SPOKES
November 19, 2024
We were greeted this morning by Jeff Wilhelm and Jeremy Burleson.
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.
GUESTS: Amy Fraker, Prince Covington
ZOOM ATTENDEES: Nick Tuit, Kevin Hagen, Bob Brickman
SONGS: Larry Wittkop was our “maestro” this morning, and he led us in singing “Smile, Sing a Song”, “California Here We Come”, and “Sing Rotarians”.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- Art Ayers had a few things to announce:
- He and Kris will be traveling to Dallas during the first week of December to see their new granddaughter. As a result, he is seeking a few volunteers to cover his bellringing slot on December 7th as well as the Invocation for the meeting on December 3rd. Soon after it was announced, Amy Nichols volunteered for the bellringing, and Jeff Wilhelm will offer the Invocation. Thank you!!!
- Art also spent a few minutes explaining to the club why he found it necessary to resign from the position of District International Service Committee Chair.
- Salvation Army Bell Ringing will be held on Saturday, December 7th, and the sign-up sheet was circulated.
- The Christmas party will be held on Tuesday, December 10th, at Hawkshead, and the sign-up sheet was also circulated.
- Bob Copping announced that reservations are being made for the Hope College Vespers, scheduled for December 8th. A reminder that dinner will follow at Curragh’s Irish Pub in Holland.
- A reminder from President Angelica that we need to be focused on membership gains and community outreach opportunities.
- Jerry Gruber announced that this year’s Open-Door Christmas Dinner at the Methodist Church would be held on Tuesday evening December 17th. Jerry also indicated that this would be the last year that he would lead the effort. A sign-up sheet was circulated.
- President Angelica announced that a “flurry” of thank you notes had been received but, rather than read each one, she placed them in a folder on one of the tables and indicated that they would be available for view after the meeting.
- She did, however, share one that came from the St. Basil Technobots.
- This month’s ABO will be held on Thursday, the 21st, at Goody’s Wash N Go from 5-7pm.
- There is a scheduled Board Meeting to follow today’s meeting.
- Dene Hadden announced that he and Ross Woodhams would need some help giving away $6,000 next spring for the scholarship offerings that we do. If you’re interested in evaluating scholarship applications, let either of them know. The actual work will be done in April and early May.
COPPING’S COMEDY RELIEF:
- Bob told the tale of a senior citizen who, with his wife, went into town to shop. When they came out of the shop, they encountered a cop writing a parking ticket. He approached the cop and said, “Come on, man, how about giving a senior citizen a break”? The cop just ignored him and continued to write another ticket for the vehicle’s worn-out tires. The man and his wife kept insulting the cop, and he just kept writing tickets. After about 20 minutes, he finished, sneered at the couple and walked away. Just then, our bus arrived, and we got on and headed home...
TOM RUESINK-50/50 RAFFLE
- One of our guest speakers, Prince Covington, was chosen as today’s “honest and reliable” attendee, and he drew Todd Heinrich’s ticket.
- Todd, however, did not draw a “2” or “4”, so only a $2 prize today for the next winner. (Dene Hadden).
BIRTHDAYS and ANNIVERSARIES:
- Rhonda Wendzel’s daughter was married this fall, on October 12th, and her new son-in-law, Zeb, will be celebrating a birthday on the 22nd.
- John Mellein’s daughter-in-law has a birthday on Friday.
- Clark Gruber is celebrating early Social Security.
- Jerry Portman has 2 grandsons celebrating birthdays this week-Nicholas will be 9, while Ben celebrates 12 years.
- A traditional version of “Happy Birthday/Anniversary” was sung by “most”.
HAPPY BUCKS
Since we are scheduled to have 2 guest speakers this morning, the basket was passed around the room.
PROGRAM: Moveportz Transportation Service
PROGRAM SPEAKER: Prince Covington
PROGRAM CHAIR: Larry Wittkop
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Larry provided a brief introduction of Prince, which included information on his decision to start a transportation company, as well as a reference to his 23-year military career, involving training in difficult conditions.
- The business began as a “kitchen table idea” to assist seniors in getting to grocery stores and medical appointments; however, it quickly expanded to cater to tourists and airport runs.
- Despite initial struggles, the company grew rapidly, hiring more drivers and purchasing more vehicles to meet the demand.
- By the end of 2022, they had completed over 700 trips and served over 1800 passengers. Prince expressed his gratitude for the support of the local community, and his goal for the future is to expand the fleet to 21 vehicles.
- The key features of the business:
- Providing transportation services for various events with a focus on customer service.
- Drivers assist with luggage, make arrangements in advance, and track flights for timely pick-ups.
- They require at least 5 days’ notice for bookings but recommend booking 2 weeks or more in advance.
- Their primary commitments are to ethics AND safety.
PROGRAM #2: The Mitten Children’s Museum
SPEAKER: Amy Fraker, Executive Director
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Amy has been the museum’s Executive Director since July 1st and has been living in South Haven for 6 years.
- She used to work at the Grand Rapids Public Museum and also at Greenfield Village.
- Around August 15th, they close for a week and redesign every exhibit that’s in “The Mitten” to focus on Michigan, which has so much to offer. They also have a traveling exhibit, and they also have an exhibit space that can be rotated.
- One of the exhibits contains vintage items which most young people have difficulty identifying (rotary phones, typewriters, phone books, etc.
- They are proud to say that kids can come in, discover things, and figure them out, if necessary. No spoon-feeding, basically, no electronics- all in an effort to introduce the kids to Michigan.
- They are a non-profit organization and in need of more space. Anyone who may have a suggestion, please let Amy know.
- Both of our speakers, Prince and Amy, addressed questions from the club members and President Angelica thanked both, on behalf of the club, for their very informative presentations. Each also received a gas card from Fleming Brothers Oil Company with our thanks.
NEXT WEEK: November 26, 2024
PROGRAM CHAIR: Bryan Kurtz
PROGRAM: TBD
GREETERS: Scott Mark and Stuart Comiskey
We adjourned with the Four-Way Test.
Respectfully submitted,
Art Ayers, Editarian