Haslett-Okemos Rotary Key: March 6, 2018
Happening Tonight! There is a public meeting tonight at 6 p.m. on gun safety and schools. The session will be led by Assist. Chief Ken Plage. It will be carried on HOM-TV as well (for most it is channel 21).
President Frank Walsh thanked John Brewster for leading the last two meetings in his absence (Florida and jury duty).
Guests:Carrie Hindmon’s guest was Ryan Carter, a prospective member from Stifel in Okemos. John Brewster’s guest was Frank Scheur, former MSP and possible member. Two prospective members are now within the 10-day comment period: Renee Tilley with the Parkwood YMCA and Pat Jackson, Township Trustee.
Announcements: John Brewster is still selling tickets for a Celtic concert on March 25, $25 each, which will benefit the Weekend Survival Kit program.
Frank commented on an issue for the past two weeks with insufficient quantity of food. Frank has taken over being the Club’s contact with the caterer and will resolve this problem.
Frank also mentioned the District Hero program which is showcased at the annual District Conference. A nominee was suggested by Julie Brixie. The required nomination information will be submitted by the deadline of March 16. More on this later. The Conference this year is in Grand Haven on April 20 -21. Registration is now open on the District website or through the unique link emailed to each member.
Peggy Fankhauser is organizing the Youth Services Committee to sponsor a junior or senior high school student at Rotary’s summer leadership camp in Battle Creek called RYLA. The Club has a $100 credit to apply to the registration fee. This takes places over two days in July and is open to anyone interested in leadership training. Please contact Peggy for more information.
50/50 was won by Sean Mach (this was timely given that he was a member of the U of M marching band and J.J. brought a U of M hat to collect Happy Dollars this week).
Happy Bucks: U of M Big Ten tournament Champs, Students of the Month, new and prospective members, multiple family birthday celebrations, skiing safely in Switzerland, seeing member Michael Chen, 5 days in New York for sports and art, son auditioning and receiving a lead role in Les Misérables the Okemos High play this late April, early May.
Students of the Month: There was a first. This month we had co-students from Haslett High School, Julianna and Annalise Marks. Their parents Christy and Brad Marks attended. The students were introduced by the Haslett schools Band Director, David Gott. Both young women were described as leaders especially in ensuring every student has a good experience in band. They participated in multiple band activities with Julianna playing the oboe and Annalise the trombone. They have not yet made their college choice. Both want to pursue engineering degrees with Julianna also planning to study the oboe as well.
Speaker: Chuck Gliozzo introduced today’s speaker, Mohammed Khalil, Associate Professor of Religious Studies who also serves as the Director of the Muslim Studies Program at Michigan State University. He received his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. at University of Michigan. He is the author of a book, “Jihad, Radicalism and the New Atheism” published by Oxford Press. His topic was “Jihad, ISIS and Islamic Law”. The discussion was an explanation of some of the various terms and common justifications for action expressed by related groups which sometimes result in conflicting interpretations. His presentation provided insight and a perspective
Yours in Rotary,
Betty Mercer