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President Rebecca Bahar-Cook called the meeting to order and led us in the recitation of the Four-Way Test. John Shaski reflected on the previous program year and our Foundations accomplishments. He urged us to rejoice in appreciation for the individual and organizational philanthropy of our club; to recognize those in our club who work in philanthropy and with local organizations to support our community. He reminded us that one of the pillars of Rotary is service above self. We lifted our voices to sing the patriotic song, "The Star-Spangled Banner." Lisa Smith passed the mic for the introduction of guests and visiting Rotarians. Laurie Baumer introduced Brian Kuerbitz, a retired Navy captain, the newly appointed director of supply chain at Niowave, and her best friend and fiance. The meeting took a slight turn from the agenda to allow Rotarians to bear witness to a video message from Paula Cunningham, which was to have been part of the RBC’s outgoing-president roast the Friday before. In her video, Paula apologized for not being in attendance last week to honor Rebecca. Paula reflected on the first time she’d met Rebecca, when Kelly Rossman McKinney assembled the inaugural group of Chicks in Charge for lunch. She asked everyone to introduce themselves, commenting that Rebecca looked good. Paula recalled Rebecca’s response was, “Well, I’ve been a voluptuous woman all my life.” Asked what she did for a living, Rebecca replied, “I’m in the money-making business,” Paula said in a husky voice. Paula was impressed. She listened intently to every word Rebecca said and learned that people actually hired her to make money for them. Paula explained, “I grew up in the inner city, and they had another name for a voluptuous, money-making woman, and it wasn’t “FUNd-raiser.” Paula admitted, she was intrigued and a bit bewildered, but Rebecca did such a good job selling herself, she knew right away that she wanted to be Rebecca’s friend. “Regardless of what you did for a living,” Paula said, “and more importantly, regardless of what you were selling, I knew then that you’d be a confident, successful and voluptuous person that I’d like to hang around with. I’m not exactly sure just how you raised the money, but if selling yourself works. Either way, well-done, Rebecca.” Paula said she watched Rebecca work over the years. “I have been so impressed with Rebecca’s ability to make a difference in the community and the world … and on the block, I’m sure you know what I mean.” She added, “You’ll agree … your greatest accomplishment is your children. They are smart, well-grounded, well-mannered, and they’re going to change the world. They obviously take after Todd.” Paula said she sponsored Rebecca for Rotary, but Paula has been afraid to return since. She learned that 23 people joined Rotary as a result of the TV ad Rebecca did on WLNS. “All 23 of them live on the corner of Michigan Ave." Rebecca thanked everyone for indulging her to watch the video. She then quipped, “I am accepting clients!” Birthday Chair Jen Rostar wished June birthday Rotarians a happy birthday. She announced that 66% of June birthday Rotarians donated to the Birthday Fund, but Chris Holman assured her that they would get it done and achieve 100%. Jen said she always likes being asked to be the June birthday chair. Her question to Rotarians was, “If you had the chance to do it all over again, what fantastical career would you pursue? Think circus performer or free diver, or something crazy and wild like that." Craig Spencer said he would still have been a dentist, although there were times that he did feel like a circus performer. Nick Heriford said he’d like to be in landscape design or construction. He thought that digging in the dirt and making improvements would be fun. Jen Zatkin would become a reindeer wrestler which, we learned, actually exist. They manage reindeer for farms, events and tourism. Sandy Draggoo said, when she was growing up, she read every book on stewardesses that she could find. “How fantastic to have one of those fancy uniforms and fly all over the world. What a dream for this little farm girl from rural Hillsdale County! My dream got dashed when I found out I was too tall to meet the height requirements.” Tammy Hannah said she would be a dream rehabilitator — someone who helps people recover the dreams they’ve lost along the way, kind of like a physical therapist for the soul, dusting off forgotten passions and reminding people, it’s never too late to imagine something new for themselves. Todd Gute said, if he had to do it all over again, “I think I would be a hairdresser. Not just any hairdresser, though — a beautician on the International Space Station!” He would volunteer to be the first true hairdresser to the stars. Rebecca guessed that the International Space Station might be the only place Todd Gute hasn’t been. We hope everyone made the most of their day. Happy birthday, June Rotarians! RBC announced that Impression 5 Museum was named the best children’s museum in America by Newsweek Magazine. Congratulations, Erik Larsen! Kim Garland served as Chair of the Day, and welcomed everyone to the Lansing Rotary Foundation’s Annual Meeting. The foundation had another fun, productive year, and she enjoyed serving alongside her fellow Foundation Board Rotarians. She filled in today for the Foundation’s outgoing president, Pam Miklavcic. Kim reiterated the Foundation's mission, which is to establish an enduring source of revenue that Lansing Rotarians may use to honor the Club's creed of service above self by supporting charitable endeavors of importance, with positive impact on our city, our nation and our world. She thanked the Foundation's officers. Most of the work accomplished through the Foundation is done within committees. Committees are chaired by board members, comprised of Rotarians who help advance the work, and there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes that most don’t see. Committee chairs gave a recap of the Foundation’s accomplishments over the past year. John Shaski discussed the Children’s Holiday and Paul Harris campaigns, and thanked Rotarians who helped. Chris Holman then reported that the Birthday Campaign raised $12,871 thus far, with funds still coming in. March, April and May birthday donations reached 100% in giving. Kim reminded Rotarians that most of our fundraising goes into an endowment. We use 5% of our 36-month rolling average to figure out what is available to spend each year. We currently have $4.8 million in our endowment. This year, we had $140,761 to spend; $30,556 was spent on Rotary Park, with three years remaining; $69,705 will be spent on local grants, and $40,500 will be spent on international grants. This year, the Foundation received 46 local grant applications. Kim thanked the 11 committee members who reviewed applications and awarded eight nonprofit organizations with grant funds that helped advance the Foundation’s mission. John Person provided an update on international grants. He reported that the Foundation’s first grant provided dental care to 1,000 children in Guatemala for a total of $5,000; the second grant was awarded to a girls’ school outside of Nairobi, Kenya, that didn’t have running water; the Samuel Omogo Foundation was awarded $5,000 for a well project for schools and churches in Nigeria; Lansing Rotary coordinated with Haslett- Okemos Rotary to secure a new van to be used as an ambulance in Uganda; Peace Sisters addresses the educational needs of underprivileged girls in Togo, West Africa; Simbolei Girls School is a boarding school in rural Kenya; Pathways Togo is an education-tutoring project; Rescue South Sudan Village People received an award to help pay teachers’ wages in South Sudan; a food project in India; and finally, a project for MSU students allows them to award interest-free microloans to people in Guatemala to purchase baking equipment, a sewing machine or whatever is needed, inspiring philanthropy. Susan Angel serves on the Foundation’s promotions committee and has done a fantastic job promoting the Foundation’s good work. She thanked Lolo for coming up with the promotion concept, and she thanked CATA for sponsoring Discover Lansing, which features local Rotarians who tell their stories and share how the Foundation is making a difference in our own community and across the world. Kim interviewed local grant award recipients, shining a spotlight on their worthy efforts. The videos will be uploaded to our website. Sandy Draggoo and Laurie Baumer then encouraged Rotarians to plan ahead and think about making Rotary part of their estate planning. The luncheon will be hosted again in the spring/summer of 2026. Kim thanked fellow Foundation board members for an incredible year, and for summarizing the Foundation’s work. She then called the Rotary Club of Lansing Foundation annual meeting to order. Kim presented the slate of nominees for the Foundation board, including Steve Grant, Alex Hernandez and Kevin Schumacher. She called for additional nominations from the floor. There were none. It was moved that the nominees be approved for a three-year term. The motion was supported and approved by those present. Kim thanked outgoing board members, Sandy Draggoo, Jennifer Marsh, Pat Munshaw, John Person, Sam Tucker and Doug Wiesner, all of whom will be missed. Rebecca adjourned the meeting at 1:30 p.m. Email for Lolo Robison: lrobison@cata.org |
