jump as skydiving has been on Betsy's 'bucket list' for a long time. Please support her with a donation! If you also wish to join her in jumping, as we can have two jumpers per club in District 6290, please see our club president. We are seeking to procure donations of at least $1,000 per jumper.

Voting in Emmet/Charlevoix County:  Jean Frentz reminded us that on May 3rd you can vote for the Char-EM Career Technical Education. Two questions on the ballot. Please get out and vote!!

Crooked Tree Information:  Crooked Tree is bringing back Swirl and is being catered by Sarah McDonell.

PROGRAM 

Today we were treated to a presentation by our very own Rotarian, Nikki Devitt, who is the President of the Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce. She gave a presentation titled "What does my chamber do?"

The Petoskey Chamber's mission is to help businesses in the Petoskey region succeed while protecting our community's quality of life.  It is the16th largest chamber in Michigan. When you consider that there are 200 chambers in Michigan, our size is quite exceptional given our smaller population! 

Nikki talked about what it's been like operating the Chamber in the time of the pandemic, needing to understand and communicate various executive orders and help businesses adjust

She also described many other programs the Chamber offers -- downtown farmers market, Art in the Park, hospitality training, Leadership Little Traverse, networking events, workshops on making authentic connections and public speaking skills, and so much more!

Nikki then led Ashley Whitney, Christian Smith, Andrea Coronado and Jeff Wynder through a fun improv exercise.

Next Week’s Program:  Jim Harrington - Substance Use Disorder Treatment Agency – Bear River Health

Transfers/Drops:  Angie Snyder has transferred to Ohio Rotary Club.

Two-Week Notification:  Amber Pettit was voted into the Rotary Club of Petoskey on April 12th and this is the first of her two-week notification.