SPOKES VOL.LXXVII NO.37
Greeting us this morning was Barry Winkel.
President Renner called the meeting to order at 7am, and we began with the “Pledge of Allegiance”. Art Ayers followed with our invocation.
Guests:
*Anne Long, representing the Liberty Hyde Bailey Museum, “outgoing” District 6360 Assistant Governor, Terry Allen, “incoming” Assistant Governor, Dyann Chenault, Speaker, Pam Pender and her husband, Rich, as well as Steve Larsen’s son, Lars, and daughter, Marija.
Spotlight:
*This morning’s Spotlight featured Anne Long, representing the Liberty Hyde Bailey Museum, who gave us some historical perspective, before highlighting one of their most important programs, Bailey’s Budding Naturalists.
The museum Board made the decision last year to expand this program, so that they might be able to reach as many children as possible.
With the help of many private and corporate donations, grants, and Youth Development Company, the museum has announced that, this year, they will feature three weeks of “camp” on-site, and three more weeks working with area schools via their summer school programs.
The Board of our Rotary Club of South Haven recently authorized a donation of $500 in support of Bailey’s Budding Naturalists.
At the conclusion of Anne’s presentation, she was presented a check, on behalf of the Rotary Club of South Haven, from Grant Coordinator, Art Ayers.
*New Assistant Governor, Dyann Chenault, provided a brief synopsis of two important areas of focus for the coming year: Marketing and Rotary in the community.
She gave us all “pause”, when she said she would, “Never talk as much as Terry (Allen)”; however, we were all brought back to reality when she followed with, “But I can’t promise that”.
Songs:
*Bob Boerma was in fine form as our Maestro this morning and received a great deal of cooperation from the Rotary voices, as we sang “Shine on Harvest Moon”, “Sweet Adeline”, complete with howling “in stereo”, and “Smile-Sing a Song”.
*Maestro Bob provided special instructions for us to follow at the conclusion of “Smile-Sing a Song: We were to repeat the last line, singing it “a capella”, with a “BIG retard and a BIG crescendo”…Hard to believe, but it appeared that everyone followed directions!!!
Announcements:
*An Application for Membership has been received from Scott Smith, and the Board will take action on his membership at the April meeting. Jerry Portman is Scott’s sponsor.
*Scott Mark announced that silent auction items are needed for our spring fundraiser. Please contact Scott if you either have items, or are willing to contact merchants concerning donations.
*All members should have received their formal invitations to our Education Fundraiser, to be held on Saturday, April 28th, at the Lakeshore Ciao Events Center at 6pm. We all need to respond by April 20th.
So nice to welcome back “Snowbirds” Bob Straits and Bill Roberts!
50/50
*Our Sergeant-at-Arms, Stuart Comiskey, selected one of our guests, “honest and reliable” Marija Larsen, to draw our first winning ticket. Ted Weber had the winner but proceeded to draw the queen; thus, no big winner today. Glenn Pietenpol had the next winning ticket, but requested that the “winnings” remain in the basket.
Fines:
*Birthdays and Anniversaries reported today:
-NO FOOLIN’, Larry Wittkop celebrated his birthday on April 1st.
-Our Spotlight speaker, Anne Long, announced the recent birth of a grandson. It was felt that Anne and Dyann should have the benefit of hearing “Happy Birthday”, Ludington-style, so it was provided. They HAD to have been impressed!
-Steve Larsen was happy to have his kids, Lars and Marija, with him today. They regularly help their dad park cars at the Fly-In Pancake Breakfast.
-Richard Swanson celebrated “Nova Nation” and its victory over Michigan last night.
-Bob Copping stood and asked, “Why don’t they report power outages on TV?”
-Larry Wittkop celebrated the Tigers first win.
-Bob McAlear, just a “bit” sarcastically, said, “Our ‘little brother’(Michigan) did so well”.
-Glenn Pietenpol saluted the Notre Dame Women’s Basketball Team on their National Championship.
-Don Hixson and Marian hosted approximately three-quarters of their family for the Easter holiday, including their great-great granddaughter!
-Deb Davidson gave “props” to the Wolverines: “Good run, Blue!”
-Paul Hix, never one to “rub it in”, reminded everyone that last Tuesday he was enjoying some Scotch on a terrace in Florence, Italy.
-President Renner announced that he had three tickets available to the Cubs vs. Atlanta game on April 13th, for those who would be available to join him.
Program Chair, Scott Mark, introduced today’s speaker, Pam Pender, of the Van Buren District Library. Pam will be speaking on “Ancestry DNA and Genealogy”.
Highlights:
*Reasons for taking a DNA test:
-ethnicity
-adoption
-illegitimacy
-genetic cousins
-medical reasons
-other
*A number of our members indicated that they have undergone DNA testing.
*Jean Stein indicated that she had it done for her granddaughter.
*Types of DNA Tests:
-Y Chromosome (Y-DNA) for the direct paternal line
-Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) for the direct maternal line
-Autosomal DNA (atDNA) for finding matches on all of your ancestral lines
*Best DNA Sites:
-Family Tree DNA is best for serious genealogy, YDNA and mtDNA tests.
-Ancestry.com is best for cousin matching. It also offers the most geographic regions for ethnicity.
-MyHeritage offers the best autosomal test on a budget. This company is based in Tel Aviv and has the most diverse family trees.
-23andMe is best for genetic health screening; not genealogy.
-LivingDNA is best for roots in the British Isles.
*Importance of a Chromosome Browser
-One can see inherited DNA segments by using a chromosome browser.
-The browser will compare your DNA to the DNA of another person, to let you see which DNA segments are shared between the two of you.
-Some companies provide a chromosome browser to let you do this. FamilyTreeDNA, 23andMe and MyHeritage are companies that DO provide a browser.
*Pam indicated that she had brought some handouts for those who would like them, and she also made her business card available.
President Renner presented Pam with our Rotary pen, and he and our membership thanked her for her presentation.
President Renner thanked our guests for being with us, and also thanked Barry Winkel for filling in as a greeter this morning.
Next Week: April 10th-
Greeters: Larry Lewis and Art Ayers
Program Chair-Mark Odland TBA
We adjourned with the Four-Way Test.
Art Ayers
Stand-in Editarian