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As Rotarians gathered to enjoy their tacos – in whatever form they chose – John Dale Smith provided our noontime serenade. It is so nice to have him with us for awhile and his talents are greatly appreciated. Past President Nick called the meeting to order promptly at 12:30 and led us in the Four Way Test, which he still remembers. I guess repetition does work! That was followed by a thoughtful reflection by Kayla Park, who found St Francis of Assisi’s peace prayer after reflecting on her Bible readings in Amos and the words of a song, which turned out to be this prayer set to music. Our patriotic song, accompanied by John Dale Smith, was “The Star Spangled Banner.” Guests were introduced by their hosts with assistance from Lisa Smith who made sure the microphone was where it needed to be. Lisa Smith also introduced our special music, vocalist Travis Williams, using a Q&A format. Travis has been in several productions, including Grease, Jekyll and  Hyde and The Threepenny Opera. He has had both backstage and onstage roles. He gives private vocal lessons and is a substitute teacher. He sang two selections for us – “Into the Woods” from Giants in the Sky by Stephen Sondheim and “Love Can’t Happen” from The Grand Hotel set in the 1920’s. Both selections featured big finishes which Travis handled spectacularly! The only announcement was about the DEI committee meeting which was to occur immediately after the meeting in the President’s Dining Room. If you missed this meeting, but want to be part of this committee, see Bilky Joda-Miller. Linda Sarnelli, acting as Chair of both the Month and the Day, introduced our speaker, Judi Harris who is Executive Director of the American Red Cross Mid-Michigan Chapter. Judi is also one of our members, joining the club in early 2023. The introduction was short and sweet – Judi is a world traveler and wherever she goes, she helps people. Linda is honored to be her friend. Judi started by saying that she has given many presentations to many different groups, but our group made her nervous. She needn’t have worried – she delivered a very informative and interesting presentation.  The mission of the American Red Cross is to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors. Judi explained that the two key points in this mission are volunteers and donors. 90% of the work done by ARC is done by volunteers and their work is funded completely by private donations. None of the funding is from government grants, which helps to maintain the organization’s independence. ARC is part of a global network that includes the ICRC – International Committee of the Red Cross, The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and the National Societies – whether Red Cross, Red Crescent or Red Crystal. The ARC is made up of 230 chapters, 6 of them in Michigan, and 300,000 volunteers. There are three branches of the ARC – Biomedical Services, Training and Humanitarian Services. Disasters are getting worse every year. Not only are there more disasters, the disasters are also bigger than they have been in the past. In 2023, there were 25 disasters that cost one billion dollars or more. That is twice as many as there were 10 years ago. Each state has a disaster rating. We were all surprised to learn that Michigan is designated as a type one disaster area, primarily due to the large number of house fires. In fact, we are sixth in the country for house fires. There is a critical need for blood donations. The number of blood drive events is not providing the number of donations needed. Events are cancelled due to disaster or hot weather. More donors are needed, and the donor pool needs to be more diverse. Staffing shortages are another challenge in this area. The volunteer pool is also not adequate to meet all the needs. During COVID, volunteers were sidelined, and many did not return to service. Volunteers are aging and not being replaced in adequate numbers by younger volunteers. There are training requirements, some provided online, so volunteers may be challenged by technology. These factors along with increased demand are stretching volunteer resources. Judi concluded her presentation with a summary of services provided last year in the tri-county area. Services included assistance with house fire recovery and prevention, blood drive, services to members of our Armed Forces, training in the areas of first aid, CPR, aquatics/water safety and caregiving, and disaster deployment. There are a number of opportunities for volunteering. You can be a Blood Donor Ambassador, Disaster Services Volunteer, Disaster Action Team Member, or Volunteer Transportation Specialist. Training is provided to all volunteers. You can also stay on top of activities with the Red Cross apps. There are several, encompassing blood donation, first aid, severe weather and more. During the Q&A we learned that disaster deployments typically last for two weeks and there are no age limits or health qualifications. Ben Rathbun commented that he has trained his entire staff on CPR and incorporates a Red Cross moment into every staff meeting. A suggestion was also made for a Rotary blood drive competition. PP Nick thanked Judi for her presentation and explained that a donation would be made to our Foundation in her name. Next week, our speaker will be Dr. Laura Dillon speaking on “Coding for Kids.” The meeting was adjourned promptly at 1:30. Email for Linda Lynch: linda.j.lynch@gmail.com |
Laura Dillon served on the faculty of the University of California Santa Barbara for 12 years before joining MSU’s Department of Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) in 1997. An ACM Distinguished Scientist, Laura’s research centered on formal methods in software engineering. A champion of broadening participation in computing throughout her career, Laura was a founding co-advisor of MSU Women in Computing, Chair of the first Michigan Celebration of Women in Computing (MICWIC), Program Co-Chair of the 2011 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC), and General Co-Chair of GHC 2012.