In honor of Patriot Day and our nation’s solidarity during the recent hurricanes, Vern Gauthier led the club in two well-timed and heartfelt musical selections: “America the Beautiful” and “This Land is Your Land”.
President John Racine reminds the club that the Program Committee is looking for feedback, so please fill out the Survey within the newsletter.
Tim Burden and Doug Meteyer, decked-out in hunter’s orange, updated the group on the Rotary Friends of the Boardman Dinner. Mark your calendar for Monday, September 18th for this annual fundraising meal. All funds will go directly to Boardman River improvement. Their signature project recently was the pedestrian bridge at Brown Bridge.
Rotarians are needed to help with a fall clean-up day at Camp Greilick on Saturday, September 16th. Come prepared, dressed and ready to get your hands a little dirty, and assist with much-needed improvements on-site. Starting at about 8:30 am, projects include landscaping at the Camp, working on retaining walls, along with painting and staining. Lunch will be provided! Be there for a full or partial day, or just be there to help in any way you can!
Congratulations to Jennifer Casey for an expertly organized and very successful 9/11 Remembrance Run on Sunday. Thank you to those who volunteered and participated!
President John also addressed those looking to contribute to hurricane relief. Keep an eye open for an official Rotary email with ways to donate to those affected by the storms. Please stay tuned for your chance to help.
Paul LaPorte introduced Joe Conger, President of The Northern Michigan Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. Mr. Conger brought to life the era to be discussed, ideally dressed in the period-correct garb of the 18th Century; including a tri-cornered hat and buff-colored vest.
The Sons of the American Revolution, he said, are tasked on perpetuating the stories of the heroes who formed our nation; reminding us of their courage and patriotism. To join the organization, a member’s lineage must be verified back to an ancestor who served at the time of the Revolution, he said.
He led the group on an interesting and robust trek through our nation’s history, focusing on an unsung hero.
His presentation told the intriguing story of Bernardo Galvez, better known by Texans as the city of Galveston’s namesake.
Spain, and leaders like Galvez, provided munitions, money, troops, and were an ally for the colonies in the American Revolutionary War, Mr. Conger said.
Yet, Galvez’s story turns out to be a prime example of history’s periodic penchant for amnesia. While not directly credited in many of our textbooks, Galvez (and Spain for that matter) did far more for our nation’s independence than many know, Mr. Conger said.
Some of the reasons for this, he said, were the geopolitics of the time and that Galvez wasn’t a volunteer, as more recognized patriots were. Also, he served mostly within the “14th and 15th colonies” in what is now Florida and Louisiana.
He reported that this oversight was undone as Galvez recently became only the 8th honorary United States citizen for his support and service during the Revolutionary War. Other honorary citizens include Winston Churchill and Mother Theresa.
Mr. Conger’s passion on the subject brought to light new and interesting information, fittingly set within this meeting with a patriotic theme.
CURRENT CAREER – Managing Director/ Financial Advisor, Northwestern Mutual.
EDUCATION – B.A., Business/ Finance, Michigan State University;
Certification, Golf Course Management, Michigan State University.
FAMILY- Much better half- Brenda; children: Michael, Macy and Marley.
FAVORITE DESSERT – Mom’s Lemon Meringue Pie.
FAVORITE ACTIVITY – Family fun!
LAST BOOK READ – Boys in the Boat
FAVORITE MOVIE – Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
FAVORITE SONG – Anything Bruce Springsteen, today it’s “Growin’ up”, from the Greetings From Asbury Park album, 1973.
TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF NO ONE IN THE CLUB
LIKELY KNOWS – I have never had a cup of coffee.
LIFE ROLE MODEL – Dad “The best sense I know of is common sense.”
MOST SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENT – 26 years and 8 months of wedded bliss.
PROUDEST MOMENT - Have to say serving as 2016-17 president of the GREATEST Rotary Club in the land!
FUNNIEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO YOU – Let’s just say it involved the computer lab at MSU, on a Thursday night, trying to get back to the fraternity for a party. Hurriedly walking out of the lab after finishing my programming assignment, and accidentally tripping over the power cord for all the computers in the lab, which were all being used by other students trying to finish their assignments. Of course in those days, if you lost power, you lost all of your work too. “Sorry” just didn’t cut it, and I ran back to the house…….
SECRET AMBITION – It used to be the PGA Tour, now it is the Senior PGA Tour.
IF YOU COULD BE ANYONE IN THE WORLD FOR A DAY (present or historical), WHO WOULD THAT BE---AND WHY? Any member of “the Greatest Generation”, to really feel the deprivation of the Great Depression, and yet fight for this great country in WWII. Sounds rather grim, but I would love to experience the emotion and challenge.
MOST FAMOUS PERSON MET – Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Justin Leonard, Davis Love, Dan Quayle, Al Zelinski.
ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO SHARE – Super proud to have been part of this Club for 27 years! Rotary is a great way to give back to your community and to the world! I thank the club for the opportunity to be president 2016-17.
Greilick is creating a Welcome Center & Admin Building within one of the existing cabins in the parking lot area of the property. This will support year round property use, training opportunities, a meeting place, and space for managing all workflow. As the cabin interior remodel is almost complete, the exterior is our next step. New steps, retaining walls, and landscaping is needed to create a more attractive and inviting “welcome” when checking in at Greilick.
Greilick has the materials, we believe, needed for the project in hand. To stay consistent throughout the property, we will be using left over blocks used in the Firebowl remodel from 1997. Time and labor should be the only items needs from volunteers to help with this project.:
The project will start on Greilick Service Day (September 16, 2017).
Scope of Project:
• Removal of railroad tie retaining walls
• Establish new retaining walls and steps. Requires removing and leveling earth, placing block, and establishing steps
Tickets are still available for the Friends of the Boardman Gourmet Dinner and can be purchased online via our new ticketing website.
Please visit: www.friendsoftheboardman.comto purchase tickets and learn more about the dinner, including dinner menu, history of the event and the evening’s agenda. To charge tickets to your Rotary account, please email or call Kathy at the office, tcrotary2822@gmail.com or 941-5421
CURRENT CAREER – Managing Director/ Financial Advisor, Northwestern Mutual.
