We visited the Lakeshore United Rotaract club on July 31. The club meets twice a month in the evening. Most of the members have young families so fewer meetings works for them. The club is led this year by Yadah Ramirez. The club is less than two years old and currently has 21 members. They are planning a CPR class in September in conjunction with the Holland Noon and Holland After Hours clubs. The members also plan to continue working with youth in the area. They are currently working with the Interact Club at West Ottawa High School.

 

 

 

(Pictured is DG Jeff and Michael Cuellar our new District Rotaract Chair)

 

Our Shelby club visit came on Tuesday, August 1. The club is strong and active. President Val Fedewa noted several club fund raisers. The Annual Pints for Polio had many Rotarians from Whitehall and a couple from Fremont and Holland. The club’s major fundraiser is the annual golf scramble that brought in $10K this year. Service projects include painting the elementary school fence which involved 5 club members and 4 high school students. They also do an annual rail trail pickup on the Hart-Montague trail. I was honored to present Paul Harris awards to Donna Voges and Tim Harvell. I also presented the International Service Award to Larry Byl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Holland club meets on Thursdays. On Thursday, March 11, 1920, 17 men met to form the Rotary Club of Holland. The club’s 85th anniversary gift to the City of Holland was the "Boundless Playground" in Smallenburg Park. President Kathy DeVries leads the club in several service projects. These include the Tulip Time Festival, Adopt-a-Highway clean-up on US-31 North, and the Smallenburg Park playground. Other projects include providing clean water to homes in the Pine Ridge Reservation, a tractor for dairy farmers in Kenya, and clean water projects in Honduras, Dominican Republic, and Haiti. The club also has a very strong youth services emphasis including Youth Exchange, Leaders For the 21st Century, Life Leadership, and Interact.