SPOKES -- September 19, 2023

 

 

 

The regular weekly meeting was called to order at 7 a.m. by President Melinda Gruber

The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Art Ayers presented the invocation.

Lacking a sound system, we stumbled (but persevered) through the songs. Under the baton of Larry Wittkop, we wisely passed on “Gentle on My Mind” but handled “Yankee Doodle Dandy” and a rousing “My Rotary”.

NEWS FOR THE CLUB (by President Gruber)

* Rotary Social Hours will be held the second Wednesday of each month beginning October 11 at 5:30 p.m. at Three Blondes.

* The visit by our new District Governor, Sharalyn Davis,  has been rescheduled for November 14.

*Melinda shared the purpose of the Rotary Foundationand how contributions to its Annual Fund ultimately end with grants to clubs through District.

* Members were reminded of the Mini-Golf Tournament on Saturday, September 23 sponsored by Rotary clubs in Allegan county. It is a fundraising event to benefit the Allegan County Housing Project. Our club is being encouraged to participate. It will be held at the Saugatuck Mini-Golf. Easy registration online at tinyurl.com/allegan cup.

* A reminder that our club is partnering with South Haven Kiwanis this Saturday, September 23, in the Celebration of Community Service pancake breakfast. Angelica is the lead person on this. An email has been sent to the membership explaining the event.

* LaRae Odland invited members to help remove the Dyckman Bridge flowers this Friday, September 22. at 9 a.m.

* John Mellein encouraged members to participate in the Mental Health Wellness survey which will be distributed via email later today. (The survey was indeed emailed.) President Gruber thanked John for his leadership in this regard.

* Mary Sue Lyon gave an updated on Blessings in a Backpack with more to come.

* Mary Sue Lyon invited members to attend the next Theatre Series event on Saturday, September 23, at Listiak Auditorium, 7:30 p.m. Featured will be a solo performance by historical interpreter Jon F. Rice on “Voyageurs: Indigenous Peoples, theb Fur Trade and Early Chikagou (Chicago).

* Dan Wilkinson invited members to attend a reception honoring Marilyn Arnott for her many (over 60) years of involvement of the South Haven Garden Club and the Bailey Museum. It will be held Saturday, September 23, at 2 p.m. at the Congregational Church.

50/50 DRAWING
Amy Nichols was the lucky Rotarian, but not so when it came to drawing cards. Bob Boerma gladly accepted the $2 drawing.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES
(Please excuse this editor if I missed getting all of these)

GB Richmond: Daughter married
Melinda – birthday?
Bob Boerma – grandson 29
Dave Campbell – wife birthday
Tom Norver – granddaughter birthday

We sang the traditional birthday song.

 

PROGRAM

Chair Michael Mathaney introduced Becky Huttenga who is the Agriculture and Economic Resources Coordinator for Ottawa County . Her topic was “Farmland Protection, Land Linking and the Future of Agriculture in Michigan”.

The shoreline from Berrien to Muskegon county is considered Michigan’s Fruit Belt. Van Buren County offers among 176,000 acres of farmland and is the 13^th highest agricultural producing county in Michigan.

The preservation of Michigan’s 10 million acres of agriculture-producing land is a key focus of her work. She talked of the important work of local Planning and Zoning Boards in protecting these lands, noting that on average four acres of land are “lost” every minute to developments.

This is the Ottawa County website -- miottawa.org/farmland

There were several excellent interactions between our members and speaker.

President Gruber thanked Becky for her presentation and gave her a gift of a gasoline card courtesy Fleming Brothers Oil.

 

We concluded at 8 a.m. with the Four Way Test.

 

Respectfully submitted by Tom Renner (pinch hitting for Sandra Reno)

 

GREETERS NEXT WEEK (September 26): Bob Metzen and Todd Heinrich

NEXT WEEK’S PROGRAM: Club Assembly led by Dan Thompson, Melinda Gruber and Kaleigh Eddy.The topic will be membership.