Club Meeting Notes

Posted by Art Bukowski on Aug 10, 2021
Mark Eckhoff called the meeting to order and administered the pledge. 
 
Randy Kamps offered thoughts of gratitude and reflection.
 
Miriam Owsley gave an update from Rotary Charities, plus a request:
 
Rotary Charities is seeking Rotarian volunteers to get involved with our grantmaking process. We are currently in our Fall 21 Grant Cycle and are accepting applications for our Assets for Thriving Communities and Systems Change Accelerator grants. Rotarians are invited to participate in the process by reviewing a written grant application and sitting in on the application interview with Charities staff, board members, and fellow Rotarians. Reviewing a grant is a great way to learn about local nonprofits' work, and to be a part of making nearly $1million in grants to our local community each year. Time commitment is about 2-3 hours between September 20-October 15. Interested Rotarians may contact Miriam Owsley, mowsley@rotarycharities.org to get involved. 
 
The Technology Committee is seeking volunteers to set up and run the Zoom meeting at our bi-weekly hybrid meetings. Set up is as easy as opening a laptop and plugging in the Owl. Training and support will be provided. Learn a new skill, help fellow Rotarians attend our meetings virtually. If we get a few volunteers, this would be a once a month or every other month volunteer opportunity...WE NEED YOU!
 
Ben Whiting, Chair of the Good Works Committee, said to spread the word that the deadline for the latest round of grants is Friday the 20th of August (We extended the deadline)
 
Al Bonney is hoping to get some volunteers on Sunday, Sept. 12 to help out at the Ironman race in Frankfort. These volunteers need to bring a kayak and provide support for swimmers. Al promises that it will be a good time! Volunteers need to be in place in the water at 7 am and are done around 10 am when the last swimmer leaves the water. The task is to line the outside edge of the 1/5 mile swim course to keep swimmers safe and secure. You do not have to worry about doing any actual rescuing, there are powerboats with trained personnel for that. This is just to help frame the course and provide something for the occasional tired swimmer to grab onto. Get with Al for details (albonney2@gmail.com), or go to https://www.ironman.com/volunteer. Scroll down to find the Michigan 70.3 race picture. Click on 2021 Volunteer Registration is now open and scroll down to "Kayak support for swim."
 
Mark Eckhoff reminded everyone that the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy will be hosting a demonstration of the iNaturalist community science platform specifically for Rotarians at the Mitchell Creek Meadows Preserve along Three Mile Road from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on August 17. Contact Jon for details at jon@gtrlc.org and see the story in this bulletin for more details.
 
K. Ross Childs and Chuck Benson gave a presentation about the Go Blue/Go Green Arena Polo and Barrel Racing event on Saturday, August 21st at the Flintfields Horse Park. Go Blue/Go Green is a 501(c)(3) organization providing scholarships to LOCAL students in Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Antrim, Benzie and Kalkaska Counties, through Northwestern Michigan College. Scholarships are given to current NMC students, and NMC students transferring to the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. The requests for scholarships continue to increase and all proceeds from this event will directly benefit well-deserving, local students.
 
Much more information is available at www.gobluegogreenpolo.org