We will be meeting next on June 4that The Hagerty Center. The program for the day will beRoad To Recovery: Addiction Treatment Services brought to us by Nancy Dow & Paula Lipinski.
Are you ready for the Cherry Festival??? It is fast approaching and we want you to represent Rotary out in the community. Here's how to get involved:
Lawn Chair Drill Team: Show up to any of these practices at 5:30pm at Bodamer Brothers Flooring on June 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th and July 3rd to participate in the parade on June 6th at 11am. No experience is required!
Some other opportunities are in the works for those who are not able to commit to the drill team, so keep the day of the parade free on your calendars if you can, and also stay tuned for news on some fun custom t-shirts!
Beer Tent Volunteer Shifts:
6/30 7:30-11:55 p.m.
7/1 7:30-11:55 p.m.
7/2 7:30-11:55 p.m.
7/4 7:30-11:55 p.m.
7/6 11:30-4:00 p.m.
Firework Beach Clean-Up Shifts:
7/4 10:00 p.m. – midnight
7/6 10:00 p.m. – midnight
For Beer Tent & Beach Clean-Up please RSVP for a shift ASAP to Liz at admin@traversecityrotary.org. There is a limit of approximately 15 people per shift, so if spots start to fill up Liz will reach back out and let you know how else you can get involved. More information will follow after you RSVP on where to report and a volunteer waiver to sign.
Lost Umbrella
Did you leave an umbrella at the Rotary social at Venue Blue? Contact Liz to claim!
Meet Our New Members!
We inducted two new members at the last meeting, so be sure to welcome them to an amazing life of Rotary when you see them next!
Paul Mackin:
Paul Mackin has been the Fire Chief of the Grand Traverse Metro Fire Department since April
2024. He has worked for the past 29 years with the North Palos Fire Protection District (Palos Hills, Illinois) in several ranks and served the last 7 years as the District’s Chief. In addition to this role, he has been an instructor for professional and academic programs and has maintained certification as a fire service assessor. He is a graduate of Southern Illinois
University with a Bachelor of Science and Governors State University with a Master of Public
Administration. Paul is proud to be married to his wife Jessica for the past 27 years and adores his two daughters who are attending the University of Iowa studying Electrical Engineering and Speech-Language Pathology. Away from work, he enjoys anything outdoors such as hiking, kayaking, and camping, especially in State and National Parks. He is excited to become a Rotarian, forge new relationships and to contribute overall. He feels the role will give him a greater perspective and appreciation of the community he serves and calls
home.
Don Nowka:
Don was born in Garden City, MI, a suburb of Detroit, where his parents also grew up.
Don went on to school at Grand Valley State University, where he double-majored in finance
and human resources. It was there that he met his future wife, Liz Nowka. Don was lucky enough to get his first job out of college for a company called Auto-Owners
Insurance in 2002 in Grand Rapids and soon after transferred to Muskegon for the claims
department. He moved to Grand Haven and was convinced he would get a better job really
soon, even though insurance was so glamorous. He worked hard in claims for a few years and
made friends along the way in the industry. Soon he realized that insurance could be an
opportunity to have a successful career, as long as he worked hard and could communicate with people effectively. He even began to like it a bit. In 2005 his wife was given the opportunity to work at Northwestern Michigan College for Upward Bound. Liz’s
family has been in Traverse City since the 1800s and she had family there. In 2016, Don & Liz embarked on a new journey - Don quit his job they purchased Bay View Insurance and the 8 years for Don & Liz have been nothing short of an adventure. Don is part of a team that truly loves to serve others and cares about each other. Don continues to learn something new each day, and he thinks he has the best team in the business. The agency has doubled in size since 2016, with no signs of slowing down. Don lives in Elmwood Township with Liz and their two dogs, Forrest & Finn. In their spare time, they enjoy boating in the bay, spending time with family and friends, traveling, and just relaxing and walking the dogs. His desire to join Rotary stems from wanting to give back to the community that has afforded him and Liz the benefit of living in such a wonderful community.
Paul Mackin
Don Nowka
Volunteers Needed
Check out two upcoming opportunities to get involved!
Discover Fishing At The Pier: On June 1, Discovery Center & Pier will host its second annual Discover Fishing at the Pier program. There will be two sessions held on that day and we are looking for volunteers that may be able to help out! They need a few more volunteers for the morning session but really need help with the afternoon session. Here is the link to the volunteer form: https://forms.gle/j9xZiYfdfPRZqSJK9
No fishing knowledge or experience is necessary to volunteer! They have both fish-related and non-fish-related volunteer spots. In addition, because this is a very basic intro to fishing, any adult can pick up the information needed for the teaching stations in about 5 minutes. It's a really fun day! Here is a link to the event page in case they are interested in learning more about the event or have a youth who's interested in participating: https://discoverygreatlakes.org/discoverfishing
If you have questions please contact Stepanie Rustem at stephanie@discovery.greatlake.org
Annual Stream Sampling: Andrew Kohlmann is looking for volunteers to help with the Spring Stream Sampling (AKA “Bug Count”) on Sunday morning, June 2nd in Traverse City’s Kids Creek. The event lasts just over two hours, all ages are welcome. Volunteers will be outside the entire duration, helping to collect invertebrates from stream samples. This work is in conjunction with the Watershed Center and MiCorps and helps to keep tabs on the health of our waterways. Reach out to andrew@image360tc.com to sign up.
Happy Birthday this week to these members! Have a great week and eat some cake!
Bob Cooney
Donald Harmer
Ben Marentette
Paul Shultz
Tim Tate
Warren Call
Ed Arbut
Upcoming Meetings & Programs
June 11th @ Hagerty - Traverse Bay Children's Advocacy Center
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