Spokes May 16, 2017

Posted by Dene Hadden
SPOKES VOL. LXIII NO. 44                                                                                May 16, 2017
 
 
61% of our members read Spokes last week.  19 Members missed last week’s meeting review.
 
We were greeted by Stu Comiskey and Bob Boerma this morning.
 
We opened the meeting with the acapella version of “God Bless America” and another of Art Ayers’ inspiring invocations.
 
Guests:
We welcomed guest and speaker Amy Nichols.
 
Music:
Jim Davis was back at the musical helm this week and we started with the 1921 hit “Ma, He’s (She’s) Making Eye’s at Me”.  Sounded pretty good, too, but the most interesting recordings of this song were done by Ann Margaret and Cliff “Ukelele Ike” Edwards.  Given our good start, we jumped right into “Give My Regards to Broadway” which is a song written by George M. Cohan for his musical play Little Johnny Jones which debuted in 1904 in a Broadway theater.  We finished with one of our favorites, “Smile, Sing a Song”.
 
Spotlight:
No Spotlight this week.
 
Announcements:
  • It is time to nominate folks for our Community Service Award and Rotarian of the Year.  Nomination forms can be found on our website.
  • Don’t forget the Club Runner App for your phones, it’s a great resource!
  • Our Induction dinner will be June 27th and Steve Larsen will organize a golf tournament.
  • Don’t forget the hospital’s annual golf outing on June 9th.
  • We are in charge of staging the 4th of July parade this summer so volunteers are needed on the evening of the 3rd and the morning of the 4th to make sure this event runs smoothly.
  • Tom Renner passed out the tentative program assignments for the 2017-18 Rotary year.  If you need to make a change, please contact Tom Renner as soon as possible.
  • If you did not attend the LMC/SHPS Foundation fundraiser in April and have not made your donation to that fundraiser ($100) please get it to Rhonda as soon as possible so we can finalize that event.
50/50
This morning Mark Odland had the lucky ticket and extended his luck by finding the “2”, and getting half of the pot.  Jim Davis was the winner of $2!  Both gentlemen donated their winnings back to the club.
 
Fines:
  • Marty Graber celebrated his 83rd birthday last week.  We sang to him – either a bad version of Ludington style or an even worse version of the traditional song, but it was the thought that counted, not the quality of our singing, which is often questioned.
  • Art Ayers celebrated the birthdays of two grandchildren.
  • Tom Fleming’s granddaughter also celebrated a birthday this week.
  • Richard Swanson also had a granddaughter’s birthday.
  • Tom Renner’s daughter Suzie celebrated her 49th birthday.
  • Dorothy Lockwood’s husband had a birthday this week.
  • Bob Boerma’s son and daughter-in-law both celebrated birthdays on the same date this week.
  • Mark Odland reminded everyone that ticks are especially bad this year – be observant!
  • Marty Graber offered a heartfelt thanks to the club for our support of his passion.
  • Larry Wittkop discovered an article in the paper about member Don Hodgman and his spectacular softball coaching career at Bangor High School, causing Don to pay a big fine, and earning praise from the club.
  • Don Hodgman thanked Larry for digging this up and said that he had much fun during his coaching and managed to remember he was coaching girl’s as they rounded third base.
  • Dene Hadden recalled that he umpired a number of Coach Hodgman’s games and his kids were always well skilled, hardworking and excellent sportswomen.  He re said he resisted several opportunities to eject Don from games.
  • Tony Martorano told us about his upcoming trip to Italy (Sicily, actually) and after Jerry Gruber’s urging, recounted the story of buying a cow from Sicily.
  • Paul Hix just returned from a trip to Normandy and provided a strong tribute to those who have given their lives for our freedom.
  • Tom Ruesink mentioned that he had been to a car show and returned via the “petticoat route” around Battle Creek.
 
Melinda Gruber introduced our speaker this morning, SHPS Food Service Director (and now PR chief) Amy Nichols.
 
Amy, a very animated speaker, outlined several projects and goings on in the food service area of South Haven Schools.
 
She talked about the Farm Bus and the reading and eating program the bus provides to low income areas and migrant camps in the area.They are actually going to add goats to the program this summer so students can read to the goats without feeling embarrassed about their reading ability.
She is also excited to announce a grant to help connect the SNAP program with local farmers, including allowing SNAP purchases at the local Farmer’s Market.This was accomplished with the cooperation of SHPS, Bronson Healthcare and the City of South Haven.
 
She really emphasized the connection she has forged with local farmers to bring local fresh food into the program.In fact, she actually can get local produce cheaper than going through her regular supplier.
 
They also put on Farmer Food Shows to help students learn where their food comes from and even maintain a chicken coop on campus for fresh eggs.
She also had high praise for the new cafeteria at the high school and will work with us to have breakfast there some day.
 
She also put in a plug for the new SHPS Pre-School program opening soon.
 
President Ayers thanked Amy for her exciting presentation and presented her with one of our speaker’s pens.
 
Next week’s program: TBD
 
Next week’s Greeters:  Art Bolt and possibly Bob Brickman.
 
Editarian:  Dene Hadden