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President Sue called our meeting to order at 12:29 with her most robust bell ringing to date. Clyde Carnegie gave the invocation which was followed by a club rendition of “America, The Beautiful”. Lisa Smith ran the microphone for the introductions of guests. Rita LaMoreaux, our District Governor and speaker for the day, introduced Sandra Etherly Johnson with LCC’s WISE (Women Inspiring Scholarship through Empowerment) program and student participant Erin Searless. Susan Angel introduced Chris Jackson, owner of the Lansing Pharaohs. Chris let us know that there will be a ribbon cutting in August at the Don Johnson Fieldhouse where the Pharaohs will be playing. Diana Sanborn let us all know that the health of the club is good. Katie Krick reported that Rotarians with July birthdays had 90% participation and raised $750. Katie asked each of them what they would say or do to demonstrate to a visitor that they Love Lansing. Responses included bringing them to Rotary, inviting them home for a barbeque and explaining that you are never more than 15 minutes from anywhere in Lansing. Jenn Dubey and Rita LaMoreaux presented Paul Harris awards for this year. Forty-two Rotarians received a Paul Harris award. Of special note were awards given to Mark Hooper and Joel Hoffman who have each contributed $9000 or more. Congratulations to all! Ken Beachler introduced our special music for the day. Don Graybiel and Bill Henson are accomplished vocalists who have also taught – Bill at Waverly and Don and American schools worldwide. They will be appearing in a Evolve Theatrics production of Matilda playing at Lakewood High School in Lake Odessa. (Tickets are available at the Evolve Theatrics website.) Don treated us with an Edward Lear setting of “Old Mother Hubbard” in the style of an aria by Handel. If you closed your eyes, you would have been sure that John Dale was playing harpsichord. That was followed by a less serious selection from Bill called “The Scotsman” which he dedicated to the Irish Dave O’Leary. The two finished up with a duet entitled "Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote)". President Sue thanked Courtney Millbrook for being Chair of the Month and introduced Rita LaMoreaux, our new District Governor. Rita has been a member of the Delta/Waverly club since 2007. Rita began by sharing that she was afraid of Clyde Carnegie when she was a student at Sexton. She also gave a shout out to Duane Vernon, who has visited her club many times. Rita acknowledged that we are an amazing group that makes a difference in Lansing. Our contributions to Impression Five and Rotary Park make Rotary visible in Lansing. RI President Shekhar Mehta has chosen a theme of “Serve to Change Lives”. In keeping with that theme, Rita posed several questions: - How did you get into Rotary? - What is your favorite thing about Rotary? - Why do you serve? - How has Rotary changed your life? Of course Rita had answers for these questions. Her father received a scholarship from a Kiwanis club in Florida and was very grateful. After his death, Rita’s sister started a scholarship in his name in that same club. When Rita was exploring service clubs after having been in Jaycees, her father suggested that she check into Rotary. She visited a club and fell in love with it. Service was ingrained by her parents. They didn’t have much, but always found ways to help. Rita has found that service serves her heart. During her time in Rotary, Rita has become involved in District leadership. She has been President of her club, Assistant Governor, and now Governor. She loves visiting different clubs. While she has had many opportunities for leadership development, she believes she has grown more through Rotary opportunities than from all other sources combined. COVID has changed Rotary. As clubs restart or resume in person meetings, it is a great time to rebuild. Rita recognized Pat Hanes for our club’s quick transition to Zoom meetings and the smooth transition to Julie Pingston’s term. Clubs need to consider where we can go from here. Rita is asking clubs to do visioning and strategic planning. The District has gone through this process as well. Rotary International is made up of 34 zones, 535 districts, 1.2 million Rotarians in 35,000 clubs in 220 countries. Districts exist to serve the clubs in a variety of ways, including providing training, help with club structure, visioning, and grant funding. RI President Mehta has set the following goals: - Each one, bring one - Two new clubs per district - Two new members per club - Focus on young people and females - Rotary days of service Of course, Rita has goals too: - Have fun (as a club) - Fellowship - Friends - Service She is establishing several new committees, including Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Public Image. In my opinion, this was one of the most enjoyable District Governor presentations we have ever had. It is clear that Rita is well on the way to spreading her first goal – FUN! President Sue let Rita know that we would be making a donation in her name to our Foundation to further our contributions to our community. The meeting was adjourned promptly at 1:30. Linda Lynch's email is: linda.j.lynch@gmail.com |
Controller Gregg Todd began with Ingham County on August 17, 2020. Prior to becoming Ingham County Controller, Gregg was Deputy Secretary of Operations for the Maryland Department of Health from March 2019 – August 2020 and prior to that, served as Queen Anne’s County, Maryland County Administrator from January 2011 – February 2019.
Sarah Elizabeth Wallace started performing at the age of 3 and began her professional career at the age of 5 as Caroline Kennedy in Accidentally Exalted for the Kenneth Robbins Opera Company, St. Paul, MN. She has a BA in Music – Vocal Performance and a minor in Spanish Business from ORU in Tulsa, OK and has since become a member of the professional Actors’ Equity Association. Being a native to Lansing, she has performed at the Okemos Barn Theatre, Civic Theatre, Boarshead Theatre, and at Dart Auditorium.
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1. This Rotarian is a Spartan who has a background in environmental science and a grown daughter who is an opera singer in Chicago.