Former Public Schools of Petoskey superintendent and Petoskey Rotarian John Scholten holds up his bike in the Atlantic Ocean at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina after completing his 42-day cross-country cycling trip.
PETOSKEY — Former Public Schools of Petoskey superintendent and longtime Petoskey Rotarian John Scholten has heard people asking him one question fairly often as of late.
The query: How was it?
“It’s a typical question,” said Scholten, who earlier this fall embarked on a 3,400-plus mile cross-country cycling trip through the southern United States he used to help raise funds and awareness for the eradication of polio. “It was a journey, a big journey.”
His adventure began on Sept. 19 as he dipped his feet in the Pacific Ocean in Santa Barbara, California, and concluded Oct. 29 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, as he and his Trek bicycle took a dip in the Atlantic Ocean.
“I did well with it and everything worked well,” Scholten said. “Didn’t have any major issues and just the physical aspect of it most people can get their arms around that, but the mental and emotional part is maybe even bigger sometimes.”
“The mental part was quite a challenge. The emotional and social and spiritual aspect was a huge part of it.”
John Scholten
Scholten said getting up riding for hours each day may have been a little more than he anticipated, but he expected the trip to be physically demanding.
“The mental part was quite a challenge,” Scholten said. “The emotional and social and spiritual aspect was a huge part of it.”
More than anything, Scholten is proud of the fact his trip was backed financially by all three Petoskey Rotary clubs — the Rotary Club of Petoskey (which has a noon meeting time), the Rotary Club of Petoskey Sunrise and Rotary Club of Little Traverse Bay Sunset — which raised $13,360 to help eradicate polio.
“It’s a pretty incredible journey we went on, as far as raising money for polio this year,” Scholten said. “For many years Rotary International clubs across the country have made the eradication of polio across the world a top priority, and we’re so fortunate to have the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation match dollars with us.”
With the efforts of all three Petoskey Rotary service clubs and money matched by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, more than $40,000 has been raised for the cause.
“The big push for us has been the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which started working with Rotary and they offer a twofor-one match on every dollar we’re raising,” said Dave Thomas, Rotary International District 6290 governor. “It makes a huge difference, especially with people like John Scholten who goes out and pedals from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. He’s a great hero for us.”
Thomas also lauded the three Petoskey Rotary clubs for their efforts.
“We’re really proud of the Rotary Club of Petoskey, they really step up every year.”
Chris Etienne, a fellow Rotarian who was past-president and district governor, said Rotary has given more than $1 billion toward the eradication of polio worldwide.
“We’re already working on our celebration as we anticipate within the next three years we’ll get to the point where we’ll have zero cases,” Etienne said.
Etienne, who helped administer polio immunizations in India in 2004 and in Nigeria in 2015, said several years ago there were four endemic countries — India, Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“It’s down now to Pakistan and Afghanistan, just those two remain,” Etienne said. “This year to date, there’s been 113 cases only, 91 in Pakistan and 22 in Afghanistan.”
Etienne noted challenges remain in eradication efforts in Pakistan because of political unrest, but Rotary International is fortunate to have multiple partners who have helped fund the effort to end polio.
“It’s really aworldwide effort,” Etienne noted. “It’s unheard of to have a story such as John’s. For him to ride across the country to raise money for polio and the awareness is such a big thing. We’re so proud of the efforts of him to bring the whole community in the know of what we’re doing.”
Tim Dykstra, a Rotarian and cyclist who has helped organize community rides for polio eradication, said Petoskey has been very support of the effort over the years.
“John has provided some real leadership for the local clubs here to keep the momentum going and to keep doing this every year,” Dykstra said. “It’s a fun time to get together and ride. Riding with friends and with the club makes for a nice puzzle that fits together well. You feel part of a larger picture.”
Ken Mainland of the Little Traverse Bay Sunset club said he and the club were proud of Scholten’s efforts to tackle the task of “pedaling for polio.”
“To go from coast-tocoast is certainly something to celebrate,” Mainland said. “What better way than to support the polio cause from Rotary International than to challenge the other Rotary clubs to put up a dollar for every mile he rode.”
Mainland said Scholten’s gesture is a great definition of a Rotarian.
“We think small and end up doing big,” Mainland said. “What better way to make a huge impact to the eradication of polio and to have each club in Petoskey participate. It’s truly an honor to be one of those Rotarians.”
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