Spotlight 06-26-12, Vol. 74, No. 24

Brighton Rotary Spotlight

Jane McManus, President

June 26 2012, Vol. 74, No. 24

Guests:           Incoming District Governor Don Riddell; Ann Riddell; District Governor-elect Jim Gilmore; Ann Gilmore; and many other special guests of members.

Announcements:

Family of Rotary event on Friday, August 17^th: Detroit Tigers baseball game trip to Comerica Park with the Livingston Sunrise Club.  Seats will be in the Tigers Dugout Section 332, upper level.  Buss ride will include pizza and non-alcoholic beverages. RSVP to Jason Huntley if you plan to attend!

Upcoming Events:

8/17/12            Tiger Baseball Game with Livingston Sunrise,

President’s Night Program at the Johnson Center:

After welcoming our special guests, President Jane presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Jessica and Steve Case, owners of Pure and Simple Catering, for their partnership and support throughout the year:  including the Thanksgiving Dinner preparation, the Christmas Party hosting, the Tony N’ Tina’s Wedding  collaboration, and tonight’s President Night hosting.

Cathy Riesterer, Scholarship committee chair, presented recipients of the $1,500 Anderson-McGregor scholarships: Jesse Hoskins (unable to attend due to a church mission trip), Franzisca Pugh, and Joe Stefanko.  Recipients of  the $500 Personal Achievement Scholarships were Lindsey Disler, Katelyn Dunaski, and Joseph LaCello.  The inaugural Interact “Service Above Self” $1,500 scholarship was awarded to Pauline Devlin.  Over the past years, over $120,000 in scholarship funds have been distributed by our Club!

Perfect Attendance awards were presented to many members and special 100% Lifetime Attendance Awards were presented to Melanie Moses for 25 years perfect attendance, and George Moses for 33 years of perfect attendance!

Darlene McManus was presented with the “President’s Right Hand Helper” Certificate of Appreciation.

District Governor Don Riddell presented the 75^th year Charter to President Jane and Past-President Jeremy Jones for our Club’s existence anniversary:  June 1, 1936 to June 1, 2011

Retiring Board of Directors member Leslie Koehler was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation.

Club Service:  Pam McConeghy was recognized for her work as Secretary, while Peggi Mintz was recognized for her work as Treasurer.  All existing Board of Directors members (Jim Banas, Ron Cleveland, Noncy B. Johnson, Jeremy Jones, Jeannie McMillan, and Mark Sweatman) were also recognized and thanked!  Sergeant-at-Arms Kory Leppek and Brian Wutz were thanked for raising enough funds to cover tonight’s dinner!  Membership Chair Julie Fessler was thanked for her five years of service.  Jim Barnas sponsored the most new members this past year, and Ed Bottum was thanked for serving as program chair for the past three years.

Community Service:  March of Dimes chair Bill Anderson was thanked for his 25 years of service, Michele Bouhana has handled American Red Cross blood dives for six years, Stan Schafer was thanked for his six years with Gleaners Food Bank, and Brian Donovan and Piet Lindhout have lead the Rotary Raiders fearlessly!

International Service:  Bosh Vision Project leader Mark Cook has been joined by Ron Cleveland and Tom Zizka to be stewards of this and the water projects.  Thank you!

Vocational Service:  Mike Bourke has been leading the Junior Achievement component while Nancy B. Johnson has led the literacy component in stellar fashion for our Club.  Much appreciation!

New Generations:  (New avenue of service from Rotary International this year) Thank yous were extended to Bill Gartley for 12+ years with the Interact Club, and Cathy Riesterer has lead the Scholarship and Youth Exchange component for the past six years!

Rachel Evers was recognized as Rotarian of the Year!

Paul Harris Fellows recognized at President’s Night included:  Harry Davis, 1962 past president and leader in the VINA Dental Clinic; Bill Metz, 1973-74 past president and leader in the VINA Dental Clinic; Bruce Everett, 1985 past president; Mitch Zoldowski, 2008-09 past president; and Jeremy Jones, 2010-11 past president.  Beth Walker was recognized for leadership among membership, and Mike McManus received a second Paul Harris lifetime award for his numerous monetary contributions to Rotary International.  Congratulations to All!!

President Jane presented a gift to the Club:  a banner with brass plaques to list all Paul Harris Fellows for the Club.

The Passing of the pins and the gavel occurred next with new President Pam McConegy assuming control of the meeting.  Other members of the leadership team for next year include Mark Marker as secretary, and Peggi Mintz as treasurer.  New Board members are Rachel Evers, Mark Marker, and Brian Wutz.

Dennis Kalio of Boy Scout Troop 350 presented to President Pam a t-shirt and the Boy Scout Charter for Troop 350.  Approximately 50 scouts are currently active in the Troop which was established in 1928 and chartered in 1936 (our Rotary Club is the oldest chartered organization to sponsor a troop in the Livingston County area).  This year, Troop 350 received the Gold Club Award for the Journey to Excellence!  Scholarship recipient Lindsey Disler was recognized for achieving the Gold Award (comparable to Eagle Scout) for the Girl Scouts.  Other Eagle Scouts recognized at tonight’s dinner were, Matthew Hill, Harrison Jones, Joe Stefanko, and Jacob Tuthill .  Well Done!

50/50 Drawing:  $1,560 was collected with $780 being donated to our Rotary Club and $190 awarded to Lisa Billig; $200 awarded to Jane McManus, and $390 awarded to Catarina Gimaggio.