Gary Beaudoin grew up in Lansing and graduated from Everett High School. He pursued his higher education at Michigan State University where he earned both an undergraduate and Masters Degree. He was an educator for 37 years on the west side of the state, serving as a K-8 Teacher/Principal for 13 years and as a Middle School Principal for 24 years.

 

Following his retirement, Gary and his wife, Jane, both diehard MSU fans, decided to move back to the greater Lansing area and retire in East Lansing.

 

Gary is a very active volunteer both in the community at large and at Michigan State. He serves as Chair of the East Lansing Parks and Recreation Commission. While serving on the commission, Gary expressed an interest in starting up a pickleball program in East Lansing. Working with the commission, he was able to secure an indoor space at the East Lansing Hannah Community Center and had the program up and running in 2014. He dedicated a significant amount of volunteer time to organizing the program in the beginning and continues to volunteer his time to keep the program going from year to year. In an effort to bring the sport outdoors in the warmer months, Gary also helped raise matching funds to bring new pickleball courts to Patriarche Park. Gary has worked to bring pickleball tournaments to East Lansing, drawing participants from all over mid-Michigan. Gary’s willingness to invest his personal time and energy has been instrumental in bringing this life-enhancing sport to the East Lansing community and it has helped keep community members of all ages, especially the senior population active and healthy.

 

Gary received the East Lansing Community Crystal Service Award in 2017 in recognition of all his various volunteer commitments in the community and for his work to establish the sport of pickleball in the greater Lansing area.

Berniece Peltier grew up on a farm five miles east of Ithaca, MI. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree at Central Michigan University and her Associate Degree in IT at Lansing Community College. Bernie taught Junior and Senior High mathematics for seven years.

 

For eight year she was employed as a Programmer for Auto Owners Insurance and she spent the last 25 years working at Auto Owners as an IT Manager.

 

Bernie has lived in the Okemos/East Lansing area since 1979 and has been playing pickleball for four years.

Bruce T. Allen, 81, of East Lansing, passed away peacefully at home on March 5, 2019 with Virginia by his side. Bruce was born January 27, 1938 in Oak Park, Illinois to William H. Allen Jr., and Harriet I. Allen. He is survived by his college sweetheart and wife of 56 years, Virginia P. Allen, daughters Elizabeth R. Allen (James Asencio) of Louisville, KY, and Catherine G. Bauroth (Joshua Bauroth) of Rochester, NY, as well as grandchildren Anastasia K. Bauroth and Xavier G. Bauroth. He is also survived by his brother, Robert P. Allen of Fort Collins, CO.

 

Having earned a BA in Economics from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, an MBA from the University of Chicago, and a PhD in Economics from Cornell University, Bruce was a professor of Economics at Michigan State University. He taught Applied Microeconomics to both undergraduates and MBA students. He was especially proud to have taught in the Executive MBA program in Troy, Michigan for 38 years. He did extensive research and writing on issues in competition and public policy, as well as managerial economics.

 

Bruce was a long-time member of Eastminster Presbyterian Church in East Lansing, where he served several terms as a ruling elder and treasurer. A lover of music, he sang in the church choir for over 40 years, as well as with Michigan State University Choral Union for more than 25 years. He was an avid supporter of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and a knowledgeable lover of classical music.

 

To say Bruce was an enthusiastic railfan would be a massive understatement. At a young age, his daughter Elizabeth thought “vacation” meant “train trip,” and his daughter Catherine included train museums on her own family vacations just so she could send pictures to Dad. If attending a restaurant next to train tracks, well… wait staff beware! Bruce would jump up and run out the door to watch any passing train go by. Trains were chased... Railfan trips were taken… And then there was his impressive model train layout depicting the Burlington Northern Railway in the 1945-1955 era.

 

Bruce was a loving husband, father, and gramps with a kind heart and a dry sense of humor. He was extremely tolerant and so altruistic that he never sought recognition for himself or his good deeds. He was a gentleman and a gentle man. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, Eastminster Presbyterian Church Elevator Fund, and the Greater Lansing Food Bank. The family will receive friends from 10:00 to 11: 00 prior to the memorial church service to be held at Eastminster Presbyterian Church (1315 Abbot Rd., East Lansing) at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 6, 2019, followed by a luncheon and celebration of his life.  Please share your memories of Bruce and condolences for his family at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Home's webpage:  www.greatlansing.com .

 

Virginia's home address is:  915 Roxburgh Avenue, East Lansing, MI  48823

Click Here for the application for the Rotary Club of Lansing Foundation Grants.  Guidelines are available electronically at the Rotary Club of Lansing website at www.lansingrotary.org  A free applicant account is required to apply.  All applications must be submitted in their entirety by 11:59 p.m. EST on March 29, 2019.  NO EXCEPTIONS.

 

President Dennis called us to order with the ringing of the bell at 12:30. This day the windows of the Lansing Country Club dazzled us with sunshine. Laurie Baumer delivered the invocation focusing on the potential of each day and being kind to each other. John Dale led the club in singing "God Bless America." Lisa Smith circulated the mic among our guests who were all warmly welcomed by the Club. Diane Sanborn let us know that John Grettenberger, Sr. is doing well and that Virginia Allen's husband had passed away recently. President Dennis presented a red badge to Alexandra Souser with Adams Outdoor. He reminded Rotarians to move their clocks forward this Saturday for Daylight Saving Time. President Dennis introduced Stanley Samuel for his new member presentation.

 

Stanley Samuel immigrated to the US in 2009 from India to pursue a degree in construction management. He recounted the story of his first encounter with a laundromat that included a case of mistaken washer identity and having to perform the sniff test to see if his clothes had really been washed and dried in one step - they had not. He was recognized in 2018 by the Lansing Chamber of Commerce in their 10 over the next 10 program. Stanley believes in leveraging the power of community and spoke of his love for the Lansing community. He talked about the fact that India has eradicated polio, largely to the work of Rotary! He works for Wolverine Development. Stanley's wife, Sarah, is a speech therapist; they have a daughter, Anna, and are expecting a stork to deliver a son on the 25th of this month. He contributes to the community through serving on the Bath Planning Commission and on the DDA for both Bath and Portage. He is looking forward to getting to know everyone.

 

Welcome Stanley to Lansing Rotary. You are a fine addition to the club!

 

Courtney Millbrook introduced violinist, Tigran Shiganyan, who has performed with the Lansing Symphony Orchestra for 15 years and founded Art Nova. He performed two beautiful songs which seemed a bit melancholy, but perhaps that was my mood.

 

Chair of the Month and Day, Al Yambor, introduced our speaker, Justin Grinnell (justin@mystateoffintess.com). Justin owns State of Fitness, and has over 30,000 hours of training & coaching experience. Justin was full of advice on how to improve our health and fitness, which should be the goal as opposed to weight loss as a goal which has an 89% failure rate. He talked about making small habit changes you can sustain. To increase your longevity you should move daily, eat less, sleep more. He outlined the "super 7" factors: water, sleep, breathing, nutrition, stress management, movement, and digestion - pick one of these and focus on it for 21 days to create change in your health. He said for every 30 minutes of sitting, you need to move for 5 minutes. Your workout heartrate should be 180 minus your age. Drink ½ your goal body weight in ounces of water each day. If you are male, intermittent fasting (only eat during 8 hours a day; fast the other 16 hours) is beneficial. Importantly, you should feel better when you finish exercising; if you don't, you're doing it wrong!

 

President Dennis thanked Justin for his presentation. In lieu of a speaker's gift, we will donate money to our Bio Sand Filter water project to provide pure water to developing countries in the Dominican Republic.

Chris Swope's email is:  chris.swope@lansingmi.gov