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Next Meeting
We will not meet this Friday, March 30th due to the Good Friday Holiday.  Our next meeting will be April 6th at the Lansing Center on the 2nd floor.  Enjoy your families and have a safe holiday!
Know Your Rotarian!
The following story is from one of your fellow Rotarians.  We want to engage the club, so read the story, correctly guess the Rotarian and win a prize!  If there isn't a winner, the Rotarian providing the story wins the prize!  Send your guesses to Kevin at:  Schumacher@glassenrhead.com   Send me just a few lines of a memorable life experience or brush with greatness and we'll work some Rotary magic on your life to include it in an upcoming Rotogram.
 
Before computers, our Rotarian had the good fortune to take an afternoon club (class) in typing during his/her senior year in high school.  Joining the US Navy seemed preferable to being in Army fox holes, so Navy it was when the Draft called.  After finishing boot camp and radar school the assignment was a Lansing Craft Support (LCSL).  The proficiency in typing gained in the high school class resulted in the Captain of the ship appointing the person as "scribe", where he/she was responsible for the ship's log and all the Captain's correspondence.
 
After being the lead ship in training exercises around the Hawaiian Islands for six weeks, a series of islands in the South Pacific held by the Japanese would have been the target for this the crew.  Our Rotarian instead typed the recommendation of the Captain for his/her appointment to the Navy V-7 program (https//enwikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Naval_Reserve_Midshipment%27s_School) at the University of Pennsylvania.  There the fortunate Rotarian completed the course, as the war with Japan ended, received a Commission as an Ensign, and was released to continue college studies.

 

April Birthdays
Ammons, LawrenceApril 19
Bahar-Cook, RebeccaApril 01
Cauley, JohnApril 01
Chamberlain, ChristopherApril 17
Dubey, JennApril 26
Durham, JulieApril 27
Goodell, GeorgeApril 22
Guerre, WilliamApril 04
Lenz, MariaApril 11
Little, NancyApril 27
Lynch, LindaApril 24
McMullen, FeliciaApril 07
Nugent, GeorgeApril 06
Pingston, JulieApril 15
Riley, KirkApril 09
Salisbury, TimApril 26
Schneidewind, EricApril 24
Shaski, JohnApril 04
Sieloff, WayneApril 18
Suseela, ThangaveluApril 21
Trumpie, DaveApril 07
Tucker, SamuelApril 30
Wiesner, DougApril 09
 
 
Youth Exchange Opportunities
We need your help to ensure the continuation and success of the Rotary Youth Exchange Program here in District 6360. If you have a passion for young people and you believe in enhancing international peace and understanding, please consider getting involved in this program. We need people willing to join our Youth Exchange team at all levels, ranging from District Chair to committee members. Duties range from intermittent help with transporting and chaperoning students to taking a leadership role.
 
We will provide extensive help and training to get you up to speed quickly. Be sure and bring fresh eyes, a creative approach, and a ton of enthusiasm! We are planning an orientation meeting so you can learn more. Please let me know if you would like to attend and we’ll send you an invitation with the date and time.
 
District Governor Elect Jim Cupper's email is:  jimcupper@gmail.com
Editarian Report for March 23rd, 2018
The fact that we are meeting at the Country Club today is a first sign of spring! Welcome to spring, Fellow Rotarians, on this chilly but sunny day.
 
Today’s meeting was called to order at 12:31 pm by President Darwin Brewster
 
INVOCATION—Manny Garcia
 
We receive this food in gratitude to all beings
Who have helped to bring it to our table,
And view to respond in turn to those in need
With wisdom and compassion.
In this festivity let us remember too
those who have no festivity
those who cannot share this plenty
those whose lives are more affected than our own
by war, oppression and exploitation
those who are hungry, sick and cold.
In sharing this meal
let us be truly thankful
for the good things we have
for the warm hospitality
and for this good company.
 
PATRIOTIC SONG: My Country Tis of Thee (introduced by Ken Beachler)
 
INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS AND VISITING ROTARIANS: Tyler Parsons
 
Bill DuBois was the only visitor introduced today, by Susan Angel.  He is looking to join our club.
 
HEALTH OF THE CLUB: Irv Nichols
 
Irv was sorry to report that Jim Reutter’s wife died last night. Further details will be forthcoming.
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
 
1. Eugene ‘Gil’ Wanger received the coveted Heritage Award this week. A Rotarian since 1969, he was recognized for decades of service promoting local history about Ingham Heritage.
 
2. Jenn Dubey announced today’s ‘unknown author’ winner. It was Rebecca Bahar-Cook who nobody guessed was this week’s mystery Rotarian!
 
3. Julie Thomasma (Child and Family Charities) delivered her New Member Presentation in exchange for a blue badge. Julie was born in 1979, the oldest of four who grew up in Brighton when it was a much smaller community than now. To put this in perspective, there were six children in her 8th grade class! Julie played basketball, soft pitch softball, and figure skated. A favorite quote throughout her early years was “Don’t sweat the small stuff and it’s all small stuff!” Julie graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in biopsychology. Considering herself a brain geek, she went on to attain a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the Illinois Institute of Psychology, meeting her eventual husband the night before interviewing for her Ph.D. program. While Julie loved working as a rehab counselor, teaching people to find potential strength and hope in all situations, she returned to Lansing as the executive director of Child and Family Charities (CFC) two and a half years ago. This was after stints in Chicago and Boston. CFC is a large organization that has been around for more than 100 years and offers more than 20 different programs. Julie has been married for ten years and has a son, David, who is six and a daughter, Aubrey, who is three. Her favorite quote now is from Mumford and Sons: “Where you invest your love, you invest your life”.
 
 4. March Birthdays Mike Abel
 
There was 60% participation this month, raising a total of $900. This month’s question was about which Rock and Roll songs have most influenced this group.
 
Trey Williams—Roll With It by Steve Linwood
Hari Kern—Roll Over Beethoven
Rick Guildford—Rock Around the Clock (1954)
Kevin Schumacher—Sympathy for the Devil by the Rolling Stones
Barb Whitney—Hard Day’s Night by the Beatles
Joel Hoffman—Short People by Randy Newman
 
SPECIAL MUSIC: Courtney Hillbrook introduced today’s guests, cellist Hong Hong and pianist Zhao Wang. Hong is the principal cellist with the Lansing Symphony Orchester. He has been with the symphony for 4 seasons and earned his Ph.D. at MSU. Hong started performing at age 13 and has played all over the world. Today’s music include Schubert’s Impromptu and a second, lovely piece by a Chinese composer.
 
TODAY’S SPEAKER: Joan Jackson Johnson, Director of Human Relations and Community Services at the City of Lansing
 
Topic: Homelessness & Poverty in the City
 
Chair of the Day Bob Hoffman introduced today’s guest (who really needed no introduction). After graduating from college with a degree from Edward Waters College, Joan earned her MS and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Michigan State University. She has received countless honors and recognition from the community, including the prestigious Athena Award in 2016. To her friends, Joan is known as Triple J. She gave up a lucrative private practice to work tirelessly on behalf of Lansing’s residents in need and is one of Lansing’s true heroes.
 
Comments cited in Joan’s talk follow:
 
—Coming from a large family, Joan learned early the importance of sharing—and that is something we all must do with regularity. She refers to all fellow residents as her brothers and sisters and spends many sleepless nights trying to find solutions to the problems she encounters. (The other day, I ran into Joan who was working hard to find a solution for a family who had been living without water since November.) —Kids are frequently found sleeping in cars with their parents or grandparents. Sometimes, refugees have more hope because what they have here is more than what they had before. Other residents simply give up. —As a community, we must offer a level of stability to our kids. Folks who have worked all their lives are finding themselves in food lines because they have lost their homes due to a whole host of reasons.
—A mobile food pantry is proving critical to getting food where it needs to be.
—Food stamps do not provide enough food for a month, and parents/grandparents are spending hours in line ahead of pantry openings to ensure their kids have enough food.
—Even though eligible kids receive ten meals a week at school, on average they are still missing eight additional meals a week at home. This is why there are gap feeding programs.
—As examples of desperation, diabetics have been known to steal candy bars to raise their blood sugar enough to ensure a warm night in the hospital. Others feign illness to spend time in the warm emergency department.
—While Joan has a personal rule to never give cash to someone in need, she will BUY something a family needs instead. And, if she purchases something like a sandwich and drink for someone, she will make sure they take a bite of the sandwich and open their drink so as not to make the sandwich or drink things that can be sold for cash.
—The city has instituted programs like FEED THE BABIES, KEEP THEM DRY. It is an attempt to keep mothers from reusing Pampers or having moms give sugar water to babies (sugar water is cheaper than formula). There is even a push to teach moms how to use reusable cloth diapers since they are much more affordable. Disposable diapers and formula are extraordinarily expensive and beyond the means of too many parents. The FEED THE BABIES program has only been successful because of its volunteers who simultaneously help to raise awareness about the challenges too many local families face.
—Did you know that WIC support was only ever intended to serve as a supplement to what a family can provide on its own?
—Sadly, there are many misunderstandings among parents out there. Some believe that blowing cigarette smoke into the soft spot on a baby’s head will help rid the infant of colic. Others smoke marijuana around their children, babies are raising babies, and grandparents are taking the place of parents. As a community, we must strive for our children to go to bed in the same place every night, and not all over the place. —Years ago, HUD allowed couch surfing as a subcategory of homelessness. This is no longer the case meaning that homelessness numbers are higher than they appear.
—On a personal note, Joan describes herself as married to a man who puts up with her spontaneous spending habits on behalf of those in need. She has five children—two biological and three adopted. Her son Mark is responsible for 90% of the gray hairs on her head, the others are responsible for only 10%. Traditionally, her family has done things like give up meat one night a week to feed others. Her children carry on these traditions in their own lives.
—Advent House feeds upwards of 300 people per meal on the weekends. It is the only place available for all day weekend shelter throughout the year. Parents can be seen dragging four children at a time, through all kinds of weather, to feed them. Often, the children will be dressed in layers of thin clothing with no coats to cover their bodies.(Schools used to supply children with things like boots and coats. While they may borrow things during the day, they now must return items before leaving school.)
 
—Some senior citizens are eating cat food to get by. Others are forced to choose between medicine over food.
—Lansing is proud of the fact that 2.5% of its annual budget ($2,660,000 this year) goes to local nonprofits to help them do their work. Nevertheless, it is not enough.
—When asked by Dennis Fliehman what types of programs are best for the community, Joan unflinchingly noted the need for supportive services, especially since HUD recently eliminated so many. Agencies must continue to function, particularly with regard to substance abuse, alcohol, and mental health.
—When asked how to respond to the numerous people begging at our street corners, Joan stated that she never gives them money since money will be used mostly for drugs. There are resources available that these people know about.
—Unkind people, like slumlords who take advantage of the poor, are a problem in our community. Sadly, too many programs, like the one on Walnut Street that helped those with mental illness, have had to close their doors recently. There were simply insufficient funds to support the valuable work that was being done there.
—In response to a question about how our homeless numbers stack up compared to other communities, Joan responded that we are right up there with Oakland County and Detroit. We are third in the state. We have 250 beds in Lansing each night for our homeless neighbors and are competing with Detroit in terms of the number we put up at local hotels. The small house concept, that is taking hold in other communities, is a much less expensive option and one we must explore more.
—Joan does not know of any place in the US that has ended homelessness although some communities certainly have more beds available. For those who are not aware, it is important to note that the only place that will take a homeless mother with her teenage sons, without splitting up the family, is Haven House. Yet this facility is very small and can only accommodate a handful of families at a time. Fathers can also be there with their children.
—Joan is known as ‘Mom’ or ‘Mama’ around the city. While she never buys alcohol or tobacco for those in trouble, during the flooding several weeks back, she did use some of her own money to buy alcohol, to entice a couple of men away from a quickly flooding area where they likely would have drowned.
 
How lucky we are to have someone with such a heart of gold as Joan Jackson Johnson in our midst!
 
In lieu of a speaker’s gift we will donate money to our Bio Sand Filter project to provide pure clean water to developing countries in the Dominican Republic.
 
Pam Miklavcic's email is:  tdppammiklavcic@gmail.com
Speakers
Apr 13, 2018
Friends of Kenyan Orphans @ the Lansing Center
Apr 20, 2018
ePIFanyNOW at the Country Club
Apr 27, 2018
Detroit FBI at the Crowne Plaza
May 18, 2018
View entire list
Rotary Club of Lansing
P. O. Box 13156
Lansing, MI   48901-3156
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