Mack Beers called the meeting to order and administered the Pledge of Allegiance.
Ramona Pleva offered thoughts of gratitude and reflection from the Lipstick Gospel Devotional.
Marlene Bevans then kicked a special meeting of the corporate membership of
Rotary Charities and
Rotary Camps and Services. The purpose was to announce the candidates for each board and take nominations from the floor (there were none). Updated Charities Bios
click here to view, for the three seats on the Charities board running are
Jeff Hickman, Dan Buron, Randy Kamps, Ben Marentette and Homer Nye. Please
click here for the nominees for three seats on the Camps and Services board are
Sharon Zimmerman, Pat Parker and Jim McWilliams. The election will be held at the Sept. 22 meeting.
IMPORTANT: In order to have an election that complies with the by-laws of these organizations and the club, we need a quorum of half the club members at next week's meeting (Sept. 22). Please do all that you can to attend!
Jen Casey gave an update on the 9/11 honor run, which was held virtually this year. About $3,400 was raised to support that great cause. She needs help for next year's (hopefully) real live race, so get with her if you are able and interested.
Marlene introduced the program, which was split between Rotary Charities Strategic Communications Manager Tori Craig and Amanda Holmes, the executive director of the Fishtown Preservation Society. Amanda previously participated in Rotary Charities' Leadership Learning Lab, which connects leaders from local nonprofits, government and businesses with a goal of improving our community.
Tori first gave an overall update on Rotary Charities. Charities gave out $1,743,683 in grants to our region and supported 684 changemakers with capacity building dollars or services. Charities was also instrumental in helping many organizations adapt to the Covid-19 pandemic. Part of these services included no-cost crisis support to many local organizations, along with various resources to adapt to ongoing challenges.
Click here to go through Rotary Charities' 2019-20 Annual Report.
Amanda spoke about how Fishtown is persevering in the light of various challenges. Even before the pandemic arrived, Fishtown was dealing with record-high Lake Michigan water levels and had raised or taken steps to protect several shanties. Not only was the water even higher this year, but the pandemic arrived in spring, greatly restricting shop owners. Amanda, who said the lessons from Leadership Learning Lab were critical, is confident Fishtown will make it through this tough time and survive. But as a nonprofit, it could always use support for ongoing operations. To find out more or support this organization, visit
https://www.fishtownmi.org/ 
