The Board of Directors voted to cancel our participation in the Frankfort 4th of July Parade for 2020, as well as to postpone the 2020 Rotary Chicken BBQ until 2021.
Dear Frankfort Rotarians,
Wednesday, the Frankfort Rotary Board met (online) and made several important decisions. And, we began to plot the "Return" of our Rotary Club, if only virtually.
- The Board voted unanimously to cancel our participation in the Frankfort 4th of July Parade for 2020.
- The Board voted unanimously to postpone the 2020 Rotary Chicken BBQ until 2021. There were a number of considerations, but we do not feel confidant that we could provide this event in a way to keep our community and ourselves safe during this pandemic.
- Proceeds from this event and the Rotary Revue, canceled in April, provide the funding for our annual scholarships to local students. All Rotary members are encouraged to contribute $100 (the usual requirement for purchasing BBQ tickets) to the Willoughby Rotary Foundation. If each of us contributes this amount, it will help the youth of our community. Please make checks to the Willoughby Rotary Foundation and mark for the Scholarship Fund. Please send checks to Amy Plumstead or to the Foundation mailing address, P.O. Box 701, Frankfort, MI 49635.
- We established an account to assist with the dues of any Frankfort Rotarian experiencing financial difficulty in this strange time. If you would like to contribute to this fund, please mail a check to the Rotary Club of Frankfort, PO Box 2181, Frankfort, MI 49635. If you know someone who could use this help, please contact Carol at camars@mac.com. All communications will be held confidential.
- If you need help with errands, shopping, etc. while you quarantine, or if you are able to help another Rotarian with chores like these, please contact Carol (camars@mac.com).
- We are saddened to report the death of Alan Luedtke’s brother Kurt on Monday of this week. A sympathy card has been sent to Alan and his family by the Club, but if you would like to express your personal condolences, Alan’s address is 1668 Robinson Rd. Frankfort, MI 49635-9754. A parade called “Cruise the Gut for Kurt” is planned for tomorrow, May 16 at 12:00 noon. Details are on Facebook.
We are eager to get our club together again, but It is likely to be weeks or months before our club will be able to meet safely again in person. The Governor suggested yesterday that groups of 10 may be able to meet by the end of the month, but it could be much longer for groups like ours. In addition to those concerns, the Hotel does not know what new food service regulations may be in place at that time. Buffet meals and shared utensils may no longer be permissible. We'll have to wait for new regulations and new ideas for us.
Scott Harrison, Bill Collin and I, with advice from Beth Fitzsimmons of the Ann Arbor Club, have been exploring the possibility of doing virtual meeting via Zoom. Bill and I have "attended" a couple of meetings of the Birmingham Rotary, and we are impressed with the capability of Zoom to being people together, to share some fellowship and feature a speaker. Our Rotary Board proposes that we begin this process on Wednesday, May 20, at noon. This first get-together will be kind of a "practice" meeting. We will not invite an outside speaker, in case we have problems. But, we will follow our familiar agenda, share announcements and ask some local Rotarians or Interactors to bring us up-to-date on life and business in the community and schools during the pandemic.
You should receive an invitation to this meeting on Monday or Tuesday. You will see that the email has an active link to let you join the meeting. Hopefully, for those of you not ready for Zoom, there will be a phone number to allow you to call in similar to conference call.
We will try to provide you with more detail before the meeting. Bill Collin and Jay Peregrine are knowledgeable about Zoom and can answer your questions.