President Valerie Miller led our April 29 meeting that started at 12:15 p.m. Doug Norris was selected to give the Pledge. Christine LaTour, led fellow Rotarians in “The Four-Way Test.” Tom Davies did the invocation and commented on his delight to see old and new Rotarians together after challenges over the past year. Our family-served lunch menu included Caesar salad, dinner rolls, breaded cauliflower, grilled chicken breast with risotto. Rotarians and guests were served cake for dessert.

 

 

President Valerie Miller announced she was grateful to see the increased numbers of Rotarian attendees at our lunch meeting and was looking forward to a great year.

 

 

 

Steve Krankota announced guests and visitors. Michelle Chabot, wife of Scott Chabot was the guest of the club as the meeting’s speakers. Fellow Rotarian, Larry Neal, was introduced as our guest speaker.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kim Jarvis announced Rotarians with birthdays & anniversaries for the week.  

Member birthdays included: Ellen Lysik
Partner birthdays: Taylor Hagar, wife of Ken Hagar
Wedding Anniversaries: None
Club Anniversaries: None

 

 

Louise Rallis passed out flowers for the meeting.

 

Bill Furest to Jeff Furest as a father/son Rotarians; Ryan Murphy to Valerie Miller for doing great job as president; Scott Chabot to Michelle Chabot as his guest & wonderful wife; Glenn Burton to Eric Pierson as recent recognition sparring partners; Louise Rallis to Kim Jarvis for working as a team for birthdays, anniversaries and flowers; Valerie Miller to Julie Huttenlocher for all her help as treasurer; Ken Steele to Glenn Burton; and Kim Jarvis to Louise Rallis.

 

 

MUSIC
No music at this time due to Covid-19 restrictions.

 

 

SUNSHINE
Tom Davies let Rotarians know that Tom Salva’s wife passed away due to a long fight with cancer and asked for prayers for him and his family.

 

 

GOODWILL
None

 

 

Julie Huttenlocher reminded fellow Rotarians that the Presidential Party will be at Sun Sport Marine on Thursday, May 13, starting at 5 p.m. Please contact Julie in the next few days to RSVP for the event.

 

President-Elect Jeff Furest noted the August 14 101-year gala event planning is continuing to move forward. Final live auction items (dining and travel) will be finalized in the coming weeks.

 

 

 

Eric Pierson rounded out the month of April with recognition. Glenn Burton was fined for golfing, but the fine was reduced to $2 since he bought Eric a flower $2. Two culprits, Nancy Dedenbach and Bill Furest were fined $2 for having an early dessert. Bill Furest was also recognized for having a hat noting “It’s a Furest Thing”, he settled on a $5 fine for making such a fashion statement. Valerie Miller was called out for asking Ryan Murphy for foot advice outside of doctor’s hours. Eric couldn’t fine Val, so he fined president-elect Jeff Furest $4. Tom Davies was fined $5 for not responding to emails to Julie Huttenlocher. Eric noted it was great to see Christine LaTour and fined all of the Rotarians at her table $2. Kim Jarvis was not left unscathed after the faux pas of announcing a woman’s age for the birthday flowers and was fined $3. Karan Bates-Gasior and Nancy Dedenbach were both fined $3 for having a “grand ole time” at a local drag queen bingo event. Mary Bednar was fined for $2 for having “no sympathy” when she was taking a phone call during the meeting. She was given some consideration due to it being her daughter calling in to give her an update on her improving health.

 

 

 

 

Larry Neal, Director of the Clinton-Macomb Public Library (CMPL) was the speaker for the meeting. His presentation talked of the brief history of the CMPL system, the CMPL district’s coverage and a focus on the updates on the construction of a new north branch library in Macomb Township. Library work has been a large part of Larry’s life since high school. He has been working in the library world for 39 years. Much of Larry’s early experience was with the Rochester Hills Library.

 

The CMPL was formed as a voluntary partnership with Clinton Township and Macomb Township and formed as a library district. It is one of the largest library districts in the state. The CMPL  comprises three branches: main branch (Canal & Romeo Plank), south branch (Gratiot Avenue ¼ mile north of 15 Mile) and the north branch (24 Mile Road ¼ mile west of Romeo Plank).  Larry showed the growth of CMPL system since 1998 where all these branches have grown as the Clinton Township and Macomb Township communities have grown.

 

The most current endeavor for the CMPL is the construction of the new north branch library in Macomb Township. Larry got inspiration from a number of libraries throughout the United States and Europ to infuse design elements into this new branch. The new branch library also includes ideas such as merchandising, current technological trends and services (such as drive through drop off/pickup.)

 

The coordination and planning of the new library were extensive. Larry noted that having the right architect and construction manager were essential in having the project stay in the right direction with budget, functionality and problem solving. Larry’s extensive experience as a librarian and director for almost 40 years helped him in being a knowledgeable owner’s representative during the planning, design and construction process.

 

Larry shared the following facets of the planning, design and construction processes needed for this new library branch.

 

The presentation had numerous illustrative elements to keep Rotarians engaged on this topic (progress on furnishings, site material selection, courtyards, dome construction, final room layout sketches, technology area and computers, drive-thru service, interactive activities for children, etc).

 

Dedication Day for the new north branch library is on September 19.