The August 11 meeting was called to order by Pres-Elect Dr. Sam Fineman, subbing for President Scott who was enjoying the Great Up North with his family. Your scribe jumped the gun in the order of opening ceremonies and paid for that indiscretion. Christine LaTour led us in the Pledge, followed by the singing of the national anthem.
Jessica Johnson stumbled over “The Four-Way Test,” and Bob Lee gave a beautiful Invocation which turned out to have been written by your scribe. Lunch was garden salad, rolls, chicken Florentine, cheesy potatoes parmesan, steamed broccoli, and chocolate cake with whipped cream frosting.
PRESIDENT'S ANNOUNCEMENTS
* * * The fundraiser raffle tickets are now available. There are ten tickets to a pack and Rotarians are asked to sell a certain number of tickets. The prices are $10 for one ticket, $20 for three tickets and 10 tickets for $50. The raffle prizes are $500, $1,000 and $2,500. Pick up a batch or two and start selling! * * * Also don’t forget to bring scratch-off tickets or gift cards to the next Rotary meeting.
* * * Lastly, volunteers are needed for the fundraiser itself. In the past, beneficiaries supplied many of the volunteers. Contact Karan Bates-Gasior for more information.
* * * There were no guests or visitors.
BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES & FLOWERS
Kathleen Best had the flowers but no list. Mary Ann Hosey’s husband had a birthday and Dr. Sam’s wife “finally turned 30.” No club anniversaries.
Flowers were sold as follow: Gary bought his usual flower for Tina; Bob Cannon for Sarah Lee for hosting his wife’s campaign sign; Glenn Burton for Kim Jarvis for the McLaren party at the Gratiot cruise; Dr. Sam for Mary Bednar, our presenter; Ed Mastry for Kathleen Best for doing the flower duty and one last flower sale I didn’t catch.
MUSIC
Bob Lee chose “The Happy Wanderer,” (memories of summer camp) and “Roll Rotary.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS by ERIC PIERSON
SUNSHINE
Dr. Sam said his sister lost her house due to a propane-started fire, which led Bob Cannon to explain that’s why food trucks are not allowed in Clinton Township.
GOOD WILL Karan proudly reported her oldest son, who is in law school, made the law review as one of the editors, at Southern Methodist University. Bob Lee jumped the gun and said that should be fineable, which Eric protested was his job to fine.
ROTARY HAPPY HOUR
A new event, starting August 31, at Ernie’s, 19 Mile and Garfield, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., organized by Kathleen B. We will see how the attendance goes — no Happy Hour in September due to the fundraiser — so we’ll probably resume in October.
DICK PIERSON GOLF OUTING
Thursday, September 15. No meeting that day at IACS. Lunch is free (part of our dues) at noon. Dinner, at 5-5:30, $30 and anyone can come.
RECOGNITION by ERIC PIERSON
Eric set a record for almost fining everyone in the room. He started off nabbing Bob Lee $2 for his unlawful fining of Karan. Bob said he was practicing for his stint as Recognition next month. Next, Mary Bednar was fined something as Most Missed Rotarian, but she protested and felt someone else deserved the honor. Next, it was Sarah Lee, your scribe, who was generously fined only $4 for her trip to NYC last week and for throwing Dr. Sam off schedule in his running the meeting. Because Karan stole Eric’s seat and blew him raspberries when he protested and with the news about her son, she got the full $4.99 fine.
Eric asked if anyone had traveled and two Rotarians said yes: Ken to Crystal Mountain, $2 and Tom to Traverse City, $2. Glenn Burton paid a golf pro $300 for a drive and then he outdrove the golf pro: $3. A long story ensued about Jessica’s water bottle mistaken by Ed Mastry for vodka: $3 for Ed. As proof that a recognizer can make something out of nothing: Bob Cannon was cited for being late today, but he was excused, it seemed, because he said he works (inferring Eric does not). Eric then fined Bob for cutting into Eric’s time by Bob’s “political ad” about food trucks blowing up due to propane, $3. Rounding out the room, Eric fined Kim Jarvis $2 because she provided Glenn Burton, but not Eric, with a free omelet during the Gratiot Cruise. Lastly, because he’s not the president YET, Eric claimed Dr. Sam offended the Rotarians by his remark of “being finally 30” and so Dr. Sam was fined the full $4.99. The only person not fined in the room was Gary, the pianist, whom Eric promised to get next week. Oh, and he missed Barb Owen.
CLINTON TOWNSHIP PARKS ~~ MARY BEDNAR
There are 11 improved parks over 303 acres and three unimproved parks.
Tomlinson Park: Volunteers put this park together. It also houses the arboretum. Volunteers are still needed. It is located across from the main branch of the Clinton-Macomb Library.
Budd Park: Cricket playfield and the Don Green Trail, which connects Canal Park and Budd Park.
Canal Park: on Clinton River Road, at the end of Canal Road.
Civic Center Park: Historic Village, Splash pad, Gold Star Families Memorial, Dog Park, Sled Hill, Fishing pond (catch and release), eight ball diamonds (Rotary provided the bleachers), coming soon: Inclusive Park, not an ADA, all ages.
Joy Park, on Joy Road: the Steiner Building is located here where the recreational programs take place.
George George Park: Most popular park. Moravian and Cass. 30 acres. Famous for graduation and wedding photos. Always in use for weddings. Parking lot to be expanded for 100 vehicles. Will get a universal canoe launch pad.
Neil Reid Park: Wellington Crescent and Harper. Pickleball court. First infrastructure park to use the water garden drain. Challenger baseball court with a second challenger baseball court to be built. Tennis court.
Nicholson Nature Center. Dunham Road. Clinton Township partners with the county in the day-to-day maintenance. Keeps the restrooms open daily.
Normandy Park. Off Little Mack and 15 Mile. Also has a rain garden.
Prince Drewry Park, Quinn Road, east of Gratiot. It’s a neighborhood park where tradition has built up an annual party held each year in August. Several thousands of people return for this “block party.” The township provides a dumpster and several garbage cans which people use.
Webster Park: East of Little Mack, off 15 Mile. Neighborhood park, small playground with a pavilion.The pavilions and the splash pad are available for rent. There is a fee schedule for residents and nonresidents.
Mary is working on various park connectors. Besides the parks, there are bike paths.
Unimproved parks: Spillway, Old Mill Park and Partridge Creek
FUNDRAISER RAFFLE TICKETS We now have the raffle ticket books available for this year's fundraiser event. Please sell two three of these books to raise money for this year's "Sock Hop" event on September 30 at Zuccaro's Banquet Hall. Ticket are: 1 for $10, 3 for $20 and 10 for $50 for three chances to win! - 1st Prize - $2,500 - 2nd Prize - $1,000 - 3rd Prize - $500. Remaining proceeds go to this year's beneficiaries. Please ask friends, family and coworkers who would be interested in buying tickets to help our event. We have two Diamond Sponsors, a Bar Sponsor and Dessert Sponsor already committed. A great event awaits us on 9/30! ROTARY HAPPY HOUR ON TAP FOR AUGUST 31 President Nominee, Kathleen Best, is heading up a happy hour social event on the evening of August 31 at Ernie's Bar and Grill in Clinton Township. We encourage Rotarians to bring friends, spouses, partners, etc. to accompany us as we continue to celebrate friendship and meet new people from diverse walks of life.
GOLF OUTING at GOWANIE COUNTRY CLUB on SEPTEMBER 15 Our annual golf outing. $100 per golfer and you get 18 holes of golf, a cart, lunch and a wonderful dinner. Gifts and prizes are also part of the event. Please contact Eric Pierson on attending this event.
Civic Center Park: Historic Village, Splash pad, Gold Star Families Memorial, Dog Park, Sled Hill, Fishing pond (catch and release), eight ball diamonds (Rotary provided the bleachers), coming soon: Inclusive Park, not an ADA, all ages.
