Rotary Informer

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Petoskey via Zoom on the world wide web. Liz Ahrens, President officiated the meeting. If you did not get the chance to attend, you can watch it from this: Recording

Pledge/Anthem:  Howard Richards Played "My Country Tis of Thee"

4-Way Test:  John Emley

Invocation:  Tim Dykstra

This week we are honored to welcome our district governor, Jon Catlin. Two weeks ago, thanks to Chris Eteinne’s good work, our club was privileged to have Rotary International’s President, Holger Knaack as our speaker. He offered several insightful comments that can help us keep vibrant our Rotary motto: “Service Above Self.”  President Knaack made one observation in particular that may have slipped by some, but which is quite insightful and worth repeating,

 “Rotary is not political, but Rotarians are not voiceless.”

 +++++++++++++++++++++++++

But on another note, we might also do well to follow the advice of Steven Wright who tells us,

“If at first you don’t succeed, then skydiving definitely isn’t for you.”

Calendar Winners:  Read off by Bob Metzger

Calendar Winners October 28, 2020

Visiting Rotarians:  Jon Catlin, District Governor

Guests:  None

Life Events:

Rotary Care List: 

Howard Richards led us in singing Happy Birthday & Smile

Birthdays: 

Jim Wibby

Anniversaries: 

None

ANNOUNCEMENTS

PolioPlus is a Signature Program of The Rotary Foundation:  PolioPlus is Rotary’s priority program which supports global efforts to eradicate polio. It was launched in 1985, with the help of Dr. Albert Sabin, developer of the oral polio vaccine, as a worldwide program to protect children from the cruel and fatal consequences of polio.

As of 2018-19, The Rotary Foundation has raised over US$1.6 billion for polio eradication. By the time the world is certified polio-free, our contributions will make Rotary the largest non-governmental financial contributor to the global polio eradication effort.

You can help end polio by making a gift to the PolioPlus Fund at endpolio.org

Help spread positivity on Oct. 30 and Nov. 6:  Our board of directors recently came across this news article about a Petoskey man who has been standing in the new 'People's Park' holding a sign that simply says "Smile" for folks driving by. Nothing political, nothing controversial, nothing negative....just good vibes! Inspired by his actions, we'd like to try it for ourselves! Join fellow Rotarians in People's Park (across from Family Video) this Friday, October 30 or Friday, November 6, anytime between 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM. You may bring a handmade sign with a positive message, or hold up some Rotary-themed signs we had designed for this event. Please contact Jeff Wynder to sign up for this (jeffwynder@aol.com). 

Club elections happening soon:  The Nominating Committee met yesterday and is putting together a slate of candidates, which they will present in our meeting next week. The club's election will be on December 9th. The committee is also putting together bylaw amendment language to allow for electronic voting.

Letter writing drive:  Thrive 45, a local young professionals networking group, is organizing 'Heartfelt Holidays,' a letter-writing drive for local senior citizens who may be experiencing isolation and loneliness in nursing homes and senior living communities. To participate, all you have to do is write a generic note with kind sentiments, and drop it off at the Petoskey Chamber before November 13. Thrive 45 is hoping to collect 1,000 letters. 

Calendar sales:  Jim Beno is in the lead with 56 calendars sold! Overall 33% of calendars have been sold so many thanks to all for your efforts. As you sell your calendars, you may drop off your calendar money to three locations: (1) Mail it to our club at PO Box 61, Petoskey, MI 49770. (2) Drop it off at Harbor/Brenn office, across the street from Culver's. There is a mail slot in the front door to slide your money through. (3) Drop it off at Karen Ragland's home. Please contact her first!

Pints & Pizza for Polio:  A huge thanks to all who attended this event last week, whether dining in or picking up a to-go order. It was wonderful to see everyone's faces!! We had 63 participants and raised about $700 for the End Polio Now campaign. You can still buy a special pint glass if you want! They are $15 each. Please contact Nikki LaDeur (stutzni@gmail.com) if interested.

PROGRAM

Today we were joined by our District Governor, Jon Catlin, who gave a presentation entitled "Year of Making Lemonade." Jon enthusiastically shared highlights about his experiences in Rotary and also as District Governor thus far.

4 challenges Jon made to our club:

• Visit another club

• Attend a District Event

• Showcase our club in the District Newsletter

• Attend the district conference April 16-18 at Crystal Mountain

Next Week’s Program:  Liz Eddington YMCA of Northern Michigan

Parting Shots:  Howard Richards closed with Rose & the Arrangement; “The Cockroach That Ate Cincinnati”