Rotary Informer

Petoskey Rotary Noon Club NEWSLETTER

June 23, 2021

1921 – 2021          100 Years of Service Above Self

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:  We recited the Pledge of Allegiance

4-Way Test:  Stafford Smith

Invocation:  Jeff Wynder

"I have found that if you love life, life will love you back"

Arthur Rubinstein

Calendar Winners:  Posted by Terry Newton

Calendar Winners June 23, 2021

Visiting Rotarians:  None

Guests:  Erping Zhang, Speaker; Chelsea Chen, Speaker, Roger Hsiao

Life Events:  None

Rotary Care List:  Sophie Cranney needs assistance getting to/from appointments as she is still going through recovery from her accident last year. These are three times per week and can be coordinated with Angie Cranney. Please get in touch with her and contact Karen Ragland for details.

Birthdays: 

Greg Somers

Anniversaries: 

Nick Liebler – 3 Years

Singing/Song:  No songs today

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Upcoming important date changes:

Rotary Program Schedule:  No Rotary meeting on June 30th.

Officer Exchange Dinner: 7/1/21 at the Perry – Please let Terry know before Thursday that you are attending and your meal selection as the count has to go in. 

In-Person Meetings:  In-person Rotary meetings beginning 7/7/21 at the Perry Hotel. Zoom Option will be available.

Board of Directors Update:  With the departure of Stuart Fenton, the Board of Directors had to find someone to complete Stu's term on the board. Ashley announced that John Emley has graciously agreed to do so. Thank you for your leadership, John!!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! Also, our PR folks would love to help tell Acts of Service stories. Please consider submitting a photo of any group service projects, or a photo of the result of your good deed if appropriate. Thank you!

Walt Byers:  The Crop Walk is Saturday, June 26 at 8:30 am at Bay View. Enjoy a 3 mile walk through the grounds while raising money for Manna and local food pantries.  Our club donated $500 to the Crop Walk.

Melissa Thompson:  June is Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month - 2 FREE programs June 29: One at the BVA Campus Club at 6:00 pm and another Dementia Risk amongst Military Veterans at 5:30 pm online at: Link

Past President Centennial Updates:  Starting now, over the next 4 months, 19 past Presidents of our club will take turns giving a historical overview of club happenings in 5-year periods (until we reach 100 years). They will make remarks on what was happening in the world, in Petoskey, and in our club. Bill Graham , 68th President - years served 1989-1990. Bill talked about what happened between 1935-1939.

4th of July Festivities: 

Join the Fun!  Volunteer for Petoskey’s Fourth!

To have a successful Fourth of July celebration in Petoskey, we need two things: Money and Volunteers. The fund-raising is off to a great start thanks to the generous support from the community. Now it’s time to fill the many volunteer slots. It’s fun to volunteer and it gives you the satisfaction that you contributed to our celebration that is designed to be for the community, by the community.

Volunteers are needed for:

• Parade Line-up

• Set up at Bayfront Park

• Perimeter Security for fireworks

• Information Booth

• Bucket Brigade (Fund Raising)*

• Clean up Monday Morning

To volunteer, go to our Sign-up Genius form at: Fourth of July Volunteer Sign Up

*For security reasons, volunteering for the Bucket Brigade is limited to service club members only.  To be in the Bucket Brigade and help raise funds for Petoskey’s Fourth, use this Sign-Up Genius Form: Fourth of July Bucket Brigade Sign Up

Thanks for volunteering.  We look forward to seeing you at Petoskey’s Fourth.  For more details, visit www.petoskeyfourth.org.

4th of July Parade:  Board discussed having a parade float in the fourth of July parade this year (or at least, decorate a cool-looking car) – who would like to participate? Who would like to coordinate it? If you are interested in helping with this, please contact Ashley Whitney.

Possible Disc Golf Match Against Kiwanis:  Let Ashley Whitney know if you are interested in helping.

Music Committee:  Music committee getting back together. Georgia, Melissa & Howard.

PROGRAM  Erping Zhang: U.S. China Relations

Today we were joined by Erping Zhang from the Association for East Asian Studies, who gave a fascinating presentation on U.S. - China relations.

Erping described current issues affecting our diplomacy:

• China's lack of transparency around the origins of COVID-19, and previously other pandemics (SARS in 2003)

• Intellectual property theft

• Cyber warfare and election meddling

• Currency exchange manipulation

• Human rights violations (ex: forced organ harvesting)

Erping said there are two schools of thought on US-China policy:

"Panda huggers" -- people who embrace constructive engagement with China, see China as an authoritarian competitor instead of a totalitarian threat.

"Dragon slayers" -- people who see the expansion of China as a threat to the free world and humanity at large.

Erping noted that it is important to distinguish between the Chinese people and the Chinese government/regime. His remarks were in reference to the latter, not the former.

To learn more about these issues, check out Erping's Youtube channel called "Tea with Erping."

Next Week’s Program:  No Meeting on 6/30 – Officer Exchange dinner 7/1/21.