Petoskey Rotary Noon Club NEWSLETTER

March 16, 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:  Andre Strydom lead us in “America the Beautiful”

4-Way Test:  Dibby Smith

Invocation:  Teri Donaldson

Irish Blessing

May the friendships you make,
Be those which endure,
And all of your grey clouds
Be small ones for sure.
And trusting in Him
To Whom we all pray,
May a song fill your heart,
Every step of the way.

Calendar Winners:  Read off by Jean Frentz

Calendar Winners March 16, 2022

    
    
Prize
Cal#
Calendar Winner
City
Sold By
$50
1023
Phil Goebel
East Jordan
Boyne City
$50
1701
Bethany Odell
Vanderbilt
Petoskey
$50
1221
Amber Hall
Alanson
Petoskey
$50
2134
Motown Digital
Troy
Petoskey
$50
1834
Ryan Brummeler
Traverse City
Petoskey

Visiting Rotarians:  None

Guests:  Dan Polleys, Matt Morton, Prospective Members; Andre Strydom, Gary Fiel

Life Events: 

Ashley's book recommendation:  This week Ashley recommends "The Impossible Climb," which tells the true story of climber Alex Honnold's incredible "free solo" climb up El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. ("Free solo" means a climb done by yourself, with absolutely no climbing equipment or supports!) 

Birthdays: 

Jeff Bodette

Jim Beno

Anniversaries:  

Tim Dykstra – 20 Years

Chris Etienne – 31 Years

Singing/Song:  We sang Happy Birthday and Smile

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Thank you, Andre Strydom:  Many thanks to Andre for playing music with us this winter!! Howard Richards will be back next week.

Rotary Park Fund Now Accepting Grant Applications:  This year we have $88,394 to grant from the Rotary Park Fund. The deadline for nonprofits to apply is March 31. We hope to have volunteers on subcommittees to help vet the applications that come in. Contact Ashley Whitney if interested. We want to vet and approve applications by the May board meeting.

Winter Sports Park Project:  Kendall Klingelsmith is looking to expand upon Rotary's recent fundraising effort (for the roof over the hockey rink) to include additional upgrades to complement the roof. For example, new hockey boards and concrete surrounding the rink. He's going to form a fundraising committee to discuss strategy. Please contact Kendall if you're interested in helping with this.

Spaghetti Dinner:  Save the Date! Our annual spaghetti dinner will take place on Thursday, May 12 from 3:00 - 7:00 PM at the Grand Unity Event Center in Petoskey.

By March 31, please complete this brief survey to indicate whether you will pick up your Spaghetti Dinner tickets in person, or if you want to donate your tickets instead. If we don't hear from you by March 31, we will assume you want your tickets donated.

Ukraine Relief Efforts:  Board contribution of $500 to the disaster relief fund through the Rotary Foundation to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. I would encourage other Rotarians who want to contribute to a strong, reputable organization to support efforts in Ukraine to consider their own donation – link in the bulletin. All donations do count towards Paul Harris recognition as well. Please click the following link for the Disaster Response Fund: Link

Upcoming Rotary happy hour:  Save the date! On Wednesday, April 13 we'll gather from 6:00 - 9:00 PM at the Barrel Back Restaurant in Walloon Lake. Our very own Rotarian Jeff Wynder will be performing music that night alongside fellow musician Pete Kehoe. Word on the street is that Jeff might be part of the second set, so arriving fashionably late would probably be okay.

Chamber of Commerce News:  Chamber presentation on 3/23 at 3 pm at the Genesis center – Ashley will be talking about changes in the insurance industry and things to consider for your insurance protection – personal and business.  Registration: Link

Fundraiser for Ukraine:  Reg Smith announced that the Perry Hotel is hosting a silent auction for local resident/artist Pat McKee. Pat is auctioning a clock that he made with wood from a Great Lakes 19th century shipwreck. It has been one of his most prized possessions! Proceeds from the silent auction will be donated to help Ukraine. The clock, and silent auction instructions, are located in the Perry Hotel lobby.

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, and her husband Terry is committed to pushing her out of the plane. 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 our District 6290, please see our club president. We are seeking to procure donations of at least $1,000 per jumper.

PROGRAM  Today we enjoyed another lovely program organized by the Vocational Service Committee. We were treated to a presentation by Rotarians Joe Blachy and Bill Winslow, both of whom talked about what it is like to work in real estate. They covered the general history of real estate, how people become realtors, what they like about working in this field and what the current real estate market is like.

Bill noted 5 main things that are affecting the local real estate market today:
1) COVID -- during the pandemic, our area became increasingly desirable for those wanting a greater sense of freedom and space.

2) The rising ability to work from home -- even before the pandemic, remote work was on the rise and people could be more intentional about where they choose to live.

3) Low interest rates / previously strong stock market performance / PPP and other COVID relief -- all have flooded the economy with extra cash for people and businesses to burn.

4) Construction costs 

5) Dramatic rise of the real estate investor -- Bill thinks this may scale back once interest rates are raised.

Next Week’s Program:  Lisa Hoyt from the Petoskey Chamber talking about Connecting Women in Business - Go Grants for Girls