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President Rebecca, who is clearly anticipating the end of her term, called the meeting promptly to order with a ring of our Rotary bell and led us in the Four Way Test. Diane Sanborn shared two Irish blessings for our reflection as a nod to our program on The Irish Pub. Hari Kern accompanied us as we sang “God Bless America”. Lisa Smith assisted with the introduction of guests. Ben Rathbun continued to win the ‘bring lots of guests’ competition by bringing one brand new employee and one of his former neighbors. Patrick Brennan, who was all set to become a new member, let us know that he has taken a job in Flint, making it a long drive to join us at our weekly meetings. He is looking forward to finding a Rotary club in Flint. Nick Heriford, who was anxious for special music, introduced Grant Hendrickson as his guest and our featured musician. Grant is an employee benefit expert with Brogan Group and the organizer of Backyard Bash, an idea born out of Grant’s COVID experience. Rebecca wrested control of the agenda from Nick long enough to let us know that the health of the club is good and then turned the meeting back to Grant for our special music. Elaborating on Nick’s introduction, he told us that Backyard Bash is an effort to bring more famous artists to the Lansing area. This year’s concerts will take place throughout June and July on the MSUFCU headquarters lawn. Profits go to the MSU Community Music School to support families with scholarships and tuition assistance.  Grant began by singing Josh Kelly’s “Home to Me”, which he has also sung with Josh Kelly. He followed that up with a fun sing along, urging us to pretend that it’s Saturday night and we all have a cold beverage in front of us. I’m sure you can guess that Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” was up, with a few changes to include audience members and fit our reality. All in all, it was a very enjoyable few minutes! President Rebecca made an urgent plea for additional volunteers to participate in the river cleanup service project at Potter Park Zoo on Saturday. At the time of the meeting, we were short 4 of the 8 volunteers we had promised. The Delta-Waverly club is hosting a golf outing on August 7th. Bob Hoffman invited us all to Friday’s ePIFany Now event wrapping up a week of kindness. It took place at MSUFCU and he promised free food, free fun and free inspiration. Sue Mills represented Rotarians with May birthdays and shared some of their hidden gems. Mark Hooper recommends The Big Spring or Kitch-iti-kipi in the UP. Melanie Dart suggests a winter trip to the Arcadia overlook on Lake Michigan. Try to make it when there is a thaw and you will be able to hear the sounds of ice crashing on the lake. Lolo Robison and her husband visit a treehouse cottage in St Ignace. They always go in the fall when they can enjoy the colors and listen to the whispered secrets of the forest. Courtney Millbrook loves to visit Grand Marais for rock hunting, sunsets and beach. Sue shared that there is a secret garden on the grounds of the Grand Hotel. Many visitors never find it, but if you ask any of the employees, they will show you the path that leads to it. From her description, it seemed that Spring would be a wonderful time to visit it. I was so wrapped up in the stories shared about these places that I almost failed to note the important details. I believe they had 88% participation and the money raised was $1,450. Alex Hernandez, our Chair of the Month and Chair of the Day introduced our speaker, Brian Leyrer, Partner at The Irish Pub. I must confess that I knew nothing about the Irish Pub before our social events began happening there. I learned that the building was a grocery store before it became The Irish Pub and a westside staple. It was sold in 2006 and again at auction in 2013. The new owners thought it would be a 30 day shutdown, but soon realized it was a much bigger project that was put on hold due to a lack of time and money. Seven years later, Brian was approached to take on the project of renovating the building for reopening. Thus began 4 years of challenges. The first permit was issued just as COVID began. None of the partners knew anything about the restaurant business or the requirements for this type of project. Brian used ignorance to his advantage many times to make it through a total of 28 permits.  The interior of the building was completely gutted. Virtually all of the plumbing was replaced – well, they did manage to save about 6 feet of it. Much of the work was done by the three partners and a total of $1.4M was invested in the project. One highlight was finding Tip under a pile of rubble. With a little love, he was cleaned up and is still the official mascot. Future plans include a private space for meetings, but profit is the current focus. Concerns include the economy and the fate of the Fisher Body site. Bob Hoffman commented that the service is great. Bryan is proud that there has been no turnover of bartenders or cooks. Another Rotarian wondered how the menu was developed. There is a nice mix of old favorites and great new additions. Brian worked with Van Eerden Foodservice in Grand Rapids on 6 tastings. (Editarian’s note: if you like olive burgers and jalapenos, try the Jalive Burger – it’s amazing!) Brian ended by telling us that when he had his first meeting with a City of Lansing Inspector, he was told that the meeting shouldn’t have been happening because the project needed to start with the Health Department who had no idea that it was beginning. That led to a 117 page submission to officially get things started. Next week Chris Swope will be filling in for Rebecca and our speaker will be Rich Howard from AARP. The following week will be Rebecca’s last meeting, so mark your calendars and be sure to attend for a bit of Rotary fun! Email for Linda Lynch: linda.j.lynch@gmail.com |
