Rotary Informer

Petoskey Rotary Noon Club NEWSLETTER

September 16, 2020

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 America the Beautiful

4-Way Test:  John Emley

Invocation:  Tim Dykstra

One not-so-useful and one useful observation to keep in mind as we live out our Rotary motto of Service Above Self:  

Now that I’m quarantined, I finally realize that my only true hobbies were shopping and eating out.

Be kind whenever possible.  It is always possible.        

Dalai Lama                                

Calendar Winners:  Read off by Bob Metzger

Calendar Winners September 16, 2020

Visiting Rotarians:  Brian Wagner, Sunrise Rotary

Guests: 

Life Events:  None

Rotary Care List: 

Birthdays:  None

Anniversaries:

Neil Bidwell - 12 Years

Kristy L. Beyer - 19 Years

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Roadside cleanup on Sat. 9/26:  Join us for our semi-annual roadside cleanup on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 8:45 AM! Rotary maintains a 3-mile stretch of US-31. 

Petoskey Rotary Club Charities, Inc. (PRCCI -- the charitable arm of our club CENTENNIAL SERVICE PROJECT

Centennial Project:  Many thanks to all Rotarians who took time to vote for our Centennial Service Project. We had 72 votes, representing about 2/3 of our membership.

While each of the three service projects are worthwhile, there was a clear winner: WINTER SPORTS PARK!!!! 

Time to band together as a club and work with the Petoskey Parks & Rec Department to upgrade this park into a world-class, year-round center for community recreation. Stay tuned for next steps!!

Liz mentioned that she would like to have a COVID-19 appropriate social there sometime soon, and/or a Rotary meeting, for people to walk the Winter Sports Park grounds firsthand.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Roadside cleanup on Sat. 9/26:  Join us for our semi-annual roadside cleanup on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 8:45 AM! Rotary maintains a 3-mile stretch of US-31, near the border with Charlevoix County. Our stretch of highway is literally the first thing people see when they enter Emmet County on US-31 - let's keep it looking sharp!!

Paul Harris Fellowship (PHF):  Dibby Smith drove around the area last week to deliver PHF materials to folks. She delivered materials to John and Lynn Van Etten. John had earned a PHF and bestowed it upon Lynn. Dibby also delivered PHF pins -- a PHF +1 pin to Walt Byers; a PHF +5 pin to Bill Hicklin; a PHF +7 pin to Dave Thomas received +7 pin; and Bob Metzger still needs to receive his PHF +4, +5 and +6 pins. Congratulations and THANK YOU to all fellows!!

Newer Rotarians:  Named after the founder of Rotary, a 'Paul Harris Fellowship' is a special designation you receive when you donate $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation. You receive a pin to commemorate that generosity. You can name yourself as the Fellow or bestow it upon someone else. For each additional $1,000 you donate, you earn additional fellowships and pins with increasing 'bling factor.'

Petoskey Rotary Club Charities, Inc. (PRCCI):  Has a board meeting today. Special thanks and welcome to Jean Frentz, who has stepped into PRCCI's board secretary role.

Pedaling for Polio:  Stuart Fenton and others hope to organize a Pedaling for Polio bike ride sometime next month. Stay tuned for details!

Calendars:  Karen Ragland said most people have picked up their calendars. Thank you! She's just down to 6 people who need to pick them up.

PROGRAM

Today we were joined by Petoskey City Council member, Brian Wagner, who gave a presentation entitled, "My First 9 Months in Public Service."

Brian highlighted some of the major projects City Council has focused on, such as:

- New Pickleball courts at Riverbend Park

- Wheelway erosion study

- Public servant compensation study

City Council is also exploring several new developments:

- Lofts at Lumber Square, an affordable housing complex

- a boutique hotel at Bay & Howard Streets, though that is on hold

- Grand Villas, a condo building at the corner of Mitchell & Emmet (where Family Video is)

Brian said his time on City Council has been a good experience so far. He feels like he's making a difference, learning a lot, meeting great people and engaging with experienced city staff.

However, he urges the general public to become more involved in city issues--in particular he suggests writing letters to City personnel.

it’s been a good experience - civil discourse and diplomacy, making a difference, learning, meeting great people, experienced city staff

Next week's program:  Visiting Rotarian, George Trowbridge, will discuss some international projects/travel

Parting Shots:  Howard Richards closed the meeting with, "Grandpa Had a Long One" (a song about noses--get your mind out of the gutter!!)