We entered the new Rotary Year of 2021-22 on Thursday, July 1st, guided by a new Board of Directors and our new Club President, Bob Godfrey. As outgoing President, I wanted to preview future opportunities that are ours to seize, made possible by our accomplishments over the last two years.

Allow me to start with some personal beliefs about who we are and why we’re here. Simply stated, the world needs organizations like our Rotary Club. Not merely for the charitable projects we deliver, but for the meaning they provide us in a society that struggles to define much of its meaning anymore. I believe that finding common purpose with like-minded friends and colleagues, and helping others thrive through our personal service, is the very meaning of our lives. It’s what we’re here for. Our little band of servant leaders can create positive lasting change in these three wonderful–and hurting–lakeshore communities.

Our Capabilities Have Grown…a Lot
Despite the pandemic, we’ve united to tackle important long-term needs in our towns. In the process of stretching, we’ve built our ability to influence positive lasting change.

  • We’ve learned how to raise $100,000 each year.
  • We’ve brought after-school and summer enrichment programs to our school kids after a disastrous year when families had to isolate and attempt to do “distance learning.”
  • We’ve fed underserved families at the holidays and in school via partnerships with Christian Neighbors and Children First Lakeshore.
  • We’ve helped our struggling restaurants by mass-purchasing their gift cards while sending love and support to medical workers and others on the front line with those gift cards.
  • We’ve raised money to purchase equipment to help people see and mothers to care for their unborn babies.
  • We’ve helped lay the groundwork for revitalized local environmental stewardship by funding much of this spring’s hazardous waste disposal event.
  • We’ve been recognized by Rotary as one of the top three Clubs in our District in per-capita giving to the Rotary Foundation.

In scores of other ways, we have made a difference in our communities. And we’re ready to take on more.

We’re Bolder
Our 2019 pledge to launch a Boys & Girls Club and pay for it over its first three years was a bold departure from our prior scope of influence. Some thought it was foolhardy (and it was, at least a little bit). But summoning vision and courage to serve others is always a good bet. People tend to rally around such foolishness, and help make it come about. That’s what has happened. Our growth in membership is a reflection of that. We should keep stretching our reach while continuing to leverage our strengths. That’s what “strategy” means–stretch and leverage. “Make big plans; aim high in hope and work.”

We’re More Adaptable
Hardly anybody likes Zoom meetings anymore, but that technology has been instrumental in keeping the Club together between March 2020 and today. As a result, we now know how to integrate it into our normal course of business, allowing everyone to attend our twice-monthly luncheon meetings regardless of where they may be. Importantly, because of Isabel’s great technology, we can invite prominent speakers to address the Club who otherwise wouldn’t travel to Douglas, Michigan. (Think Governor Whitmer or entertainer Jeff Daniels).

We’re Smarter
Importantly, we have been savvy in raising funds to do these wonderful things. Rotary International is unique: it provides us with matching dollars to leverage our local fundraising. In fact, our grant writing has brought an incremental $20,000 into our coffers over the last two years, and we just received word that another $18,625 has been approved for 2021-22! With our local matching efforts, that translates to nearly $80,000 raised that otherwise would not have materialized to help our neighbors. That’s one of the key reasons I’m a Rotarian.

The next time you see any one of the Board members who led this transformation, please thank them. They are Steve Baker, Ron Collins, Bob Godfrey, Ed Karasek, Pia Kealey, Randall Miller, Scott Sullivan, Malcolm Tripp, and Lana Zarlenga.

Finally, welcome to our new Board! They are Larry Gammons, Bob Godfrey, Ed Karasek, Pia Kealey, Amy Kenny, Garnet Lewis, Tom Throop, Tim Travis, and Jim Sullivan.