Justice Richard Bernstein became the first blind justice, elected by voters statewide, to the Michigan Supreme Court in November 2014. With a commitment to justice and fairness, Bernstein began his 8-year term in January 2015.
Prior to being elected to Michigan’s highest court, Justice Bernstein was known as a tireless advocate for disabled rights as an attorney heading the public service division for The Sam Bernstein Law Firm in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Blind since birth, Justice Bernstein is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Michigan and earned his juris doctorate from Northwestern University School of Law.
Committed to taking action to help clients who needed him, Justice Bernstein’s cases often set national standards protecting the rights and safety of people with and without disabilities.
Among his cases in private practice, he represented the Paralyzed Veterans of America in partnership with the United States Department of Justice in an action against the University of Michigan to allow for safe access for disabled individuals when the university’s alterations to the stadium failed to accommodate and represent disabled visitors. The case helped establish guidelines that are used by all commercial facilities across the country.
He also successfully partnered with the United States Department of Justice to force the City of Detroit to fix broken wheelchair lifts on its buses, establishing a precedent for accessibility in public transportation. Further, Bernstein represented disabled residents against the Oakland County (Michigan) Road Commission after “roundabout” traffic circles were built without disabled access, impacting future ADA compliance for road construction throughout the United States.
In a landmark settlement against Delta Airlines and Detroit Metro Airport, Bernstein gained accessibility for disabled fliers, helping set the standard for which airlines and airports are to be covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. A proponent of education, he argued for, and won, preservation of special education funding throughout the state and filed a federal suit against the American Bar Association to put an end to its discriminatory practices toward blind students via requirement of the Law School Admissions Test. He also challenged the City of New York to make Central Park and all parks safer for visitors and accessible for disabled and visually impaired individuals.
Bernstein previously served an eight-year term on the Wayne State University Board of Governors, elected by voters statewide, serving as its chair from 2009-2010. He also served as an adjunct professor in the political science department at the University of Michigan.
In his spare time, Justice Bernstein is an avid runner, completing 18 marathons-including eight New York City marathons, the full ironman triathlon in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho in 2008, and the Israman triathlon's half Ironman in Eilat, israel in 2011. He also previously co-hosted a one-hour legal readio show called "Fighting for Justice" on WCHB-AM (1200) in Metro Detroit.
It is our pleasure to announce Rotary’s annual World Polio Day kickoff event on 23 October in New York City. We'll use this occasion to shine a light on Rotary’s leadership in the fight that has brought us This Close to ending polio.
The Livestream event, co-sponsored by UNICEF, will bring together our partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, government officials, and global health leaders from nongovernmental organizations and will mobilize more than 30,000 supporters.
July and August brought great milestones in the polio eradication effort. For the first time in history, Nigeria -- then all of Africa -- marked one year with no new polio cases caused by the wild virus.
We are closer to making good on our promise to end polio forever, but there's still work to be done. As we protect the progress made in Africa, we focus even more sharply on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Our World Polio Day kickoff event is our opportunity to update participants around the world on our progress and next steps and inspire them to share their voices, donate, or advocate for eradication as we near the finish line.
We invite you to join us and watch the event live, starting at 18:30 New York time (UTC-4) or later -- a recording will be made available. We also ask you to raise awareness of our polio eradication effort in your own community and build a local audience for our World Polio Day event. Visit the End Polio Now website to download resources that can help you raise awareness and funds. Share this information with your Rotary clubs, districts, communities, and elected officials.
Thirty years ago, we told the world what Rotary believes: that we can achieve the eradication of polio. Our dream is becoming reality. For every child, on World Polio Day, let's push ahead to the reality of a polio-free world.
In honor of our 100th Anniversary Celebration, Lansing Rotary will have a float in the 31st Annual Silver Bells Parade. We have secured a spot at the Lansing Center for construction. Todd Gute with Mayotte Group Architects has been working on the design. We need:
Woodworkers: Rotarians that would be willing to construct a few of the pieces and parts to be assembled. The intent is that these projects are small enough that they would be constructed over a weekend. Persons could volunteer for more than one element if they are interested but no one project should be too overwhelming. I can provide some dimensional drawings of the various projects. Hopefully we could have the projects constructed and painted the week of November 9 - 13th. Then assembly could be done the week of Silver Bells on November 20th.
Assemblers and Light Installers: This group of persons would need to be available the week before Silver Bells. First assembling and then installing lights throughout.
If you are interested please contact Tobi Lyon-Moore at tobi@ngagellc.com Thank you for your consideration!
Due to the tour we will be enjoying on Friday, October 30th, the birthdays will be celebrated on Friday, October 23rd. Thank you for getting your donations to the office. The Birthday Question was: "What annoys you the most?". Please send your answers to Darwin Brewster, his email is: darwin.brewster@sparrow.org
If you have an international project that you would like to have considered for the 2015-2016 fiscal year, then submit your proposal for funding following the outline set forth below. We are looking for a one to two page narrative that responds to the outline, plus a project budget. Your total submission should not exceed three pages. To be considered, proposals must be received no later than November 1st, 2015. Please submit your proposal via e-mail to: jdubey.wellnessdirector@gmail.com or Umakanth@GoSymbiosis.com.
Project Significance
a. What area of need will the project address (ie: food, shelter, clothing, education, health, or environmental issues)?
b. Who are the intended beneficiaries?
c. Provide a one paragraph summary of the project.
d. State any benchmarks or measurable outcomes.
Project Administration
a. Name the Lansing Rotary Club Member who will sponsor and manage the project for our Club. [This person must be willing to attend international committee meetings and be the champion for this project].
b. Name any state-side organizations or entities that are willing to assist in implementing and monitoring the project.
c. Is there a Rotary Club in the project area willing to assist in implementing the project?
d. Who are the contacts at the project site?
e. Are other Rotary Clubs in the Lansing area considering this same project?
Project Implementation
a. Will the beneficiaries take an active part in implementing the project?
b. Who will monitor the project?
c. What is the implementation time frame?
Project Budget
a. Attach the detailed budget for this Project, including the proposed funding sources (e.g. Private donations, Rotary District grants).
b. Identify which funding sources have already committed funds to this project’s proposed budget?
c. What amount are you requesting be funded by the Rotary Club of Lansing? [Please be aware that prior grant awards are in the range of $500 to $3000
d. In the event that we are unable to fund your full request, please list priority items with dollar amounts.
Project Organization/Entity
a. State the legal name of the organization/entity who would receive the funds.
b. Is this a 501(c)(3 organization, church, school, governmental unit, or Rotary Club?
President Smith called the meeting to order; John Grettenberger, Sr. gave the invocation and Ed Culberson made a special appearance on piano to accompany the singing of a patriotic song. Dave Trumpie facilitated the introduction of guests and visiting Rotarians. Mike Rhodes provided the Remembrance Report, noting that the health of the club is currently well, but that some of the members may be feeling ill following the big MSU/UM game.
Sue Hansen provided an update on the 100th Celebration, and noted that Impression 5 has secured the matching funding for our Club’s support, which means the project is now fully funded and will soon begin. Also of note: remember to bring a new book to an October meeting and support our 100 book collection this month for local organizations. New member orientation will be held on Wednesday, October 21st from 3:30-5:00pm at the Michigan Chamber of Commerce office. Lastly, the Haslett Okemos Club is doing a “scotch tasting” fundraiser on Nov 5th at 6pm at Dusty’s Bordeaux Room.
Special Music guest Elden Kelly, guitarist and songwriter, treated us to a delightful segment of the meeting, which was only made better by Colin Maguire, Chair of the Month & Day, and our speaker, Representative Mike Bishop (who should be applauded for willingly going along with the #serviceaboveselfie orchestrated by President Smith).
Representative Bishop is a lifelong resident of Oakland County; he and his wife are raising their three children in Rochester, MI. Rep. Bishop commutes to D.C., and spends most of his days meeting with constituents, working in committees, responding to concerns/questions, and attending a wide variety of programs/events. He usually ends the day with reading/researching issues to prepare for the following day’s agenda. He is honored to serve the people and is grateful for the time he spent in state government. Deeply dedicated to being a part of the solution, Rep. Bishop feels the sense of urgency to get this country on the right path. He shared concerns about issues in the Middle East, about our workforce, about the opportunities for young people and more.Serving on the Education Committee and the Judiciary Committee, he is well-situated to delve into these issues and more.
President Smith thanked Representative Bishop for sharing his time with us. In lieu of a speaker’s gift, we will donate in his name to the Bio Sand Filter project, providing pure water to under developed countries. See you next week at the Lansing Country Club, where the speaker of the day will be Justice Richard Bernstein.
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