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Zoom Meeting May 8, 2020
 
HOW DO YOU GET ZOOM:  You don’t need to download anything and it costs you nothing to participate. You will receive an invitation from President Pat by email that gives you the time of the meeting. When that time arrives you simply click on the link in the email and it will take you to the meeting. You will be asked a couple of questions with clear prompts and after responding you will be added to the meeting and see everyone participating.  We are making use of all security procedures we are capable of providing.
 
WHEN DOES THE MEETING START? Here is the schedule:
 
1. At 12:15 pm the Zoom room will be available for those that want to log on early and just see what things look like.
 
2. At 12:25 pm the meeting will be called to order
 
3. At 12:30 pm Invocation & Patriotic Song
 
4. At 12:57 pm we will introduce our speaker.
 
5. Speaker starts at 1:00 pm.
 
WHO IS THE SPEAKER AND WHAT IS THE TOPIC?  Our speaker for this week will be Jason Mellema, Superintendent, Ingham ISD, his topic will be:  "Today's Virtual Learning".
 
FOLLOW UP. Later this week you will get a meeting invitation which will include a live link that gets you into the online meeting. Please keep your microphone muted when you are listening.  Be aware of the lighting in your room, a well lit room with natural light if possible.  Please feel fee to use Chat throughout the meeting.  If you have questions for the speaker, ask them through Chat.
Biography for Amy L. Morris-Hall
Zoological Society Executive Director Amy L. Morris-Hall draws on 25 years of experience in strategic As the Education Curator, Dennis is responsible for the education efforts of the zoo.  While his degrees are in wildlife biology, he has been actively involved in conservation education for over 30 years.  He's still amazed and grateful that every date he gets to help people understand, appreciate and take actions to conserve our natural world.communications and an accreditation by the Public Relations Society of America in her work at Potter Park Zoo.  She has been with the zoo, as a Society Board Member and later as the Director of External Affairs, since 2013.  She is responsible for the Zoological Society operations including planning, fiscal management, fund raising, membership development, marketing, public relations and community relations.  She served on the Potter Park Zoological Society Board.  She previously worked as a reporter, editor, publisher, chief of staff for a state lawmaker and a senior public relations account executive.
 
Amy lives in Leslie with her husband Bruce, daughter Brooke, three dogs, one pig and 30 chickens.
Biography for Dennis Laidler
As the Education Curator, Dennis is responsible for the education efforts of the zoo.  While his degree are in wildlife biology, he has been actively involved in conservation education for over 30 years. 
 
He's still amazed and grateful that every date he gets to help people understand, appreciate and take actions to conserve our natural world.
May Birthdays
Baumer, LaurieMay 17
Benson, JeffMay 23
Dart, MelanieMay 09
Drayton, DavidMay 26
Fliehman, DennisMay 21
Hansen, SueMay 05
Hall, CarmenMay 07
Hines, DonaldMay 24
Hooper, MarkMay 12
Landolt, GeorgeMay 14
Larson, ErikMay 17
Marsh, JenniferMay 19
McNaughton, HeidiMay 25
Millbrook, CourtneyMay 29
Mills, SueMay 14
Robison, LoloMay 13
Sherry, C. EdwardMay 16
Sonnenberg, CurtMay 25
Wanger, Eugene G.May 16
Rotary District Matching Program
This matching program is to help our members reach their next Paul Harris or your first by matching the money needed to reach that level.  You make a contribution of half the amount needed to reach the next Paul Harris, make sure Cathy has your donation.  A form will be completed so the District will match your contribution with the available points.  The "Earn a Reward" Points Match Challenge will continue until May 31, 2020, or until the pool of donated points is exhausted.
 
IF you donate via credit card, please email your receipt to Cathy to insure your matching funds.  Also, it must be designated to "Annual Fund" to qualify.
 
We normally do our Paul Harris appeal in April, but we didn't want to miss out on this opportunity.  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask:  cathy@lansingrotary.com or Paul Harris Chair, Donna Gardner, donnag0920@gmail.com
Editarian Report for April 24, 2020
After a bit of online conversation among the early arrivals, President Pat muted all of the Zoom participants and called our virtual meeting to order promptly at 12:25. Scott Keith shared a very thoughtful invocation, reminding us that we have much for which to be thankful and the importance of maintaining a giving attitude. President Pat then shared John Dale’s piano rendition of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”. Diane Sanborn reported that the health of the club is good.
 
Rebecca Bahar Cook shared the responses to the April birthday question regarding the strangest think you have ever eaten. A response shared early was gasoline, which seemed quite strange until all of the other responses were shared. (Unfortunately, I was having trouble hearing Rebecca and can’t share more details of the responses.) The April Birthtarians (I’ve always wanted to call them that) had a 60% contribution rate with almost a full week to go in the month. Happy Quarantined Birthday to all!
 
President Pat let us all know that the Board has decided to bill only dues for the second quarter since the club is not providing lunch for our virtual meetings. If you would like a refund for the lunch portion of the meetings cancelled in March, please contact Cathy. When we begin meeting face-to-face again, billings for lunch will resume.
 
There is a fundraiser for our Foundation currently scheduled (but subject to change) for June 9th at Urban Beat. This fundraiser will feature several musical Rotarians – including John Collins, Linda Lynch, Ed Castellani and President Pat – along with a couple of guest musicians. Admission will be by donation – whatever you are able to give.
 
As a bit of a teaser for the fundraiser, President Pat introduced Ed Castellani on guitar. Ed played Black Mountain Rag and Take Five – which we all learned was named because there are 5 beats in each measure. Few knew that Ed had such mad guitar skills!
 
With a request that any questions for our speakers be entered in the Chat, President Pat turned the meeting over to President Elect Julie Pingston, who was serving as Chair of the Day.
 
Julie began by thanking President Pat for his willingness and efforts to adapt our meeting to a virtual format. Program has been a bit of a scramble, with speakers, scheduled far in advance by Chair of the Month Nanci Yeadon, cancelled, and then rescheduled. New speakers had to be secured when original speakers were not able to participate as planned. That led to the opportunity to highlight the local situation and efforts to provide services in the midst of COVID-19.
 
Teresa Kmetz, Lansing Rotarian and President/CEO of Capital Area United Way began the presentation with an overview of how the non-profit community is responding to the changing situation. There was an early recognition that there was going to be a huge response needed and that there was a definite need for collaboration and coordination.
 
There are three phases to the response. The immediate response began two weeks before the Stay-at-Home order was issued. During this phase, partnerships were formed between various non-profits to insure that duplication was eliminated and assets, as well as gaps, were identified. Coalitions were formed around specific needs, i.e. senior nutrition, homelessness, etc. There has been a lot of problem solving on-the-fly. Requests have been made to the community for funding and there has been a great response.
 
After the immediate response, the middle (and current) phase began. United Way reinstated the Emergency Relief fund that assists struggling ALICE households. (ALICE stands for Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed.) This fund helps to fund gaps in services with money going to providers, not clients. Central Michigan 211 data is updated daily, reporting the number of calls and the assistance that is being requested. This data helps guide decisions made by area non-profits.
 
Teresa turned the platform over to Michelle Lantz, Lansing Rotarian and CEO of the Greater Lansing Food Bank. Michelle began by stating that new decisions are made daily as new data is available and that area non-profits are learning to work together better. She appreciates the funding and efforts by United Way to foster and support various collaboratives.
 
When this crisis began, the Food Bank, which servers 7 counties, saw the food need immediately double and began scaling up as quickly as possible. They do not provide front line services, but work through about 150 food pantries and agencies. About 10% had to close, evaluate their operations, and then reopened with a different delivery model that took COVID-19 into account. The volunteer program used by the Food Bank for much of the food handling was suspended. The 35 staff members were shifted to handle jobs that had been done by volunteers. Fortunately, the Food Bank was well stocked at the time, and was able to place immediate orders for additional food. They are also still receiving shipments from USDA. They have not seen an overall downturn in what can be provided.
 
Much of the food is distributed through mobile food pantries. Food is preboxed and loaded into client’s cars by volunteers in a drive through operation. Some cold items, such as milk and other dairy products, have been added to existing pickups.
 
There has been some food scarcity. The supply chain was having trouble keeping up with demand and shipments were 4 – 6 weeks out. This has been exacerbated by closings and hoarding, but the situation has eased.
 
The Food Bank has started thinking about their strategy for the recovery stage. Michelle expects that there will be quick, but informed, decision making and that agencies will be working together for capacity building. She expects that the recovery will be an 18 month long process.
 
Teresa concluded the presentation by noting that many non-profits had 2 months or less of cash on hand when this crisis began. They are now faced with fewer donations and are unable to generate cash through fee-based services. Donations are sorely needed during this time.
 
In response to questions, Michelle indicated that there can be 500 or more cars at some of the drive up pantries. Demand varies a lot by location, but all locations are seeing increased demand.
 
She also shared that the Food Bank has historically received a lot of donations from local groceries – such as Meijer and Kroger – but that stream of donations has stopped as they are having difficulties keeping shelves stocked for customers. That has led to more reliance on purchases. Jeff Bezos donated $100 million to America’s food banks, and a portion of that donation was available here. This money had to be spent within 35 days.
 
Another question had to do with non-profits applying for Paycheck Protection Program funds. Teresa indicated that non-profits were encouraged to apply for this funding.
 
Another Rotarian wondered if churches were filling a roll in the crisis response. Michelle indicated that many of the food pantries are run by churches and that other churches were stepping up to assist. The Food Bank is also working with school districts, who began distributing food to students and their families, but were quickly overwhelmed by requests from the general public as well. Part of this assistance includes redirecting some of the requests to other resources.
 
Finally, one Rotarian was eager to find volunteer opportunities for their college student who is unexpectedly home. Teresa stated that volunteer opportunities are limited right now, but the United Way is a clearing house for volunteer opportunities. You can check the volunteer center at micauw.org for details.
 
President Pat thanked Teresa and Michelle for sharing with us and announced that our speaker recognition gifts will be going to a local agency to assist in the COVID-19 response locally.
 
Next week our speakers will be from Potter Park Zoo.
 
President Pat concluded the meeting by thanking Julie Pingston for all of her efforts to schedule speakers for our Zoom meetings.
 
Linda Lynch's email is:  linda.j.lynch@gmail.com
Speakers
May 15, 2020
Jim Forger, Dean, MSU College of Music on Zoom
May 22, 2020
May 29, 2020
"New Auto No-Fault Law"
Jun 12, 2020
at the Lansing Center
View entire list
Rotary Club of Lansing
P. O. Box 13156
Lansing, MI   48901-3156
Meeting Responsibilities
Chair of the Day
Pingston, Julie
 
Invocator
Kangas, Cindy
 
Greeter
 
May Birthday Chair
McNaughton, Heidi
 
Remembrance
Sanborn, Diane
 
Editarian
McGillicuddy, James E.
 
Chair of the Month
Rathbun, E. Paul