Kevin Kelly, Major Gifts Manager for The Rotary Foundation

December is Rotary Disease Prevention & Treatment Month.

Laughter and cheerful greetings filled the room as the Livonia AM meeting was assembling. Sharon Pommerville was passing out huge, frosted cupcakes. She was wearing a Rotary Santa hat and members were wishing her a Happy Birthday. Coffee was brewing in the back with a box of donuts. It felt more like a party than a meeting. Eighteen members participated in person, and two participated by Zoom. Reverend David Stechholz brought the group to order with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by an Invocation by Bob Carris.

Special Presentation: Erin Dobbins made a presentation to Mike Ladwig for a Paul Harris Fellow +2 (Two Sapphire Stones), having given $3,000 - $3,999 to the Rotary Foundation.

Happy Bucks was full of congratulations as Steve Alexander was bestowed the “Livonia Man of the Year 2024,” by the Livonia Chamber of Commerce.

These acknowledgments were followed by rowdy singing of Happy Birthday to Sharon Pommerville.

Special Guest: Mike Ladwig brought a special guest, Marty Bopp, a Ford Motor retiree from Mike’s church, for the second time to the meeting . Many members extended their warm welcome and asked him to consider joining the club.

Events: There were many announcements of events of which invitations to the club were extended. Next Meeting on 12/18/2024; Special speaker, Ted Davis, Director of Livonia Parks and Recreation will be speaking on a project to rebuild the damaged rest station at Rotary Park from the storm of June 2023. Mr. Davis, a Rotarian from the Livonia Noon Club will be asking both groups to join forces to raise the needed funds to make up the shortfall of the cost from the settlement obtained from the insurance company. Members of the Noon Club are invited to the meeting.

LAMR Special Club Christmas gathering at Reverend Dave Stechholz and Janet's home on December 27, 2024. Please brin a dish to pass.

AAA Pregnancy Children Car Seat Project, has succeeded in obtaining 84 car seats through direct donations and grants. (LAMR Club $2,500, Rotary Community Grant $2,500, Walmart $1,000) Fortunately, Fred Wood Funeral Home in Livonia graciously offered to store the chairs for the Center. Special thanks to Bob Carris, Claude Kendrick, Erin Dobbins, Pat Zucal, and Nancy Darga for transporting the chairs to the funeral home.

Growing Our Organization: Although our Interact Club at Churchill High School is very active, Stevenson High School is interested in starting a club also. Our member, Dave Burton, a coach at the school, offered to be the School District sponsor. Drew Buatti from the Livonia Rotary Noon Club, a graduate of the high school, expressed interest in participating in the formation of the new club.

LAMR commitment to also set up an Interact Club at Clarenceville High School is still proceeding but at a slower pace. Following a conversation on how our small club would handle 3 Interact Clubs, it was decided to proceed. Claude Kendrick, Reverend Dave Stechholz, and Drew met by Zoom on 12/8/2024 to discuss how to handle the needed Charter, By-Laws and operations and how our club would interface with the Interact Clubs.

Proposal To Organize a Local Rotaract Club: Dawn Margretta, a member of LAMR and Director of Donations at Schoolcraft College stated that a group from Northville Rotary and Livonia Rotary are interested in organizing a "Rotaract Club,” sponsored by several local Rotary Clubs to be hosted someplace supported by the joint venture. She pointed out that this target group of adults out of high school helps hold onto kids previously involved in Interact Clubs and invites young adults to participate. Dawn offered Schoolcraft College.

Special Guest Speaker: Kevin Kelly Major Gifts Manager of the Rotary Foundation (TRF). Kevin and his wife Dr. Michelle Kelly live in Farmington Hills. He is a graduate of Central Michigan. They have two daughters in elementary school. He has been working full-time for TRF for nine years. The Rotary Foundation is headquartered in Illinois. His territory of Major Donors covers Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and New York. District 6400 has 52 clubs and usually raises around $315,00 annually.

Mr. Kelly talked about how the TRF has a goal of raising 2.025 billion dollars to build a sustainable base for funding in perpetuity. Eradicating Polio is their number one commitment and Rotary has a reciprocal partnership with the Bill Gates Foundation to match 2 to 1 for every dollar raised. Rotary has the highest rating by Charity Navigator for the last 16 years. This financial stake will allow Rotary to continue global vaccinations and work to provide clean water, environmental improvements, and education. Mr. Kelly pointed out that donations are an investment in creating lasting change.

Nancy Darga