With a swift ring of the bell by President Awesome, the July 31 meeting of the Rotary Club of Traverse City commenced. The juicy play by play was compiled by Ramona.
After God Bless America, Lee Olewinski led us in the invocation.
Al Bonney and company led us in Gershwin’s Summertime.
Vern Gauthier introduced visiting Rotarians and guests.
Bonnie Alfonso introduced our newest Rotarian Jody Lundquist. Jody attended Arizona State University and is currently the Chief Financial Officer at Boomerang Catapult. She has vast experience in finance and has served in both the public and private sector. An interesting tidbit of info: Jody has been on Wheel of Fortune and apparently won a car! What!? That’s amazing for 30 minutes of TV time!
President Awesome thanked Susan Kraus for her work on the Boat Regatta last night (more on that in a moment!)
There was to be a meeting after our meeting for the renaming of the Committee for the Handicapped.
Another meeting after our meeting was for those who attended the RI Convention to share ideas for “bettering” our club. Wait!? Aren’t we already the BEST club in the world!?
President Awesome made a point (and this is important so listen up!) that we really need to put our phones away during the meeting – especially when our speakers are presenting.
Paul LaPorte made his way to the podium (and everyone held their breath recounting any stupid acts that someone could have witnessed) to deliver the next bottle of Smart Pills. It seems that new dad Art Bukowski inadvertently revealed last week that he was sporting “quitters”. Now, let me save you an urban dictionary google search on “quitters”. Quitters are simply socks that have lost their elastic (my grandmother had these – it was kind of her thing, she totally rocked it!) So clearly, quitters can earn you Smart Pills so make sure to not wear your saggy socks on Rotary day! FYI: Art is also the proud owner of a new pair of Rotary socks – and we know those aren’t quitters!
Peace Police Sgt Randy Kamps made an appearance at Rotary to educate us on the proper etiquette of Rotary introductions. To make an effective Rotary introduction, one must simply follow the Rule of 3’s: state where your guest is from, their relation to you and then state their name last. Randy went on to demonstrate the proper intro and well……wait for it……he screwed it up! Does that qualify for Smart Pills!? (I’m sure there was a meeting after the meeting to figure that out! You’ll have to come back next week to see what happens!)
Susan Kraus thanked all the boat captains who brought close to 60 Rotarians out to Power Island for a beautiful evening of fellowship. Based on the success, it looks like we’ll be doing this again next year.
FORE!!! Yup, that’s what some Rotarians will be shouting come Monday, August 20. It’s our annual Rotary Golf and Pickleball Outing at the Traverse City Golf and Country Club. Show up with $60 for the shotgun start at 12:30. This event serves as an audition for the Cherrity Cup with Kiwanis in September. Can’t really golf!? That’s OK, no one really cares, it’s more about the beer, I mean “beverage” cart anyway! Get in touch with Mike Meindertsma to get signed up.
Lucky Dog Mac Beers walked away with $90 in the 50/50 today!
Steve Wade introduced our speakers today in his classic Ed McMahon style voice!
From the Home Builders Association (HBA) Ryan McCoon and Judy Vajda spoke of the services and resources available in the Grand Traverse area.
The HBA provides education for it’s members, hosts the Parade of Homes, Building Skills Showdown for high school students, and has a HBSGTA scholarship dinner. This year they expect to award $9,000 in scholarships in the construction trades.
Skill trades development is becoming crucial in our area with the increasing need for affordable housing. There are 8,300 jobs available in the skilled trades in Michigan. Career paths can include project manager/builder, carpenter, mechanical contractor, plumber and electrician.
Stimulating interest in these trades begins in middle school and can continue through community college to apprenticeship. Many students on this career path will enjoy the benefits of learning an in-demand trade while incurring little to no debt. This in turn, provides our community with a strong labor force and encourages future growth.
The HBA has awarded $111,048 in scholarships since 1984. They are now seeing a growing interest among female students. According to the HBA materials on our tables, average wages range from $38,000 - $54,000/year. Training can begin as early as 9th grade at the Career Tech Center with students in 11th and 12th grade taking classes at Northwestern Michigan College
