Rotary Informer

Petoskey Rotary Noon Club NEWSLETTER

February 15, 2023

101 Years of Service Above Self

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

Pledge/Anthem:  Andre Strydom led us in God Bless America

4-Way Test:  Walt Byers

Invocation:  Becky Philipp-Kranig

The best thing to hold onto in life is each other

Audrey Hepburn

Calendar Winners:  Read off by Ashley Whitney-DeCarteret  

Calendar Winners February 15, 2023

Visiting Rotarians:  Michelle Gallagher, TC Noon & Speaker

Guests:  Rocky Karr, Prospective Member

Life Events:  It was announced today that Rocky Karr has been promoted to the Director for Department of Public Safety, City of Petoskey. Congratulations Rocky and we look forward to you becoming a member of the Rotary Club of Petoskey.

Birthdays:  None

Anniversaries:

Betsy Newton – 4 Years

Reg Smith – 14 Years

Bill Collins – 16 Years

Singing/Song:  Andre Strydom led us in Smile.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

PRCCI Grant Cycle Now Open:  Petoskey Rotary Club Charities Inc. (PRCCI) - the charitable arm for our club - is now accepting grant applications for its annual grant cycle. The application is available on our website. Deadline to apply is March 15th. Local nonprofit organizations may seek up to $2,500 in funding. Please spread the word!

Over One Point Eight Million Atta Boys & Girls to the Rotary Club of Petoskey and PRCCI:  Ashley DeCarteret presented a document she created to track all the funds that Rotary has gifted to our community since 2003 or 2008, depending on what historical records are available. She has discovered Rotary has contributed $1,843,499.83 to our community through charitable giving, the Parks Fund, Teacher of the Year, Scholarships, PRCCI, and more. WOW! If you have any historical financial records from those years or beyond, please reach out to Ashley so she can add them to her document. The spreadsheet will be available on Club Runner soon.

Spaghetti Dinner:  Our 71st year Spaghetti Dinner will be held in person this year April 20, 2023, at Petoskey High School. Dinner will be served from 5:00 – 7:00 pm and there will be a drive-through option available. As usual, sauce night will be the night before the actual dinner. Sign-up will be forthcoming. Stay tuned for more info! And businesses, we're now accepting sponsorships for this too.

Fat Tuesday:  When: Tuesday, February 21^st. (Next Tuesday) at City Park Grill from 4:30 – 6:00 pm. Please sign up so we know how many to expect. If you have any questions, please contact Doug Buck. (skinny people welcome) Link

Save the date! Doug Buck is putting together a list of Wine-Down Wednesday events scheduled for the last Wednesday of each month. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more info. 

Rotary Foundation Raffle:  Get your Rotary Foundation 50/50 raffle tickets! Tickets are only $20 (last year's winner won over $1,800!) See Jane Millar for tickets. They are only available till February 22nd.

Exploring a Rotary Club Chapter For Alanson:  Dave Thomas announced that Tom Fairburn Jr. has formed an exploratory committee to see if a Rotary Club chapter could form in Alanson. If you'd like to help with this process or know Alanson residents who would be a good fit for Rotary, please contact Dave Thomas.

Help Needed:  Please see Karen Ragland if you can help with the calendar drawings from now until the end of May. It involves showing up weekly at about 11:30 to draw the winners and record them. Please see Karen Ragland if you can do this.

Rotary Foundation:  What does the Rotary Foundation do? The foundation funds efforts to stop disease, grow the local economy, promote peace, provide clean water, support moms & kids, education, environment, and disaster response. You make an impact worldwide!

Congratulations to Rotarian Bill Hicklen, who was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship for his contributions over the last 20 years. Bill's dedication, generosity, and humor are unmatched - Hurrah Bill!

PROGRAM:  Michelle Gallagher – American Red Cross

The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.

The Northern Michigan Chapter serves 28 counties with 3 staff and 105 volunteers. Nationally, The American Red Cross serves more than 24,000 people each day and 90% of the workforce is volunteer based. 90% of all funding directly supports relief. 

Most recently, the Red Cross has seen an increase in major natural disasters due to changes in climate. In 2014, there was one a month. Now, the Red Cross offers relief at 3 per month - including tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, and more.

The Red Cross offers numerous services including services to the armed forces, preparedness programs for kids, smoke alarm testing and installation, blood drives, and more. They are not funded by the government and rely on private funding and donations.

To learn more, visit: redcross.org

Next Week’s Program:  Scott Kozial – Superintendent of Char-Em ISD