Rotary Informer

Petoskey Rotary Noon Club NEWSLETTER

March 9, 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:  Joe Blachy

Invocation:  Melissa Thompson

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

For everything there is a season, and ¹a time for every matter under heaven:

²  a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

³  a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

⁴  a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

⁵  a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

⁶  a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

⁷  a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

⁸  a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

Calendar Winners:  Read off by Doug Buck

Calendar Winners March 9, 2022

Visiting Rotarians:  Ed Swart, Speaker Holland, MI

Guests:  Amber Pettit; Prospective Member, Pete Kehoe

Life Events: 

In her role as President,  and as an avid reader, Ashley Whitney would like to start making book recommendations to the club. Her first recommendation is Rachel Brougham's “Widowland: A Collection of Essays on Grief." Ashley hasn't read it yet, but she is keen to support Rachel -- a Petoskey News-Review columnist whose husband was tragically killed in an accident a few years ago.

Rotary Care List:  Please keep Bill Collins and Deanna Klosinski in your thoughts and prayers. Their grandson Luke was placed into hospice care as all treatment options have been exhausted and he is no longer responding to treatment.

Also Betsy and Terry Newton have their great nephew who has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. The family is still awaiting biopsy results for their next treatment options.

Birthdays: 

Chris Etienne

Anniversaries:  

Nikki Devitt – 2 Years

Singing/Song:  We sang Happy Birthday, John Lennon 1975 Give Peace a Chance

ANNOUNCEMENTS

PRCCI Now Accepting Applications to Spring Grant Cycle:  Petoskey Rotary Club Charities Inc. (PRCCI) invites eligible nonprofit organizations to apply for up to $5,000 to support a project. Help spread the word! The application is available on our website and is due by March 15.

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.

Additionally, we could use extra help on the Spaghetti Dinner Committee. As many of you know, Chris Hammond accepted an interim position downstate and will be unable to volunteer with us this year. We'd love someone to step in and take her place -- to help plan the event and secure sponsorships. Please contact Christian Smith if you would be interested in this. The more, the merrier!

Speaking of sponsorships, thank you to all Rotarians who chose to sponsor last year's Spaghetti Dinner. A member of the committee will be contacting you soon to see if you'd be interested in sponsoring again this year too. To all other members:  if you'd like to help sponsor as well, please contact anyone on the committee (Christian Smith, Melissa Thompson, John Emley, Reg Smith or Mike Snyder). This is a great opportunity to align yourself or your business with a well-known community event.

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

Support for Trails Council:  The Rotary Board also approved a $500 donation to Top of Michigan Trails Council to support its annual Festival of Races that occurs over Memorial Day weekend. There is a volunteer component to this as well; we will staff an aid station for runners passing by. Karen Ragland will again spearhead this volunteer work.

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

PROGRAM  Ed Swart – Polio update

Today we were joined by visiting Rotarian, Ed Swart. Ed gave us a refresher on polio, which has been Rotary's signature philanthropic initiative since 1985.

Polio is a viral disease most commonly found in children under the age of 5, typically spread through contaminated water. It attacks the nervous system and can lead to paralysis. Although there is no cure for polio, there is an effective vaccine – finalized in 1955 by Dr. Jonas Salk. An oral polio vaccine was also developed by Albert Sabin in the late 1950’s.

Rotary and our partners have immunized over 2.5 billion children worldwide.

The fight to end polio is led by: Rotary, UNICEF, U.S. Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organization, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and governments around the world.

Rotary builds awareness, fundraises, and encourages governments to support polio eradication efforts. Over 1 million Rotary members have volunteered their time and resources to help end polio. We have a relationship with the Gates Foundation, which matches each Rotary polio donation 2:1.

Our efforts are working: In 1988 there were 350,000 cases in 125 countries. In 2021 there were 5 cases in 2 countries.

Rotary has a new Polio Plus Society – a $100 donation to join. Similar to Paul Harris Fellowships, just a different amount.

Rotary District 6290 will also host another skydiving fundraiser for polio again this year, on June 25, 2022 in Grand Haven.
The district is looking for at least 1 jumper per club, with each jumper raising or otherwise committing at least a $1,000 donation.

Next Week’s Program:  Next Vocational program from our members – Bill Winslow & Joe Blachy talking about real estate; Past/Present/Future