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On this beautiful September afternoon, President Sue Hansen called the meeting to order at 12:25 pm. INVOCATION—On the occasion of Loftus Day, Julie Pingston recognized Rich Guilford, Frank Tegge and Paul Rathbun—fellow Rotarians who we lost this year. PATRIOTIC SONG: God Bless America INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS AND VISITING ROTARIANS: Lisa Smith Diane Sanborn introduced Ben Rathbun, President of the Rathbun Insurance Agency, who has applied to become a Rotarian following the passing of his dad, Paul—also a Rotarian. With him, Ben brought coworkers David Finkbeiner (Vice President) and Jennifer Walker (Operations Manager). Hari Kern introduced her guest, George Loomis, whose father founded the Loomis Law Firm. George is an art critic in New York who also loves opera. He almost moved back to Lansing a few years ago (with Jack Davis as his sponsor) but NYC called to him yet again. He is visiting Michigan now, attending a Music Critics Association meeting in Detroit) ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11: Ken Beachler Dressed in his navy uniform, in tribute to Admiral James Stavridis (former Supreme Allied Commander of the NATO Alliance), Ken Beachler gave a moving tribute to the events of September 11, 2001. He talked about the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York City, the tragedy at the Pentagon, and the attempted attack on the Capitol that, in his words, did not happen until January 6th of this year. Ken noted how we all remember where we were that day, when we heard the news. He compared it to December 7, 1941, when his parents told him about the attack on Pearl Harbor. He also compared it to November 22, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. At that time, he was in the Boom Boom Room at Frandor. On September 11, 2001, Ken was in Germany, waiting to catch a train to Frankfurt. Where the train schedules should have been, live images were projected of the planes flying into the Twin Towers. It was horrifying and unreal and everybody was stunned and moaning, watching helplessly from the train station. Germans endlessly apologized to him for what was happening in his country and it took a couple of weeks before he was able to secure a flight home. As a former Captain in the Naval Reserves (27 years), Ken knew Admiral Stavridis (noted above), who just recently wrote a moving piece for Newsweek about his experience in the Pentagon on 9/11, one hundred fifty feet from where Flight 77 crashed into what was thought to be one of the safest buildings in the world. The newly promoted admiral had an office that was on the Outer E Ring of the Pentagon. He glimpsed the plane through his window as it lost altitude and tumbled intentionally from the sky. After decades of combat all over the world, the closest Admiral Stavridis came to being killed was at the Pentagon. Ken then led everyone in bowing their heads for the lives lost on September 11, 2001. John Dale Smith played My Country ’Tis of Thee during this moment of silence. HEALTH OF THE CLUB: Diane Sanborn reported that the health of the club is good. CHAIR OF THE MONTH: Carmen Turner CHAIR OF THE DAY: Dave Trumpie Dave Trumpie spoke about the history of Loftus Day, for which he is this year’s Chair. Although self-proclaimed as someone who does not like public speaking, he did a great job! First he introduced Chris Holman to speak about the late Rotarians, Rich Guildford and Frank Tegge. Then, he introduced a video by Kevin Schumacher, about the late Paul Rathbun. All three Rotarians have passed away recently. Chris Holman noted that Rich Guilford was a lifetime learner who enjoyed books and lectures on a variety of topics like comparative religion and string theory. He also believed that travel was one of the big educators. One time, he rented a stone villa above an Italian town, Another time, he biked along the rim of a volcano. He also explored glaciers in Iceland with his family that, towards the end, included 12 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. Family meant the world to Rich. Rich Guilford was Valedictorian of his high school class in Sturgis, Michigan. He was also the President of his fraternity at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Throughout his life he served on many boards, including St. Vincent’s Catholic Charities and Rotary International. Within our club, he is perhaps best known for playing Santa for 25 years at the annual Christmas party—bringing miles of smiles to children in need. According to Chris, Rich once recited a poem that he hopes is still in the Rotary Archives somewhere. Its emphasis on the human spirit and meaning of life summed up Rich well. Chris Holman then spoke about Frank Tegge who was born in 1942 in Dearborn. Frank graduated from Albion College in 1964, then served in the Army in Vietnam. He worked in finance at Wells Fargo and was active through the MSU University Club, the Country Club of Lansing, and the Boy Scouts of America. Frank loved spending time at the lake as well as hunting. Once upon a time, when arriving late to a meeting, somebody asked him how many shower curtains it had taken to make his colorful necktie. Kevin Schumacher then appeared in a video he had made to talk about Paul Rathbun, who died just two weeks ago. In the video, Kevin walks in the cemetery where Paul is buried. He is under an umbrella in the pouring rain. Paul had been a Rotarian since 1990 and that is where Kevin met him eight years later. They became friends and, after drilling Kevin about his wife’s ability as a kindergarten teacher, enrolled his son—Sam—in her class. (Sam is now a banker in Chicago while his brother, Ben, has taken over as President of the Rathbun Insurance Agency.) Here are some things about Paul that most people might not know: 1. He was part of an Around the World Travel Club, that spent $1000 on quick travel destinations, always leaving on Friday and returning two days later, on Sunday. Through this club, he visited places like Italy, Spain and Ireland. 2. Paul had all his teeth, a surprising feat since he was also an avid hockey player. 3. Paul was very competitive. He also liked to run. Once, as part of a Rotary triathlon, Paul became grumpy when his teammate—who ran the swimming leg—was the last one out of the pool. This meant he might be the last to cross the finish line. Fortunately, he picked up his pace and crossed the finish line ahead of somebody else who became last. 4. Paul had a great laugh despite being quiet and soft-spoken. 5. While Paul sold insurance, what he really did—as an insurance agent and humanitarian—was help people through difficult times. A moment of silence was then held for these three Rotarians who will be greatly missed. During this interlude, John Dale Smith played Abide with Me. The meeting was adjourned at 1:00 pm. Pam Miklavcic's email is: pam@thedaviesproject.org |
