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President Dennis called today’s meeting to order at the Lansing Center and the invocation was presented by Dan Alyward which was followed by the singing of America the Beautiful. Guests and visiting Rotarians were introduced and welcomed to the meeting with Dave Trumpie helping out with the mic today. Diane Sanborn provided the Remembrance Report and reported that the health of the Club is “fantastic”! Craig Spencer provided an informative reminder about Loftus Day activities for our meeting on September 7. Loftus Day is a 90-year tradition in our Club started by Frank Loftus in which we honor deceased Rotarians. This tradition (along with our special music) is what makes our Club so unique and separates us from other Clubs. There is a list of each committee and your committee chair will be contacting you about visiting the cemeteries on September 7 or check the website for the details. Our Club meeting will end at 1:00 pm on September 7 to allow time to visit the cemeteries. During the meeting, we will honor Michael J. Harrison, Michael G. Harrison and Ed McRee. If you need to order flowers for Loftus Day, please contact Rotarian Rick Anthony at Rick Anthony’s Flower Shoppe (517-484-5387) or Smith Floral (517- 484-5327). The Rotary Golf Outing is coming up and Chris Holman announced all the details! The outing will be held on Monday, September 17 at the Lansing Country Club at 10:00 a.m. The event will raise money for the Foundation and is also a great opportunity to recruit new members to the Club. Contact Chris to sign up or there will be a sign-up sheet at our next meeting. John Dale Smith introduced Kelly Lofton as our special music performer today. Kelly has performed for the Club before and been in a number of shows with John Dale such as She Loves Me, Spamalot, Grease and the upcoming Jekyll and Hyde which opens on September 6 at Riverwalk Theater. Kelly performed with the amazing John Dale Smith and they showcased God Help the Outcasts (with a shout out to David O’Leary) and Mamma Mia. President Dennis thanked Ed Culberson for serving as our Chair of the Month and introduced Anne Cauley as the Chair of the Day. Anne introduced Joshua Cowen, Ph.D. who is the Associate Professor of Education Policy at Michigan State University and founding Co-Director of the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) at MSU. She highlighted his impressive works including extensive research and industry presentations as well as his personal academic history at the University of Michigan, Georgetown University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Cowen addressed the topic of understanding the state of our education system through more research and evidence-based policies. So many educational policies come from policy makers and not based on evidence and research to determine what works best. The EPIC is the research arm and advisor to Michigan’s Department of Education to help provide the necessary research. The understanding of research is important to be able to provide the best for our kids in Michigan as we currently spend $14.7 billion on public education which is 25% of the state’s budgets. Research can answer the question of “did the policy actually change the outcomes intended?” as well as provide descriptive information which can be used as a guide for developing policy. Research also has to take into consideration that effects of balancing the needs of many and the needs of the few along with parents’ rights with community responsibility. Dr. Cowen left plenty of time for questions from Rotarians and there was good conversation about the impact and need for research to determine future educational policies. President Dennis thanked Dr. Cowen for his presentation and thanked him for all the work being done by EPIC and MSU and presented him with a Rotary coin and a donation to the bio sand filter project. Our next meeting will be at the Lansing Center on August 17 for New Member Presentations. See you then! |
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It all started in the fall of 1924 when Frank Loftus brought a bouquet of fresh garden flowers to the regular meeting of the club. Afterwards, he took the flowers to the grave of Charles W. Nichols, a past Rotary president who had recently died. The custom grew in an informal manner and when Loftus died four years later, the official Frank Loftus Day Memorial Service was held - a cherished Lansing Rotary Club tradition that the first Friday in September honors deceased club members who are buried in the Lansing area.