President Nick Heriford called the meeting to order in the Michigan Room of Lansing Community College and led all assembled in the 4-way test. Kayla Park reflected on TRUE SPRING and singing of The Star Spangled Banner followed. Evan Winter facilitated the introduction of visiting Rotarians (none) and guests (one). The health of the club is mostly well; long-time former member Omar Keith Helferich passed away on March 28th at 89 years old.
Craig Stiles gave an announcement about the Paul Harris appeal, which celebrates the life and legacy of Paul Harris, Rotary Godfather and childhood prankster (really, check the history) and inspires contributions in support of a variety of funds at Rotary International advancing our mission. Watch for a letter to come in your email box and remember that this is one of three times per year that members are asked to make a personal contribution in support of our greater purpose as Rotarians. Note: when you hit the $1,000 level you get a Paul Harris pin, and you get additional jewels in your crown (ahem, pin) for additional $1,000 increments over time. More to come next week... stay tuned!
Susan Angel gave a PR update, giving kudos to a few Rotarians who have been instrumental in the framework for a new effort that includes Discover Greater Lansing – a multi-media campaign spanning WLAJ, WLNS and more, with outreach to mid-Michiganders about things to do when you live, work, and play here. Rotary is one of the featured organizations, offering insights and inspiration on ways to get involved and give back. She shared some great clips of many fellow Rotarians, representing many fantastic companies and organizations in our community, talking about what makes them proud of the past and excited about the future. Visit www.discovergreaterlansing.com to learn more.
Michelle Reynaert gave a thrilling membership update, despite a lack of entertaining videos, and no slides. Instead, she gave a reminder that we are ALL part of the membership committee, responsible for growing our club and providing a welcoming home for our newest family members. Together, we can achieve our big, hairy, audacious goals.
In other announcements, the local grants application is live and open through April 8th; see the link in Rotogram. There will be a DEI Committee meeting next week, April 12th, after the lunch meeting. The next New Member Orientation is April 19th, immediately before the lunch meeting. President Nick, serving as chair of the day, thanked Umakanth for serving as chair of the month and introduced new members giving their ‘red badge speech’ to earn their blue badge.
• Bill Frysinger moved from Ohio to New Jersey in 3rd grade. He loved growing up there, despite initial trepidation. He was walking Manhattan alone by age 15, catching the last bus out, delighting in the food and beverages of the city. His family tent camped up and down the east coast; as one of five kids, he never stayed in a hotel until later in life. He was a boy scout and scoutmaster. He still teaches Scoutmaster Training courses. He played various musical instruments growing up including the coronet; his three kids are all musical, growing up in Grand Ledge. He has a degree from MSU, camped all around the UP, and rode a motorcycle 500 miles one day in the rain from Maine to New Jersey. He married Christine in 1981; their kids Rebecca, Elizabeth, and Daniel, are all grown and gainfully employed. He and Chris ran Frysinger Printing Solutions for many years; he is interested in travel, woodworking, history and world studies, cooking, and more. He ended with a speed round of The Colbert Questionnaire, 15 questions to plumb the depths of someone’s soul, sharing his favorite sandwich, favorite action movies, and more.
• Kayla Park loves books and presented her story as if she were reading a story. It was lovely. Once upon a time, a girl named Kayla was born at Sparrow; she loved birds and dreamed of seeing the world. She spent time overseas the year following her graduation from WMU, giving her many memorable moments. World travel led her to Austria, where she saw Syrian refugees smiling despite the horrors of what they had left and the uncertainty of where they were going. Inspired to help, she found a role with Samaritas, worked with them for six years, and spoke at several rotary clubs as part of her work. One year, Kayla decided to hike the Appalachian trail; three weeks into her journey it ended with the arrival of the pandemic. Instead, she bought a home and began work to develop a new program with Samaritas, her dream job. In 2021 she met a handsome man on a canoe trip; two years later they were planning a wedding. Her version was better than this summary.
• Deb Moerland lives in Laingsburg; she has 3 children, 8 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild. Her passion is her family and her dogs (she has 7). She went to college after having her kids; she went to LCC and then transferred to CMU where she obtained her teaching degree. She taught math and computers at Chelsea High School for 14 years, taught at LCC for many years in the math department, and at several other colleges via online courses. She left teaching to start her own business, First Light Home Care, 8 years ago. She’s met people from all over the world; it’s her favorite part of her role to get to know people and discover how best to support them in their remaining days. She loves baseball – she’s been to many stadiums and has a serious (seriously serious) collection of baseball cards.
• Linda Sarnelli was on deck to go next but graciously agreed to present at a future meeting to ensure a timely end to our Rotary meeting.
REMINDER: See you next week, April 12th, when Dr. Satish Joshi and Dr. Ranjani Krishnan join us to speak about “Business Models for Small-Scale Technologies for Service Provider Enterprises”.
Respectfully submitted by Michelle Reynaert, michelle.reynaert@umhsparrow.org