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Welcome
Next Meeting:
When:   Friday, January 20th, 2017
Where:   The University Club, 3435 Forest Road, Lansing
Speaker:   Dr. Susan Maples
Topic:   "Declining Health in America.  WHO'S to Blame?"
Chair of the Day:   Manny Garcia
Greeters:   Jeff Crippen
Invocator:   Michelle Lantz
Chair of the Month:   Manny Garcia
Remembrance:   Maureen Hirten
Editarian:   Pam Miklavcic
 
Biography for Dr. Susan Maples
Dr. Susan Maples leads a successful dental practice in Holt, MI.  She brings preventive and restorative dental expertise, a passion for mouth-body total health, a master's degree in business/marketing, and 30+years of experience in private practice.  In 2012, Susan was named one of the top 25 women in dentistry and one of the top 8 innovators ("disruptors") in dentistry, and recently received the Lucy Hobbs National Mentor Award. 
 
She is the author of BlabberMouth!  77 Secrets Only Your Mouth Can Tell You To Live a Healthier, Happier, Sexier Life and the developer of the Hands-On Learning Lab and Self Screen.net.  Susan was also a co-investigator in an award winning diabetes research study in conjunction with Michigan State University Department of Endocrinology.
New Member Proposed

The following proposed member was approved with the Rotary Club of Lansing Board of Directors.  If anyone has a comment on this proposed member please forward it in writing within ten days to the Rotary office.

  •  Annie Rzepecki, Community Relations Coordinator with LBWL, sponsored by Camron Gnass
South Lansing/Holt Rotary Texas Roadhouse Luncheon
The South Lansing/Holt Rotary Club has held a Texas Roadhouse Celebrity Server Luncheon for the past 13 years.  All money raised by this event goes to scholarships for Holt and Lansing Everett Seniors.  Over $182,000.00 has been raised.  This year the event will be held Thursday, February 23rd at Texas Roadhouse, 280 E. Edgewood Boulevard, Lansing.  Seating time is from 11:10 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Tickets are only $20.00, contact:  Neil Osoff for tickets at:  nosoff@aol.com if you are interested.
Editarian Report for January 13, 2017
President Jack gaveled the Friday the 13th meeting to order and commented on the Boat Show on the first floor of the Lansing Center. He was amused by the Boat Show ads that said it was an important show because people needed to “Preserve Their Right to Boat!”
 
Al Yambor gave a moving invocation. We sang “America the Beautiful” accompanied on the piano by John Dale Smith. Craig Stiles delivered the microphone to Rotarians with guests.
 
There were lots of Rotarians with guests. John Cauley introduced two guests – one of whom will lead the search team to find John’s successor at the Red Cross. This was John’s last day at the Red Cross before his retirement. There were gasps and a spontaneous standing ovation for the decades of wonderful work John has done.
 
Pat Munshaw, substituting for Maureen Hirten announced that the health of the club is good. As far as she knew.
 
President Jack reminded us that our next meeting would be at the University Club, which “is within the Lansing City limits.”
 
Justin Sheehan, the Executive Director of the Lansing Promise and Hope Scholarship program said he was told he couldn’t talk about his work, just himself. He did a fine job. Justin is a “husband, father, social worker, attorney, and Lansing native. He guided us through the important dates in his life via a PowerPoint presentation with photos. He’s been married 17 years. His 1 ½ year-old daughter is losing a tooth - which is stressful for her. She has a one-year-old brother who they almost lost. However, he recovered from a bout with several nasty viruses after he was treated for several days at Sparrow Hospital. Now, it’s a “swinging family.” (They spend a lot of time at the park.) President Jack conferred Justin’s membership badge and pin and told us about the Hope Scholarship program and the Promise Zone program, which Justin leads.
 

Jenn Dubey highlighted the International Committee’s accomplishments for the year. The Lansing Rotary Foundation approved $20,000 for 13 potential projects, submitted by 45 Rotarians. The Committee read all the proposals, then agreed to fund nine projects in eight countries:

1) Installation of a water pump in the Southern Philippines where accessible water will be provided to 50-60 people. A local Rotarian agreed to oversee and monitor the project.

2) Money for a women’s home in Cambodia to fund a pre-school while mothers recover from drug addiction.

3) Funds for Jackson Kugari’s orphanage in Uganda which was visited by Lansing Rotarian Kurt Guter.

4) Money for a school in a poverty-stricken area of Northeast Thailand where 45% of the students are illiterate. The funds were for materials in English and Thai as well as playground equipment.

5) In a region of Kenya the chickens and eggs were spoiled by disease when there was no place to keep vaccines refrigerated. Money was given for a generator, as requested, and also containers for fuel.

6) Funds for a school in Southern Sudan, with which Irv Nichols has a relationship.

7) Peter Achuonjei has been part of a two-year project to bring water through Northwest Cameroon. That project received a grant for a holding tank for water.

8) 23,000 people were displaced from the slums of India. Funds were approved for vocational training and a pilot garden project.

9) Vicki Hamilton Allen proposed funding for Kenya AIDs orphans. On April 14 Vicki and Jenn will travel to Kenya to build a house for shelter during the rainy season.

All of these projects totaled about $21,460 – one thousand dollars over the approved amount for grants. The International Committee members decided to contribute the difference themselves! Jenn reminded us that the money for this important work comes from Lansing Rotarians’ Christmas and Birthday contributions. “Lansing Rotarians should be proud of what we’re accomplishing!”

 

Manny Garcia, Chair of the Day and Chair of the Month of January, introduced Danielle Robinson, Director of Corporate Responsibility at Jackson who spoke to us about financial freedom, planning for retirement, and financial education. Danielle asked Rotarians “Who is retired?” A show of hands. Then she asked, “Who wants to retire?” Nearly everyone’s hand went up. She told us that for the next 19 years, 10,000 baby boomers will reach age 65 EACH DAY. One in four will live past 90 years old. By 2020, 36% of the population will be 50 or older. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) only 21% of Americans and 39% of retirees expressed confidence they’ll be able to retire comfortably. In addition, 56% of working Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement, and one in three have nothing saved.
Jackson, founded in 1961, has 4 million customers and 5,000 associates. They are headquartered in Lansing have plans to assist in addressing these dismal numbers. In addition to providing annuities, which can provide a stream of income for life, Jackson’s Community Foundation has given away $22 million for community projects. Jackson’s employees have donated 125,000 hours of volunteer time. Jackson gives a two-for-one match to donations (for the elderly and children) in the community. Jackson has a training program for employees to promote their membership on local non-profit boards. Jackson also supports a number of programs aimed at promoting financial literacy.
 
Danielle asked us to recall our first money memory. When we first became aware that money was necessary to achieve certain goals or provide certain needs. Both Danielle’s parents were CPA’s so her introduction to money started early. Danielle told us that our childhood money memories affect our adult attitudes toward money - how spend and how save (or don’t save). Whether people avoid making money decisions, or are vigilant about money are learned behaviors. These follow a person their whole life.
 
The U.S. is 14th in the world in financial literacy. Millennials (ages 35 – 50 in 2015) score the lowest of all age groups. Only 17 states require that financial literacy and personal finance is taught in high school. Michigan “is doing better than some states” but we could do better.
 
Groups and government bodies have good, free, online tools to teach financial literacy. The City of Lansing offers free financial counseling at the Cristo Rey Community Center. People learn how to budget, to save for a house, and how to prepare for retirement.
 
Jackson has free financial literacy resources on its website. However, the company wanted to do more. They want to start with kids younger than high school age so they turned to one of their Asian partners, which had been using the perfect vehicle to reach children. Cartoons. Jackson is bringing the cartoon “Cha-Ching” with its superheroes, to the U.S. Jackson will have videos for parents and grandparents to use with the kids in their families.
 
Danielle took several questions from the group. One Rotarian didn’t have a question but wanted to share that Jackson’s assistance was invaluable. The Rotarian said that Jackson’s program prepared one of his employees to buy a house when that person would not have been able to do it otherwise.
 
President Jack gave Danielle a Rotary Coin and told her that in lieu of a speaker’s gift we’ll make a donation in her name to the Bio Sand Water Project in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The meeting was adjourned at 1:30.
 
Helen's email is:  hpmickens@gmail.com
Speakers
Jan 27, 2017
Boys & Girls Club. We will meet at Crowne Plaza on Creyts Road
Feb 03, 2017
We will be meeting at The University Club
Feb 17, 2017
Practiced in Togo, Africa, Meeting at the Lansing Center
Feb 24, 2017
at the Lansing Center
Mar 03, 2017
American Red Cross at the Lansing Center
Mar 10, 2017
at the Lansing Center
View entire list
Rotary Club of Lansing
P. O. Box 13156
Lansing, MI   48901-3156
Download FIles
Children's Safe Water project