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President Dennis called today’s meeting to order at the Lansing Center and the invocation was presented by Hari Kern which was followed by the singing of our National Anthem. Today’s meeting brought out a lot of guests and visiting Rotarians who were introduced and welcomed to the meeting with Al Yambor helping out with the mic today. Diane Sanborn provided the Remembrance Report and reminded us to keep Dave O’Leary in our thoughts and prayers on the passing of his wife Janet. President Dennis provided another reminder that the international grant process is open for our Club until November 2. Also, the nominating committee for the Club will be meeting next week with Darwin Brewster as the Chair. Dennis also encouraged Rotarians to add their input to the “Penny for Your Thoughts” process to comment on the finalists for a new sculpture being added to the Washington Square roundabout. The Capital Region Community Foundation is investing in the new sculpture and would love the voices of Rotarians to be heard in the process. Click here to view the renderings and leave your comments. https://www.ourcommunity.org/ Janet Lillie made her new member presentation today and Janet’s membership classification is University. Janet was born and raised in Plymouth, MI and her father was even the Mayor for a time. Janet attended Miami of Ohio University…not the one in Florida! Janet worked in Indianapolis for two years for Ralston Purina and was an expert at resetting grocery stores if anyone needs advice on that career path! Janet attended MSU and received her master’s degree and Ph.D. in communications and then never left MSU. She became a faculty member and taught all levels of communications classes from 12 to 250 people. She took a leap on a new career path and is now MSU’s Assistant Vice President for Community Relations which is the university’s outward reach to the community. Janet’s husband is a labor attorney locally and they have one son attending the University of Michigan. Janet gave us three topics unique to her to ask her more about next time you sit with her at a Rotary meeting. 1. She was a princess for a day in Germany; 2. Her travels to Saudi Arabia; 3. Her time recently spent with Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Welcome officially to Rotary Janet!! Ken Beachler introduced Rachel Raymer as our special music performer today. Rachel performs with Peppermint Creek Theater and Riverwalk Theater and will be featured in the The Wild Party which opens in November at Riverwalk Theater. Rachel performed with the versatile John Dale Smith and they showcased If You Really Knew Me from They’re Playing Our Song and When You’re Good to Mama from Chicago. By day, Rachel works for Dart Container. Be sure to catch Rachel in any upcoming performances…she is an extremely talented performer! President Dennis introduced Paul Rathbun as our Chair of the Month and Chair of the Day. Paul shared that as an empty nester he wanted to “have less and do more” so he chose to move to downtown Lansing. He is close to the river trail, festivals, music scene, fireworks, cuisine and more. He moved to the core of downtown due to the changes that have taken place downtown and especially in the Stadium District. He introduced Pat Gillespie from the Gillespie Group who has been at the epicenter of the development to detail the “Creation of a District”. Pat Gillespie started off by thanking his friends and colleagues in the audience and even those Rotarians who texted him to let him know he would be a terrible speaker for Rotary. Crippen and Pence were the texting hecklers if we’re naming names! The Stadium District started with the development of one building in August, 2008 and has evolved into a dynamic area for housing, dining, nightlife and energy. Pat outlined the most recent project announcement which is at 600 East Michigan Ave (at Larch St) and encompasses 21 parcels of land, 9 former homes as well as other existing businesses. The development will be a 4-story, 38,000 sq. ft. building with a first-floor grocery store, 120 room hotel, 36 housing units with 300 parking spaces. The market will most likely be called Capital City Market and is an urban grocery/market concept being developed by Meijer. The approval process is ongoing and construction should begin in April with a September, 2020 opening date (by contract). The Stadium District is also comprised of the Marketplace with 160 apartments which is at full occupancy and includes MP Social a restaurant bar with riverfront access and patio. The Outfield project is a public/private partnership in the outfield of Cooley Law School Stadium and is now copied at other ballparks around the country. The Stadium District building houses the LRCC, GLCVB, Coldwell Banker among others. And, finally, Lansing Brewing Company which has welcomed over 500,000 patrons in the past 36 months. What is next for the Stadium District? 1. The former Clara’s location developing into a new bar/restaurant in the next 36 months or so while maintaining the 113 year old history of the former train station. 2. A potential corporate headquarters at 300 N. Larch for 30-40,000 sq ft that overlooks the ballpark. 3. A partnership with Capital Region International Airport to open a version of Lansing Brewing at the airport in 2019. Pat answered a number of questions from Rotarians and thanked Rotarians for their involvement in the Riverfront Project. President Dennis thanked Pat for his informative presentation and announced our next meeting will be at the Lansing Center on October 19 for presentations from our new members. See you then! |
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