by Ingrid Nova | Apr 16, 2013 | Speakers for the Month
Every week East Lansing Rotary offers compelling speakers on a variety of issues. Coming up…
April 22 – Dr. Marsha Rappley, Dean of MSU’s College of Human Medicine
Michigan State University’s response to the projected shortage of medical professionals
April 29 – Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing)
Legislative update: the budget, taxes, education funding
May 6 – Jim Hidlay, Vice President of Global Marketing, TechSmith
The software revolution in our classrooms
May 13 – Rich Robinson, Executive Director, Michigan Campaign Finance Network
Campaign finance and gerrymandering: taking ‘representative’ out of our representative democracy?
May 20 – Amy Hodgson, Superintendent of Dansville Schools
Dansville’s pilot “iPad in the Classroom” project
May 27 – Memorial Day (no meeting)
All East Lansing Rotary meetings are open to the general public. Meetings are noon at the University Club of MSU. The $15 meeting charge includes an excellent buffet luncheon, complete with the University Club’s famous dessert table!
For more information, email us!
by Ingrid Nova | Apr 15, 2013 | Community Service Ongoing, Events, Foundation and Fund Raising, Playground in the Park
The Community Relations Coalition (CRC) is proud to host the 2nd Annual Taste of East Lansing on Saturday, April 27 from 4-7 p.m. on the 300 block of Albert Street in downtown East Lansing. This tasty event will offer opportunities to sample local cuisine from sixteen different vendors, a silent auction, live music and entertainment, childrens activities and fun for students and families alike.
To taste the delicious samples from local vendors, food tickets may be purchased for $2. Food samples may be redeemed for one or two tickets each. Twenty-five percent of food ticket proceeds and 50 percent of silent auction proceeds will be donated to the Rotary Club of East Lansing’s Playground in the Park Re-Imagined project. The project will bring a new playground to Patriarche Park in 2014. The park is located in the Bailey neighborhood, one of the three neighborhoods supported by the CRC.
by Ingrid Nova | Apr 4, 2013 | Foundation and Fund Raising, Playground in the Park
Very exciting news! The state has approved a $300,000 appropriation for the Patriarche Park project. This means we can plan our build date and work at raising the remainder of funds needed for an awesome new, safe, accessible play structure. Thanks to Representatives Sam Singh, Andy Schor and Tom Cochran for their support!
by Ingrid Nova | Mar 27, 2013 | Awards
East Lansing Rotary annually honors members of our community who, through their professional and personal lives, make a lasting contribution to our community. This year we recognized three outstanding individuals: the late Gary Olson, Dr. John Dunn and Professor John Seita.
Gary Olson
Recently our community lost a great leader, big thinker and Rotarian, Gary Olson – a member of the Lansing Rotary Club. The East Lansing Rotary chose to honor Olson posthumously with a Vocational Excellence Award.
Gary Olson held a Masters in Economics from MSU and was the Director of the Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency. Yearly visits from Olson to the East Lansing Rotary Club were always a highlight as Olson helped us understand the current economic situation.
We are proud to count Gary Olson as a friend and fellow Rotarian!
Dr. John Dunn
The Albert White Community Service Award goes to one of our own: Dr. John Dunn. A long time member and a semi-retired ophthalmologist Dunn talked about his philosophy of service. “It is a simple phrase that propels me into service —May I help you?,” said Dunn. That phrase, taken from his father, highlighted the compact that we make when we provide service. We ask permission to help and we help only until we are no longer needed.
Dunn shared a story about Red Cedar Elementary student, a young boy from Southern Sudan that he was helping to learn to read. “Samir was 7 years old and struggling with English. For almost a year we worked together, taking turns writing out answers to problems. One day Samir kept on going –because he could. He no longer needed me,” claimed Dunn triumphantly and tearfully.
At East Lansing Rotary Club we are moved by John Dunn’s quiet generosity, a true leader by example.
Professor John Seita
Professor John Seita was also a recipient of a Vocational Excellence Award. Professor Seita teaches in the School of Social Work and has created a very special program called FAME which helps college students that have come out of the Foster Care system adjust to college life. Seita himself is a graduate from the Foster Care system. He gave credit for his success to his team of colleagues. “I believe in the importance of making a difference one by one,” said Seita.
Congratulations to John Seita and thank you for being such a great role model!
by Ingrid Nova | Nov 21, 2012 | Community Service Ongoing, Events, Foundation and Fund Raising
The Rotary Club of East Lansing and the Kroger Company have proudly teamed-up again this year to support East Lansing’s Haven House. Since 2009, the Rotary Club has raised money from its members to provide Haven House residents with Thanksgiving dinners and household supplies. Founded in 1983, Haven House provides emergency housing and support services for one-parent and two-parent families with children. The shelter helps families who are homeless prepare for permanent housing by developing and promoting self-sufficiency, stability, and financial responsibility. Rotary Club members donated a total of $770 towards this year’s project.
The Rotary Club is providing three turkey dinners, and Kroger is donating two additional dinners to this effort aimed at making the Thanksgiving Day holiday a little brighter for the 30 family members currently receiving assistance from Haven House. Each turkey dinner includes: a 10-13 lb. turkey, potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberry relish and a pumpkin pie.
A certificate for the dinners was presented to Haven House Director Angie Mayeaux by the East Lansing Rotary Club President Nathan Triplett at the Club’s November 19, 2011 meeting. “Our club is proud to support the good work that Haven House does to assist homeless families. They are a constant reminder to us of the good things going on daily in our community”, said Triplett.
In addition to the turkey dinners, the E.L. Rotary Club also donated household supplies to fill the “exit baskets” that Haven House gives to each family that leaves their program to go into housing on their own. Each “exit basket” contains 35 different household items, including: a laundry basket, sponges, tub/tile cleaner, disinfectant spray, toilet bowl cleaner, toilet bowl brush & holder, dish soap, laundry soap, bar soap, dryer sheets/fabric softener, 2 buckets, mop, broom, dust pan, furniture polish, window cleaner, floor cleaner, pan scrubbers, paper towels, toilet paper, kitchen cleaner, bleach, Pine Sol cleaner, shampoo, deodorants for men & women, a hairbrush and comb, room deodorizer, band-aids, first aid kit, pot holders, comet, baking soda, trash bags, a small trash can, and toothpaste.
“We’re really appreciative the efforts of Kroger and the Rotary Club to provide a wonderful dinner on Thanksgiving Day for our families. And, the “Exit Baskets” donated by the Rotary Club will be a big boost in helping families get settled into their own housing,” commented Haven House Rotary Club of East Lansing Executive Director Angie Mayeaux.
The Rotary Club of East Lansing has a long record of community service dating back to its formation in 1961. The Club has nearly 100 members and has supported a broad spectrum of community projects, like the Playground in the Park at Patriarche Park, the East Lansing Softball fields and Aquatic Center and the renovation of Haven House.
The Kroger Co. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio (NYSE:KR) is one of the nation’s largest grocery retailers, with fiscal 2011 sales of $90.3 billion. Kroger operates 2,425 stores in 31 states; including five supermarkets in the Lansing area.
