SPOKES
December 17, 2024
We were greeted this morning by Mark and LaRae Odland.
At 7am sharp, we were welcomed by President Angelica Gallegos-Dickerson, and we began with the singing of “God Bless America”, followed by Art Ayers’ invocation.
ZOOM ATTENDEES: Nick Tuit, Steve Larsen, Tom Rummel, Bob Brickman, and Brandon Hinz
SONGS: Bob Boerma was our “maestro” this morning, and he led us in singing “I left my Heart in San Francisco”, “The Band Played on”, and “Rotary Wheel”.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- Sandra Reno reported that contributions from our Salvation Army bell ringing totaled $1835.35. Thank You to all who volunteered!
- Tom Ruesink reported that our We Care donations at our Christmas dinner totaled $1500 and subsequent donations pushed that total to $8000. Thank You to all who donated!
- The Open-Door Christmas dinner at the United Methodist Church will be held tonight. Please wear Rotary hats, shirts, and aprons. Jerry Gruber has led this effort for the past 15 years but has indicated that this will be his last year in that role.
- Due to the holidays, our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 7th.
- Our next Rotary Social Hour will be held on Wednesday, January 8th at 5:30pm, at Three Blondes.
COPPING’S COMEDY RELIEF:
Bob questioned if the “great concern”, regarding our “glasses” being half-full or half-empty is truly legitimate, since the glass is refillable.
TOM RUESINK-50/50 RAFFLE:
- President Angelica was chosen as our “honest and reliable” member, and the ticket she drew belonged to Paul Hix, who drew the “9” card. As a result, the next winner, Jeff Wilhelm, garnered the $2 prize.
BIRTHDAYS and ANNIVERSARIES:
- Jerry Gruber reported that Ann’s great-granddaughter, Elsie, who had a challenging beginning to her life, having had 2 years of chemotherapy, will be celebrating her 8th birthday.
- Today is Jeff Wilhelm’s birthday.
- Kevin Hagan proudly announced that he and his wife, Stephanie, are expecting another child.
- Clark Gruber indicated that son Mitchell and Alex will be celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary.
- He also reported that daughter Audrey will be celebrating her birthday on January 2nd.
- Tom Fleming announced that his son, Andrew, would be celebrating his birthday this week.
- Dene Hadden’s son, Brent, will be celebrating his birthday in Florida.
- Tom Ruesink’s grandson, Kye, will soon have his 3rd birthday.
- A “traditional” version of “Happy Birthday/Anniversary was “attempted” today.
HAPPY BUCKS:
Before the basket was passed, Tom Ruesink announced that the proceeds of today’s collection would benefit We Care.
- Ted Weber- “Go Lions”
- Larry Wittkop- “Go Green, Go Navy”
- Amy Nichols- “Go Lions”
- LaRae Odland- “Go Navy”
- Paul Hix- “It’s a wonderful day in the neighborhood”
- Dan Thompson- “A great Navy win”
- Many “Happy Holidays” greetings
- Kevin Hagan and Bob Copping were given “gentle” reminders that their pictures in recent publications would elicit substantial “fines”.
- The Kevin Hagan-State Farm Insurance Agency was recently celebrated as a new member of the South Haven Area Chamber of Commerce.
- Bob Copping, in recognition of his community advocacy, was recently honored as one of West Michigan’s Notable Nonprofit Board Leaders by the publication Crain’s Grand Rapids Business. The article honoring Bob was recently featured in our District 6360 Newsletter.
PROGRAM: Club Assembly
PROGRAM CHAIR: President Angelica Gallegos-Dickerson
HIGHLIGHTS:
- WHO WE ARE:
- “The South Haven Rotary Club is a community service organization whose members are fully committed to SERVICE ABOVE SELF. We strive to make a positive difference in South Haven. Our club has served the local area for over 60 years and provides significant donations annually to local organizations. We are a diverse organization with members from all “walks” of life.”
- At the 1950 Rotary International Convention in Detroit, two slogans were formally approved as the official mottoes of Rotary:
- “One profits most who serves best”
- “Service Above Self”
2024-2025 GOALS:
- Continue Strategic Plan-Strengthen Committees
- Prioritize Member Growth and Engagement
- Outreach
- Continue to Support the Local Community through Grants and Service
- Have Some Fun!
- SERVICE PROJECTS…SO FAR!
- 29 separate service projects
- 293 volunteers
- 889 service hours
- BOARD SLATE 2024-2025
- President: Amy Nichols
- President-elect: Bob Metzen
- Vice chair: Open
- Treasurer: David Campbell
- Secretary: Sandra Reno
- Immediate Past President: Angelica Gallegos-Dickerson
- Grants Committee Chair: Deb Davidson
- Membership Committee Co-Chairs: Melinda Gruber, Kevin Hanan, Paul Hix.
- Public Image Co-Chairs: Todd Heinrich and Jeff Wilhelm
- Voice of Reason: Paul Hix
- Youth Services Committee Chair: Angelica Gallegos-Dickerson
- Foundation Chair: Bill Roberts
- COMMUNITY GRANTS…SO FAR
- Blessings in a Backpack- $1250
- Boy Scout Troop 188- Scholarships $550
- South Haven High School Athletics- Football Helmets $1000
- South Haven “Light up the Lake”- $500
- South Haven Rotary Peace Pole in Stanley Johnston Park- $350
- St. Basil’s Ursa M-ajor Technobots Robotics- $500
- PROGRAM COMMITTEE- How Can You Help?
- Check your email regularly for Rotary news, updates, and information
- Join a Rotary committee!
- Be aware of your presentation date and advise of any need to reschedule as quickly as possible
- If you have any questions, please ASK!
- Housekeeping reminder: ***Make sure to clean up your area and to put your chair back in its place. Peace Lutheran graciously provides Rotary with a meeting space, and we want to leave it as “put back together” as possible for its next use.
- PROGRAM COMMITTEE MONTHLY TOPICS
- January- Vocational Service Month
- February- Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention Month
- March- Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Month
- April- Environmental Month
- May- Youth Services Month
- June- Rotary Fellowships Month
- July- Maternal and Children’s Health Month
- August- Membership and New Club Development Month
- September- Basic Education and Literacy Month
- October- Community Economic and Development Month
- November- Rotary Foundation Month
- December- Disease Prevention and Treatment Month
- PUBLIC IMAGE PLANS for 2025
- Make available more Rotary wear
- Invite press to speak at meetings (Julie Newell and Mike Wilcox)
- 2025 Member Profiles- Who will be first?
- Promoting the Rotary brand: “People of action strengthening South Haven!”
- Community Image: Maintain existing signage; add new signage
- Work with the Membership Committee to attract and retain members
- Your suggestions are ALWAYS welcome!
- CLUB MEMBERSHIP GOAL
- To date, we have 61 active members
- Goal is 65, OR MORE, by June 2025
- CURRENT MEMBERSHIP and the TELLING OF OUR STORIES
- Why Rotary?
- What have you learned or gained by being a Rotarian?
- How can we share this with the community?
- What do we want our membership to represent?
- Do we ask?
- MENTAL HEALTH COMMITTEE MEMBERS
- John Mellein, Chair
- Jeff Wilhelm
- Todd Heinrich
- Robin McGinnis
- Amy Nichols
- Bob Metzen
- YOUR NAME HERE!
- COMMITTEE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Our Board formally added the Mental Health Committee in August 2023
- John Mellein represented our club at the District Mental Health Committee meeting
- We have 3 trained Mental Health Responders (John, Amy, and Kaileigh
- Jacquie Blackwell, Chair of the District Mental Health Committee, presented to our club.
- Mental Health Questionnaire sent to all members
- Suicide Prevention Efforts
- Toiletry Donations
- Peace Pole Initiative
- Self-Help Directory
- NEXT MEETING: January 7, 2025
- PROGRAM CHAIR: Dana Hullinger
- PROGRAM: Red Horse Center for Collaborative Leadership
- PROGRAM SPEAKER: Fred Bueltmann
- GREETERS: Kaileigh Eddy
We adjourned with the Four-Way Test.
Respectfully submitted,
Art Ayers, Editarian