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Stories
The Next Meeting:
When:  Friday, March 16, 2018
Where:  The Lansing Center, First Floor
Speaker:  Cindie Alwood, Executive Director Women's Center
What:  Foundation Grants Report Update
Chair of the Day:  Jenn Dubey
Invocator:  TBA
Chair of the Month:  Jenn Dubey
Greeter:  Wayne Sieloff
Remembrance:  Irv Nichols
Microphone:  Tyler Parsons
Editarian:  Joe Wald
 
Biography for John Collins
John Collins is a distinguished author and highly sought-after coach, consultant and speaker specializing in the development of leadership and communication talent in high-stakes, high-pressure industries. Collins is the founder and owner of Critical Victories, which provides education, training and mentoring to executives, mid-level leadership, employee teams, corporations and organizations that function in high-stakes, highpressure environments.
 
Collins teaches individuals and organizations specialized methods and techniques for functioning at an optimum level, despite the pressure they are under each day. Collins draws on lessons learned from his internationally distinguished, 20-year career in the field of forensic science and human resource management, as well as his experience as an expert witness in over 110 state and federal criminal trials, to help his clients become confident and compassionate leaders in their respective industries.
 
Born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit, Mich., Collins graduated from Michigan State University in 1992 with a degree in forensic science, while competing as a four-year, record-setting discus thrower on the MSU track and field team. His career journey has taken him to Georgia, Illinois and back to Michigan, wherehe gained notoriety for his unique leadership style, accomplishments and accreditations.  Today, Collins enjoys helping individuals overcome obstacles to strengthen their skillset, maximize their efforts and achieve critical victories - both in and out of the scientific fields.
Special Music for Friday, March 9th
We are in for a very special treat this Friday, our own Hari Kern and Rich Illman will be providing the Special Music.  Their bios follow:
 
When Hari Kern was a toddler in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, her mother began teaching her piano fundamentals. A few years after immigrating to the Chicago area with her family, Hari, at age 14, won an audition to appear with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in two concerts, playing Beethoven's Piano Concerto # 1. She continued her piano studies at the Chicago Musical College and the Juilliard preparatory schools, Ithaca College (B.Mus. in piano performance,) Yale University, and the University of MI. In the Detroit area for many years, Hari taught piano privately, gave solo and chamber music recitals and played concertos with several community orchestras, and was active in Detroit area arts organizations.
 
In the mid-1970’s, Hari began her studies in clinical psychology at Oakland University and continued with her graduate work at the University of Detroit. She has retained an independent psychotherapy practice for the past 35 years. In 1994, she moved to East Lansing and two years later, married Dr. Ralph Edminster, a Lansing pathologist. Ralph died in 2008. Hari’s son, David Gerlach, is a member of Rotary in Mt. Clemens, MI.
 
Rich Illman was Professor of Trumpet at MSU from 1990-2015.  He has also taught at Eastern Kentucky University (12 years).  The University of Kentucky (one year), Transylvania Univeresity (3 years), and Ashbury College (3 years).  Formerly he was a regular member of the Millennium Brass, the Lansing Symphony Big Band, and was Principal Trumpet in the Lansing Symphony Orchestra.  For many years he has given performances at elementary schools designed to get students interested in playing a musical instrument.  Since his retirement in 2016, that has been one of his primary interests, along with performing multi-media concerts in planetariums, churches, and art museums.
President Darwin's Announcement on Friday, March 2nd, 2018
"Good afternoon Rotarians.  Before we get started I want to say a few words about something that occurred at last week's meeting that resulted in various comments on social media.  Following the singing of the National Anthem I made an off-the-cuff comment about being glad we didn't have anyone take a knee at our meeting.  It was in no way intended to be critical of anyone.  However, apparently several people took offense at my comment.  I just want to say that it was not my intent to offend anyone, and to the extent I did so, I apologize.  If anyone would like to further discuss this with me I would be glad to do so."
New Members Proposed

The following proposed members have emailed their applications to the office.  If anyone has a comment on these proposed members please forward it in writing within ten days to the Rotary office, before approval by the board of directors.  Thank you

  • Bill DuBois, Crowne Plaza Meetings Coordinator, sponsored by Susan Angel
  • Chris Swope, City Clerk of Lansing, sponsored by Bob Hoffman
  • Brian Taylor, Odd Fellows Contracting, sponsored by John Cauley
  • George Loomis, Self-Employed, sponsored by Jack Davis
Know Your Rotarian!
The following story is from one of your fellow Rotarians.  We want to engage the club, so read the story, correctly guess the Rotarian and win a prize!  If there isn't a winner, the Rotarian providing the story wins the prize!  Send your guesses to Kevin at:  Schumacher@glassenrhead.com  I've got two more stories in the pipeline and am working on more.  Send me just a few lines of a memorable life experience or brush with greatness and we'll work some Rotary magic on your life to include it in an upcoming Rotogram.
 
I don't always wear a tuxedo to dinner on Friday night, but when I do, it's because I'm dining with the daughter of a famous Russian dictator.  It was a Friday, in the 1980's and I had the opportunity to go with my family to the home of Mrs. Wright in Scottsdale for dinner.  Friday night dinners at her home were a formal affair so tuxedos were the order of the day.  It was a warm desert evening in May and the setting could have been pulled straight out of the pages of Architectural Digest.  My wife and I were seated at the table and next to me was Lana Peters.  She had famously defected from Russia years earlier because residing in the US with a name like Svetlana Stalin might draw unwanted attention.  My wife and I had an extremely interesting conversation with her, dwelling very little on the past but on her appreciation of America.  For an interesting read, google her obit in the New York Times.

 

Rotary Club of Lansing Foundation Grant Applications
The Rotary Club of Lansing Foundation is pleased to announce that applications for 2018 Local Grant Funding are now being accepted. Grant applications are due by Friday, March 16. The Rotary Club of Lansing Foundation will award Local Grants in two categories: Community Grants (awards up to $9,999) and Signature Project Grants (awards over $10,000). More information about the grant process and a link to the on-line application can be found at the Rotary Club of Lansing’s website ([www.LansingRotary.org]www.LansingRotary.org) under the “Foundation” tab or Click Here.  All applications MUST be submitted through the on-line system.
Editarian Report for March 2nd, 2018
After a delicious lunch of salmon, once again accompanied by tunes by John Dale Smith, President Darwin called the meeting to order promptly at 12:30. The invocation was given by Al Yambor and was followed by “America, The Beautiful”. Tyler Parsons walked the microphone as guests were introduced. There were eight guests in attendance, and several have applied, or will apply, for membership in our club.
 
Pat Munshaw reported that Ed McRee has moved from the facility on Dobie Road to Island City Assisted Living in Eaton Rapids to be closer to family. The health of the club was reported to be good.
 
Kevin Schumacher announced that the prize for identifying the Rotary who wrote this week’s story is a paint can filled with M&M courtesy of Dave O’Leary. By process of elimination, since very few Rotarians had visited Alaska under the age of 10, the author of the story was revealed to be Linda Lynch. Manny Garcia received the M&M’s for correctly guessing the author from the pool of two Rotarians.
 
Bob Hoffman announced that the social media winner was Erik Larson.
 
President Darwin let us all know that there are still tickets available for East Lansing Rotary’s Celtic music fundraiser to support Weekend Survival Kits. The concert is March 25th, with tickets available from Cathy for $25 each.
 
John Dale Smith filled us in on the wonderful special music we were scheduled to have this week, Adam Krause, a vocalist from Haslett High School. Unfortunately, a close friend of his had died and Adam was unable to join us. Hopefully he will be able to join us at a later date.
 
President Darwin introduced our Chair of the Month and Day, Jenn Dubey. Jenn has recently completed a term on the Lansing Chamber Board of Directors. During her term, she learned a lot about the efforts of Chris Sell and his efforts in the area of talent attraction and retention in the Lansing area. As Jenn began to line up a month of programs, she knew that she wanted Chris to fill one of the spots. Her introduction left no doubt that she believes this is an important effort.
 
Chris told us a bit about his childhood growing up in the Lansing area, his time away from the area, and his realization when he moved back to the area with his wife that he really knew very little about the Lansing area. There was a time that life seemed to center in the suburbs. TV in the 70’s and 80’s depicted life in the suburbs. During Chris’s childhood in Williamston, his family rarely travelled farther west than Meridian Mall. Gradually, perceptions have changed. TV in the 90’s and 2000’s conveyed that if you were young, you needed to be in the city and as the cost of living has increased in major cities, the next tier of cities are starting to grow. Chris knows that Lansing needs to be part of that conversation.
 
The idea for Lansing 5:01 was born in 2013, but the organization did not begin to form until 2015. With support from LEAP, the Lansing Regional Chamber and the mayor, the first set of programs was launched in 2016. The events were targeted at interns who were in town for the summer working at an area employer. The idea was to provide a sense of place through events that were experiential and ‘hide the veggies in the pizza’. Since those first 3 events, more than 2000 people have attended a variety of events.
 
The organization has 4 areas of focus – placemaking, economic development, career education, and talent attraction and retention. Since the focus in on interns, most events are in the summer. They also conducted Capital Comeback on Wednesday night before Thanksgiving targeted at young people originally from this area who are currently working outside the area. Area employers participated to let attendees know about opportunities that exist in their organizations.
 
Lansing 5:01’s website, lansing501.com, has a lot of video content, including a wrap up of some of the events. There is also a blog that highlights places to go and things to do.
 
None of this would be possible without the involvement of Lansing 5:01’s employer partners. They are instrumental in getting interns involved in events.
 
As the future unfolds, Lansing 5:01 will look for additional ways to share our story with young people who are trying to figure out where they want to live. Interns have come from 44 universities, many states, and even a few from Scotland!
 
President Darwin presented Chris with a Rotary coin and explained that a donation to a clean water project in the Dominican Republic would be made in his name.
 
Next week, we will be back at the Lansing Center where our speaker will be John Collins, who will speak on "Perfection Under Pressure".
 
The meeting was adjourned a bit early at 1:25 p.m.
 
Linda Lynch's email is:  llynch@trivalentgroup.com
Speakers
Mar 16, 2018
Women's Center & Foundation Grant Report @ Lansing Ctr.
Mar 23, 2018
"Homelessness & Poverty in the City" @ the Country Club
Mar 30, 2018
Apr 06, 2018
"We Are Eating Our Highways. How to Improve Michigan's Road Diet"
View entire list
Rotary Club of Lansing
P. O. Box 13156
Lansing, MI   48901-3156
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