Rotary Informer

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Petoskey via Zoom on the world wide web. Liz Ahrens, President officiated the meeting. If you did not get the chance to attend, you can watch it from this:  Recording

Pledge/Anthem:  Howard Richards Played “My Country Tis of Thee”

4-Way Test:  John Emley

Invocation:  Jeff Wynder

“When things go wrong don’t go with them.”

Elvis Presley

Calendar Winners:  Read off by Bob Metzger

Calendar Winners October 7, 2020

Visiting Rotarians:  Chris Parker, Sunrise Rotary

Guests:  None

Life Events: 

Rotary Care List:  Tim Kaufmann: The doctor seems to be happy with my progress. The x-rays look good and we are patiently waiting on the tissue to heal. There are a couple of spots that could require skin grafts, but so far so good. If things continue go well, I'm being told that I could begin bearing some weight as early as this week.

Thank You to everyone for keeping us your thoughts and prayers.

Birthdays:  None

Anniversaries:  None

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Calendar sales update:

As you sell your calendars, you may drop off your calendar money to three locations: (1) Mail it to our club at PO Box 61, Petoskey, MI 49770. (2) Drop it off at Harbor/Brenn office, across the street from Culver's. There is a mail slot in the front door to slide your money through. (3) Drop it off at Karen Ragland's home. Please contact her first!

President of Rotary International visiting our chapter next week:  Yes, you read that correctly! You will NOT want to miss next week's meeting. Our guest speaker ('zooming in' all the way from Germany) is current Rotary International president, Mr. Holger Knaak (click here to read his bio). HUGE thanks to Chris Etienne for organizing this special opportunity for us!!! What a treat!

The rest of our district has been invited to join us. Zoom is limited to 100 people, so please sign into Zoom a little before noon to beat the crowd!!!

Walk the Winter Sports park this Sat. Oct. 10:  Join Rotarians for an informal gathering / walk around the Winter Sports Park this Sat. October 10 at 3:00 PM. This is the site of our Centennial Service Project! Come check it out, hike the hill, tour the facilities, etc. You are encouraged to meet with fellow Rotarians before or after the walk, for a socially-distanced lunch or cocktails.

Pizza & Pints for Polio on Wed. Oct. 21:  Swing by the Perry Hotel Rose Room anytime from 5:00 - 8:00 PM on Wednesday, October 21 for a pizza party, Rotary-style. The Perry will be offering pizzas made to order, plus your choice of 5 draft beers served in a special Rotary / End Polio Now pint glass that's yours to keep! (Non-alcoholic beverages will also be available.) A portion of your check will be donated to Rotary's End Polio Now campaign...so come hungry and thirsty!!

Offield Family Viewlands hike earlier this week:  Thank you to all Rotarians (and spouses) who showed up for a guided, one-mile hike around Little Traverse Conservancy's newest preserve, the Offield Family Viewlands. Great to see your smiling faces and enjoy some fall color together!

Program Committee seeking suggestions:  Do you have an idea for a speaker at one of our upcoming meetings? Or would YOU like to give a presentation to our club about something? The Program Committee is now booking speakers for mid-November and beyond. Please talk with Stuart Fenton, Chuck Hayes or Ben Slocum if you have any suggestions.

Recent and upcoming candidate forums:  Dibby Smith shared information on candidate forums that the League of Women Voters (LWV) has been organizing:

LINK TO 107th HOUSE DISTRICT CANDIDATE FORUM, October 15, 7 PM, conducted by Char-Em and Eastern UP LWV: Link

When capacity is reached, additional people will be automatically sent to a YouTube livestream at: Link

The Forum will also be broadcast live on WSOO Radio. 

LINK TO THE 90th DISTRICT COURT CANDIDATE FORUM: (Recorded Oct 1)

Zoom Link Passcode: xH87dz@w 

Links and additional info also available at: Link

PROGRAM

Today we were joined by Chris Parker, a Sunrise Rotarian and superintendent of Petoskey Public Schools.

Now that we are 5 weeks into the school year, Chris shared an update on how things are going. Enrollment is down this year. There are 2,067 students attending in person, and 622 attending online. Chris says staff and students are sticking to "the fundamentals" -- home screening, masking, distance, hand hygiene and clean surfaces.

Even though the Michigan Supreme Court recently ruled that Governor Whitmer did not have authority to issue certain executive orders, Petoskey Public Schools have continued to embrace guidelines/best practices promoted by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and others.

Chris also noted that ALL students are receiving FREE breakfast and lunch now through the end of the calendar year, thanks to a USDA grant.

Next Week’s Program:  Wowzie! Rotary International President Holger Knaack!

Parting Shots:  Howard Richards closed with Loudon Wainwright III’s; “Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road

Crossin' the highway late last night
He shoulda looked left and he shoulda looked right
He didn't see the station wagon car
The skunk got squashed and there you are

You got your
Dead skunk in the middle of the road
Dead skunk in the middle of the road
Dead skunk in the middle of the road
Stinkin' to high heaven

Take a whiff on me, that ain't no rose
Roll up yer window and hold your nose
You don't have to look and you don't have to see
'Cause you can feel it in your olfactory

You got your
Dead skunk in the middle of the road
Dead skunk in the middle of the road
Dead skunk in the middle of the road
And it's stinkin' to high heaven

Yeah you got your dead cat and you got your dead dog
On a moonlight night you got your dead toad frog
Got your dead rabbit and your dead raccoon
The blood and the guts they're gonna make you swoon

You got your
Dead skunk in the middle
Dead skunk in the middle of the road
Dead skunk in the middle of the road
Stinkin' to high heaven

C'mon stink
You got it
It's dead, it's in the middle
Dead skunk in the middle
Dead skunk in the middle of the road
Stinkin' to high heaven
All over the road, technicolor man
Oh, you got pollution
It's dead, it's in the middle
And it's stinkin' to high, high heaven