After President Homer’s welcome and Pledge of Allegiance, Past President Sid “the philosopher” Lammers provided thoughts of Gratitude and Reflection.

Marsha Minervini provided an eerie “Halloweenesque” song of “Have You see the Ghost of John?” Personally I have not seen John’s Ghost but apparently he doesn’t have any skin and I’m fairly sure I would have remembered that!

And as Wally Schroth introduced visiting Rotarians and guests, the Ghost of John must have taken over the microphone because we had issues. (What’s a Rotary meeting without a few technical difficulties!?)

Our club membership grew by two today. Steve Wade introduced Michele Howard. Michele is with the District Library and received her undergrad at MSU but then trumped that with a master’s degree from U of M. Becky Ewing introduced transfer Rotarian Kathryn Glancy. Kathryn comes to us from Ludington and unlike Michele, she kept her educational loyalties green receiving both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from MSU. Welcome Michele and Kathryn!

We have three new graduates of the IM Rotary program. Alexis Juett bestowed 500 Paul Harris points to Alex Wood, Linda Racine and Carla Weaver. 

Speaking of Carla, she’s totally rockin’ it as the new Youth Exchange Officer and provided us with our exchange student’s wish lists for this year! Please include our inbound students on your family adventures while they are here!! You will LOVE spending time with them. Reach out to Carla to connect with the students!

Speaking of students, Arthur from Brazil  AKA “Handsome Boy” shared a little about  his homeland. If he was nervous, it didn’t show. He is as smooth of a talker as he is handsome! He hails from Araguari, Munas Gerais. He claims they make amazing cheese bread. But can Brazilian cheese bread complete with the pizza bread from Gallagher’s Farm Market!? I think a taste test is in order along with a visit to Brazil!

Mike and Jessica Caruso shared a few thoughts on their experience hosting 11 exchange students! They recently traveled to Thailand and with careful planning brought 5 of their exchange students together from various countries! Talk about an awesome holiday photo card! Their family tree includes: Vrata, Joao, Eva, Carmen, Valeria, Sungto, Vanessa, Nicole, Sidonie, Apolline, and “Handsome Boy” Arthur.

Did you notice the temps have dropped outside?! That means it’s time to clean out your closet and find coats and other cold weather items to pass along for One Way Coat Day. Herb Lemcool will be collecting winter apparel next week at our meeting. And if you could give him a hand with this, that would brighten his day!

Jeff Hickman presented a beautiful and articulate tribute to Elaine Wood, Rotary Charities longest serving board member and current chair. Elaine was gifted a Paul Harris pin for her dedicated service to Rotary Charities! Congratulations Elaine!

President Homer announced that on Oct. 29 we will be electing new officers for our club board. Board directors serve a two year term and the candidates include: Jen Casey, Meghan Daigh, Page Graves, Steve Haskin and Thom Paulson. Running for secretary for a three year term is Connor Miller. And slated as our club president for 2021-2022 is Mark Eckhoff. The fun just never ends!

Next week we are at the Hagerty Center for our weekly meeting.

Introducing our program was Chief Pat Parker. Chris Halleck is the Deputy Sheriff and Greg Bird is the Emergency Coordinator for Grand Traverse County. The topic of discussion was what to do in the case of a shooter situation. Not something we want to think about, but  awareness and preparation are key to warding off a potentially life threatening situation. 

So what should you do if you found yourself in a shooter situation? Running tends to be a good idea! Get outside and run far away. Sounds logical right? Leave possessions behind but bring your cell phone!

Hiding is the next best option if you can’t run. You want to be out of view, “hide with a purpose”. Shooters don’t tend to breach a door so a simple door lock can save a life! Barricading the door is another smart move, moving heavy furniture or stacking chairs in front of the door. Keep your phone close by, but on silent mode! Police can arrive within 6-8 minutes which may be faster than a freaky fast Jimmy John’s delivery!

Last resort is to fight as if your life depended on it - because it may! Throwing items at the shooter will disorient them and help buy you a little more time. You could also sign up for a boxing class at Fit For You with Vern Gauthier!

Think twice before using your concealed weapon. If you shoot the shooter and miss and hit someone else, it won’t go well for you!

The rules have changed in the past few years as to how law enforcement responds to shooter situations. They are trained to go directly to where shots are fired. And a Rescue Task Force can be on site within 10 minutes and begin lifesaving care.

Smart 911 is something you should look into. It’s a questionnaire that you fill out and should you ever call 911, all your info comes up such as: pets, allergies you may have, medications you’re on, type of vehicle you drive…..

And don’t forget, you can text 911 too if calling is not an option. 

This is important information and should be shared. Any organization, church or workplace interested in having this presentation brought in should contact Pat Parker. 

And with that, we were adjourned!

Sign up for CodeRed through this link

https://www.grandtraverse.org/288/CodeRED

Smart911  learn more here https://www.grandtraverse.org/336/Smart911