Rotary Informer 

Petoskey Rotary Noon Club NEWSLETTER 
August 20, 2025
103 Years of Service Above Self 
 

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Petoskey. President Andrea Coronado officiated the meeting. 
If you did not get the chance to attend, you can read about it in this newsletter. 

Pledge/Anthem:  Howard Richards led us in God Bless America

4-Way Test:  Diane Willis

Invocation:  Jean Frentz

7 PLACES TO STAY SILENT AT ALL COSTS
•    Be silent if you don’t know the full story
•    Be silent when you feel too emotional
•    Be silent in the heat of anger
•    Be silent if your words can offend a person
•    Be silent if your words can destroy a friendship
•    Be silent if you can’t talk without yelling
•    Be silent if your silence can save important bonds

The Book of Alchemy – Suleika Jaouad

Calendar Winners:  Read off by Sarah Cunningham

Calendar Winners August 20, 2025 

Visiting Rotarians:  Dick Chambers, Holland, MI; Shirley Love, Cincinnati, OH; Mark Andresky, Charlevoix; Chris Shrader, Fairhope, AL

Guests:  None

Life Events:  Betsy Newton is working tonight and Friday will be her last day of service forever. 

Betsy is calling it quits and is retiring. She has already applied for Medicare in July and they backdated her for Social Security till June and she has been paid for June and July and will receive August’s benefit the third week of September. 

If you have ever been waited on by Betsy, she is available to serve you one last time on Friday. Make your reservations at the Pier. 

Birthdays:  

John Parker

Anniversaries:  

Georgia Abbott – 10 Years

Jeff Wynder – 10 Years

David Finley – 13 Years

Singing/Song:  Howard Richards led us in Happy Birthday and Smile

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Save the Date – Upcoming Rotary Events

Meal Train for Sam Fee and baby:  Rotarian Sam Fee recently welcomed a new baby, and we’d love to help support her and her family in the coming weeks with meals, coffee, and words of encouragement for new parents. They’re limiting gluten, dairy, and processed sugar, so please keep that in mind when planning. This is a casual meal train — simply pick a date on the SignUpGenius list (I’ve set up the next month) and drop Sam a quick note so she knows when to expect you. Instructions are on the sign up sheet. No time to cook? Rotarian Sarah McDonnell of Little Bay Gourmet (231.622.5281) can prepare a hearty, diet-friendly meal for $40 and arrange delivery for an additional $5. No muss, no fuss — and baby and mom are cared for! Sign Up for Sam’s Meal Train

Liz Ahrens – invited club members to her home 9/7, 5-7pm. Brats and beer provided, bring a chair to watch the band Seasonal Road, Georgia’s band. Will also be screening the Lions v. Packers game. 

Tuesday, September 9

Rotary Sunset Cruise – with members of other local Rotary clubs
Boarding: 7:00 PM | Petoskey Bayfront Park Marina
Cruise: 7:30–9:00 PM | $35/person | Cash bar available
Tickets will be added to your next invoice. Cost is $38.00. Guests welcome.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084DA4A92EA0FEC61-57940486-rotary

Billy Duff Event:  We will be having the annual Billy Duff Event on Wednesday, September 24th. Bring a dish to pass and BYOB. We will send out a signup genius for the event.

Roadside Clean-Up – 9/20 – 8:30 – 10am, meet at Legacy Water and Sports Marina near SludgeHammer on US 131.

Wednesday, October 15

Rotary Third Wheel Social at Elder Piper–5:30–7:00
Theme: “Awkwardly Seeking Inclusion” – make a match, meet a friend, or fall in love with Rotary. Members drive.
Saturday, October 25

Film Screening – Join or Die – Time: TBD and will be announced. Crooked Tree Arts Center Theater. Followed by a welcome reception with local service clubs.

Rotary Youth Exchange Conference: – 9/5 – 9/7 at Camp Daggett. Our club has responsibility for Friday dinner (5–8pm) and Saturday lunch (11am–2pm). Reg will send out a signup sheet for light food prep and clean-up. 

The club is looking for a Care and Comfort chairperson.

Bear River Cleanup 8/16

The club is looking for STRIVE pizza buddies. See Andrea Coronado if you are interested.

Calendar Updates:  Calendar Launch Date – pick up your calendars Wednesday Au-gust 27th. Before meeting 11:30 to noon, after meeting 1:00 pm to 1:30 pm. If you are unable to pick up calendars, please arrange for someone else to pick up on your behalf. Contact Karen Ragland to make other arrangements. kmragland@charter.net  734 320 0424

Alzheimer’s Walk – September 27:  Join us in supporting the Alzheimer’s Walk this fall in Pennsylvania Park. Whether you walk, volunteer, sponsor, or donate—every step makes a difference. Connect with Ian Straley to get involved.

Coastal Crawl:  The Coastal Crawl is open–water swim held at Zorn Park in Harbor Springs. The individuals who have put it on for 30 years are retiring and are looking for individuals or organizations to take over the management of the event to keep it going in the future. This was suggested as a possible service opportunity for Rotary. This year, the Coastal Crawl is also looking for donations and volunteers. Contact Patrick O’Brien for more info. 

STRIVE Update:  Strive is looking for pizza sponsors and expanded support this year. Please see Andrea Koch or Georgia Abbott to give a donation. 

Member Spotlight – None, though Terry Newton was presented with a Paul Harris Fellow pin plus 7 which means he has donated $8,000 to the Rotary Foundation. Betsy assured the club that if something unfortunate happened to him that she would finish out his commitment to become a major donor (which requires $10,000). If something happens to Terry, please get Columbo involved to get to the bottom of it. LOL 

PROGRAM:  District Governor Mark Andresky

Mark credits club members Jane Millar, Dave Thomas, and Chris Etienne for their sup-port.

District’s New Action Plan
Past district governor Brianna Scott realized we didn’t have an updated strategic plan - the last one was done in 2019. The district used Vision Facilitation (a planning service available to our clubs). We became a pilot district and used this planning process, engaging a diverse set of members across the district to create a 3-yr plan, which will be available on the website. 

Here are the highlights:

There are 4 consistent priorities for clubs:
•    Increase our impact
•    Expand our reach
•    Expand engagement
•    Increase our ability to adapt

District Goals
– Increased involvement in peace building.

– Increased involvement in youth programs – 25% of clubs in the district don’t have these.

– Membership is down 2%, down to 2200 members in our district. This leads to reduced giving, which impacts the number and scope of local grant projects that can be funded. They have a goal of growing to 2400 members by 2028. They want to create 10 new clubs in that same time - including expanded club options: satellite clubs, companion clubs, e-clubs, etc.

– Provide leadership and succession planning resources for clubs struggling in this area.

– The district currently has 9 clubs (20%) going through the Vision Facilitation process. The goal is to get 50% of our district’s clubs through this program in the next two years.  

– The creation of a district job board. In particular, they are looking for:
•    District treasurer 
•    Board secretary

– Explore how clubs can add the 3-month Rotary Youth Exchange option. 

Rotary Foundation
Mark shared a personal story about how he was a recipient of a Rotary scholarship through the Rotary Foundation to study in France, which was life-changing. That is why he has chosen Rotary as his way to give back!

Next Week’s Program:  Calendar Launch – Karen Ragland

Member Updates:  Sarah Ulrich and Nikki Devitt both resigned from the club because of work pressures. We will miss both of them.