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President Rebecca called our meeting to order with a ring of the Rotary Bell at exactly 12:30. We began with the 4 Way Test, followed by a reflection by Diane Sanborn which honored Irv Nichols on the occasion of his 100th birthday. Our patriotic song, accompanied by John Dale Smith was the national anthem. Lisa Smith circulated the microphone for the introduction of guests. Our guests included our new Assistant Governor, Chris Lewis; a young man from Italy who is staying with Craig Stiles whose father is a Rotarian; Sue Wagner who wanted to celebrate Irv’s birthday and was a guest of Pat Munshaw; and an entire support group brought by Ben Bakken. In addition, Irv had several members of his family in attendance, including his oldest son, John and his wife Alice from Castle Rock CO; his middle son Will from Greenville, his youngest son Taylor, an actor who lives in California; and Alexandra, one of his granddaughters.  President Rebecca, reporting on the health of the club, brought Irv Nichols to the podium so that we could recognize him on his 100th birthday. She presented him with a giant card, and we sang “Happy Birthday” to him. Irv had a few thoughts of his own to share. He gave credit to his good genes for his long life, but reflected that it has it’s disadvantages. He has lost many friends and attends many funerals, but very few weddings. He takes good care of himself, working out every night for 15 minutes with a 10lb weight and finishes with pushups and situps. He considers himself fortunate to have many good friends, including Sue Mills and Pat Munshaw, who bring him to Rotary meetings, and Joel Hoffman and his wife who recently included him in a party at their home. He believes that friendships are the most important aspect of his life. He brought a cake to share with all of us and it was cut and delivered to us while he was speaking. When he first came to Lansing, he thought he would join the Jaycees, but someone recommended that he join Rotary instead. He said it has been marvelous to be part of such an active club for so many years (66 to be exact) and that it has been worth any effort he has put into the club. As for announcements: • International grant applications will be accepted beginning in October. Watch the Rotogram for more information. • The membership committee met immediately following the day’s meeting. • The PR committee will meet at 11am on Friday, October 4th. More members are needed, especially if you have PR experience. See Lolo Robison for more information. Julie Pingston came to the podium to acknowledge Pat Hanes, who is moving to Ohio to be close to his granddaughter and her parents. Julie reminded us that Pat was President in 2019-20 and worked very hard to move our weekly meetings to Zoom so that we would continue to be an active club during the COVID lockdown. Presidents of other clubs were contacting Pat and Julie, who took over as President in June 2020, to learn how we were coping with lockdown. In addition to that, he has helped with special music, was the steward of our 100th anniversary book project and has provided legal advice to the club when needed. We will miss Pat and wish him all the best! Next up was Ben Bakken with his blue badge presentation. Ben used a game show format which he called “How Well Do You Know Ben?” During the game, we learned that Ben: • Has never worked with Camron Gnass • Did not injure his back while in high school (at least I think that was the answer to this one) • Did not attend Central Michigan University • Is not on the Special Olympics board • His parents met at Paul Revere’s Tavern • Rhys is not one of his children (he and his wife have 5 between them, but Rhys is a nephew) In a self scored game, Julie Pingston was the winner and Ben will donate $100 to our Foundation in her name. If you want to know all of the choices that represented Ben’s experiences, you will have to sit at his table and inquire! Lisa Smith invited herself to the podium to solicit members for the Microphone Committee. She was able to get volunteers through April. Anyone who would like to be on this committee can contact Lisa to get on the calendar. President Rebecca introduced Corey Grant who was September’s Chair of the Month and also Chair of the Day. Corey’s introduction of Ryan Laruwe, Executive Director of the Michigan Infrastructure Council was short and sweet. Ryan shared that he has been in state government for 15 years, with experience at MDOT and the PSC. The Michigan Infrastructure Council, or MIC, was formed by legislative action in 2018. It is made up of 9 seats from the private sector, 7 seats representing state agencies and one representative each from the Water Asset Management Council and Transportation Asset Management Council. MIC grew out of an 18 month study commissioned by Governor Rick Snyder to identify best practices that would allow Michigan to be proactive rather than reacting to infrastructure failures.  MIC is focused on providing an integrated wholistic approach to infrastructure. This approach should minimize disruptions and be focused on future requirements. Through MiDIG, or the MIC Project Portal, authorized infrastructure asset owners and managers, private utilities, and state agencies across the State of Michigan find assistance with cross asset collaboration and coordination. A “dig once” mentality reduces redundancy and can save as much as 90% of the cost of a project. Another key piece of MIC’s mission is to inform and educate. We don’t recognize the importance of infrastructure although it contributes greatly to our high quality of life. Education seeks to elevate the importance of infrastructure. Our existing infrastructure is old, dating back to the post WWII era. That means that it is 50 – 70 years old. As it is replaced, design criteria is changing, requiring evaluating current needs and looking ahead to the next 100 years. Designs need to be adaptable and take things like climate change into account. The past is frequently not well documented. There is much knowledge that relies on particular people’s knowledge. Many of these people are looking to retire which will result in lost knowledge. Work is ongoing to create documentation so the knowledge will not be lost. Pat Munshaw asked if the workforce is sufficient for all anticipated infrastructure projects. Ryan said that it is not sufficient, but that it is harder to develop the workforce. Work is ongoing in that area as well, but efficiencies can provide faster results while workforce development is in progress. Chris Holman had a question regarding technology that will be required on roadways to accommodate autonomous vehicles. Ryan indicated that features are added to projects ahead of demand. These features could just mean running conduit alongside a road that could be used for future needs. President thanked Ryan for speaking with us. Next week we will have a social gathering on Thursday evening. Chris Holman managed to squeeze in one more tidbit before the meeting was adjourned. He wanted us to know that Irv received a lifetime achievement award at the recent Sister Cities Gala. President Rebecca adjourned the meeting just as promptly as she started it with a final ring of the bell. Email for Linda Lynch: linda.j.lynch@gmail.com |
The Michigan State Rotaract Club is hosting an event on October 2nd from 6 to 7 p.m. at Holmes Hall C102, 919 E. Shaw Lane, East Lansing. The event, "Meet the Rotarians", is a fun networking initiative that their club is organizing for their members. This is a great way for our club to meet young professionals at MSU, work with them, mentor them, and provide valuation advice on life, work, and Rotary!