It was a great day for a Rotary meeting on January 14, 2020!
God Bless America and the Pledge of Allegiance opened the meeting. President Homer found inspiration from broken New Year’s Resolutions and the upcoming Rotary Show as he offered up the Gratitude and Reflection about angels taking up too much space. (You had to be there!)
Al Bonney led a resounding version of King of The Road with Byron on the ivories and help from Vern, Tim, Marsha, Bob, and Greg.
Tim Tate bellied up to the podium to welcome visiting Rotarians and guests.
Two new members were added to the club. Nikki Subkowski introduced Dave Russell. Dave moved here last summer, owns three businesses and has a lovely wife and two beautiful children. Jeff Hickman introduced Gary Faria. Gary is an attorney from southeast Michigan and has lived in TC since 2015. In that time he has been instrumental in developing the VASA program. Welcome, Dave and Gary.
Marcia Billings made a guest appearance as the Assistant District Governor for the Traverse Bay area. She presented a certificate of appreciation to President Homer for the club’s work in the End Polio Now campaign. On another note, since the Twilight club merged with the Sunrise club last October, the traditional Twilight Rotary club calendars were not created this year. Bummer! But if you need a 2020 calendar, they are probably dirt cheap by now. Also, Marcia put out a plea to any past presidents of our club. Her position as Assistant District Governor will be vacant come July 1 and, well...... she’s looking for someone to take over! So you past presidents just think about that.
Our Students of the Week this week hail from Traverse City West Senior High. Mary Roth is a senior and is the proud granddaughter of our Gil Bogley. Mary is a percussionist in several ensembles. She also is active in Model UN and will go on to study Environmental Conservation in college.
Carson Nowak overcame stuttering as a kid to become a fine public speaker! He has excelled in academics and is active with Student Senate. He plans to attend NMC (Go Hawkowls!) for one year and then will go on to earn a degree in engineering.
A plethora of announcements followed: Phil Murphy: Rotary Show production meetings will start this Saturday, Jan. 18 at 9 am. Please meet at the Rotary office - 2nd floor of the Traverse Connect/TC Chamber building. BYOC.....Bring Your Own Coffee! Benjamin Marentette: Once a month our club serves a “home-cooked meal” (usually frozen lasagna and garlic toast) to the guests staying at Munson Manor. It’s a fun gig with lots of good karma and warm fuzzies thrown in. So get with Benjamin to help out with this carb-filled event! Carla Weaver: A Host Family Celebration evening is planned for Monday, Feb. 10 from 6- 7:30 pm at Kirkbride Hall (GT Commons). The evening is to introduce non-Rotarian families who are interested in being a host family to our fabulous Youth Exchange Students and share hosting stories from seasoned host families. Food will be served (hey, it might even be frozen lasagna!). Max Anderson: There was a Rotary Show Ad Sales Captian’s meeting after today’s meeting. Nick Beadleston: Our club will be doing a service trip to Guatemala in May. Nick was also hosting a meeting after the meeting with info for those interested and he was serving cookies.
A whopping $74 when to Sophia Call, Warren Call’s daughter from the day’s 50/50 raffle.
Our program was introduced by Jayne Mohr. Jim Pavelka is serving as the Interim Superintendent at TCAPS. Jim is a Chippewa, a Spartan, a Marine and a former member of this club! With the step into our new decade, Jim has now been in education for seven decades! He is sharp, quick-witted and his passion for quality education is palpable.
Jim stepped in as Interim Superintendent in October and has received an overwhelming amount of support from our community. He spends about half his time in the classrooms and is astounded on a regular basis by the dedicated teachers and students who are actively engaged in learning. He praised the dedicated bus drivers who are the first person a student sees in the morning when going to school.
He shared some TCAPS stats:
● 10,000 students
● 1300 employees
● 100 buses
● 16 school buildings
● 945,000 meals served
● The second-largest employer in Northern Michigan
● SAT Scores top State and National average
● The Class of 2019 had $4.1 million in university scholarships awarded to them
● TCAPS operates at 3.1 mills, while the state average is 5.4 mills.
● Number of students dual-enrolled at TCAPS and NMC: “A lot”
Jim states that the district is well managed and that a superintendent leaving after 78 days is an anomaly. However, 25% of all districts have an opening or are looking for a superintendent. It’s a great job, but it’s a tough one.
Jim was thanked for providing ample material for this year’s Rotary Show. To which his response was “Please spell Pavelka right in the Rotary Show”. Don’t worry Jim, we will. (And Jim those show dates are April 30 - May 2 if you’re interested in attending!)
The qualities listed in a job description for a superintendent are often unrealistic. When asked what are the top three qualities of a good superintendent Jim responded with:
Intelligent Good Communicator Be able to make tough decisions that are in the best interest of the students.
President Homer followed up on that comment that he could relate to elaborate job descriptions in the world of the clergy. “Even Jesus wouldn’t qualify!”
And with that, it was adios for another week. Join us next week for another episode of “Rotary Club of Traverse City”.
2020 SCHEDULE (First 3 months) New Members Save the Dates...
I M Rotary is a 6-month orientation program to the Rotary Club of Traverse City, Michigan.
We want your experience with our club to be fun and rewarding, so it is an expectation of all new members that you participate in this program. New members should plan to attend all 6 sessions. The program is ongoing, so you can start as soon as you join and if you miss a session you can make-up later in the year when that topic is presented again.
Members who attend all six meetings will be awarded 500 points (valued at $500.00) toward one of Rotary's highest honors: The Paul Harris Fellowship. It will be up to you to match this award with your own funds to receive the Fellowship distinction.
We will typically meet on Tuesdays, starting at 11:45 am to 12:45 pm hour, at the Park Place Hotel in the small (B) conference room by the ramp before Rotary check-in.
Please check in early with the Club Administrator Kathy Bussell and take your lunch with you to Conference Room B.
The following dates are currently set (but subject to change). You will be notified of changes via email, and announcements at the general meetings and in the club e-bulletin.
Meeting #1: Club Service -January 21
Rotary of Traverse City overview
District 6290 & Rotary International
Fellowship Opportunities, ClubRunner,
Bulletin, Technology,
Meeting #2: Community Service -February 18
NMC BBQ, Bell Ringing, Christmas Baskets, One Way Coat Day &Munson Manor
J.J. Beckett Access-ABILITY Committee/Tag Day
Friends of the Boardman Watershed Dinner
Meeting #3: Rotary Charities March 17
Rotary Charities, Rotary Camps & Services, Grelick Outdoor Recreation Center & Discovery Center ~ Great Lakes
Our Club uses ClubRunner which has a great app for your phone.
If you don't have it yet you need it because it's AWESOME!
To search for the app in your app store it is ClubRunner, it has a blue square with CR in white in the center. You will need your ClubRunner password if you don't know it just let me know and I'll send it to you.
