1/6/23

Welcome to a new year, full of possibilities!

 

First, a reminder that the timing of our meetings this year has changed to NOON on the first and third Mondays & 5:30 PM on the second and fourth Mondays.

 

Accordingly, our meeting this Monday, January 9^th, will be at 5:30 PM in the VIP Room at Aubrees.  This will be a Club Assembly.  We will talk about our upcoming Beer/Hard Cider Tasting Fundraiser event and how best to promote it, as well as other fundraising and service ideas for 2023.  The more money we raise, the more good we can do in our community!

 

The following Monday, January 16^th, is  Martin Luther King Day.  We would be meeting at NOON.  I have a speaker up my sleeve, however none has yet been scheduled BECAUSE  EMU is again hosting a luncheon in honor of MLK and the Keynote speaker sounds fabulous!  If you have never attended one of these annual EMU/MLK Day events, they are excellent.  I propose we celebrate MLK, support this EMU event and fill a table of 8 with Rotarians for this luncheon, instead of having our own meeting.  The cost is $30 for community members.  If you are an alumnus, student or faculty member, your cost may be less.  We will discuss this meeting option on Monday.  Meanwhile, take a look at the speaker, the menu and the ticket prices here: 

EMU MLK Day luncheon info:  https://www.emich.edu/mlk/luncheon/index.php

Keynote Speaker info:  https://www.emich.edu/mlk/keynote/index.php Sampson Davis, MD, ER physician and New York Times best-selling author on overcoming, thriving and raising others up

Link to luncheon tickets:  https://emich.ludus.com/index.php

 

On Monday January 23, I will be on a plane to Bumpeh Chiefdom, Sierra Leone, Africa!  Akiba has graciously agreed to lead this 5:30 PM meeting.  Thanks, Akiba!  Our guest speaker will be Joe Keene, the Paramedic from St. Joe's who is leading the effort to "Stop the Bleed" by training civilians to apply life-saving first aid principles to gunshot and stab wounds until the ambulance arrives.  Some of us have already met Joe, as we had him come to a previous Rotary meeting.  But a SNAFU that day put us in the dining room instead of in the VIP Room, meaning we couldn't practice our new skills on artificial limbs and torsos without traumatizing the other diners!   Joe says he is equipped with body parts to train up to 20 people.  Les will be inviting Kiwanis Club members to join us that day.  If there's still room, invite a friend or neighbor!  Those who are trained will be in a position to help train others when this program is rolled out in area high schools.  Let's be sure to fill all 20 spots!

 

Continuing to look ahead, Monday January 30^th is the fifth Monday on the calendar, and as such it is a 5:30 PM social hour.  I am looking for a volunteer to chair this event in my absence, choose a restaurant,  remind everyone about it and referee the ordering of the first round of hors d'oeuvres!  Will it be YOU?  Call or text me at 734-481-1804!

 

Our speaker for Monday February 6^th at NOON will be our friend and neighbor Lisa Wozniak, Executive Director of the League of Conservation Voters.  Maria has graciously agreed to lead this meeting, where Lisa will discuss  how to better understand and ramp up the political will to tackle state and global environmental issues timely and effectively, as well as giving us her take on any other issues of the environment she feels inclined to share with us!

 

I will be jet-lagged but back in time for our 5:30 PM meeting on February 13^th!   Expect to be regaled with stories and photos of the accomplishments our Rotary dollars have helped Chief Charles Caulker achieve!