Rotary Informer

Petoskey Rotary Noon Club NEWSLETTER

March 25, 2020

Liz Ahrens officiated a Virtual Meeting today on Zoom. Many thanks to Ashley Whitney who hosted the meeting on her company account. Our gratitude for all who joined us today and it was great to see all your lovely faces.

Four Way Test:  Liz Ahrens

Invocation:  Neil Bidwell

A Prayer for our Uncertain Times by Fr. Michael Graham

May we who are merely inconvenienced remember those whose lives are at stake.

May we who have no risk factors remember those most vulnerable.

May we who have the luxury of working from home remember those who must choose between preserving their health and making their rent.

May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their schools close remember those who have no options.

May we who have to cancel our trips remember those who have no safe place to go.

May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market remember those who have no margin at all.

May we who settle in for a quarantine at home remember those who have no home.

As fear grips our country, let us choose love.  And during this time when we may not be able to physically wrap our arms around each other, let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbors.  Amen

Singing/Song:  We sang Happy Birthday to our birthday celebrants and we sang an off-key version of “Smile.” Really helps to have Andre Strydom or Howard Richards on the piano to keep us on key.

Calendar Winners:  Read by Bob Metzger

Calendar Winners March 25, 2020

Visiting Rotarians:  Thank you for joining us today: Gary Voison, Cheboygan; John Catlin, Cadillac

Life Events: 

Rotary Care List: 

Ron Broquet - recuperating

Bill Graham - back home - will return to Mayo Clinic for follow-up April 10^th

Lynn Van Etten - still suffering chronic pain from truck accident last year (sent card)

Heard from John Van Etten today that she has been cleared to return to active participation in all events

Molly Landi (no news on service) 

Birthdays:  

Justin Blohm March 22

Dave Thomas March 24

Matt Breed March 26

Stafford Smith March 29

Anniversaries:  

David Finley 1 Year March 27

Announcements:  It was discussed by Liz Ahrens about a virtual board meeting held on March 22 in which the board discussed how we could help during the COVID-19 crisis. We are immediately donating $10,000 with $5,000 going to the Char-Em United Way COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund, $3,000 will go to Manna Food Project and $2,000 will be used to purchase $100 gift cards from Meijer’s with the possibility that Meijer’s will match these funds and these cards will be given to Women’s Resource Center, Salvation Army to be given to those in need most affected by COVID-19. There are also discussions to potentially purchase more gift cards within the next couple of weeks to be added to the cards we are presently purchasing.

Member Check-In:  Liz Ahrens then asked all members on the call today to give a run down of where they were calling in from and how they were holding up with the recent crisis. This went really well and it was determined that the meeting will be repeated next week and hopefully we will have even more joining us for the meeting.

Thanks again to Ashley Whitney for hosting this Zoom Meeting on her corporate account. Thanks also to Liz Ahrens for officiating the meeting as president of our club and she promised to have the Rotary Bell for next week’s meeting to make it more official.

To all members who could not make it we encourage you to do so next week and we also encourage all of you to continue to be safe so that we can see you in good health when we can next meet together at a regular Rotary meeting in the not too distant future.

Secretary Comments:  I believe I can speak for all of us on the board and in executive leadership when I say it’s a pleasure to be part of an organization that truly cares for each other as we also care for the community and the world in which we live.

See you next week!