Rotary Informer 

Petoskey Rotary Noon Club NEWSLETTER 
September 3, 2025
103 Years of Service Above Self 
 

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Petoskey. President Andrea Coronado officiated the meeting. 
If you did not get the chance to attend, you can read about it in this newsletter. 

Pledge/Anthem:  Howard Richards was not here today so we recited the Pledge of Allegiance 

4-Way Test:  Rich Perlberg

Invocation:  Jean Frentz

What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.  It also depends on what sort of person you are.  C.S. Lewis

Calendar Winners:  Read off by Samantha Fee

Calendar Winners September 3, 2025 

Visiting Rotarians:   Shirley Love, Cincinnati, Ohio; Carlin Smith, Petoskey Sunrise Rotary

Guests:  Chris Bartlett

Life Events:  None

Birthdays:  

None

Anniversaries:  

Jeff Leslie – 18 Years

Singing/Song:  Howard Richards was not here today so we thankfully did not tackle the singing routine. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Save the Date – Upcoming Rotary Events

We are looking for one more STRIVE pizza buddy - be the one! See Andrea Coronado – Make her Day! 

Meal Train for Sam Fee and baby:

Rotarian Sam Fee recently welcomed a new baby, and we’d love to help support her and her family in the coming weeks with meals, coffee, and words of encouragement for new parents.
They’re limiting gluten, dairy, and processed sugar, so please keep that in mind when planning. This is a casual meal train — simply pick a date on the SignUpGenius list (I’ve set up the next month) and drop Sam a quick note so she knows when to expect you. Instructions are on the sign up sheet.
No time to cook? Rotarian Sarah McDonnell of Little Bay Gourmet (231.622.5281) can prepare a hearty, diet-friendly meal for $40 and arrange delivery for an additional $5. No muss, no fuss — and baby and mom are cared for!
Sign Up for Sam’s Meal Train

Liz Ahrens – invited club members to her home 9/7, 5-7pm. Brats and beer provided, bring a chair to watch the band Seasonal Road, Georgia’s band. Will also be screening the Lions v. Packers game. 5200 West Lake Street, Harbor Springs

Tuesday, September 9

Rotary Sunset Cruise – with members of other local Rotary clubs                                                                        
Boarding: 6:00 PM | Petoskey Bayfront Park Marina
Cruise: 6:30–8:30 PM | $35/person | Cash bar available
Tickets will be added to your next invoice. Cost is $38.00. Guests welcome. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084DA4A92EA0FEC61-57940486-rotary

Light Kits for Ukraine:  Reg Smith announced that the First Presbyterian Church of Petoskey will once again be assembling light kits for Ukrainians without power. Volunteers are welcome to gather at the Church on Thursday, September 18 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM. They are one of the few churches in the country doing this project - it's a unique opportunity to support others in crisis abroad.

Billy Duff Event:  We will be having the annual Billy Duff Event on Wednesday, September 24th. Bring a dish to pass and BYOB. We will send out a signup genius for the event. Signup Link

Roadside Clean-Up:  9/20 – 8:30 – 10am, meet at Legacy Water and Sports Marina near SludgeHammer on US 131.

Rotary District Learning Academy:  Saturday, 9/27, Charlevoix Public Library. Great opportunity for current and prospective board members. 

Wednesday, October 15

Rotary Third Wheel Social at Elder Piper 5:30-7:00
Theme: “Awkwardly Seeking Inclusion” – make a match, meet a friend, or fall in love with Rotary. Members drive.

Saturday, October 25

Film Screening – Join or Die – Time: TBD and will be announced
Crooked Tree Arts Center Theater
Followed by a welcome reception with local service clubs.

Rotary Youth Exchange Conference: – 9/5 – 9/7 at Camp Daggett. Our club has responsibility for Friday dinner (5–8pm) and Saturday lunch (11am–2pm). Reg will send out a signup sheet for light food prep and clean-up. 

The club is looking for a Care and Comfort chairperson.

Calendar Updates:  Calendar Launch Date – pick up your calendars Wednesday Au-gust 27th. Before meeting 11:30 to noon, after meeting 1:00 pm to 1:30 pm. If you are unable to pick up calendars, please arrange for someone else to pick up on your behalf. Contact Karen Ragland to make other arrangements. kmragland@charter.net  734-320-0424

Alzheimer’s Walk – September 27:  Join us in supporting the Alzheimer’s Walk this fall in Pennsylvania Park. Whether you walk, volunteer, sponsor, or donate—every step makes a difference. Connect with Ian Straley to get involved.

Coastal Crawl:  The Coastal Crawl is open–water swim held at Zorn Park in Harbor Springs. The individuals who have put it on for 30 years are retiring and are looking for individuals or organizations to take over the management of the event to keep it going in the future. This was suggested as a possible service opportunity for Rotary. This year, the Coastal Crawl is also looking for donations and volunteers. Contact Patrick O’Brien for more info. 

Member Spotlight – None

PROGRAM:  Carlin Smith, Community Affairs Manager - Northern Michigan, Consumers Energy
Ice Storm Response

Consumer’s Energy started in the 1880’s. Today it has 6.8M customers and 8,000 employees. It serves Michigan’s Lower Peninsula’s electric and gas needs and touches all counties in the Lower Peninsula. 

How do we get our power: 
It starts at a power plant, which sends high voltage to a transmission substation. Some industrial customers use high voltage distribution (HVD) directly from the trans-mission substation. The rest goes to a distribution station which delivers low voltage distribution (LVD) to small commercial, residential, and rural customers. 

In an emergency, the priority order for emergency response is: easy fixes, critical infrastructure customers like hospitals, HVD, LVD. 

During the ice storm, the HVD that serves Petoskey went down. 

For reference, ice accumulation over 1/2” is considered severe. We had accumulation of 1-1.5” during the ice storm. Typically heavy trees fall on lines, but ice that thick can take down poles and lines on its own.  At the same time, Consumers was battling 14 confirmed tornadoes downstate, some with 100+ mph winds.
 
What helped them mobilize quickly?
•    the meteorologist on staff notified the team of her concerns of an impending ice storm, so they mobilized teams several days in advance of the storm.
•    As a bigger company, they could access more resources than Presque Isle and Great Lakes Energy (which  are rural electric cooperatives). 
It was the most expensive storm in Consumers Energy history. It used up their entire 2025 storm budget. They had 900 total crews, 636 new transformers installed, 1810 new poles installed, 7600 downed wires, and 220 miles of new power lines installed.

Other ways they helped:
•    Brought a food truck from East Jordan to Gaylord to serve food. 
•    Once Consumers finished their clean-up, they sent crews to assist the electric co-ops. 
•    Consumers Energy Foundation gave emergency response funds to local community foundations. 
•    A biomass facility used tree debris to generate energy. 

What’s next: 
A grid resiliency project is underway. The goal is to never have more than 100,000 people out of service at one time and to have power restored within 24 hours. 

carlin.smith@cmsenergy.com 231-340-3480

Next Week’s Program:  Ashley Antonishen: NCMC Athletic Program