Rotary Informer

Petoskey Rotary Noon Club NEWSLETTER

August 18, 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:  America the Beautiful

4-Way Test:  Paul Schemanski

Invocation:  Tim Dykstra

“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others and, if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.”  Tenzin Gyaytso the 14^th Dalai Lama

Calendar Winners:  Read off by Jim Beno

Calendar Winners August 18, 2021

Visiting Rotarians:  Dick Chambers, Holland, MI

Guests:  Reggie Fiel, Prospective Member; Lyndsey Walker, Andi Shepherd

Life Events:  None

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: 

Gary Baxter

Anniversaries: 

Matt Breed – 5 Years

Tom Smith – 19 Years

Singing/Song:  We sang Smile and Patsy Cline, 1957; “Walking After Midnight”

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.

Ahrens Gallery:  Liz Ahrens invited Rotarians to attend the grand opening of the Ahrens Gallery next Friday, 8/20 (5:00 - 8:00 PM); Saturday, 8.21 (12:00 - 8:00 PM); or Sunday, 8/22 from 12:00 - 5:00 PM. Address is 5200 W. Lake Street, Harbor Springs. Refreshments and snacks will be served.

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.

NCMC's Open House:  David Finley invited Rotarians to attend NCMC's open house for its new Borra Learning Center, happening Thursday, 8/19 from 5:00 - 7:30 pm. Click here for more info. Free ice cream to be served!

Group Photo on August 25:  On Wednesday, August 25 please come to the Perry Hotel early for a group photo. We will take the photo on the front steps of the Perry Hotel at 11:45 AM sharp!! That will also be our teacher of the year program, so a good one to attend!

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!

Support for John Scholten's Polio Bike Ride:  Rotarian John Scholten is doing a 970-mile bike ride, across Oregon and Montana, to raise money for the Rotary Foundation's polio campaign. The Rotary board of Directors voted to donate $1,000 in honor of his extraordinary effort. Thank you, John!! Please contact him directly if you'd like to make an individual donation as well. John Scholten is departing soon for his 760-mile bike ride. Follow his adventures on Instagram @scholten788. 

Program Committee - Volunteers Welcome:  We need another 1-2 people to research and schedule speakers for our weekly meetings. This is a great opportunity to serve the club, by scheduling speakers that will educate us on something new, get us thinking deeper about an issue, etc. Contact Kassia Perpich if you are interested.

Fellowship Committee - Volunteers Welcome: If you like gathering fun people for fun times, please consider joining the fellowship committee and organizing a social or two that your fellow Rotarians will love! The activities don't have to be elaborate. Think:  a quarterly happy hour at a local bar or winery, a monthly walk on the Wheelway, etc. Understandably, this committee has been dormant during the pandemic and it's time to revitalize it! Contact Kassia Perpich if you are interested.

Vocational Service - Volunteers Welcome:  Rotary board member, Karen Ragland, is in charge of 'vocational service' this year. Vocational service is when one utilizes their profession as a way to serve others--for example, by attending school Career Exploration Days, allowing students to job shadow, giving an education presentation to the club about your profession, etc. If you would like to assist Karen with programming in this realm, please contact her!

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.

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. 

Calendars Available on Aug. 18:  Tis the season! On Wednesday, August 18 your bundle of Rotary calendars will be available for pick-up.

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. 

Lunchtime Concert in Pennsylvania Park  on Aug. 20 - Lunch Provided: On Friday, August 20 from 12:00 - 1:00 PM, Crooked Tree Arts Center is hosting a lunchtime concert by local musician, Chris Koury. Let's gather at the Pennsylvania Park gazebo & enjoy some local music together! Rotary will buy all attendees sandwiches from Jimmy John's. RSVP required -- stay tuned for a sign-up email.

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. Jim Wibby 90^th President 2011-2012 but he deferred to Dick Chambers who was the Club President from 1978-1979 and he spoke about the years 1975-1979

PROGRAM  Matt Fletcher – detailing the 10-cent bottle deposit program.  He will be joining us via zoom

We began with a new member induction -- welcome to Dr. Reggie Fiel!!

Reggie is a northern Michigan native from Boyne City. At just two days old his parents brought him into the Beno Clinic for his first chiropractic adjustment -- and the beginning of a lifelong friendship with fellow Rotarian Dr. Jim Beno. Reggie took an interest in chiropractic care and now works with Jim at the Beno Clinic.
Reggie lives in Boyne Falls with his fiancé, Sydney and their adored dog, Zoe. He enjoys fishing, golfing, and spending his weekends doing home improvement projects.

After our new member induction, we enjoyed an interesting presentation by Matt Fletcher, from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy. Matt spoke with us about the 10-cent bottle deposit program. For those who don't claim their deposits (i.e. they choose to recycle their bottle at home) those "unclaimed deposits" are pooled and distributed as follows: 25% back to retailers for bottle handling costs and 75% to fund cleanup of brownfield/contaminated sites and also pollution prevention education. The amount of unclaimed deposits each year is usually around $20 million.

Next Week’s Program:  Teacher of the Year (and group centennial photo)

Members Leaving the Club:  Ben Slocum is transferring to the morning Rotary Club. Tom Erhart is also leaving the club as he is traveling a lot and cannot engage like he likes to. He is really torn and sad about leaving. Both of these members will be greatly missed.