Rotary Informer

Petoskey Rotary Noon Club NEWSLETTER

March 2, 2022

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. President Elect Jeff Wynder officiated the meeting. If you did not get the chance to attend, you can watch it from this:  Recording

Pledge/Anthem:  We recited the Pledge of Allegiance

4-Way Test:  Chris Hammond

Invocation:  Chris Hammond

"Over the winter glaciers, I see the summer glow. And through the wind-piled snowdrift, the warm rosebuds below." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Calendar Winners:  Read off by Bill Collins

Calendar Winners March 2, 2022

Visiting Rotarians:  Suzanne Perry, Sunrise Rotary

Guests:  Amber Pettit; Prospective Members

Life Events: 

Rotary Care List:  None

Birthdays: 

Steve Brown

Anniversaries:  

Jeff Bodette – 24 Years

Bill Fedus – 46 Years

Singing/Song:  John Lennon, 1971 “Imagine” 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

PRCCI Now Accepting Applications to Spring Grant Cycle:  Petoskey Rotary Club Charities Inc. (PRCCI) invites eligible nonprofit organizations to apply for up to $5,000 to support a project. Help spread the word! The application is available on our website and is due by March 15.

Rotary Park Fund Now Accepting Grant Applications:  This year we have $88,394 to grant from the Rotary Park Fund. The deadline for nonprofits to apply is March 31. We hope to have volunteers on subcommittees to help vet the applications that come in. Contact Ashley Whitney if interested. We want to vet and approve applications by the May board meeting.

Winter Sports Park Project:  Kendall Klingelsmith is looking to expand upon Rotary's recent fundraising effort (for the roof over the hockey rink) to include additional upgrades to complement the roof. For example, new hockey boards and concrete surrounding the rink. He's going to form a fundraising committee to discuss strategy. Please contact Kendall if you're interested in helping with this.

Spaghetti Dinner:  Save the Date! Our annual spaghetti dinner will take place on Thursday, May 12 from 3:00 - 7:00 PM at the Grand Unity Event Center in Petoskey.

Additionally, we could use extra help on the Spaghetti Dinner Committee. As many of you know, Chris Hammond accepted an interim position downstate and will be unable to volunteer with us this year. We'd love someone to step in and take her place -- to help plan the event and secure sponsorships. Please contact Christian Smith if you would be interested in this. The more, the merrier!

Speaking of sponsorships, thank you to all Rotarians who chose to sponsor last year's Spaghetti Dinner. A member of the committee will be contacting you soon to see if you'd be interested in sponsoring again this year too. To all other members:  if you'd like to help sponsor as well, please contact anyone on the committee (Christian Smith, Melissa Thompson, John Emley, Reg Smith or Mike Snyder). This is a great opportunity to align yourself or your business with a well-known community event.

PROGRAM  Suzanne Perry - Metaverse

Today we were joined by Suzanne Perry, a business communications professional and member of Sunrise Rotary. 

Suzanne gave us a presentation about a cutting-edge concept called the 'metaverse.' It is a virtual world where people will socialize, work, transact, learn and play. When compared to the internet, the metaverse is designed to be a far more immersive experience. You will use the internet to login to the metaverse and will adopt an avatar / likeness of yourself to represent yourself in various virtual worlds.

Suzanne noted that many elements are already in place that are supportive of building a metaverse. Elements like 5G, cryptocurrency, NFTs, etc. It is meant to be an "augmented reality."

Facebook -- which is used by roughly 35% of the world's population each day (including use of its subsidiaries) -- has signaled that it intends to spearhead metaverse development. In late 2021 the company even changed its name from Facebook to Meta.

Next Week’s Program:  Ed Swart – Polio update