|
President Smith called the meeting to order, Al Yambor gave the innovation and the assembled Rotarians and guests sang a patriotic song. Dave Trumpie worked the room like a talk show host, while the commoners hailed a Student-Rotarian “King” and “The Crown-Prince of the O’Leary Kingdom”. Michelle Lantz declared the health of the club well. Announcements by President Smith included a reminder about the February food collections for the Food Bank (but cash goes even further in this case) and a save the date for the EL Rotary weekend survival kit luncheon on March 21st: bring $5, have lunch and help stuff some backbacks. And take a selfie while doing it to get a jump on the Public Image/Social Media Project “Rotary Service Spotlight”.
Uncle Jimmy (Jim Phillips) presented a walk through the years of Rotary Christmas Programs while wearing a sequined vest. The four new Rotarians waiting to give their new member speeches are still trying to figure that out. After many not-so-subtle cues from President Smith that his time had ended long ago, Jim wrapped it up. The summary for those who missed it goes like this: we don’t refer to children as crippled any longer, the gifts for the children definitely improved over the years, we won’t even discuss the food, John Grettenberger Jr and Trey Williams are still in therapy for their stints in the not-quite-ready-for-primetime players (a group whose dedication and good-hearts far surpassed their actual talent) productions over the years, and John Pence should probably join them.
Fortunately, the three cast members from The Threepenney Opera had wonderful gifts, and treated us to some entertaining selections from their show which is opening at LCC, including one “Jealousy song” which was dedicated to their heart-breaker, David O’Leary.
Joe Wald declared “NOT IT”, so President Lisa led off the introductions of the now red but soon to turn blue-badged Rotarians who were at the head table realizing that Uncle Jimmy didn’t take enough time after all and they still had to speak.
Stephanie Collier kicked off the fun, declaring herself the youngest Rotarian in the club at age 26. But Chris Holman swears he’s only 25 so that is still up for debate. A grad of Haslett HS, she broke free of her families multi-generational teaching tradition to study finance at MSU. She admitted to doing a little theater of her own growing up, which may bite her down the road if Uncle Jimmy organizes another Rotarian-produced Christmas show. She and her husband have a baby named Jasper, who is actually a large Siamese cat. She looks forward to giving back to the community she grew up in and sharing fur-baby photos with fellow fur-loving Rotarians.
Jamie Fitzpatrick began her five minutes of fame with a “I hate public speaking” and a solemn swear to kill anyone that videotapes her speech. She doesn’t look that dangerous but I wouldn’t test her. She has a 17-year-old son who is a senior @ DeWitt HS and is headed to MI Tech this fall. Jamie is a past Rotarian (Mt. Clemens), who moved her 3 ½ years ago. She is in Real Estate, and studied marketing and business in college. She believes strongly in Rotary and knows that you get out what you put in.
Pam Miklavcic was up next, and frankly I couldn’t write fast enough to keep up with all the places that she has lived and all of the amazing things she has done. She refers to these as the layers of her story, and you really should go talk to her. Ask her how to pronounce her name. Then ask her about Mt. Holio College, her Peace Corps assignment in Africa, fish farming, her Master’s degree in agricultural economics, her four kids, her journey through her son’s Leukemia that shaped her current work with The Davies Project, or maybe just ask to see her Dad’s Rotary pin, which her mom gave her at Christmas. Whatever you ask her about, you are sure to hear an amazing story and make a wonderful new friend.
Mike Abel was up next, sharing stories from his 32 years in Lansing before he moved to Detroit, where he spent 20 years before coming back. He lives in Stockbridge now, but remembers fondly the days growing up in Churchill Downs, which sound a lot like the movie “Sandlot” come to life. His dad worked at RC Cola, and his mom taught catechism at St. Kasmir’s. Jack Davis may have had a role in their home in this neighborhood where football games and baseball games started as soon as the cartoons were watched and sugary cereal ran out and ended when the inevitable fight broke out over a stolen base or a hit batter. There were fort-mansions in the trees by the river as he grew older, time spent on the Harry Hill HS football team, and a hard-working stint as a bagger at Meijer on S. Penn, which ultimately took him to the Meijer Warehouse where he worked for task-master Sam Tucker. Mike hitchhiked and back-packed his way all over Europe before he ran out of money and came home, where he met his wife of 31 years. They have three sons, the youngest of whom is a Junior at CMU. Mike loves bass fishing, the Tigers and Rotary – but with Mark Hooper as his sponsor, that is no surprise.
Al Yambor finished out the February Freshmen Class speeches with a heart-warming talk that makes you realize why he had no trouble sweet-talking his wife of less than a year into leaving her family and friends in Ohio to move here when Al got an offer he couldn’t refuse from PNC bank three years ago. Both of them were born in Ohio and they are Buckeye fans. However, Al explained that Ohio is NOT a pro-choice state, and if you are born in Ohio, you do NOT get a choice; you simply must be a Buckeye. Must be something in the water. Maybe we should send bottled-water there, too. In any event, Al swears he went to a different place for his finance and marketing degree, so we can be his friend. His experiences in college and a Students in Free Enterprise group (SIFE) that he was involved with truly shaped his future, getting him excited about microloans to underdeveloped countries, and he became the first in his family to graduate with a four-year degree. Two weeks ago, he and his wife purchased a home in Grand Ledge (GO COMETS!) and are now debating if the spare room becomes a nursery or a home for a drum-set. Al is active in the NextGen group at the Wharton, heads up the Grow Up Great volunteer team at PNC and is in the inaugural leadership class through the Chamber. Congratulate Al on his blue badge, and wish him well on his Certified Financial Planner test.
President Smith adjourned the meeting and presented all five speakers with their blue badges.
See you next week, when we will be back at the Lansing Center to hear from Alex Bryan, Director of Agricultural Programs at the Greater Lansing Food Bank.
|
Alex Bryan is the Director of Agricultural Programs at the Greater Lansing Food Bank where he primarily oversees the Garden Project and Lansing Roots programs.
Mark your Calendar! As part of the Centennial Celebration, we will be taking a group photo of the Club as part of our meeting on March 11 at the Lansing Center. Bring your best smile! Thanks!
For our Centennial Celebration activity in the month of February, we're asking members to donate a few non-perishable foods for the Greater Lansing Food Bank. Please bring your donations, which can even be a cash donation if that's easier, to a meeting in February and we'll get the donations passed along. Thanks!