President’s message:

Why are we Rotarians? I can only speak for myself. I’m a Rotarian because I want to make a positive difference in my community and I can accomplish more with like minded people. Not people that are my clones but folks who care about others in the same way I do. Will we agree on exactly what we do and how we do it? No, but knowing the people in the room share my goals is enough to respect all of my fellow Rotarians. I look forward to the future of the Elk Rapids Rotary club. Seeing what we have done in the past and knowing what we are capable of doing in the future gives me pride and confidence. We might not be able to change the entire world but we are making a positive difference.

Morning Meeting updates:

The August 12 morning meeting started with a recap of the breakfast / BBQ. Over $7,000 was raised for our Goodworks projects. Combined with our presence in the Harbor Days parade, Rotary had outstanding exposure during the “Harbor Days“ Festival. We can all be proud of who we are and what we do for others. We need to continue to spread our message.

Bernard Saillant gave a nice presentation of his experience living in our area after living in Haiti. Bernard is an upstanding young man with a very positive outlook on life. Good luck to Bernard in all his future endeavors. A very interesting man. To learn more go to magicbenofficial.com.

Two Paul Harris Recognitions were granted to two well deserving and hardworking Rotarians. Congratulations to Larry Kraus and Jennifer Reynolds. To honor this celebration Bob Chaphalkar brought donuts for everyone. 

The August 19 meeting:

Bryan McKenna the Elk Rapids School Superintendent gave us all an update on the status of our schools and our building projects. Given all the obstacles to overcome it appears our schools are in great shape.

We also had a guest: Dan Carpenter. Dan is from Elk Rapids and Dan was one of the first to attend the Life Leadership Conference. Dan is a graduate of Elk Rapids High School. Dan is a Professor of Government & Chair of the Department of Government at Harvard University. It was very interesting to hear Dan’s perspective of the issues that have brought Harvard to the National News. 

Camille Campbell made a short presentation of the Membership Committee she chairs. Camille's report is below.

The Membership committee, consisting of Nancy Wonch and Camille Campbell, wanted to share that our membership consists of 55 Members with 13 member partners and 2 honorary members.  Everyone in the club is encouraged to bring new people to visit the club and to consider membership.  Nancy and Camille are happy to greet any prospective members and assist the member in filling out the new member application.  Keeping the club vital and strong involves all of us bringing in new members and visitors.