The gentle Dave Millross introduced new Rotarian Christopher Cox.  And yes, he got a standing ovation!   Christopher is a graduate of Penn State University and holds a Graduate Degree in computer science.  This guy is already living Rotary: he’s involved in a lot!   And, maybe he will lead us in song one day, after all, he’s the new Conductor of the Benzie Chamber Orchestra.
Christopher is dedicated to his faith and serves as an Itinerant Pastor and worship leader.   Welcome, Christopher!! 

October 13, 2015, marks the 240^th birthday of the United States Navy.   To celebrate the occasion, we sang Anchors Away, led by the forever-smiling Bob Stowe!   Well, we tried to sing it. J

 

Our Rotary Club meeting was led by Rotary Exchange Students – a dynamic bunch that we can all be proud of!

 

Autumn Soltysiak gave her classy, and always warm, welcome to the Rotary Students of the Week, Abby Miller and Michael Klettner, both Saint Francis High School students.

 

Abby Miller – she’s soft spoken, yet bold in her ambitions.  Abby looks forward to her future undergraduate studies at either Aquinas College or Michigan State University.   After that, she’s going to head to East Lansing and attend medical school at Michigan State University.    I often ask people, particularly those in the medical field, what made them decide to pursue a career in medicine or given specialty.   Abby’s in it for the right reasons – her eyes are set on the field of neonatology.   She saw the importance of a well-run neonatal unit when a close family member had complications.   Go rock it, Abby!

 

Michael Klettner – a guy with a big smile and clearly big brains.   He’s looking forward to studies in the discipline of engineering.   What’s particularly more impressive about this young man is that he already recognizes the beauty of relationships and compassion.  He referenced several school faculty at Saint Francis High School that faced some severe health challenges and he joyed in how everyone rallied around the folks facing these challenges.    He also talked a lot about service opportunities available at Saint Francis.  Someone, remember to ask this guy to be a Rotarian!

 

We had 112 members in attendance for this meeting.

Sarah Alexander, the charming daughter of Rotarian Steve Alexander,  and proud graduate of the University of Michigan, brought us up to speed on the Rotaract Club.     Rotaract is a service club of Rotary that is geared toward younger folks who are not yet able or ready for the cost of full membership but have a heart for service.   There are approximately 184,000 members in 8,000 Rotaract Clubs!   Here’s to the future of Rotary – and we’re so glad Ms. Alexander shared the good news with us!
 
Then, we were treated to something mighty cool.   We often hear from Rotary Exchange Students shortly after their experience, but it’s not every day we hear from an exchange student five or so years later!  Carolina Tapia, from Lima, Peru, gave us the scoop on what’s been happening in her life!   Think about the big shift from going from a city the size of Lima, with approximately 10 million residents to a city the size of Gaylord, Michigan!   Here’s to new experiences, right!?
 
She served as an exchange student in Gaylord; and she’s still connected with her three host families, as they all enjoy staying in touch.   She went on to earn an Undergraduate Degree from the University of Notre Dame and is now attending Graduate School at Davenport University in Grand Rapids.  And here’s a really cool thing: remember me mentioning the Rotaract Club?  Yeah, that’s right: she’s in it!   This young lady, who beams fantastic energy, is going to soar!