Rotary Informer

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Petoskey. President Christian Smith 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 My Country tis of Thee  

4-Way Test:  Bill Topham   

Invocation:  Jean Frentz

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.  Leo Buscaglia

Calendar Winners:  Read off by Dr. Jeff Leslie  

Calendar Winners February 12, 2025

Visiting Rotarians:  None

Guests:   Stacy Brown, Ian Stanley, Alex Fichera, all Prospective Members though Stacy Brown was inducted into the club today and received her last free lunch. Corey Hebner was our guest speaker today.

Life Events:

Roger Winslow:  

It is with great sadness that we mourn the passing of Roger Winslow. Roger joined the Rotary Club of Petoskey July 2000 though he had been a member of Rotary in Cali-fornia where he resided prior to moving to Michigan. He was very well loved in our club and widely respected in our community. Here is a link for his obituary:

https://www.stonefuneralhomeinc.com/obituary/Roger-Winslow#tributewall

Please keep his wife Kay in your thoughts and prayers as well as the rest of his family.  

Birthdays:

Bill Hicklen

Verne Osterlund

Rocky Karr

Anniversaries:

Craig Stolzenfels – 3 Years

Betsy Newton – 6 Years

Ingrid Flemming – 12 Years, 17 Years in Rotary

Mike Snyder – 17 Years in our Club, 53 Years in Rotary

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

ANNOUNCEMENTS

PRCCI Grant Cycle:  Liz Ahrens announced that the club’s grant cycle is now open, with applications being accepted through the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation. The foundation is managing the application process, and the deadline to apply is March 1, 2025. grants@phsacf.org

Rotary Lunch Charge:  Recently the Club announced an increased fee for Rotary lunches. However, that fee neglected to include sales tax. The correct fee for 2025 is $18.50 per lunch per week.

Membership Satisfaction Survey:  Thank you to all Rotarians who completed the membership satisfaction survey earlier this season. The board of directors is analyzing the data now, with an aim to identify the top three issues raised and to offer potential solutions to those issues. Stay tuned!

Upcoming Rotary Happy Hours:  All Rotarians are invited to gather for drinks and fellowship at two upcoming happy hours:  one on Friday, February 28 from 5:00 - 6:00 PM at Gabriel Farms, and another on Wednesday, March 26 from 5:00 - 6:00 PM at Elder Piper. See you there!

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Today's member spotlight was our very own renaissance man, Howard Richards, who described adventures too numerous to list here! Howard has lived in many places (Lake Zurich, Gaylord, Tucson, Atlanta, etc.) and has held many careers across auto repair, finance, real estate, music, and other sectors - all while making time for sky-diving, motorcycling, and other fun hobbies. Howard's thoughts on Rotary? He said, "This isn't just a club. It's a family."

PROGRAM:  Corey Hebner, Stars Non-Profit

Today we were joined by Community Service Trooper, Corey Hebner, who spoke with us about a nonprofit initiative called S.T.A.R.S. S.T.A.R.S. stands for Straits Technician Alliance for Regional Safety. Their primary objective is to grow the number of technicians skilled at checking child car seat safety and educating caregivers on proper procedure.

Over 65% of child car seats are installed incorrectly, and can lead to soft tissue dam-age in children, or worse.

Trooper Hebner also noted that car seat law is changing effective April 1. Children must be seated backwards till age of 2. The seat must have an internal harness till age 5. Children must use a booster seat till age 8, and must sit in the backseat till age 12.

He suggested visiting safekids.org for more information, and to find a qualified car seat technician near you.

Next Week’s Program:  Adam Damm, Petoskey Robotics