Rotary Informer

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Petoskey via Zoom on the world wide web. Ashley Whitney, President officiated the meeting. If you did not get the chance to attend, you can watch it from this:  Recording

Pledge/Anthem:  Howard Richards Played “God Bless America”

4-Way Test:  Eric Leister

Invocation:  Lisa Hammond

May We Be Grateful

We are blessed today, with enough to eat,

May we be grateful.

We are blessed with clothes to wear,

May we be grateful.

We are blessed with shelter from the elements,

May we be grateful.

We are very well blessed today.

May we remember that there are many people

who do not have these blessings.

May we be grateful enough to help others when we can.

Calendar Winners:  Read off by Bob Metzger

Calendar Winners April 7, 2021

Visiting Rotarians:  Jon Catlin, District Governor

Guests:  

Life Events:

Rotary Care List:

Please keep Jay Neff and family in your thoughts. Jay's mother, Maureen Neff-Mayne, recently passed away.

Birthdays: 

Jane Millar

Tim Dykstra

Stuart Fenton

Anniversaries:   

Ric Loyd – 16 Years

John Parker – 60 Years

Stafford Smith – 60 Years

Singing/Song:  Howard Richards led us in singing Smile.

PERSONAL UPDATES

Reg Smith announced that there will be a Memorial Service for longtime Perry Hotel and Rotary server, Dale Gustafson, on Saturday, April 17th at the Perry Hotel at Noon.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Club Survey on Returning to In-Person Meetings:  Rotary's Board of Directors will hold their monthly meeting next Tuesday, April 13. One item on their agenda is to discuss whether or not Rotary should resume in-person meetings this summer. Click here to complete a survey by Monday, April 12 to help the Board understand how members feel about that possibility. 

100 Acts of Service:  This year our club aspires to complete 100 Acts of Service for our 100 years. If you did something to serve others in the last week, please be sure to record it in our online survey -- click here. Thank you!

Beach Cleanup:  On Saturday, April 24 at 10:00 AM our club will participate with other service clubs in a beach cleanup at Petoskey State Park.  Please contact Jeff Wynder if you have any questions.

Spaghetti Dinner:  On April 22 we will hold our annual spaghetti dinner at the Grand Unity Events Center (1106 Charlevoix Ave., Petoskey). We will be offering carryout service only, from 3:00 - 7:00 PM. Thanks to those who have signed up for a volunteer shift so far! We still have a few slots available. Contact Christian Smith with questions.

Petoskey Rotary Club Charities Inc.:  PRCCI, the charitable arm of our club, reviewed 17 grant applications from local nonprofits. The applicants sought $67,000 in support. PRCCI had approximately $20,000 to grant and issued the following awards:

$5000 to Northwest Michigan Habitat for Humanity

$999 to Northern Community Mediation

$2000 to Harbor Springs Festival of the Book

$1600 to Spartan Writing Camp

$2000 to Top of Michigan Trails Council

$4780 to Camp Daggett

$1600 to Little Traverse Bay Ferry Foundation

$4000 to Emmanuel Episcopal Church (for a mentorship program at Petoskey District Library)

$450 to Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra

$21,829 awarded in total

PROGRAM

Today's program was led by our very own Rotarian, Stu Fenton, about what it's like to be a prosecutor.

Stu has been a prosecutor for over 30 years, having worked in both Kalamazoo and Emmet Counties.  He specializes in drug & sex crimes. Stu has also successfully tried over 30 homicide cases in his career.

Stu believes prosecution to be one of the very highest callings in law. It affects people's lives in a very real way. Prosecution makes a difference and delivers justice in a tangible way.

In Emmet County, there are roughly 300 felony cases per year, with varying counts per case. There are roughly 1,000 misdemeanors per year. The most common crimes in Emmet County are domestic violence, drunk driving, drug possession, criminal sexual conduct, and financial embezzlement/fraud.

Stu then described different processes involved in prosecution -- from charging people with crimes, to preliminary court hearings, to trials. Thank you, Stu, for telling us more about your work!

Next Week’s Program:  Centennial Committee – Camp Daggett involvement & history

Parting Shots:  Howard Richards closed with 1954 Tom Lehrer “My Home Town”