Rotary Informer

Petoskey Rotary Noon Club NEWSLETTER

September 1, 2021

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. Ashley Whitney, President officiated the meeting. If you did not get the chance to attend, you can watch it from this:  Recording

Pledge/Anthem:  Howard Richards led us in “God Bless America”

4-Way Test:  Paul Schemanski

Invocation:  Neil Bidwell

We gather here today, as members of Rotary. Make us ever mindful of opportunities to serve our fellow citizens, our community, our world and let us continue to strive to make a better world. Amen

Calendar Winners:  Read off by Bob Waldvogel

Calendar Winners September 1, 2021

Visiting Rotarians:  PDG Bob Johnson & Cindy Johnson, Burton, Ohio; PDG Gary Campbell & Sandy Campbell from Anoka, MN

Guests:  Liam Dreyer, Speaker; Jessica Pray

Life Events: 

John Scholten:  John Scholten finished his bike ride out west! We look forward to hearing more about it.

Ben Slocum:  Ben Slocum was recently injured in a mountain biking accident. Those of us in the know concerning everything bicycles believe that Ben was just trying to be a crash test dummy for his helmet. The helmet lost and was cracked in several places. Just think, that could have been Ben's head that was cracked. As it was the only thing that was cracked was Ben's ego. Ben is in good spirits and fortunately his injuries aren't severe -- but please keep him in your thoughts as he heals.

Rotary Care List:  Member Teri Donaldson’s husband Mike was diagnosed with rectal cancer. He will begin a 6-week course of radiation and chemotherapy in mid-August.  Thankfully, the Karmanos and McLaren oncology teams are optimistic, providing us comfort and relief. Please keep him and the family in your thoughts and prayers. 

Sharon Schappacher's partner Dan Anderson has stage 4 lung cancer and is undergoing treatment in a clinical drug trial at Cleveland Clinic. He is having his second transfusion August 9. Please keep him and Sharon in your thoughts and prayers.

Birthdays:  None

Anniversaries: 

Neil Bidwell – 36 Years

Nick White – 41 Years

Singing/Song:  We sang Happy Birthday and Smile and 1965 Rolling Stones; “Get Off of my Cloud”

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Upcoming important date changes:

In-Person Meetings:  In-person Rotary meetings beginning 7/7/21 at the Perry Hotel and thereafter with a Zoom option available.

Petoskey Citizen Academy:  Matt Breed invited Rotarians to participate in this year's Petoskey Citizen Academy. Click here for more info. It's truly an awesome, experiential opportunity to learn more about public safety/law enforcement in our community.

100 Acts of Service:  This year our club aspires to complete 100 Acts of Service for our 100 years. If you did something to serve others in the last week, please be sure to record it in our online survey – click here. Thank you! Also, our PR folks would love to help tell Acts of Service stories. Please consider submitting a photo of any group service projects, or a photo of the result of your good deed if appropriate. Thank you!

Rotary Team Alzheimer's Walk on Sept 18:  Happening at 9:00 AM at the Festival Shelter at Bayfront Park. Click here for more details, to register and/or to donate!

Kiwanis Disc Golf Match on Sept. 14:  Save the date! On September 14 we will hold a "grudge match" against the local Kiwanis Club, who beat us in a baseball game in 1925. Unacceptable!! Time to show them once and for all that Rotary is the best service club around!! We will play from 5:30--7:30 PM at the disc golf park on River Road. No experience required! Contact Ashley Whitney or Georgia Abbott with questions.

Recruiting STRIVE mentors:  We need 20 folks to serve as mentors to high school students! Commitment is October - May. Monthly meeting occurs on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. Mentor training will be held in October with the STRIVE Leadership Team, Georgia Abbott, Lisa Hammond, Jeff Neill and Judy Zorn. Please click here to sign up.

2021 Pedaling for Polio Event on Sept. 19:  Save the date! On Sunday, Sept. 19 at 10:00 AM we'll meet at Petoskey Brewing for a charitable bike ride to raise money for polio eradication. Our ride should end around 11:30 AM at the same place we started (Petoskey Brewing) so stick around afterwards for refreshments!! We're asking for a $50 donation from each rider. If the weather is bad that day, we'll hold the event a week later on Sept. 26. Contact John Emley if you have any questions.

Fall Festival Event on Oct. 16:  Save the date! On Saturday, October 16 we're planning to organize a 'fall festival' fundraiser at the Winter Sports Park, for our centennial project. There will be music, games, food trucks, libations and more -- stay tuned for more details!! Ben Slocum is working with us to brew a special Rotary beer for our upcoming fall festival in October. Last week he collected input from Rotarians on what style the beer should be. "Rye, red and honey" were the most common descriptors. 

Assist Sophie Cranney:  Rotarian Angie Cranney's daughter, Sophie Cranney, continues to experience health issues following a car accident last year. Sophie has several medical appointments lined up this summer and needs help getting to/from her appointments.

Good news, Sophie has graduated from her eye therapy and no longer needs to travel to Traverse City.  I have deleted those appointments but added a few more local appointments. Please consider helping, view the list and offer to pick up a shift or two. 

Past President Centennial Updates:  Starting now, over the next 4 months, 19 past Presidents of our club will take turns giving a historical overview of club happenings in 5-year periods (until we reach 100 years). They will make remarks on what was happening in the world, in Petoskey, and in our club. Steve Brummeler 93^rd president 2014-2015. He talked about the years 1985-1989

PROGRAM  Liam Dreyer – Government for Tomorrow

This week we had the most delightful presentation from a 16-year-old, sophomore high school student from Charlevoix, named Liam Dreyer.

Liam is the founder and CEO of a nonprofit called Government For Tomorrow. This nonprofit specializes in working with municipalities to create student, non-voting positions on appointed municipal boards. It was inspired by Liam's own experience being appointed as a non-voting student/youth member to the Chalevoix downtown development board when he was just 14 years old.

Being able to serve his community in that capacity, at such a tender age, was eye-opening and inspiring for Liam. He believes that youth have a very important role to play, and perspective to share in local government matters -- and that serving on a municipal board is an excellent way to learn firsthand about government.

Liam is currently working with 15 (!) different cities throughout Michigan to create these opportunities for youth, and is being contacted by other places nationwide.

When you have a free moment, check out his website and consider making a donation. He was truly awesome to hear from!

https://www.govfortomorrow.org

Next Week’s Program:  Jim Beno – Calendar update (also Women Can/Women Do lunch)