Rotary Informer

Petoskey Rotary Noon Club NEWSLETTER

January 4, 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.

Happy New Year!    Happy New Year!    Happy New Year!    Happy New Year!

Pledge/Anthem:  Andre Strydom led us in America the Beautiful

4-Way Test:  Georgia Abbott

Invocation:  Tim Dykstra

Welcome to 2023 everyone.  As you all well know, New Year’s is the time for resolutions and wishes for the times upcoming.  In that spirit, I offer you a few possibilities:

I would quit all my bad habits for the new year, but then I remembered that nobody likes a quitter.

May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions. Wishing you a successful 12 months, a Joyful 52 weeks, a lovely 365 days, a memorable 8,760 hours, blessings of 525,600 minutes and the happiest 31,536,000 seconds. Happy New Year!

Calendar Winners:  Read off by Liz Ahrens

Calendar Winners January 4, 2023

Visiting Rotarians:  None

Guests:  None

Life Events:  Welcome back Herb Carlson, looking none the worse for wear considering his long-time standing here on the Mother ship; planet Earth.

Jeff Wynder is celebrating the half-way point of his presidency.

Birthdays:

Mike Snyder

Anniversaries:

Howard Richards – 12 Years

Ron Broquet – 12 Years

Robert Maldegen – 33 Years

Singing/Song:  Andre Strydom led us in Happy Birthday and Smile

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Calendar Sales:  Karen Ragland provided a calendar update. Only two Rotarians have not returned all their stubs. Over $16,000 was raised for our club and $8000 for PRCCI.

12 Rotarians sold 30 or more calendars. Thank you to all of the Rotarians who helped distribute the calendars, sell extra calendars, count money each week, manage the drawing of the winning numbers and announcing the winners at weekly meetings.  It really is a total club effort to make this a successful fundraiser. A very special thank you to Karen Ragland for keeping us on task and for the many hours she has devoted to the success of this project!

Crooked Tree Arts Center:  NYE at the Arts Center is back! CTAC is looking for volunteers, signup Here

Paul Harris Pool:  Dibby Smith is looking for at least one more person to join the Paul Harris Fellowship Pool! It is $50 a quarter - please see Dibby for more info.

Announcement From the School Superintendent:  8th Graders Career Day is coming up! They need help with the following professions: Physician, Attorney, Realtor, Cosmetologist, Journalist/Photographer - see new member Jeff Leslie for more info. 

PROGRAM:  Hannah Larsen YMCA of Northern Michigan

Our guest speaker was Hannah Larson, Branch Director, YMCA of Northern Michigan.  She explained each of their wonderful programs for children in Emmet County. The is an after school program called HOST, Healthy Out of School Time, summer camps, and Friday Night Out which allows parents to enjoy some time alone together while their kids have fun with their peers. A very special program they offer is Girls Who Code which teaches students about computer science.

Hannah explained that they are challenged with staffing issues. They are often unable to be at full capacity due to not having enough staff to run the programs. While they have a couple of full-time positions posted, allowing flexibility to a staff member’s schedule may help in getting new talent in the organization. Being able to offer a safe and healthy environment for children to be cared for brings stability and positive economic benefits to the community.

Next Week’s Program:  Anne-Elise Mair - Dyslexia Institute in Harbor Springs