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Gary Surratt, President of the Kiwanis of Michigan Foundation spoke at the June 8 Zoom meeting on the support his organization gives to medical centers serving children. Contributions can be made at www.kiwanisgiving.org. Division 10 Lieutenant Governor Steven Witt assisted him. Kelly Shaheen, Advanced Care Planning Educator for MidMichigan Health spoke about the importance of Advanced Care Directives at the June 1 Zoom meeting.

At the May 25 Zoom meeting, Kiwassee President Kim Clark, who is also the Administrator of the Longview Early Childhood Center, gave a talk about the new outdoor nature playground at the Center including many interesting photos. Allison LaPlatt, Volunteer Resource Specialist with MADD of Michigan, was the speaker at the May 18 Zoom meeting. She spoke about the mission and vision of her organization in trying to reduce drunk driving and to support victims of it. The Michigan Walk Like MADD will be hold at Rochester on August 21. The May 11 Zoom meeting had a presentation by Jennifer Grace, Executive Director of the Arnold Center, on its mission of helping individuals with disabilities gain independence through vocational, social and life skill training and services. The election of officers for the 2021-2020 fiscal year was held at the May 4 Zoom meeting. Also the kickoff was made for the Roger Briggs Golf Scramble to be held on July 26.

At the April 27 Zoom meeting, Frances Babbage, Governor of the Michigan District of Kiwanis mentioned several District initiatives. Also, Beverly Wenzel, Executive Director of the ROCK Center for Youth Development, who provided an update on the organization's work and invited members to participate in an exercise of PERMA (Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishments) - which are the core elements of happiness and well-being. Focusing on positive emotions, Renee Pettinger, Executive Director of Midland's Open Door, was the speaker at the April 20 Zoom meeting. She told about the mission and services of her organization and how it has been effected by the pandemic. At the April 13 Zoom meeting, nominating committee chair Penny Ecarius presented a slate of officers for next fiscal year. The election will be May 4. Discussions were also held about the Highway Pickup which has now been scheduled for May 1 and the golf outing scheduled for July 26. Ryan Boos of Camp Noah was the speaker at the April 6 Zoom meeting. His organization offers a nationally available service sponsored by the Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota that provides a five day or more program for children impacted by disasters. They program's purpose is to provide necessary hope and healing.

Video and Powerpoint presentations of the work of the Kiwanis Children's Fund was the highlight of the March 30 Zoom meeting. Emily Willoughby, Youth Services Coordinator, and Abbey Rainey, Elementary Services Coordinator, of Family & Children's Services were the speakers at the March 23 Zoom meeting. They spoke about problems of children in need. The speaker at the March 16 Zoom meeting was Marcella Mosqueda, Principal and CAO at Windover High School. She talked about the activities of her high school for special needs students and how the school has been impacted by the current pandemic and last year's flood and how they have responded. Camille Gerace Nitschky, Executive Director of the Great Lakes Bay Region Children's Grief Center, spoke about the work of her organization at the March 9 Zoom meeting. The mission of the Midland Area Community Foundation was the program of the March 2 Zoom meeting. Foundation Director of Community Impact Alysia Christy spoke about its activities with a highlight of the help it has given during the current pandemic and last year's flood.

Debi Bartley-Ullom, Executive Director of Aaron's Gifts From Home, spoke at the February 23 Zoom meeting on the mission of her organization. It was set up as a nonprofit in 2012 in memory of her son Aaron who was killed in action in Afghanistan. Its purpose is to send goodie boxes to those presently deployed overseas in the armed forces. The speaker at the February 16 Zoom meeting was Melissa Toner, Media/Instructional Technology Specialist, of the Midland Public Schools. She spoke on how the school district is using computers these days in their educational process. Kiwassee was a prime mover in funding the replacement of Chromebooks that were damaged in last May's flood. Andy Ault, President of the Board of Directors of the Midland County Emergency Food Pantry Network, spoke at the February 9 Zoom meeting on the efforts of the EFPN in meeting the needs of local people in poverty. The February 2 Zoom meeting featured a talk by Craig Carmoney, Superintendent of the Meridian Public Schools. He spoke about the changes that have been made in the schools since he became superintendent in 2011 emphasizing the Early College High School, Project Lead the Way, and the New Tech Network.

Helen Roth, Volunteer Coordinator, and Jason Green, Chief Financial Officer, of the West Midland Family Center spoke at the January 26 Zoom meeting on how the Center acted to help victims of the flood of last May. The ACT Uganda partnership was the topic of the January 19 Zoom meeting. Local speakers were Sue Waechter, Director of ACT U.S., and Robin Stottlemye, leader of the HEAL Team (Health is Elemental to All Life). Joining from Uganda were Judith Tukahirwe and Thomas Akwankasa, leaders of the program there. Member Beth Laming gave a talk on Grandparents and Granchildren Zoom Exercises at the January 12 Zoom meeting. At our January 5 Zoom meeting, member Rudy Phillips told about his experience of living in Indonesia during World War II during the Japanese occupation.

Click here for news from 2020.

6/8/2021