Ann Garant is the Co-Director of the Cooley Law School Innocence Project and an adjunct professor of Wrongful Convictions, dedicating her career to justice and systemic reform. She has served the project in nearly every capacity—from student intern to Co-Director—spending her professional life restoring freedom to the wrongfully incarcerated and raising public awareness through education and advocacy. In recognition of her outstanding impact, she was inducted into the Michigan Lawyers Weekly "Influential Women of Law" Class of 2025.
Prior to her leadership tenure at the Cooley Innocence Project, Ann worked in private practice with a focus on criminal defense, family law, and serving as a guardian ad litem for children in neglect and abuse cases. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Wayne State University and a Juris Doctorate from Cooley Law School.
We have a service opportunity at the Greater Lansing Food Bank on Tuesday, September 22nd from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. located at 5600 Food Ct., Bath Township. Please let Jason Brunette know if you can help: Jason.Brunette@martincommercial.com
DowntownLansing Inc is having its annual Big Red Ball on Saturday, November 21, and they are looking for volunteers to help with the event. DLI’s mission is to “strengthen and nurture the culture, health, and sustainability of our downtown district.” Shifts on November 21 include event setup 2:30-5:30 pm, various shifts during the event from 5:30-10:00 pm, and event tear down and cleanup from 9:30-11:30 pm. More information can be found here: https://signup.com/go/GpgGkpd.
Loftus Day, what a special tradition for the Rotary Club of Lansing. President Susan rang the Rotary Bell and led us all in the 4-Way Test. Irv Nichols gave the reflection, which was appropriate since he was born the same year as the first Loftus Day. Irv shared the history of our special day, noting that the first recipient of graveside flowers shared Irv’s last name (no relation). We all sang America Beautiful for the patriotic song.
In Health of the Club, Bilky mentioned that Joel Hoffman is having some health issues, so please reach out to him.
Terry Terry introduced his special guest, Deb Hart of media fame, who is a prospective new member of our Club. He went on to introduce the Special Music. Sam Warren entertained us with some blues songs and encouraged us to visit the upcoming Blues Fest in Lansing’s Old Town.
President Susan spoke about the recent mudslides in Nepal; she had met a Rotary President from Nepal at the Rotary International Conference. She will share some information with the club on how to help them.
Sarah Garcia gave an introduction to our Loftus Day activities, and prepared us for how we would be proceeding. Ben Rathbun shared that one of his first experiences with our Club was the Loftus Day recognition of his father, Paul. Ben spoke about the importance of the tradition. Doug Weisner showed us his application that he created to help find the gravesites, which was pretty amazing.
Susan rang the Rotary Bell to dismiss us. Many of us went to Evergreen Cemetery and placed flowers at the graves of three former Rotarians. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day for us to continue such a fabulous tradition.
Duane Vernon's headstone, his son sent a picture to the office.
Ann Garant is the Co-Director of the Cooley Law School Innocence Project and an adjunct professor of Wrongful Convictions, dedicating her career to justice and systemic reform. She has served the project in nearly every capacity—from student intern to Co-Director—spending her professional life restoring freedom to the wrongfully incarcerated and raising public awareness through education and advocacy. In recognition of her outstanding impact, she was inducted into the Michigan Lawyers Weekly "Influential Women of Law" Class of 2025.
We have a service opportunity at the Greater Lansing Food Bank on Tuesday, September 22nd from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. located at 5600 Food Ct., Bath Township. Please let Jason Brunette know if you can help: 
DowntownLansing Inc is having its annual Big Red Ball on Saturday, November 21, and they are looking for volunteers to help with the event. DLI’s mission is to “strengthen and nurture the culture, health, and sustainability of our downtown district.” Shifts on November 21 include event setup 2:30-5:30 pm, various shifts during the event from 5:30-10:00 pm, and event tear down and cleanup from 9:30-11:30 pm. More information can be found here: 
experiences with our Club was the Loftus Day recognition of his father, Paul. Ben spoke about the importance of the tradition. Doug Weisner showed us his application that he created to help find the gravesites, which was pretty amazing.