Rotary Informer

Petoskey Rotary Noon Club NEWSLETTER

September 18, 2024

102 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 My Country tis of Thee

4-Way Test:  John Scholten

Invocation:  Jeff Wynder

"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." Maya Angelou

Calendar Winners:  Read off by Jane Millar

Calendar Winners September 18, 2024

International Insight:  Clubs in Rotary District 2231 (Poland) used a $50,000 disaster response grant to provide transportation, accommodations, food, and medical assistance for refugees who crossed the border from Ukraine.

Life Events:  Larry Liebler, Nick Liebler’s father is in ICU at Henry Ford Hospital. If all works out well, Larry will be transferred to Mary Free Bed hospital in Grand Rapids for further rehab. Messages can be sent through Caring Bridge: Link

Visiting Rotarians:  Tom McArthur, Elkhart, IN

Guests:  Jeff Neil

Life Events:  

Birthdays:  None  

Anniversaries: 

Kristy Beyer – 22 Years in Rotary

Neil Bidwell – 38 Years in Rotary, 15 Years in our Club

Singing/Song:  Howard Richards led us in singing Smile

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Sunset cruise - thank you!  President Christian Smith thanked all Rotarians who participated in last night's sunset cruise on Little Traverse Bay. It was a gorgeous evening for fellowship, with 70+ Rotarians in attendance across our three local chapters.

Roadside Cleanup Volunteers needed:  On Saturday, September 21, the Rotary Club of Petoskey is gathering at 8:30 AM for our annual fall Roadside Cleanup—and we need your help! Today Doug Buck reminded everyone what a great opportunity this is not just for community service, but to get to know a fellow Rotarian, as we are usually divided into pairs and assigned specific zones to work together on. Swap life stories and keep Petoskey looking pristine!! Signup link

Pedal for Polio:  John Scholten announced there would be a 'Pedal for Polio' event sometime in mid-October - stay tuned for details, and in the meantime please make your plans to donate to this worthwhile cause.

New Fundraiser:  We are bringing back a fundraising event (along the lines of Diamonds & Denim) in 2024. We will begin planning in September for an event September 2025. If you’d like to join the committee, contact Andrea Coronado.

Rotary Lapel Pins:  New Rotary lapel pins are available for purchase - $5.00. See Terry if you want one.

Parade of Roses:  Already thinking about ringing in the new year? For more than 40 years, Rotary has been a part of the Parade of Roses. For more information see

https://www.rotaryfloat.org/

Program:  Today we welcomed Carrie Klingelsmith, the executive director of Manna Food Project. Carrie gave us an update on Manna's latest happenings since her last presentation to us a few years ago.

Manna serves Emmet, Charlevoix, and Antrim counties through four primary programs:

(1) Food Bank -- Manna orders approximately 40,000 pounds of food every two weeks from regional/statewide food banks, to distribute to its many partner pantries throughout its 3-county service area. Carrie highlighted the cost efficiency in doing so. Buying food from the grocery store costs about $2.36 per pound, whereas buying from the food bank network costs about $0.58 per pound.

(2) Food Pantry - Manna has its own food pantry at its headquarters, which serves about 100 households per week. Sadly, the number of people coming to the pantry has increased significantly over the last few years due to economic challenges.

(3) Food 4 Kids Backpack Program - Last year, Manna distributed 61,000 bags of food across 30 elementary schools. These bags of food go home with kids, providing them with weekend meals.

(4) Food Rescue - Manna collects food from local grocery stores and farms, to augments the offering at its partner pantries. Last year Manna prevented 250,000 pounds of otherwise good, edible food from going into the landfill.

Learn more at:  www.mannafoodproject.org

Next Week’s Program:  Anne Fleming, Little Traverse Conservancy