June 12th was a great day at Greilick Outdoor Recreation & Education Center (GOREC). This was the unofficial kickoff to summer for us as we were able to host the Rotary Club of Traverse City for lunch. It was nostalgic for many and completely new for others. Rotarians come to the dining hall and become entranced by the view of Rennie Lake. George the Moose and Rotarians became nostalgic; remembering their times spent at camp. That nostalgic camp feeling was the true program of the day. From the first gong of the bell to the singing and pledge, the dining hall was full of voices. Enthusiasm not heard within those walls in a long time.
It got even better with an invocation lead by Marsha Smith, Sharron Zimmerman, and Nick Killian. They led the "camp" in the "Johnny Appleseed Grace" as known by many campers. Al Bonney then led a rousing song of Dum Dum Da Da.... actions and all. It was a sight to behold. Lunch was provided by Chef's Pride Catering.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Mike Wills is looking for volunteers for building the USCG phase of the shipshape exhibit at the Discovery Center. Also looking for someone with experience putting on a fish boil for a community event on Discovery Pier in September mike@mikewills.net
Sid VanSlyke & Katy McCain – Friends of the Boardman Watershed Gourmet Dinner will take place September 17, 2018
Sharron Zimmerman led off with a warm welcome and gave a little history of Rotary Camps & Services history with GOREC. She introduced Nick Killian who in turn brought forth two guest speakers. Shari Hintz was the first speaker sharing with the group her history with the Girl Scouts and Girl Scout Camps in Northern Michigan. As a mother with a daughter in Girl Scout and a son in Cub Scouting, she has found GOREC to be a place where all walks of life can enjoy the outdoors. The second speaker was Lisa Pointe. Lisa had no history with GOREC up until this spring where she volunteered to become a Climbing Instructor for GOREC. The weekend of the Rotary Show she spent her day's training with other volunteers learning how to operate the GOREC facilities. She spoke highly of the caliber of the people in the training and the curriculum itself. The day wrapped up with tours of GOREC. It is easy to listen to stories about the facility but it is another thing to be able to see it, hear it, touch it, live it.
A walking tour of 15 or more Rotarians led by Deb Lannen and Patti Leasure showcased the waterfront, campsites, cottages, fire bowl, and other program areas. 20+ Rotarians led by Cliff Wagner and Nick Killian went on a hay wagon ride and visited some of those same areas. It also included the Climbing Tower, Gordon Pharo Winter Lodge, Low Ropes Course, Adirondacks, and more acreage on the backside of the property. The hay wagon ride tour made possible by the Grand Traverse Conservation District's trailer. All parties were back to their vehicles shortly after 1:30 pm and back then to the "real world".
For GOREC, it was a phenomenal day. The weather was great but the company was greater. A special thanks to those who helped prepare and clean up from the day. Pat Parker, Becky Ewing, Marsha Smith, Stacey Foster, John Noonan, Kathy Bussell, Cliff Wagner, Patti Leasure, Deb Lannen, Lottie Wagner, and others I am sure. We look forward to the opportunity again in the future!!
On June 10th 22 Rotarians and friends jumped from a small plane out of the Charlevoix airport to raise money to eradicate polio. We raised just over $39,000 and with a bit of luck, we will get some late donations to take us over the $40,000 hurdle. That, with the Gates Foundation match, will mean $120,000 for polio eradication. That means a lot of kids who will never get polio because of the generosity of many donors supporting the efforts of the 22 jumpers.
Raising money for Polio Eradication is a big deal these days. Getting to zero cases in the name of the game these days: get to zero cases of polio and then stay there for 3 years. That is the requirement to have the world certified polio-free. The budget to do this is $1.5 Billion. Rotary had pledged $50M a year for the next three years and The Gates Foundation has pledged to match the Rotary donations up to $50M a year for the next three years. That amounts to 33% of the total budget and national governments and public health organizations from around the world have pledged the rest.
Notice the active word in the last paragraph is "Pledged". That is why we are raising money and that is why this jump is important. With only 10 cases in the world a year to date as of last week. We could get that last case at any time. Maybe it was the last one on May 24th. It could come at any time, but the work required to go for three years polio-free is no less than it is to get to zero.
Thanks to everyone who supported our work. We hope everyone will take this job seriously and donate generously to Polio Plus whenever the opportunity arises.
Interested in the story about our jump? Click Here to view the TV 9&10 feature story they did and ran on Monday.
In May 2020 the Rotary Club of Traverse City will celebrate 100 years of service. To celebrate and commemorate our service to the community we are seeking project ideas from Rotary Club members for a signature, legacy project. With an investment of up to $1 Million from Rotary Charities, the project should reflect Rotary’s history of advancing the greater community good and embrace the future.
The deadline for submitting ideas is June 15th, 2018.The Legacy Task Force will review the ideas and make a final recommendation to the boards of the Rotary Club and Rotary Charities by October.
The following principles will be considered for selection:
It is a commemoration & celebration and is outside of the Rotary Charities grant process.
Has a lasting impact.
Positively impacts a large number of people at all ages.
Clearly named as a Rotary project (ie-Rotary Park, Rotary Square, etc).
Located within the greater Traverse City area.
Potentially provides opportunities for club service.
Could leverage other funding opportunities.
Not an endowment.
Not part of a current, larger campaign.
If you have an idea, please click the link below to fill out the information needed for consideration. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask Beth Karczewski or Marsha Smith for more information.
Opportunities to Join in Surprise Recognition of Rob Collier
The CMF and the Board of Trustees, we invite you to participate in any of the following opportunities:
Share a “best wishes” message to Rob to be included in a memory book. (Responses needed by June 22.)
Attend a special recognition event for Rob during the CMF Annual Conference in October.
Contribute to the Robert S. Collier Public Policy Endowment fund.
The surprise memory book that will be presented to Rob on the Monday night of the Annual Conference will include personalized best wishes. We invite you to send us your best wishes note for Rob for inclusion in the book by submitting a message through an online form:
(Copy the underlined URL and paste it into a new browser window to access the form.) You are encouraged to share the URL with others in your organization who may want to contribute their thoughts and can do so by copying/pasting the URL into a new message. As we anticipate a tremendous response, remarks are limited to 50 words.
Submissions are needed by June 22.
Thank you for taking a few moments to share your thoughts!
The CMF Board of Trustees has adopted this nomination policy to assist in identifying nominees:
“The CMF Board of Trustees seeks diverse individuals as board members who are committed to the organization’s mission and governing process to ensure that a range of perspectives, opinions, and experiences is recognized and accessed in achieving its mission. Foundations and corporate giving programs represented on the board will encompass a variety of philanthropic organizations of diverse asset sizes and from different geographic regions. CMF will promote diversity in expertise, physical ability, national origin, ethnicity, race, culture, generation, religion, educational background, sexual orientation, gender identity and with different skills, abilities, lifestyles and beliefs in recruiting its Board of Trustees.”
