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The Rotarians arrived to Lansing Center with the joy of having a fairly empty parking lot. This should have been the first indication that this would not be a “normal” Rotary meeting. After sharing in the company of fellow Rotarians during a lunch of BBQ chicken or brisket, the bell rang a bit early at 12:25. We had a fairly full room including a large group of guests that came excited to hear the speaker discuss the Art’s and Culture Commission. The original planned speaker, Erin Schor, however, was unfortunately unable to join us due to an illness. However; Erin’s husband, Mayor Andy Schor, was already planning on attending to support his wife in her presentation and stepped up in her time of need to give us her presentation. The wonderful invocation was given by Bob Hoffman with a little background music at the beginning provided by Pandora. Bob quoted William Penn regarding our use of time, “I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.” Bob urged us to remember the time that is passing and to stop and take a breath and show gratitude for our blessings. The group then joined our voices to sing America the Beautiful. The microphone was then passed around by Lisa Smith for guests and visiting Rotarians to introduce themselves. The common theme among the guests was that they had come to hear Erin but would be content to have Major Schor fill in with her presentation. The group had visiting Rotarians from the East Lansing Club and Rochester Minnesota. Diane Sanborn informed us that the health of the club was good, other than the original planned speaker! Ken Beachler introduced the special musical number provided by two of our very own Rotarians, Lisa Smith, and Brian Taylor. Despite Ken’s incorrect implications on the feelings behind the duet, Lisa and Brian started their song “Unforgettable” dedicated to Dave O’Leary because nobody could be more “unforgettable” than Dave. Lisa and Brian quickly found out that “Unforgettable” can be forgettable as some of the pages got mixed around but they still did a great job in their harmony and having a good time (if I may say so myself!). They followed by singing L.O.V.E. by Frank Sinatra and had a great time with another classic love song for the musical Valentine’s Day theme.  Jordan Sutton then gave us a wonderful introduction of Erin Schor followed by a reluctant introduction of Mayor Andy Schor. Mayor Schor informed us that he would be leaving plenty of time for Question and Answer because “a politician with a microphone is a dangerous thing”. The Mayor gave us a brief history of the Arts and Culture Commission which was first developed in 2009. The Cultural and Economic Development Plan (CEDP) is titled Creative 517 with the goal to connect the dots of all of the regional clusters of the arts into a cohesive group with a strong identity. The goal is to increase the marketing and planning of events across the Tri-County area. The specific goals of the group are as follows: - Celebrate, leverage, and build upon the strengths and assets of our arts, culture, and creative sector to enhance economic vitality and quality of life in the region.
- Foster the environment and conditions that support and encourage artists and creative entrepreneurs for more successful businesses and expanded economic activity across the region.
- Support and enhance the work of municipalities and area agencies by integrating artists and creative entrepreneurs into municipal and government departments.
- Identify and leverage resources for building the creative and cultural community.
The Commission has been focused into seven different committees with specific focuses to achieve the overall goals of the group. Many of the individuals in attendance are members of these committees and have already started meeting and are making progress in their respective areas. The Mayor emphasized the existence of the 517 ArtSearch application that will be the basis of the to  ol which will provide a lot of the information regarding locations, calendar of events, etc. As promised the Mayor gave plenty of time for question and answer and we closed with the final bell ring with our spirits lifted and hopeful for all of the wonderful things happening in our great community. Brian Taylor's email: brian@oddfellowscontracting.com |
