President Swope called the meeting to order at 12:30 p.m., and led Rotarians in the recitation of the Four-Way Test.
Ben Rathbun presented a beautiful and touching Reflection about his service to Ele’s Place and how, one day in 2021, he found himself on a couch there, crying as he grieved the untimely passing of his beloved father and former Rotarian Paul Rathbun.
We sang the Patriotic Song, “My Country ’Tis of Thee” with Hari Kern on piano.
Intro of Guests: Alex Hernandez handled mic duties. There were a lot of visitors — thanks in large part to Bobby Hoffman who brought a gaggle of guests to fill a whole table!
Health of the Club: No health-related information reported. Yay!
Special Music: Cam Gnass shared about Capital City Film Festival, which will take place April 8-18. We watched a short video of films, and a hilarious and touch short story about the lifelong bond between a young boy 12-year-old boy and his sister.
Announcements:
President Swope announced that the local grants application process will be live through the April 20. He asked Rotarians to let their friends know about this opportunity.
Alex Hernandez will co-chair the Membership Committee. Congratulations, Alex!
We are still looking for Service Project Committee members. We’re also still recruiting Chairs of the Month for the 2026-2027 calendar, and we could also use a couple more Editarians. Please reach out to Lolo Robison at lolorobison@gmail.com if you are interested.
President Swope shared about Pillars of the Community’s Michigan Kickoff on Friday, April 17, 9 a.m.-11 a.m., at 123, W. Allegan St. #100, Lansing, MI 48933. This program seeks to bolster public faith in the American election system and its officials by engaging politically diverse civic leaders to examine the integrity of the electoral process and the safeguards in place. The goal is to have this examination provide community support for the reliability of election results, and for the local and state election officials who administer them. Interested? RSVP to Haley Bennet at hbennett@truscottrossman.com or Lindsay Hart at lhart@trusctottrossman.com — this is an invitation-only event!
Phyllis Riley earned her Blue Badge today after giving her New-Member Presentation. We learned that her dad was her hero. He taught her how to bait a fishing hook,
catch and release, shoot a gun, and grab anything to shove into the carburetor of her Pontiac LeMans to get it to go when it flooded. Disclosing that her parents “got busy,” she’s one of many siblings. She was raised in Muskegon as a Catholic and graduated second in her class. A self-professed band geek and nerd, she went on to study marketing and management at Central Michigan University (Fire up, Chips!), and graduated among the top five in her class. She worked for Steketee’s in Grand Rapids and was an assistant buyer for the men’s department at Herpolsheimer’s. She worked for Unisys and sold computers to the federal government, and then relocated to Lansing and sold computers to state government. She got into and excelled at event planning, met a guy named Jamie who married her, which allowed her to legally change her name from Phyllis Funk to Phyllis Riley. They had two boys, Jacob and Nathan. There were a lot of sports, including a lot of soccer and a lot of skiing. She has a one-year-old grandson, Benny, who she described as “the cutest pumpkin ever.” She gets excited when she pulls a weed out by its whole root — so much so that she takes a picture to document the feat. She prefers apple pie to cake for her birthday, which her husband makes for her every year, complete with a latticed top crust. She and Jamie are faithful Catholics and volunteer at St. Martha’s Parish in Okemos. She planned the Evening of Empowerment for Athena Win — Igniting the Leader in You, and she is championing Child and Family Charities May 14, 2026, from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. at Urban Beat. Do let her know if you’re going. Congratulations, Phyllis!
catch and release, shoot a gun, and grab anything to shove into the carburetor of her Pontiac LeMans to get it to go when it flooded. Disclosing that her parents “got busy,” she’s one of many siblings. She was raised in Muskegon as a Catholic and graduated second in her class. A self-professed band geek and nerd, she went on to study marketing and management at Central Michigan University (Fire up, Chips!), and graduated among the top five in her class. She worked for Steketee’s in Grand Rapids and was an assistant buyer for the men’s department at Herpolsheimer’s. She worked for Unisys and sold computers to the federal government, and then relocated to Lansing and sold computers to state government. She got into and excelled at event planning, met a guy named Jamie who married her, which allowed her to legally change her name from Phyllis Funk to Phyllis Riley. They had two boys, Jacob and Nathan. There were a lot of sports, including a lot of soccer and a lot of skiing. She has a one-year-old grandson, Benny, who she described as “the cutest pumpkin ever.” She gets excited when she pulls a weed out by its whole root — so much so that she takes a picture to document the feat. She prefers apple pie to cake for her birthday, which her husband makes for her every year, complete with a latticed top crust. She and Jamie are faithful Catholics and volunteer at St. Martha’s Parish in Okemos. She planned the Evening of Empowerment for Athena Win — Igniting the Leader in You, and she is championing Child and Family Charities May 14, 2026, from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. at Urban Beat. Do let her know if you’re going. Congratulations, Phyllis!
Chair of the Day Ben Rathbun introduced Lisa Nielsen, who is the somewhat new branch director at Ele’s Place. She came on board in June 2025 with more than a decade of nonprofit leadership experience. She’s still learning the ropes at Ele’s Place, which provides meaningful support to grieving families. She shared about her work and its positive impact on the community, especially as she works to build strategic partnerships. She is motivated by the children who rely on the organization’s services and support. Lisa demonstrated some of the activities she facilitates at Ele’s Place to engage children, encourage them to talk about their feelings and, most importantly, recognize that others at Ele’s Place are also grieving and leaning on one another. She is a compassionate advocate for the children and young adults who call Ele’s Place their home away from home.
Email for Lolo Robison: lolorobison@gmail.com