Jim Cook has a tough job. The agency he leads is responsible for upgrading and maintaining the 1200 miles of roads all over Grand Traverse County. That’s a lot of pavement.
While most people ask, ‘when are you going to fix my road?’ or ‘when is that construction going to end,” occasionally, someone tells Jim, “Thank you for fixing our roads and keeping us safe.”
When you look at what the Grand Traverse County Road Commission has accomplished over the last few years, you, too, may want to thank Jim.
In 2013, voters expressed their confidence in the road commission by approving a millage proposal, which allowed the commission to leverage funds to attract more road dollars to the region. Projects included Cedar Run Road, the Cass Road Bridge, Garfield Road, Williamsburg Road, Herkner Road, Keystone Road, and many others. In fact, in just three years the road commission improved the “fair-to-good” road ratings in the region from 34% to 58%. That’s a big improvement.
When will they fix your road? Well, that depends. They select road projects based on things like road surface conditions, safety, traffic volume and speed, historical costs, and the impact the road has on the community.
They don’t just randomly choose roads to fix. They follow a very clear, long-term “Asset Management Plan” that outlines the specific work needed to be done each year to ensure that the amount of roads that stays in good condition keeps growing. The plan dictates how and when they work on roads.
The Road Commission gets its money from federal sources, state transportation funds, and the local millage. They amount of work they do depends on how much money is available.
On November 8, Grand Traverse voters will be asked to renew the millage at 1 Mil per year for four years, so that they can continue to improve and maintain local streets, roads, highways and bridges.
Rosemarie Rowney let us know that the 2017 World Peace Conference will be held at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The peace conference is intended to empower community leaders and Rotarians to participate in practicing peace in their communities. This year’s conference will focus on how to prevent and mediate conflict and will feature Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jody Williams.
Rosemarie said there are three ways Traverse City Rotarians can get involved with the conference: They can 1) Attend the conference; 2) Plug into many of the volunteer opportunities; 3) Or, be a supporter by sponsoring the conference or identifying potential sponsors.
CURRENT CAREER – Managing member, J A Yeager, LLC, a provider of occupational assessment services to employers.
EDUCATION – Albion College, BA Economics
FAMILY- Wife, Pam. Grown children: Elizabeth Turner (Atlanta, GA); Andrew Yeager (Southlake, TX); Lindsey Rosen (Seattle, WA); step daughters: Krisen McGraw (Milan, MI) and Molly Craig (Hudson, MI) plus 13 grandchildren.
FAVORITE DESSERT - Sherbet
FAVORITE ACTIVITY – Cycling, photography and traveling.
LAST BOOK READ – Stand Proud by Elmer Kelton
FAVORITE MOVIE – Giant
FAVORITE SONG – The Victor’s
TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF NO ONE IN THE CLUB
LIKELY KNOWS – I was brought up on a small farm outside of Ann Arbor and attended a one room school house through fourth grade.
LIFE ROLE MODEL – Father
MOST SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENT – Five wonderful children, none of which have a spare key to our house.
PROUDEST MOMENT – My marriage to Pam in 1986.
FUNNIEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO YOU – Getting an AARP card for my 40th birthday, although I did not laugh.
SECRET AMBITION – To have been a Navy pilot.
IF YOU COULD BE ANYONE IN THE WORLD FOR A DAY (present or historical), WHO WOULD THAT BE---AND WHY? General Chuck Yeager, then I wouldn’t have to explain if I am related to him. And yes, we have met!
MOST FAMOUS PERSON MET – Bob Hope
ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO SHARE – This Rotary Club and the opportunities that it has given me to be of service in the community will always be something special in my life.
9/5/16 Email from Frank Sisson over the holiday weekend
He told me about the fond memories he has of the changing of the seasons in Traverse City, especially on the day after Labor Day, when the tourists leave and the town I our own again. He misses us and thinks of us often and offers this little poem.
Labor Day
The tourists have all begun to scatter.
Where they go, it doesn’t matter.
North, South, East, and West
They leave and our town is at its best.
It’s just ten months to Cherry Fest.
Not to worry, they’ll be back
An invasion as big as the D-Day attack.
Air dogs, corn dogs, and A Three Dog Night
And Gibby’s Fries – what a beautiful sight!
I wouldn’t leave mine without a fight.
So, who’s behind this great endeavor?
Well, it used to be our man Trevor.
But he’s moved on to bigger things.
Now, it’s the whole city whose praises he sings.
Bringin’ them tourists on wheels, water, and wings.
We are pleased to announce that we have a new Facebook page for Friends of the Boardman. We encourage you to LIKE our page. We will be posting news and information regarding Friends of the Boardman on this page, please feel free to share with your friends. Please click on https://www.facebook.com/friendsoftheboardman/ to LIKE our new page.
Tickets are available for the Gourmet Dinner and can be purchased online via our new ticketing website. Please visit: http://www.friendsoftheboardman.com/ to purchase tickets and learn more about the dinner, including: Dinner Menu, History of Event, Driving Directions, and the evening’s agenda.
Rotary Charities Vice President, Elaine Wood, and Executive Director, Marsha Smith, shared with the Club how Rotary Charities is evolving to meet the changing needs of the region. They would like to hear from you. What do you think about the change? Click on the link below to share your anonymous thoughts. If you choose to share your name, someone from Rotary Charities will follow up with you.
Welcome our new members, Jeanna Michalek and Ben Whiting!
In 2013, voters expressed their confidence in the road commission by approving a millage proposal, which allowed the commission to leverage funds to attract more road dollars to the region. Projects included Cedar Run Road, the Cass Road Bridge, Garfield Road, Williamsburg Road, Herkner Road, Keystone Road, and many others. In fact, in just three years the road commission improved the “fair-to-good” road ratings in the region from 34% to 58%. That’s a big improvement.
Rosemarie Rowney let us know that the 2017 World Peace Conference will be held at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The peace conference is intended to empower community leaders and Rotarians to 
participate in practicing peace in their communities. This year’s conference will focus on how to prevent and mediate conflict and will feature Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jody Williams.
CURRENT CAREER – Managing member, J A Yeager, LLC, a provider of occupational assessment services to employers.
Rotary Charities Vice President, Elaine Wood, and Executive Director, Marsha Smith, shared with the Club how Rotary Charities is evolving to meet the changing needs of the region. They would like to hear from you. What do you think about the change? Click on the link below to share your anonymous thoughts. If you choose to share your name, someone from Rotary Charities will follow up with you. 
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