Rotary Informer

Petoskey Rotary Noon Club NEWSLETTER
May 28, 2025
103 Years of Service Above Self

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 God Bless America

4-Way Test:  Gary Baxter

Invocation:  Becky Philipp-Kranig

"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change" Wayne Dyer

Calendar Winners:  Read off by Rocky Karr

Calendar Winners May 28, 2025

Visiting Rotarians:  Gary Voison, Cheboygan

Guests:  Vanessa Chavez, Joe Dibley, Matt Landry, Kari Landry

Life Events:  Normally, the Cross family are the ones who are sharing their time and resources with others, but right now, they need some help from us. After an early May surgery to correct a Chiari malformation in one of their children, an emergency surgery was needed last week to relieve swelling in the brain. This will mean more time in the hospital and time at home for Steve and Amy, caring for their child. In the midst of all of this, Steve was terminated from his job this month. Please consider giving to this generous and loving family, and please pray for complete healing. Thank you! Please click on the GoFundMe Link to lend a hand for our fellow Rotarian:  https://www.gofundme.com/f/please-help-the-cross-family

Cross Update:  Hello, friends. I wanted to share an update with all of you. First and foremost, Dorothea is healing. Praise God! It is not at the pace we would like it to go and we are being reminded every day that we are not the ones in charge. Oh, how humbling that is. We are taking a couple steps forward most days and a step back-ward every so often. We are trending positive and that is all we can really ask for, I guess. As much as we would like to share specifics of the medical journey, we are aware that this is Dorothea’s life and we need to respect her privacy as best we can, amid a very public life event. We normally try to be pretty quiet about our personal life and this is definitely not something we can be quiet about. “The tortoise wins the race.” Second, the love and support that has been poured out on our little family by this town is something that I have never witnessed before. I have been a part of helping many families over the years get through tough times but the groundswell of com-passion and care that our family has been shown is all time. Thank you, all. Our house is clean; our fridge is full. All because of the love of this incredible place. We are having delicious meals dropped off by not only loving people but also great cooks! They have been delicious and nutritious. Thank you. I have never been prouder to say I am from Petoskey. This town held us when we couldn’t stand and I will never forget it. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I don’t think I’ll ever stop saying that. Amy and I were able to switch spots yesterday. She is in GR and I’m back in P-Town. Not surprising, Dorothea had her best day today and I think the only thing that changed was Mom’s presence. I think they both are so happy to be back together. A huge thank you to our friend Amelie for transporting us. I know we couldn’t have done that without you. In one of my favorite movies, Wayne’s World, there’s a scene where two best friends fall over when they meet their rock ‘n’ roll idol and exclaim “We’re not worthy! We’re not worthy!” That is exactly how I feel. We are not worthy of the love and sup-port that we’ve been shown and I continue to echo the words “thank you.” It’s all I can say. Thank you. Each of you. One amazing thing has been the gift of music. It has been incredibly healing for Dorothea. We are surrounded by the best doctors and nurses in the country - with state-of-the-art medicine and machines everywhere - and what heals her the most is the music. Dorothea has her own favorite songs that I had no choice but to listen to, too. We were stuck in a hospital room and she had control of the music. I was very reluctant. I have to tell you, though, these new artists are in-credible storytellers and healers with their words and music. They really have some-thing to say. Noah Kahan, Grace Abrams, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lizzy McAlpine are all artists that will now be constantly in my Spotify playlist! Dorothea has them on constant loop and I’ve grown to love it. Luckily, we also share a love for Paul Simon, Tom Petty, Jack Johnson, The Lumineers, and Bon Iver and I have snuck them in the mix, too. One of my favorite artists is Greg Brown and in his song Spring Wind he says, “My friends are getting older, so I guess I must be, too. Without their love and kindness, I don’t know what I’d do.” That really sits with my soul. Without your love and kindness, I don’t know what I’d do. Thank you. One question we keep getting is how long will we be down there. The short and tough answer is we don’t know. We have booked a hotel for another two weeks and that probably won’t be long enough. I tell the kids that this world is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond. I’ve got four kids looking at me with big eyes wondering how are we going to respond. While I’m not totally sure, just yet, we’re still standing. In the prescient words of Cypress Hill, “We ain’t going out like that.” Dodo is missing her 8th grade Band trip to Chicago but her friends FaceTimed her while they were on the bus down and passed the phone around the whole bus. Everyone got to say hello. She absolutely loved it and hopes everyone is having so much fun. I told Dodo that when she is ready, we will plan our own Chicago trip. What fun to have something to look forward to. Our hearts our so full. We look forward to celebrating Dodo’s homecoming with everyone. Did I say thank you? With my utmost gratitude, Steve.

Betsy Newton:  After Noon Rotary, Terry took his lovely bride down to a local bike shop to see about purchasing a pedal assist bicycle so she can keep up with him when she retires in July. When they first met 40 years ago, they did many 100-mile bicycle rides together. When they moved here in 1990, they did frequent metric centuries and Betsy was a really good rider. They took off for Harbor Springs and she was thrilled with the bike, all the way to rounding a corner, hitting a patch of sand and going down hard. An ambulance was called as it was pretty obvious that her ankle was broken. We spent much of the evening in the emergency room. They tried to set her ankle initially but it was unsuccessful because it was too painful so they set it under sedation. She is in room 255 at McLaren and she will have surgery today to stabilize her ankle with plates and screws. 

Update: Betsy had her surgery and it was done by Dr. Kennedy who had previously worked on the same foot for her arthritis. He said it was a nasty fracture, broke in three places but he fixed it well. She is resting comfortably and will probably come home on Saturday.

Birthdays:

Ashley DeCarteret

Gary Fedus

Anniversaries:

None

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

ANNOUNCEMENTS

A big thank you to the many volunteers who staffed the Rotary Aid Station at the marathon this past weekend. Your energy and enthusiasm were on full display—and deeply appreciated by the runners!

Looking ahead, help is needed for Petoskey’s 4th of July celebration. Sunrise Rotary is spearheading the event, and there are lots of ways to get involved—volunteering, donating, or sponsoring. Join the fun and show your red, white, and blue! To do so click on the following link to sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E48AAAD23ABFFCE9-56838377-2025#/

Community Service:  Doug Buck shared an update: the remaining funds from our Community Service Fund have been allocated to two great causes. Breanna’s Ride will receive $1,000 and Pedal with a Purpose will receive $2,000 to continue their inspiring work.

Karen Ragland:  2026 Rotary Calendars are coming! Each member is responsible for selling 10 calendars at $25 each, or may opt out with a $200 contribution. We will be reducing the weekly winners to three instead of five to make this program successful.

Save the Date:  Our next Rotary social will take place on Sunday, June 30 at the home of Jane Millar in Bay View.

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.

Member Spotlight – None today

PROGRAM:  Deanna Sirkot, Akropolis Quintet

We were treated to an exciting and dynamic musical performance by the Akropolis Reed Quintet, including Petoskey’s own Tim Gocklin. This GRAMMY Award-winning ensemble blends innovation with artistry, bringing new works to life with joy and intensity.
Celebrating their 16th season, Akropolis is a bold force in the chamber music world, made up of five reed players who’ve stuck together since their founding in 2009. Known for adventurous collaborations and high-energy performances, the group has earned accolades from BBC Music Magazine, Gramophone, and The Wire, and each of their last three albums has topped the Billboard Classical Charts. Akropolis performs around the globe and makes a powerful local impact through educational residencies in Detroit and their Akropolis Chamber Music Institute, held right here in Petoskey.
Their performance left the room buzzing—and reminded us all how lucky we are to have world-class music right in our backyard.

Next Week’s Program Julie Joles, Camp Daggett