President Swope brought the meeting to order with a ring of the Rotary bell and led all assembled in reciting the always-relevant four-way test. Craig Stiles offered a reflection, and voices united to sing The Star-Spangled Banner.
Brianna Schneider facilitated the introduction of several visiting Rotarians and guests. In the absence of any alternative news, the club’s health is deemed excellent.
Special Music for the day was by Rick Hansel - vocals & guitar - introduced by Terry Terry. For more like this, pop into an open-mic night at Urban Beat.
Announcements included the news that our club won 2nd prize in the District 6360 Raffle - we donate $1000 to support this effort each year - and we won back $500. Lesson learned: be generous and good things come back to you (sometimes).
The DEI committee will meet on March 13 immediately following the luncheon meeting. Daylight savings time begins this weekend – don’t forget to SPRING FORWARD. Jenny Marr provided the February Birthday totals; $925 was given with 100% participation. The birthday question was around cozy winter day activities; ironic as temps are expected to be 60-68 over the next few days. Save the ideas shared – we’ll be back in the 40s next week. Singing ensued.
Bill Frysinger shared an update on Scouting USA and their commitment to continuing their work; all are welcome. See Bill with questions or to learn more.
Laurie Baumer, Chair of the Month/Day, introduced the TOD (topic-of-the-day) “The State of Homelessness in Lansing” and our two speakers, who are deeply dedicated to this topic.
Shelbi Frayer is CEO at Holy Cross Services/New Hope Community Center and The Nest Lansing, a new homeless shelter she recently founded.
Shelbi touched on the history and financial stability of the organizations, the impact on our community daily, and the challenges she and her team are digging into daily. Serving families that include dads and older teens is just one component of the critical services they provide – from navigating critical documents to health care, serving meals, providing safe spaces, shower access, and more, they are invested in a wide variety of services that those in our homeless community need. They are excited about their new building, not only for the staff who work there, but for those they serve. She’s happy to give tours if anyone wants to see it.
Mark Criss has been the Executive Director at the City Rescue Mission for more than 20 years; the Mission recently moved to a new 37,000+ square foot, $10.6M adult shelter. 2026 marks 115 years of the Mission’s service to the Capital area.
Mark gave a shout-out to Mayotte for their incredible design and engineering on their new building. They sheltered 325 people last night at their two locations: adults in one, families in another. He’s excited that The Nest will be moving closer to their Kalamazoo location; shared commitment and partnership in this space is helping meet more needs. They provide food. Shelter. Hope. Things we all need and all deserve.
An interactive Q&A covered topics from case management to financial audits, getting mail, volunteer opportunities, shopping for clothes, funding for veteran needs, and more. The stories of their impact are heartbreaking, eye-opening, and emotional. To learn more about how you can help, visit bearescuer.org or Holy Cross Services.
Next week’s meeting (on Friday the 13th) will be SCARY GOOD with Phillip Bahar, Executive Director of the Broad Museum, as our speaker. (No relation to past-president Rebecca.) *Disclaimer – Editarian was a virtual attendee of this meeting; errors or omissions are entirely probable and blamed on an over-scheduled calendar fueled by excessive coffee and over-optimism.
Email for Michelle Reynaert: mreynaert@michfb.com