President Rodney Hulbert began the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance, reciting the 4 Way Test, and then we sang "God Bless America." The invocation was given by David Eardley.
Shirley G -- is very glad to be back with our club following her winter away
Kyle J -- celebrating sister's graduation from U-M... Go Blue!
Bob L -- glad to be back after enjoying time with family whose home is a boat in Florida
Ryan S -- glad to be back at Rotary and celebrating his 3rd year anniversary of his MBS
Jeff W -- grateful for President Rodney's chiropractic skills
Kathy L -- thankful for success of Derby Day party and anticipating great response to this weekend's Stamp Out Hunger
Rachel A -- happy to be back and celebrating the birth of her healthy baby boy!
Pete D -- happy to be back with the club following time in Florida
Jack S -- also happy to be back following time in Florida
Christine H announced the Derby Day event to support RANH. It was a shared event with the Kiwanis and raised about $8,000. Thank you to all who participated.
Ernie S announced that tickets are available for this year’s Spaghetti Dinner at Van Hoosen Farms to support Habitat for Humanity. Sponsorships are available for $250 and $500.
Kyle J reported that this year's Winetasting raised over $32,000. What great news! Congrats to Kyle and his team!
Please note the May 14 Rotary Meeting will be part of the Annual Inter-Service Club Dinner at the First Congregational Church, which begins at 6:15 p.m. (There is no noon meeting that day.)
ROTARIAN OF THE WEEK AWARD
The award continues with Mo Sayed for yet another week.
SONGS
Bob Lytle, recently returned from Florida, led our singing today with two Rotary-themed selections: R-O-T-A-R-Y and Rotary our Rotary. The consensus was that we need more practice singing these classics... thank you, Bob!
SHERIFF'S REPORT
President Rodney led us in Aging Adults trivia, as our meeting was being held at the OPC today. We did well with the true or false questions. $203 was raised for Rotary Scholarships. Thank you everyone!
PROGRAM
President Rodney introduced our speaker, Renee Cortright, the OPC Senior Center Director. Her talk was titled: The Silver Tsunami: A Wave of Opportunity. She began with some demographic information. In 2018, seniors surpassed the number of children in the State of Michigan. Michigan is now one of the top 10 states in terms of its aging population. Every day 350 people in Michigan celebrate their 65th birthday. The OPC is a significant jewel in our community and offers mobility, health, housing, and socialization opportunities. In particular, she highlighted the Meals on Wheels program and the 121,257 meals that have been served here and offsite. The transportation resources provided 53,258 trips totalling 398,728 miles. The adult day care program currently has 50 clients and room for additional participants. The senior support services is a great resource in navigating the medical, legal, and government services in our community. The enrichment and fine arts and crafts opportunities are enjoyed by many persons. Over 148,129 people have participated in the OPC's fitness and aquatics classes. The performing arts classes have included 2,350 participants in 2018. The leisure travel programs had 1,665 participants in 2018. Volunteers have logged 43,300 hours of service through the OPC. Renee also highlighted the community collaborations through Ascension Providence, Rochester Hills Public Library Mini-Library, Michigan Senior Olympics, and the Oakland University Lifelong Learning program. The programs of the OPC are supported in the following manner: 35% millage, 32% fee for service, 18% donations/fundraising, and 15% grants. Renee closed by saying that one of the key benefits for all persons is the opportunity for socialization that occurs through the OPC. People remained connected with others who care about them. Thank you Renee, for a great program and for hosting our club!
