Spotlight 03-20-12, Vol. 74, No. 12

Brighton Rotary Spotlight

Jane McManus, President

March 20, 2012, Vol. 74, No. 12

Guests:           Chuck Thompson, Liv. Sunrise Rotary; Frank Bosie, Concrete Paving; Barbara Cox, retired Liv. County government; Brighton High School Varsity Hockey Team and Coach Paul Moggach; Mary Jo Parsons, Brian’s wife.

Announcements:

Our sympathies are extended to the Corrigan family as Bonnie’s brother, Bill Armstrong, lost his battle with cancer on March 14. 

Welcome Back to George Kudla—it is nice to see that you are feeling well enough to attend a meeting!!!

Happy Rotary Anniversary to Tom Coates, 14 years; Ed Copp, 22 years; George Kudla, 33 years,Mike McManus, 27 years, and Stan Schafer, 14 years.!!

 Congratulations to Scott Griffith’s son Michael who achieved All-American Status twice and placed 15^th in the Butterfly at last week’s NCAA Division III National Swim & Dive Championships!

Congratulations to the Division I State-Championship Brighton High School  Hockey Team that joined us for lunch to celebrate their recent success.  Piet Lindhout congratulated their courage to set “Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals” at the beginning of the season, just like Rotary does.  Piet shared some of the activities of Rotary, including the eradication of Polio (only 18 reported cases this past year) and that our Club has raised $184,000 toward these efforts.  Other key achievements of Rotary shared with the students included Literacy Efforts, Clean, Drinkable Water Delivery, Raiders, and other community activism..

Bill Metz shared that both Coach Moggach and his son, Aaron Metz,earned a State Championship in Squirts Hockey many years ago!

A Certificate of Appreciation was sent to the Club from the Salvation Army along with a Thank-You Card from Family #506 for our donations of time and funds toward the Thanksgiving meals.

Pam McConeghy & Mark Marker described their weekend at the President-Elect Training Seminar (PETS) last weekend at which they were exposed to many ideas and alerted about matching grants and dollars available through the Rotary International Foundation.  Stay tuned….

Cathy Riesterer announced that she will be attending a foreign exchange meeting tonight for the SouthEastern Michigan area to encourage both in or out bound students for youth exchange.  We have 13 students coming to the area this next year and still need host families.  See Cathy if you can volulnteer.

PLEASE HELP!  Mike Bourke still needs one more teacher to help with Junior Achievement at St. Patrick School.  Please contact him if you are able to join the fun and volunteer!

The Scholarship Committee seeks additional volunteers to screen applications for this year’s scholarship recipients.  Over $20,000 has been awarded over the years.  Applications from BHS seniors are due on April 20^th, and the committee will meet soon after to choose interview candidates.  See Cathy Riesterer to join the selection committee.

The Livingston Sunrise Rotary is supporting a fundraiser at Buffalo Wild Wings on Thursday, 3/22 from 11am – 2am, for former Brighton resident Israel Retana who suffered a stroke.

Rotary sponsored billboards with the message “You are the missing piece for Service in Your Community” will be installed along I-696,I-96, I-75, and US-23 on March 19^th for four weeks as part of a District grant from Rotary International.

March is Literacy Month for Rotary International

Upcoming Events:

04/20-22/12                       District Conference in Holland, MI

05/5-9/12                           Rotary International Conference in Thailand

Program:

Program Host Bill Anderson introduced Gavin Johnson, Brighton High School Principal who shared an update of the new initiatives in high school education in Brighton. Gavin came to the Brighton School District from Owosso where he had worked with Superintendent Greg Gray.  Brighton High School is the highest performing school in Livingston County, and Principal Johnson feels that this is directly attributable to School Curriculum and School Culture.  The School Curriculum has changed considerably in the last thirty years.  Two years ago, BHS had seven AP classes available to students, now there are 14 AP classes.  A special program called TIPS is targeted to those students that are developmentally and physically challenged to help them succeed.  Focus classes in which the standard class size is reduced to half are offered for those students that are struggling academically, and the goal is to have some of the best teachers in the District assist those students.  Other new initiatives include an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training opportunity and the addition of special interest classes like Military History.  Principal Johnson hopes to incorporate a Zero hour next year to allow students to take a State-mandated class at that time in order to free another class period for an elective.  Beginning next year, eighteen classes of a student’s four-years at BHS will be mandated by the State curriculum requirements.  The School Culture element at BHS is becoming more community service oriented, especially toward recognizing a shared value system of respect for others and their contributions.  The Wounded Warrior Week last month gathered funds for veterans of the Gulf Wars.  The Staff vs. Student events like the powder-puff football game and volleyball games help to build a spirit of comradely support among the school community.  As far as statistics:  BHS has 99 certified teachers on staff and 2034 students.  The upcoming $90,000,000 bond proposal in which the community will vote for passage during May will be divided among technology to support instruction, safety and building maintenance/upgrades, and athletic facility replacements/improvements.

Progressive 50/50 Drawing  $105 pot in week 1, 52 cards remain. Jim Barnes drew the nine of diamonds; Beth Walker drew the five of clubs, and Terry Gill drew the king of clubs.

Jackpot winner Cathy Riesterer said that her winning ticket was the result of an office pool and was split five ways.  Each participant decided to use a portion of their winnings to give back to others—Cathy and her husband gave money to the clinic where her husband was treated after breaking his neck one year ago.