To Serve and Protect (Jun 18, 2018)

Announcements

Lowell Rotary Club Raffle Fundraiser--Raffle tickets for our summer fundraiser were distributed to members. They cost $10 each and every Lowell Rotary member is expected to sell at least 10 tickets to friends, family and other people. Our club will also be selling raffle tickets during the Sizzlin' Summer Concert Series. We need volunteers to sign up to sell tickets on Thursday nights. The volunteer sign-up will be distributed at Rotary meetings.

Annual Picnic, Wednesday, June 27 (evening)--Don't miss out on the fun at Fallasburg Park as we remember another great year of service to the community, recognize the achievements of others and welcome a new club president. A sign-up for this event will be available at the next Rotary meeting.

River Valley Credit Union "Skip a Payment" Fundraiser--We are excited to announce that Lowell Rotary Club has been chosen to be the 2018 charity recipient for River Valley Credit Union's annual "Skip a Payment" fundraiser. Current members with loans through the credit union will be given the opportunity to pay $30 to skip a loan payment during the month of June. For every member that participates in this great program, Lowell Rotary Club will receive $5. For more information visit their website at https://myrivervalleycu.org/skip-a-pay/.

2019 Rotary Auction--Make plans to attend the 2019 Lowell Rotary auction in April. The final date of the event is yet to be determined; however, we will be taking it to a new venue this year--Noto's Old World Dining. Stay tuned for more details in the weeks and months to come. We need lots of help planning so if you would like to lend a hand, please contact Dave Abel.

2018 Life Leadership Conference

Five outstanding Lowell High School students attended the 70th annual Life Leadership conference this past week. They joined 140 other students from District 6290 in Tustin. Nate and Jim joined them for the afternoon and evening. They are excited to share their experiences with the club at a meeting in September. What great representatives of our school, community and Rotary Club these 'kids' were!

Scholarship Presentation

Each year, the Lowell Rotary Club Foundation awards scholarships (renewable for 4 years) to high school graduates from Lowell High School. Since 1997, the foundation has awarded $232,000 to Lowell youth pursuing higher education. Alyssa Klaver and Bryan Ashenbremer are two of our 2018 scholarship recipients shown below:

Alyssa plans to study Spanish at Hope College during the 2018-2019 academic year.

Bryan Ashenbremer is joining the Army National Guard. He will go through basic training in the fall and will begin his studies

in Criminal Justice at Michigan State University in January.

Rotary Leadership Institute

Embrace the opportunity to be a life-long learner by participating in the Rotary Leadership Institute. The purpose of the institute is to help future and current leaders of Rotary in acquiring knowledge about the organization and important leadership skills that are transferable in every aspect of life. The Rotary district to which we belong (6290) believes in the importance of the institute so much that for every member a club sends to training, the District will cover the cost of a second member to participate. There are 3 levels to the training and various dates provided each year for members to take advantage of the wonderful learning opportunities available. For more information on the institute and how to register, please visit http://www.ridistrict6290.org/page/rotary-leadership-institute .

Upcoming dates and locations for Rotary Leadership Institute:

July 21--Ann Arbor, MI

October 20--Detroit, MI/Windsor, ON

Presentation Highlights: Serving and Protecting

Chief Steve Bukala (Lowell City Police), Todd Summerhays (Kent County Police) and Chris Gerard (Michigan State Police) visited the group to discuss the ways different law enforcement agencies work together in their unified mission to serve and protect. Here are some highlights from their presentation:

Agencies work together on several initiatives such as the Wolf Pack (drunk driving task force), fraud detection, Kent County Narcotics Enforcement Team (KNET) and the Metropolitan Enforcement Team (MET).
The departments also have a Mutual Aid Agreement allowing for cooperation across jurisdictions whenever law enforcement groups need assistance.
Todd Summerhays serves at the Community Resource Officer at Lowell High School. He works with administrators, educators, parents, local police and most importantly students to create a community of mutual respect and safety.
The Michigan State Police have jurisdiction throughout the state; however, they usually focus their efforts on patrolling the freeways. They are available to assist local and county departments through specialized services such as the bomb squad and detectives.
When asked how to prevent violent attacks in schools, all officers emphasized the need to be involved as parents, educators, community members and students to observe and share concerns with the proper authorities. Relationships and communication are key. There is no one way to address this issue, but this is a great first step.