Rotary Informer 

Petoskey Rotary Noon Club NEWSLETTER 
October 15, 2025
103 Years of Service Above Self 
 

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Petoskey. President Andrea Coronado officiated this week’s 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 America the Beautiful

4-Way Test:  Jim Erhart

Invocation:  Neil Bidwell

"Let us not be surprised when we have to face difficulties. When the wind blows hard on a tree, the roots stretch and grow stronger. Let it be so with us." Amy Carmichael

Calendar Winners:  Read off by Georgia Abbott

Calendar Winners October 15, 2025 

Visiting Rotarians:  None

Guests:  Jesse Place, PM, Peg Emley, Gary & Sheila Cunningham

Life Events:  Joe Blachy shared the sad news of the passing of longtime Rotarian Roy Longworth. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 18, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Petoskey, with visitation beginning at 9:00 a.m. Interment will follow at Greenwood Cemetery.

Birthdays:  

Jeffrey Leslie

Richard Perlberg

Elaine Keiser

Becky Philipp-Kranig

Anniversaries:  

John Emley – 11 Years

Lyle Peck – 37 Years

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

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Can you help us "Build Good Will and Better Friendships"? Help our club recognize and support the challenges and achievements of each member. Our club's Care and Concern Committee reaches out to Rotarians who need encouragement and support, and to those whose accomplishments should be celebrated and shared. If you know of a club member (past or present) who would benefit from knowing that we support them, please let Chris Hammond know. Her email is christinehammond989@gmail.com; mobile number is 517-449-1149. Chris will reach out with a card or call on behalf of our noon Rotary club.

Guest Announcement:  Jesse Place, prospective member, is part of a non-profit, Project Piti Pami, which does medical work in Haiti. November 8th is a fundraising benefit at the Grand Unity Event Center at 6:00 with dinner at 7:00 pm. Check out their website https://www.3phaiti.org/.

Save the Date – Upcoming Rotary Events

Pedal For Polio Event:  John Scholten announced that Pedal for Polio will be slightly different this year. Bikers, please start logging your miles individually from September 15 – October 15. These will be tallied and then all cash donations will meet the 2 for 1 match by Bill Gates. Donations can be given to any of the participants. Pedaling for Polio has reached over 1,680 combined miles so far! To support the ride, you can make a cash donation that will be applied to your monthly invoice. Polio Eradication Day is 10/24, when they will hold a Celebration Ride. More details to come.       

Saturday, October 25
Film Screening – Join or Die – Time: 1:00 - 4:30 pm
Crooked Tree Arts Center Theater
Followed by a welcome reception with local service clubs.

Nov. 19 Meeting at Manna Food Bank:  There will be no lunch meeting at the Perry Hotel on Wednesday, November 19. Instead, join us for a volunteer day at Manna Food Project, from noon to 1:30 pm, to help pack food boxes. A $10 donation will be added to your next invoice (no lunch charges). Please make your own lunch arrangements—pack a lunch to enjoy outside or grab a bite afterward with fellow Rotarians. Space is limited to 25 participants, so register soon to save your spot! Sign-up Link

Member Spotlight – Dr. John Scholten has the unique distinction of being raised in Cadillac, Michigan where the rock band Kiss came and did a concert in October 1975. John even has his picture in a famous rock magazine during the event. After the local high school football team used their music to inspire a winning season. The band participated in the homecoming parade, performed a concert in the high school gym, and were given a key to the city. This historic event is still celebrated in the town, which now has the world's only KISS monument. The event is a legendary moment in rock and roll history that created a lasting bond between the band and the city. In 2015, Cadillac erected a large granite monument in honor of the visit, marking the 40th anniversary of the event. Cadillac celebrated the 50th anniversary of the event in October 2025. 

PROGRAM:  Vocational – John Emley
John grew up wiring all sorts of things, including an intercom in his childhood home. He graduated as an electrical engineer from U of M and was part of the Glee Club there. John and his sister have perfect pitch!  His Glee Club won first place at an international competition while John was president of the club.

John met his wife, Peg, at Camp Daggett. She was the Arts and Crafts Director. They have 3 kids.

John joined Diamond Shamrock, an oil and gas company, where he worked for 40 years until retirement.

John went to night school to get his MBA, which opened a lot of doors. Early on in his career, Diamond Shamrock spun off and created Valero, headquartered in San Antonio. Valero is the world’s largest independent refiner. John went on to lead their Supply Chain Management team.

Interesting Fact: Oil sometimes gets bought and sold 5-6 times as it just sits on a boat making its way from to the US.

Boiling Oil: Crude oil is useless until you heat it up to make other products. Various temperatures create different oil-based products. Petrolatum’s are in almost everything these days!

As retirement neared, John and Peg had to decide where they would spend their time and chose Northern Michigan - “heaven on earth” as they say!

They live in Bay Harbor, and John was recently named the club’s Commodore. He also served as chair of the Bay Harbor Council that oversees all of the community’s associations. 

Fun story: Peregrine White - first child born off the Mayflower was John’s ancestor.

Next Week’s Program:  Serena Lake, LTTB Fisheries Enhancement Facility

Club Resignations:  Ingrid Flemming has resigned due to health reasons, Bob Howse has resigned because of health issues within his family, and we have lost Roy Longworth because of his death. We will miss all of these great Rotarians as they all added value and friendships to many members within our club and our club as a whole.