Spotlight 11-26-13, Vol. 75, No. 44

Brighton Rotary Spotlight

Mark Marker, President,

November 26, 2013, Vol.75, No. 44

Guests:     Joe Petrucci, wk2; David McCloud, Brighton’s Adopted Son; Kathy Aksten, Premier Financial Planning & Solutions; Danny Meier, Meier Flowerland, Karen and Jim Timmons, guests from North Carolina; Mackenzie Marker and Shayna Sisson, Mark Marker’s son and friend.

Announcements:

The theme “”Engage Rotary: Change Lives” is translated into the following ways that Club Members have affected the lives of others. Nancy B. Johnson now has two copies of Team of Rivals that last week raised $110 for polio plus;  Rochele Evers thanked Bonnie Corrigan, Mark Marker & Piet Lindhout for contributing to send her daughter and herself to Washington, D.C., for the eighth grade trip;  Maribeth Regnier thanked Michele Bouhana for saving the do-it-yourself haircut created by her four-year-old granddaughter; Terry Gill appreciated the help provided by Mike Archinel and his staff concerning property information; April Dertian thanked Luann Loy and Tony Gelardi for support of the Salvation Army Gala; and Kim Coates thanked Bill Metz for help locating a lost cat.

Thank you notes were received and circulated from the Livingston County Literacy Coalition for the Club’s support and donation.

 “Ask A Rotarian” featured this week was Tom Coates. Carol Bullion asked what Tom wanted in his Christmas stocking—Tom wants people to be happy, he feels very lucky.  Mike Hatty wanted to know about Tom’s adventures drilling for oil in Texas, and Nancy B. Johnson wanted to know if Tom learned welding from his father or vice versa—Tom said that he purchased a welding machine for his father and it grew from there..

Good Deed Doers team captains Terry Gill, Tony Gilardi, Brian Parsons, Julie Smith, and Jeff Toole reported that carpet for the Howell Teen Connection is fully funded and will be installed by the first of the year.  Badges drawn for the December/January Good Deed Doers are:  Lee Gough, Lori Lalama, Kory Leppek, and Adrienne Knack.  Good Deed Doers not only help others, but provide an opportunity to work closely with other members.

Jeannie McMillan is coordinating the Thanksgiving meal delivery project on Wednesday, November 27^th  Approximately 63 families will be served. Thank you for volunteering to help and we will see people at Cleary University’s Johnson Center tomorrow!

The Interact RYLA exchange is usually held at the Community Center, but due to a scheduling conflict, the Friday, 12/6, event will begin at the Spitler warehouse from 3:30-8:00pm and then move to the Lions Club Den from 8pm until 11am on Saturday.  Volunteers are needed to transport the students from the warehouse to the Lions’Den at about 7:30pm that Friday, then Breakfast Cooks are needed at 8am, and a clean-up crew at 11am.  Also plug-in electric griddles are needed for breakfast preparation.  If you can help, contact Bill Gartley.

.Philippines Relief Donations need to be giving to Jane McManus by first thing 11/27 so that funds can be given to the District.  Make checks payable to Brighton Rotary Foundation.

Planning for the annual Rotary Holiday Party has begun!  Please mark Tuesday, December 10^th from 6-8:30pm at the Johnson Center on your calendar. There will not be a luncheon meeting on that date…Melissa Osborn asks for your response by November 29th concerning attendance, number of guests, and ages for children visiting Santa!

April Dertian reported that the Salvation Army is in need of Bell Ringers.  More information next week about arranging a Rotary Day of Ringing.  To volunteer on your own, go to www.registertoring.org.

Toys for Tots collection site will be at Melanie & George Moses’ The Marketeer building on North Street.

Melanie & George Moses will be performing the roles of grandparents in “The Nutcracker” performances on December 7^th (7pm) and 8^th (2pm) at the Jane Tasch Theater in Pinckney.  Seating information at www.tututix.com

Mark Cook has begun organizing the vision expedition to the Peru mountains from June 13-24, 2014.  He is accepting volunteers for the trip.  Costs include a $700 non-refundable trip fee, airfare (TBD), and spending money.  Volunteers need to be capable of walking one mile unassisted.  Participants will probably visit Machu Pichu and other sites.

Cindy Snyder mentioned the literacy expeditions in the Peruvian jungle will begin on March 29^th  and last about ten days.  If interested in this trip, see Cindy.

Mike Archinel alerted members that the Fowlerville Rotary is holding their “Dashing through the Snow 5K Run” on December 7^th.  Mike, Peggi Mintz, Mike Bourke, Stan Schafer will be participating.  If interested in joining this group, contact Mike because he is planning to order Brighton Rotary T-shirts to announce their affiliation.

Don’t Forget the “Pennies for Polio” campaign.  Sixty-two cents purchases one dose of polio vaccine!

Upcoming Events:

11/27/13          3:00-4:00pm    Thanksgiving Dinner Meal Delivery, Johnson Center

12/10/13          6:00-8:30pm    Rotary Holiday Party, Johnson Center. NO LUNCH MEETING

12/24/13          NO LUNCH MEETING

12/31/13          NO LUNCH MEETING

Program:

Program host Bill Anderson introduced Kathy Aksten and Danny Meier from Triple Diamond Alpaca Ranch (located on Brighton Road) and Boutique (located at 440 Main).  A special guest was Tender Kisses, a 1.5 year-old alpaca.  Alpacas are part of the camel and llama families. The fleece of an alpaca is very fine with a low microfiber content.  The fiber is non-allergenic, and the wool does not contain lanolin. The Triple Diamond Ranch owns 65 alpacas, very smart and gentle creatures that do not have upper teeth, have pads on their feet like dogs, and do not shed.  Once a year their coat is sheared after it reaches a length of five-six inches.  In Peru, white is the preferred color of the coat, but the US customers prefer the 22 natural colors of the alpaca (21 colors available on the Triple Diamond Ranch).  A new animal can cost about $6-10,000, while a recent sale reached $675,000 for an alpaca with a beautiful, fine fleece.  As the alpaca gets older, the fleece gets coarser.  Kathy and Danny said that raising alpaca’s is a good investment strategy:  tax breaks are available, it is profitable to see the fleece. A DNA registry of the animals exists for breeding purposes, and alpaca’s have a 11.5 month gestation period.  Alpaca’s are considered like livestock, and can have up to ten per acre.  The Triple Diamond Alpaca Ranch is one of 250 alpaca farms in Michigan.  The animals are well suited to visits by children, and the Ranch has one autistic child who can’t wait to come work with the animals each day.

50/50 drawing: No one won the jackpot, and Bonnie Corrigan, Melanie Moses, and Tom Zizka were unsuccessful in their search to locate the Ace of Spades.