PRESIDENT J. R. called the meeting to order and then recognized two of our own who last week received Service Awards from Governor Snyder. Marsha Smith was recognized with a LIFETIME HUMANITARIAN AWARD and Connor Miller was named as a VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD. Congratulations to both of you for your outstanding service. After singing GOD BLESS AMERICA and saying the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, Lee Olewinski gave our INVOCATION. Lee made it known that this is COCONUT CREAM PIE DAY, for the benefit of those who like dessert. Marlene Bevan led us in a medley of songs that included THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE, DO LORD DO LORD, and BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC. COMMANDER Nate Coulter introduced VISITING ROTARIANS and GUESTS.
Allison Beers presented a New Member to our CLUB, Jackie Duncan. Jackie is a Traverse City resident who graduated from Northwood. She has spent 12+ years in sales and account management. She's currently a financial lender at State Savings Bank. She is also Board Chair for Disability Network. She's "Mom" to 3 kids.
Jayne Mohr introduced our STUDENTS OF THE WEEK. Both came from Northwestern Michigan College. Anne-Marie Kabat plans on attending the Maritime Academy. Wyatt Porter is an Honor Student who intends to move on to Northern Michigan University and become a Family Nurse Practitioner.
Jeff Hickman gave us a Rotary Charities up-date. he discussed a "grant" for low- income housing. Check the Bulletin for more information.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. Steve Haskins is looking for volunteers to work the 3:00-5:00 pm shift at the NMC BBQ Sunday, May 20th. Please contact him if you're available.
2. John Noonan announced that ROTARY CAMPS AND SERVICES has two workdays coming up. Both will be held from 9:00am-12: 00 pm on the next two Saturdays. Saturday, May 12th, there will be a "cleaning bee" at The Greilick Outdoor Recreation & Education Center. Saturday, May 19th, a similar bee will be held at The Discovery Center & Pier. Please, sign-up if you can.
3. Andy Kempf is requesting financial donations for World Community Service. He discussed the continuous financial support that's needed for Safe Passage and the Bio-Sand Filters in Peru. There was an envelope at each table for donations.
DON'T FORGET: The Rotary District 6290 Conference is next Thursday-Saturday in Holland, MI. Thursday evening will be the Rotary Foundation Gala along with a Silent Auction. SHOULD BE GREAT FUN!!!!!
President-Elect Allison Beers introducing new member Jackie Ducan
Trevor Tkach introduced our program, something near and dear to his heart, THE NATIONAL CHERRY FESTIVAL. The Executive Director is fellow Rotarian KAT PAYE. Kat was Trevor's "understudy". However, according to Trevor, she did all the hard work that made him look good. Now it's Kat's "show". She has everything to make the Festival a success, including 9 pairs of red shoes (that's a lot). Kat is a graduate of Davenport University. The National Cherry Festival has been a passion of hers for most of her life. She says its success comes from an incredible "team" of both staff and volunteers. There are five full-time staff members and as many as 2100 volunteers. The volunteers and Ambassadors (2400) oversee more than 150 events.
Kat gave us some interesting facts. The budget for the Festival is $3 million. Any money that might not get used goes into a "rainy-day" fund for future Festivals or unexpected needs. This past year $62,825 was given back to the community. She said 20,000 pounds of fresh sweet cherries were sold at the Festival last year. This year's Festival runs June 30th to July 7th. The U.S. Navy Blue Angels return June 30th & July 1st. It's always a GREAT FESTIVAL – take advantage of it!!!
If you have not RSVP ~ Please and I'll throw in a Pretty Please do so.
Thank you!
It is 12.3 miles (20 Min. without Traffic) from Downtown Traverse city to Greilick Outdoor Recreation and Education Center, 4754 Scout Camp Road Traverse City
We will have greeters at the parking lot for those who drive themselves, golf cart transportation for those who may need it from the parking lot to dining hall, optional hayride and a guided hike after the meeting
Bus to leave Traverse City at 11:15 am from CHERRY LOT At NMC. The Bus will arrive at GOREC around 11:45 am and arrive back in town around 1:55 pm.
Meeting Agenda:
Starting at 11:30 in the camp dining hall a box lunch with your choice of turkey, ham or vegetarian sandwich, with apple, bow tie & vegetable salad, pickle and chocolate chip cookie.
12:15 PM the Club meeting bell will ring.
12:30 pm GOREC program to start
12:50 pm Meeting adjourned ~ You’re welcome to join in on the optional tour and hayride
Greilick Outdoor Recreation & Education Center (GOREC) Spring Service Day on Saturday, May 12th. 8:00am until 4:30pm. Day of service for scouters, Rotarians and community members. Come for the full day, 1/2 a day, or any part of the day you can. Winter always gives us projects to do. Trail maintenance, painting, wood cutting, you name it we will be doing it!! Details on Projects and specifics for the day can be found here.
Note:On March 1, 2018, there was a joint meeting between the boards of Rotary Charities and Rotary Camps and Services. As an outcome of that meeting, there will be monthly updates on the activities of each board delivered to the club via the bulletin, and a verbal update at the following club meeting.
-The Charities Board approved a $116,000 grant request from the Housing Task Force, to incubate/launch the Housing Partnership. Staff and board members began meeting with this group a couple of years ago. We are excited to be in a position to finally be taking action! The Housing Partnership is a network of about 25 organizations from the five-county-plus region, who are committed to creating housing options for EVERYONE. This grant will be used to set up a new, autonomous entity that will aid developers in building workforce and low-income housing. It'll help with housing policy advocacy at local, state and federal levels. It will provide much need capacity to both non-profits and rural municipalities who have struggled to implement housing projects. The Charities board unanimously approved this proposal because it's a perfect example of the kind of collaborative, regional initiative that we want to support moving forward.
- Rotary Charities Board unanimously approved sending a letter of support of the proposed millage to the Grand Traverse Conservation District. This recommendation is based on: • The District’s track record and Rotary Charities long history of support • The unique community needs provided through the District’s Services • The financial stability concerns faced by this critical community organization • The determined low risk of endorsing this proposal.
Since the “Great Dust Bowl” days of the 1920’s, the federal government mandated that each county has an established conservation district. Federal and State funding to support Districts has all but disappeared, creating an unfunded mandate. Grand Traverse County provides only $27,500 or 2% each year of the District’s total operating budget. The rest of their funds come primarily from state competitive grant funds, nearly $1million annually. These funds are often restricted and do not support the administrative costs. The District does raise funds from private sources and receives revenue from contract services, but this is still not enough to cover the costs of operations. In order for the District to respond to the ever-changing contemporary conservation needs of Grand County, it must maintain a consistently funded organizational structure capable of supporting the financial accounting and staffing demands necessary to both achieve their mission and manage multiple complex grant sources. The millage funds will be used to support the District where grant funds and other funds are insufficient and cannot be used.
2018 Governor’s Service Awardees Announced: Two Recipients from Traverse Demonstrate Community-wide Dedication to Service
TRAVERSE CITY, MICH.— May 3, 2018, Marsha Smith, Executive Director of Rotary Charities and Connor Miller, Communications & Marketing Director at Traverse Area Association of REALTORS® and Vice-Chair of the FUSE Young Professionals Program at the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce will be honored for their service during a special ceremony hosted by the Michigan Community Service Commission on Tuesday, June 5, at the Wharton Center in East Lansing.
Marsha Smith will receive the Lifetime Humanitarian Award for her service to increase the quality of life and economic well-being of residents in Northwest Lower Michigan for over 40 years. After founding the Women’s Resource Center with friends in the 1980’s, Smith remained dedicated to serving non-profits in the region. In 1993 she became the Executive Director of Rotary Charities and has remained at the helm for the past 25 years. Her leadership of Rotary Charities has guided over $58 million in community investments towards social justice, land use and environment, poverty reduction and so much more. Smith was instrumental in forming the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy which has protected over 40,000 acres of land and 124 miles of coastline to date.
"Throughout her illustrious career, Marsha has been a visionary leader of leaders, a consensus-builder who knows how to get things done" said Traverse City Noon Rotary Club President John Racine Jr.
Connor Miller will be honored as a 2018 Volunteer of the Year. His volunteer service in the community began immediately when he arrived in Traverse City in 2011. As an AmeriCorps VISTA, Miller worked on the Grand Vision and Great Lakes Stewardship Initiatives and volunteered with the FUSE program (formerly Traverse City Young Professionals) at the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce. His continued engagement in the community through positions at North Sky Nonprofit and United Way and his memberships in the Traverse City Noon Rotary Club and his local church led him to make a commitment to volunteer for a different non-profit in the region each week of 2017. Unlike most resolutions, Miller stuck to his and worked with 54 unique nonprofits at 64 different events for a total of over 200 hours in 2017.
“Connor volunteers time *every day* for one worthy cause or another. He embodies the Rotary motto: Service Above Self” said Racine.
Rotary Charities and FUSE are working towards celebrating these momentous achievements with the honorees. A short survey is being used to gauge interest for attending the event in East Lansing or virtually in Traverse City. Please visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VQBCGLK to respond to a four-question survey by Friday, May 11th that will help determine the size and location.
Additional Northern Michigan honorees being recognized include Jan Thomas of Copemish (Senior Volunteer of the Year), Desiree Herrst of Bellaire (Youth Volunteer of the Year) and two awardees from Ludington. The full list of honorees being recognized is available at https://www.michigan.gov/mcsc/0,4608,7-137-8168-467512-- ,00.html. ###
