Rotary Informer

Petoskey Rotary Noon Club NEWSLETTER

September 23, 2020

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Petoskey via Zoom on the world wide web. Jim Wibby, Acting 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:  Stu Fenton

Calendar Winners:  Read off by Bob Metzger

Calendar Winners September 23, 2020

Visiting Rotarians:  George Trowbridge (today's speaker), from Rotary Club of Grand Rapids

Guests:  None

Life Events:  None

Rotary Care List: 

Birthdays: 

Kent Cartwright

Anniversaries:

Elaine Keiser – 1 Year

Chelsea Platte – 5 Years

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Roadside cleanup on Sat. 9/26:  Join us for our semi-annual roadside cleanup on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 8:45 AM! Rotary maintains a 3-mile stretch of US-31, near the border with Charlevoix County. Our stretch of highway is literally the first thing people see when they enter Emmet County on US-31 -- let's keep it looking sharp!!

Pedaling for Polio on Sat. 9/26:  Absent rainy weather, please join us this Saturday at 1:00 PM behind D&W Grocery for a short bike ride to raise money for polio eradication. Riders have agreed to donate $50 each, but any contribution is appreciated. Please send a check to PRCCI and mail to PO Box 331, Petoskey 49770. If it's raining on Saturday, then we might ride on Sunday instead. Great opportunity for socializing and exercising for a great cause! Hope to see you there or at least please consider donating. Match from Gates foundation!! Contact Stu Fenton if you have any questions.

Where to drop off calendar money:  As you sell your calendars, you can 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's 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!

Centennial Service Project:  Many thanks to all Rotarians who took time to vote for our Centennial Service Project. We had 72 votes, representing about 2/3 of our membership. While each of the three service projects are worthwhile in their own right, there was a clear winner: WINTER SPORTS PARK!!!! Time to band together as a club and work with the Petoskey Parks & Rec Department to upgrade this park into a world-class, year-round center for community recreation. Stay tuned for next steps!!

PROGRAM

Today we were joined by George Trowbridge, a Rotarian hailing from the Rotary Club of Grand Rapids, and also a past District Governor. 

George has been a Rotarian for 51 years. He gave a delightful presentation, highlighting memorable moments across his five decades of membership.

In 1969, George's boss told him that he needed to join the Rotary Club of Grand Rapids. George didn't know what Rotary was, and he said he wasn't too interested in it. His boss basically said, "You better join, or you're fired!" So George begrudgingly made his way to Rotary.

What began as a sour moment, turned into decades of wonderful, eye-opening experiences of service and fellowship across the globe. George has had more awesome Rotary experiences than can be properly described in these notes! He was part of the international vote that allowed women into Rotary in the late 1980's. He attended Rotary meetings all over the globe, making note of their unique customs. He's had his picture taken with 25 past Rotary International Presidents. He attended Rotary's peace scholar graduation in Uppsala, Sweden in 2015. He has memories from so many rich experiences through Rotary, that he has an entire "Rotary Room" in his house chock full of memorabilia!! George's passion and enthusiasm were contagious.

Next Week’s Program:  Carl Treleaven Making Rotary’s Water, Sanitation, and Economic Development Projects More Effective.

Parting Shots:  Howard & Willow Richards closed with "The Vatican Rag" by Tom Lehrer.