Mighty Mack Beers called the meeting to order and administered the pledge.
Sharon Zimmerman offered thoughts of gratitude and reflection.
Mack announced that Rotarian Becca Binder had a baby, Banks Arthur Binder, on Feb. 22
Active Transfering Rotarian Ann Ralston was introduced by Awesome Allison Beers. Ann is a consultant who "helps business leaders identify and overcome barriers to growth with a detective-like sense of curiosity, compassion, and cut-to-the-chase insights." Learn more at www.ralstonconsulting.com
Marlene Bevan reported that Rotary offices will be moving a the end of the month from the Chamber building to the Discovery Center.
Connor Miller reported that Marky Newhouse won this year's bracket challenge. In second place was Lowell Gruman.
Mack also asked if everyone could make sure their Zoom screen name includes their full name, for attendance tracking purposes. Hover over yourself and click on the three dots to do so.
Matt McDonough is looking for information on any historical uses of the GOREC property that are NOT Boyscout camp-related. Email him at matt@discoverygreatlakes.org with info.
Connor introduced the speaker, Kim Pontius. Kim is CEO of Aspire North, the artist formerly known as TAAR. Kim gave an excellent rundown of real estate conditions in our area. Some highlights:
With the advent of many new technologies and online services, the real estate industry is very much morphing from a transactional model to a tech model
A housing shortage and record low-interest rates have caused demand to skyrocket, pushing buyer competition to levels perhaps never seen before
Most homes are on the market for a matter of days, compared to weeks or many months in previous years
Most homes sold in February 2021 had at least four offers, many above ask
Millions of more homes are needed to meet nationwide demand, and hundreds (if not thousands) more in our region
Average and median home prices are up substantially over last year, and inventory is down
Farmland prices are also on the rise
No, nobody knows quite how long this surge will last.
Solutions include building more housing and inter-regional cooperation on housing initiatives
GO•REC needs your urgent help documenting the history activity at the Camp Greilick property. In particular, we are looking to document any non-camp-related day use (no overnight stay). We know that there is a rich history of many family and community activities that have occurred at Camp Greilick. While we encourage and appreciate your stories a simple list will also serve our purpose.
Please contact Matt McDonough Matt@discoverygreatlakes.org
Thanks in advance,
Jamie Lewis Hedges Director GO•REC For: Rotary Camps & Services, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) 479.647.1100 ExploreGOREC.org
10 – 10:10am Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup – Jon Catlin, District Governor
10:30 –11am Chris Wells, Market Harborough, England
11:10 –11:40am Mark Andresky, District Education Facilitator – A Lesson in Leadership
Sunday, April 18 - Session 3
9am Opening Day 3
9:05am Honoring Rotarians, Tom Schmidt
10-10:30am Rotary’s involvement in Human Trafficking Dave McCleary, Director, Rotarian Action Group against Slavery in America 10:45-11:15am Empowering Youth Amy Gibbs Lowell Early Act (taped presentation) Grand Rapids Interact Muskegon Rotaract Global Scholar Nathan Reynolds
11:30- 11:50 am Getting through my Rotary year in a Pandemic, District Governor, Jon Catlin
11:55-noon Elk Rapids Gary Chenoweth | Invitation to the 2022 District Conference
