As one of the world’s largest humanitarian organizations, Rotary has made peace the cornerstone of our global mission. We are deeply concerned about the Ukraine crisis and need your help. With your donation to our Disaster Response Fund, we can support communities and help rebuild lives during this tragic time.

 

Some of the projects taking place in other countries are listed at the bottom of the Rotogram beneath Download Files.

In case you missed the answers to the "Match Game" that were given at the meeting last Friday: 

 

 

1. This Rotarian loves to sail and is restoring an old sail boat.  Parker Sessa

2. This Rotarian wanted to be a pastry chef AND holds a Guinness World Record.  Bradley

3. This Rotarian is actively involved with Ele's Place, Lansing Art Gallery and Lansing School District.  Ben Rathbun

4. This Rotarian holds degrees from MSU AND UM but bleeds green.  Brenda Geoghegan

President Sue Hansen called our meeting to order. This week’s Rotary Reflection was provided by Nicole Baumer and we sang the National Anthem, John Dale Smith accompanied us on the piano. We were fortunate to have quite a few guests. We’re getting better at our recitation of the 4 Way Test. If we can do it here, we can do it anywhere. Health of the club appears to be in order per Parker Sessa. Irv Nichols made us aware of an opportunity to serve in a town and gown program from helping international students acclimate to the greater Lansing area. If you’re interested in working with international students, contact Irv Nichols or Joel Hoffman.

 

Special music came to us today from Haslett High School. We were treated to a trombone quartet from Haslett High School today for our special music. They performed a Mendelsohn piece and a Heiden piece.

 

Laurie Baumer was our chair of the day and she introduced us to our speaker of the day, Brian Calley. Calley is the CEO and President of the Small Business Association of Michigan (SBAM). One of SBAM’s initiatives is the Mi Hidden Talent program that is scheduled for March 14, 2022: https://www.sbam.org/event/6th-annual-mi-hidden-talent-workshop/

 

While GDP, employment and income frequently increase following turmoil (let’s see, pandemic, war, inflation, I’m sure I’m missing something), labor force participation after turmoil frequently lags. With a birth rate lagging behind our death rate, there’s a likelihood that employment is going to be tight for the foreseeable future. There’s been a segment of our population that has been overlooked in employment. Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bernstein and Calley met six years ago to discuss what could be done to bring greater numbers of differently abled persons to work for the State of Michigan. That conversation brought on a bigger conversation, why limit it to state employment? SBAM’s Mi Hidden Talent Program is again presenting on March 14, 2022, (link above) to those who want to learn more about hiring workers who want to work but may be differently abled and therefore present initial challenges in employment.

 

Calley took a number of questions from the audience and President Sue thanked him for his presentation.

 

Kevin Schumacher's email is:  schumacher@glassenrhead.com