Update on HeartSafe Holland

Musical Holidays

Kids Food Basket

Rotary members learned how Kids’ Food Basket eliminates hunger and creates better educational outcomes. What began in Grand Rapids—after a principal noticed children searching the lunchroom trash for food—has grown. 22 years ago, Grand Rapids volunteers began packing nutritious sack meals so students had food for the evening.

Access

Today, 250–300 volunteers pack 11,000 suppers every day, ensuring that children in Kent, Muskegon, Ottawa, and Allegan counties have the nourishment they need to reach their full potential. (That's 1.85 million meals/year). About 30% of the volunteers are 17 years old or younger. The 66 schools participating in the program select the students who most need food and distribute the meals at the end of the school day. During school breaks, special break bags are sent with healthy snacks. 

Education

The organization operates two working farms that not only supply fresh produce for meals but also serve as outdoor classrooms. Students visit to learn firsthand where food comes from and why healthy eating matters. In addition to farm experiences, Kids’ Food Basket offers nutrition classes that teach children practical skills for making balanced choices. By combining hands-on agriculture with classroom learning, the program helps young people build lifelong knowledge about food, health, and sustainability.

Agriculture

Kids’ Food Basket farms produce fresh fruits and vegetables as well as house bee hives to provide honey. The food is used for the suppers and also supports local food banks.

Update on Kids Food Basket

Holland Club Assembly

Carol Swart did the Rotary Minute on happiness from Rotary due to it giving social connections, quality over quantity in relationships, and good relations protect our mental & physical health against stress.

Prizes were presented to the Peace In Nature photo contest winners.

Club Assembly

Ed passed around ballots for members to list their preferences for club leadership for the Nominating Committee. He explained a few slides from the club visioning session.

Committee Reports

Club Administration - vacant

Membership - Jim Crozier proposed Rotary yard signs to raise awareness about us, asking about a Rotary emblem on the Welkom To Holland signs, and radio spots.

Foundation - Mark Recoulley listed all the generous giving we have done. 28 Paul Harris fellows, 2 Benefactors, 2 Bequest Society, and 3 Major Donors = over $618,000.

Youth - Catherine reported on RYE, Anne Whittlesey on Leaders, and Kate Fornarotto on Junior Rotarians and Interact—all these programs are building and thriving, and are joint committees across clubs.

Connections - please tell about your life and work accomplishments and cares to Carol Swart and Janet Huyser so they can share them with the club.

PR - John Hoekstra continues to keep us informed through eblast, ebulletins, our website, and FB.

Programs - Lori Varner keeps us engaged with a wide variety of interesting guests.

Distinguished Service Award - was active 1975-2008, and Ed would like to see this revived.

Community Service - We have a joint committee with the After Hours club. Mike Moraw listed bellringing for Salvation Army, Little Bookhouses, Community Action House (AH), highway cleanup, Heartsafe Holland (primarily AH), and assisting challenged students at WOPS.

International Service - Andy Bissionette described our involvement with WEHOP and HANWASH, both water and sanitation groups, with the latter specifically for Haiti. We helped establish a mobile cancer screening van in India. We are looking at drilling new wells in Kusumu, Kenya, as the former ones have been contaminated by flooding. There is also an opportunity to expand the number of maternal & child health beds at Kenyan hospitals.
 

Thanks to all of you who participated in the contest. The winners will be awarded their prizes at the Rotary Club of Holland's noon meeting on December 4th. They are:

Popular Vote
    1st Place ($1000) --Kathy DeVries “El Capitan”
    2nd Place ($500) --Gary Bogle “Look Both Ways.”
    3rd Place ($250) --Bob Nida “Surveying the Area.”

Stone Peng, professional judge
    Judge's Prize ($1000) -- Anneke Van Ast “Mirroring the Heavens.”
 

Lakeshore Non-profit Alliance

Executive Director Kory Plockmeyer provided an overview of the organization, which has 210 non-profit members in greater Ottawa County. The organization started in 2006 to strengthen the non-profit organizations. They work on three areas.

• Healthy Leadership - Transitions in leadership are costly in many ways. Healthy leaders stay longer and develop better leaders within an organization. The Alliance has a 3-year leadership development program for executive directors. They also offer training for board members of non-profits.
• Operational Excellence - working with organizations to train in best practices.
• Collaborative impact - Connecting organizations to increase their impact.

The Alliance performs a non-profit community assessment every 3 years. The next one will be released in February of next year. One of the interesting statistics is that volunteers contribute $12 million in services per month.

Meeting on Saturday for Vision

The Rotary Foundation

Gernot Runschke, the District 6290 Foundation Chair, started the presentation by reminding us that the foundation is “the engine that drives Rotary”. This is because the project money provided by the foundation amplifies the efforts of Rotarians.

Mission

The Rotary Foundation helps Rotary members to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace by improving health, providing quality education, improving the environment, and alleviating poverty.

The three areas of the foundation that most Rotarians will interact with are:

• The Annual Fund. This is where donations are invested for 3 years, and then the principal is returned to each district. Our district splits this money between local and global project grants.
• Polio Plus. This provides funding for our efforts to eradicate diseases.
• Endowment. Only the interest from this fund is used for projects. The endowment exceeded $2 billion in principle this summer.

Gernot mentioned that our district is also establishing an endowment to fund projects.

Lakeshore Nonprofit Alliance

Rotary Foundation

DY The Holiday's with Groundworks Herrick District Library

Herrick District Library is delighted to serve its mission to empower our community to connect, discover, and create.

Groundworks Coordinator Dan Zuberbier shared all the fun ways that HDL fulfills this mission statement by handing out Holland Rotary logo stickers and telling us about the tools Herrick has available for anyone to use. You can schedule a one-on-one training time on any of these tools and then reserve a 2-hour time block to do your work.

HDL also gives users a limited supply of item blanks to get the project started. For example, if you wanted to make lots of stickers, HDL would give you one blank sheet. Or if you wanted to use the sublimation printer to make personalized coasters, they would give you the first few. They do not sell additional blanks there; you would have to buy them and bring the rest in yourself.

Possibilities also include stained glass making, an embroidery machine, a sewing machine, a serger, a 3D printer, a logo pin button maker, a cutting machine that can do paper, vinyl, cloth, etc (like Cricut), soldering, and 3D modeling software. You could also laser engrave some items; the example he showed was slate coasters with a personalized design cut into them. Making your own cut greeting cards is popular.

This is ideal for you to try out an item before you buy it to make sure it is a good fit for you or to make that big one-time project. One local surgeon used the software and the 3D printer to make an adult male ribcage to practice on before a complex procedure.

Please plan and work on your holiday projects now; Groundworks fills up fully in December.

Sign up for Groundworks here

Dan also spoke about HDL’s Library of Things—this initiative grew out of HDL purchasing equipment so patrons could convert their own media to digital, such as a wedding video or a cassette tape with grandma telling stories from her childhood.

Other items you can now check out to to take home for a week at a time are a rock tumbler, home repair tools, an induction cooktop, a photo booth, a Nintendo Switch, a metal detector, a Roku, an ice cream maker, telescopes, Enchroma colorblind glasses, a ukulele, a steel drum, a 10x10 shade tent, and so much more!

Visit the Library of Things

HDL has a Seed Library. Right now, patrons are welcome to bring in seeds they have collected and in spring other patrons can come and get free seeds for their gardens. They are stored in an old card catalog, which is charming.

There is also a free jigsaw puzzle exchange, and patrons can check out board games.

A great deal of HDL’s circulation now is e-items on their Libby and Hoopla apps. Patrons enjoy reading and listening to ebooks and music.

Herrick District Library is a rousing success at its goals of connection, discovery, and creation in our community.

Rotary Exchange Year in Argentina

Dee spent the last school year in Argentina. She lived in the province of Buenos Aires, but about 2-3 hours drive from the capital in a small town. 

Dee attended a small, private Catholic school outside of town. The students in her class (only about 20 in her grade) stayed in the same classroom all day, and the teachers came to the room to teach their subject. She made many friends and played soccer on a team. She lived with 2 different families. The first family had older daughters, and the second family had 10- and 15-year-old daughters.

Argentina is a very diverse country geographically, and Dee had the opportunity to take 2 extended trips to the north and south of the country. Argentina is known for its cattle, and beef is a common food. Dee particularly liked dulce de leche-filled cookies, mate (a type of tea), and empanadas.

Life as a Secret Service Agent

David Dobbs is a West Ottawa and GVSU graduate. He served in the US Marine Corps before joining the Secret Service. Secret Service Agents initially work at a field office to learn investigative techniques, then they join a protection detail, and finish up at one of the 150 offices worldwide. He started his training in Grand Rapids and is now back in Grand Rapids after a protection detail in Washington, DC.

The Secret Service was established in 1865 to protect the financial institutions of the US. At the time, there was a major problem with counterfeiting US currency. Their mission in financial crimes has been extended to credit cards, banks, and crypto fraud. 

In 1901, the service took on the responsibility of protecting the President. Over time, this protection expanded to include the Vice President, their families, former Presidents, the President-Elect, major presidential candidates, foreign heads of state, and other officials as directed by the President. 

Investigations into threats involve tracking down individuals reported to have made threats and assessing the level of danger. The Secret Service is also the agency that leads in protecting National Special Events, like the Olympics.

Agent Dobbs told about a recent case where a gang of thieves was purchasing Meijer gift cards and re-encoding them with stolen credit card numbers. The thieves were tracked through the store's video recordings. The first gang member was arrested when he decided to buy White Castle food at 2 AM. Unfortunately for him, he was pulled over for a broken taillight. The thieves had scammed banks out of $13,000 before they were caught.

My Year Abroad as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student

Life as a Secret Service Agent

WO Interact Trip to Thailand

The West Ottawa Interact Club travelled to Thailand last summer. They visited with local Rotary Clubs and participated in a service project cleaning up the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. They were able to visit an elephant reserve, ride the elephants, and help bathe them. A highlight of the trip was the time that they spent at Hua Pin Public School. The Thai students taught them dances and took them to classes.

The students who presented agreed that travel definitely broadens your perspective. The local students are still in contact with their Thai friends.

Planning For Times of Change

Change is all around us and we need to plan for it. However, we all hate to be changed. Kay observed that it is tough to lead from the middle, but that is where lasting change happens.

She discussed various models of planning and change. There are no silver bullets, and ideas must be sought from everywhere. Changes must be categorized as life or death vs. just nice to have. Urgency must be created, stakeholders must be involved to create commitment, and change must be accomplished by involving the entire group.

Student Trip to Thailand

Using Visioning to Create Plans

Photo Contest, ClubRunner, and more?

Veteran's Initiative

A couple of years ago, Laura Terpsma and her husband were mountain biking, discussing the troubling rise in depression and suicide among military members and veterans. Laura, who ran a yoga studio, and her husband, then nearing retirement from the military, noticed that many veteran-focused programs revolved around alcohol and sedentary activities.

At the time, her husband was stationed at Fort Custer. Upon his retirement, they relocated first to Grand Rapids and then to Holland, Michigan—where they discovered that Ottawa County ranks ninth in Michigan for veteran population. This insight led them to a powerful conclusion: veterans benefit from continuing the physical activity and camaraderie they experienced during their service.

In 2023, Laura established a physical location for her yoga studio and began offering classes specifically designed for veterans and active-duty military personnel. These sessions foster both physical wellness and community connection. In addition, they host veteran dinners that regularly attract more than 40 attendees.

Their program is called “The 90”, and on September 27, they’ll host a unique event at Beechwood Church titled “30 x 30 x 30”—featuring 30 veterans walking for 30 hours while carrying a 30-pound weight. The community is warmly invited to watch or join the walk. The event kicks off at 8 AM on Saturday, the 27th.

The Terpsmas also launched “Start Strong, Serve Strong”, a program for high school students planning to enlist in the military. It helps future recruits prepare for the physical and mental challenges of military training.

The Effect of Changing US Government Policy on North Central Europe

Field Reichart grew up with a retail family business that imported goods from around the world. He travelled for the business and later worked for the State of Michigan in the office for trade. In 1981, Field was part of a Rotary Group Study Exchange trip to Papua New Guinea. This had a major influence on his understanding of the world. He reminded us that the United States comprises only 4% of the world's population. His observations were primarily from his trip to Europe earlier this year.

In 1989, Field was in Poland observing the first democratic election after the fall of the Soviet Union. He watched the development of democracy since then and kept in touch with a wide range of society.

Earlier this year, he revisited several northern European countries and talked to a diverse group of citizens. The US commitment to NATO has been very confusing to the allies. The NATO members have been used to guidance from the US, and the current administration has not been helpful.

The business climate has been adversely affected by tariffs, and this has caused chaos even for countries that don't export directly to the US. Many economies are linked and provide goods and services to exporting countries.

The Europeans are participating more in their own defense, but concern is growing that the US can't be trusted. Polls in Poland show a decline in public trust in the US from 80% to around 30%. In Estonia, a media executive friend of Field told him that the odds are 41% that the Russians will invade Estonia. NATO members Slovakia and Hungary are heavily influenced by Russian propaganda and have been reticent to move forward with more defense preparations.

Field concludes that it is important for the US to have a consistent, non-partisan foreign policy.

Veteran's Initiative, Veterans Ball

The Effect of Changing US Government Policy on North Central Europe

District 6290 Governor Mark Andresky

Gov Mark started by talking about the new district action plan. The previous action plan was created in 2019. A diverse group of District 6290 members attended a 5-hour Zoom conference and generated numerous ideas. 15 meetings later, the district action plan was ready. Some highlights are

Increase Our Impact - The district is going to work on peace building, participate in EPIC day of service, and increase giving to the foundation. The amount of money in grants we get back depends on the amount of donations to the foundation. With membership down, less money has been donated.

Expand Our Reach - The district membership has declined by about 2.5% every year for a number of years. A goal is to create 10 new clubs and to increase our public image.

Enhance Engagement - 80% of new Rotarians leave within 3 years because they aren't engaged. District and club visioning will lead to action plans, which will present opportunities to new members.

Increase Our Ability to Adapt - District training is being offered in more ploaces.

Four Way Test Creator Herb Taylor

One of the ethical foundations of Rotary International is the Four Way Test. Herb Taylor, who created the 4 Way Test, joined us by way of Jim White.

Herb Taylor was born in 1893 near Sault Ste. Marie. He served in the military during WW I and worked for the YMCA after the war. He was recruited by the Sinclair Oil company in Ohio. In 1930, he moved to Chicago and took an executive job at the Jewel Tea Company. He was working for Jewel when a bank approached him to see if he would consider working with a failing customer of theirs. 

Herb took the challenge and became the CEO of Club Aluminum Products, a cookware manufacturer. In the depths of the recession, he went from a salary of $33,000/year to $6,000/year to work for an almost bankrupt company. He spent time observing company operations and decided that the company's distinction could be the character of their relationships. The employees were good people, but the code of ethics was a long document and difficult to remember. Herb wanted a simple test that his employees could remember and use.

He came up with the four points and decided that he would attempt to live by the test before telling anyone else about what he had written. He found it challenging to change his thinking to the way of the test. After he tried using the test for 2 months, he brought his four department heads into a meeting and shared the test with them. They agreed that it was a succinct statement of ethics and something they would try.

Eventually, the test was rolled out to all of the employees. The biggest challenge came in advertising and marketing. Their advertising was purged of claims that could not be proven. Their method of working with their distributors was to force them to take more products than they could sell, so they urged customers to buy Club merchandise. Herb noted that this was not “Fair to all concerned” or “Beneficial to all concerned”. They changed their dealings so that they became partners and helped their dealers.

Due to the changes that Herb made after moving in 1932, Club Aluminum became profitable, paid off its debt, and paid out a dividend to its shareholders in 1936. Herb was a long-time Rotarian and was president of the Chicago Downtown Club in 1939-40. He promoted the 4-Way Test to others, and many businesses adopted it. Because of this adoption, Rotary International adopted the test in 1943. Herb served as the international president in 1954-55. He died in 1978.

Rotary District Governor Visit

"Murder at Tulip Time" 

Myron Kukla worked as a Holland area reporter for the GR Press for many years. It was during a Holland City Council Meeting, where the discussion was about appropriate punishments for tulip destruction, that he got the idea for this book. He couldn't get the idea of finding a body in the tulips at the beginning of the festival out of his mind. He wrote the beginning of the book a few days after the meeting. Shortly after, he wrote the book's ending. However, it took 10 years from the original concept to the book's publication earlier this year.

Myron moved from writing for a local newspaper to writing for MLive (the online news provider), to retirement. He feels that the timing of his leaving journalism was fortuitous for him. He continues to write a humor column.

Myron sent his manuscript to many publishers and received rejections from all of them. A friend of Myron offered suggestions to improve the readability. In the end, he decided to self-publish it in time for this year's Tulip Time. The Amazon Self-Publishing division has made it very easy and cost-effective to publish.

“Murder at Tulip Time” is available in paperback at Reader's World, Barnes & Noble, and Brewery 4 Two 4. The e-book version is available online through Barnes & Noble.

Special Rotary Guest

"Murder at Tulip Time"

Griff's Ice House West

The building was built in 1998 by a Chicago-based youth hockey organization and opened as The Edge. The organization went bankrupt, and the building was returned to the local builder. The rink was run for many years at a very low overhead. It was in this period that Scot Redman was hired as general manager. The first thing that he was taught was how to run the Zamboni. There are 2 ice rinks at the facility, one with a sand floor and the other with a concrete floor.

Only one rink remains operational in the summer to save energy. Restarting a rink requires 60-70 layers of ice made from misted water, then hand-filling the rink with water for the next layers of ice. Then the ice can be painted with background white paint, lines, logos, and advertisements. After more layers, the rink is ready to finish the surface with the Zamboni.

The Grand Rapids Griffins hockey team now owns the rink along with 2 other rinks in West Michigan. Griff's Ice House is the home rink of Hope College, West Ottawa High School, and a new Jr Hockey (college-aged) team. The benefit to the Griffins is that the more people become familiar with hockey they may continue to play or at least become fans.

The rink works with multiple organizers to bring tournaments to the area. Only Tulip Time brings more tourists to the Holland area. Classes start for 4-year-olds. There are about 100 youth playing leagues at the Ice House.

First Voice Generation Documentary

Cynthia Martinez was born in Holland, the daughter of teenage migrants. She had a difficult family situation, and growing up around classmates with more opportunities highlighted this. However, after she got involved in sports, it was at these teammates' houses that their parents asked her about her dreams and goals. Her parents were supportive, but they were busy working to support the family and had no experience with higher education.

Cynthia attended West Ottawa Public Schools from Kindergarten through 12th grade and felt that few students looked like her. She decided that she wanted to be an astronaut. When she told her high school counselor of this goal, the counselor responded that she would have to get much better grades. She applied for and was accepted to the Hope College Upward Bound program. This and sports became safe spaces for her through High School.

Wanting to get away from Holland, she was accepted into the WMU Aviation program through a 1st generation college student program. About 2.5 years into her schooling, just after she received her pilot's license, she looked at the amount of debt she had accumulated. She switched to the Aviation Management program and graduated with that degree.

Journey to a Documentary Filmmaker

Griffs Ice House - what hockey means for Holland

Cold Case of Aundria Brown

Lt. Mike Brown joined the Allegan County Sheriff's office in 1999, ten years after Aundria Brown was reported missing by her father. In 2009, a cold case team was formed to look into the Brown case. When the original case detectives started to retire in 2019, the team felt a sense of urgency to resolve the case. WMU has a service to review case files for law enforcement. This review led to questions about leads not followed.

Dennis Brown served in the US Navy and then the Naval Reserve after moving to Michigan. In 1974, he and his wife adopted the infant they named Aundria. On March 11, 1989, Dennis reported Aundra missing. A truancy officer visited the home, and Dennis reported that he and Aundria had a fight and she ran away. She had done this before and no major investigation of the home was performed. There were reported sightings of Aundra through October of 1989. The sheriff continued to treat this as a missing persons case.

The cold case team uncovered that Brown had a 1980 Criminal Sexual Conduct case, a 1989 abduction, and a 1998 break-in of a co-worker's home. Aundra's birth mother started helping the team and worked on generating publicity. Nationwide databases were starting to be available, and Aundra's DNA and dental records were recorded. Dennis was interviewed by the team in 2013 without them learning much new or getting him to admit anything. The team kept a cup from which Dennis drank and extracted his DNA. This evidence was inadmissible in court, but proved invaluable.

The Big Break

First Voice Generation Documentary

Life as a Foreign Service Officer

A Foreign Service officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. FSOs formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. John Helm spent his career as an FSO. He served as a consular official and a management officer. Consular officials are responsible for issuing visas to foreign citizens and assisting US citizens in foreign countries with death, birth certificates for children born abroad, and other assistance needed. As a management officer, John oversaw building projects.

The Foreign Service was one of the earliest departments of the US government, established in 1879 by Congress at George Washington's direction. Until 1926, the United States had only ministers and not ambassadors because the title of ambassador allowed too much power over spending.

The Foreign Service is structured like the military and headed by the Director General. FSOs have to pass a rigorous exam and are promoted through the ranks until their commission is complete and they are retired. They are civil servants and not subject to political supervision. Other state department employees, such as ambassadors, are politically appointed. The number of FSOs and their budget is set by Congress and has not been increased to keep pace with the demand.

Stories

Cold case of Aundria Brown

Growth of Zeeland

New Rotary Year Starts

July 1st is the start of the new Rotary year. All Rotary entities transition to new leadership at the start of July. Pictured are outgoing president Kathy DeVries and incoming president Ed Swart.

• Celebrate our accomplishments as people of action.
• Add a Rotary minute to each week's program to let all members talk about their Rotary experiences.
• More collaboration with other clubs and more community organizations.
• Add more members.
• Increase our community visibility.
• Reevaluate existing programs.
• Continue our international partnerships.

Growth of Zeeland

Holland Community Health Center

Abby Reeg, Executive Director of Fund Development at Holland Hospital, seeks funding for the Hospital's health outreach programs. Holland Hospital is independent and non-profit. They are ranked in the top 10% of hospitals in the country. They are highly ranked by Medicare and other ranking agencies in the patient care and surgical services areas.

Funds for the hospital are used to improve inpatient care, develop programs, improve the health of at-risk and vulnerable populations in the community, and provide preventive health care for those who have no access. In the service area of the hospital, 36% of residents are classified as ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed).

The Holland Community Health Center is 30 years old and provides primary care to qualified patients without charge. In 2024, they served 5300 people, 28% of whom were 18 years old or younger. There were 800+ social worker visits and 15000 provider visits.

The School Nurse program started in 1998. The nurses see 227 students per day, and 85% of them can return to class after treatment. The nurses provide medications, perform other procedures, and have contact with parents about health issues.

The Breast Care Fund started in 2014 and provides screenings, mammograms, and follow-up treatment for those who can't afford care.

The newest program, founded in 2019, is School Mental Health. This serves students in Holland Public Schools and the goal is to keep students in school.

Rotary Club of Holland Annual Club Assembly

Annual Club Assembly

President-Elect Learning Seminar

Annual Club Assembly

The Great Rotary Asian Noodle Cookoff

The heads of the 3 Holland Area Rotary Clubs with our MC for the evening.

In Person Tickets Are Sold Out, Online Auction is Available

Club Committee Meetings

The service work of Rotary Clubs is done through its committees. Our board of directors decided to set aside a meeting where we can eat lunch, learn about committee opportunities, and have time to meet as committees. If you are already on a committee, you can meet with that committee. If you are interested in serving on a committee, you can get together and find out more about the service activities being planned.

Corewell Health Blue Envelope

• S - Stay with the person.
• A - Access help.
• F - Validate feelings.
• E - Eliminate any lethal means.

Corewell Health Blue Envelope Program

Join us for Rotary on January 9th. Our topic /speaker is from the Corwell Health Blue Envelope program, which helps students in colleges and schools deal with thoughts of Suicide. Joy Sprague is the Program Manager for Suicide Prevention with Corwell Health. 

Speaker To Be Announced

New Family Justice Center of Ottawa County

Rotary District 6290 Governor Visit

Our current District Governor (DG), Brianna Scott, will make the official DG annual visit.

PFAS, Arsenic & Lead

Self Defense

Seniors Helping Seniors

When Brian and Mollie Gaggin retired and moved to Holland they soon discovered they missed being involved in a business. They had cared for relatives and something in the caregiving field was appealing. They discovered the company Seniors Helping Seniors, founded 28 years ago in Bucks County PA by an Indian emigrant. Her daughter and son-in-law turned the concept into a franchise and there are now 250 franchises throughout the country.

Holland Heartsafe

Holland’s efforts to become a Heart-Safe Community began in September 2022, when retired paramedic Steve Stegeman (left) approached the Holland Fire Department. Firefighter Angela Lound (right) is now the Team Leader of HeartSafe Holland.  In 2024 Holland officially became a HeartSafe Community.

The designation comes from a national preparedness program that measures 13 criteria — each demonstrating a community’s commitment to improving sudden cardiac arrest outcomes and saving lives. Those requirements include establishing an organization to guide local efforts, training 15% of the community in hands-only CPR annually, developing strategies to improve public awareness and bystander intervention, and placing AEDs.

 

HeartSafe is sponsored by the Holland Fire Department, Holland Hospital, American Medical Response, Ottawa County Department of Public Health, the Ottawa County Central Dispatch Authority, Evergreen Commons, and Holland Rotary Charities. 

Left to Right:  Rotarians John Shea, Andrew Bissonnette, and Kent Fry along with Paramedic Steve Stegman.

Lakeshore Elementary School Rotary Bookhouse

Rotary Exchange 20 years later

Alex Vriesema grew up in Wisconsin near the Michigan border. In 2004 they were sponsored by the Marinette WI/Menominee MI Rotary Club for a Rotary Youth Exchange to Warsaw Poland.

2024 Annual West Ottawa Challenged Student Lunch

Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates

Happy Thanksgiving - No Meeting

Sarah Sanderson

Lakeshore Habitat for Humanity

Dave Rozman from Lakeshore Habitat for Humanity talked about the local chapter of the international organization. Habitat's chapter in Holland started in 1990. Since its founding, they have built 160 homes and many home repairs. More than 670 people have been able to live in affordable homes because of this. Every year people from our community donate between 12,000 and 15,000 hours to help build housing.

• Buttermilk Creek Townhouses in Hudsonville.
• Vista Green Neighborhood in Holland City. This is a joint project with Jubilee Ministries which is building 42 homes.
• Haven Townhouses in Holland Township. This is a development specifically for people with disabilities, who are often the most discriminated against in housing.

ODC and the Carbon Sequestration Fund

Dave Nyitray, CEO of the Outdoor Discovery Center (ODC), first gave us an overview of the ODC. The ODC works to protect natural ecosystems and is pioneering nature-based education. As they looked for new areas to explore, they thought about carbon offsets.

1. Develop ideas and create a presentation.
2. Pitch the advisory board on the project.
3. Receive the funding for the project.
4. Implement the project.
5. Share the outcomes.

• The average annual emission for an individual is $850.
• For a household, annual emission is $2,000.
• A round-trip economy flight between GRR and LA costs $25.
• Between GRR and MCO the carbon cost is $15.
• The average annual carbon cost of a vehicle is $250 or about $0.02/mile.

Woman's Literary Club 125th Anniversary

Flourishing in the Third Third of Life

District Governer Jeff Coil

City of Holland Social Media Platforms

Celebrating the end of the Rotary Year and Looking to the New Year

We honored past club president Ed Stielstra for his service to Rotary over the years. The club presented Ed with a Paul Harris award to continue the service work of Rotary. Paul Harris was the founder of Rotary and the award signifies a gift to the Rotary Foundation.

 

Outgoing president Elizabeth Giddings turned over the gavel to 2023/2024 president Kathy DeVries. The new Rotary Theme "Create Hope in the World" was introduced.

 

Paul Bowles became the newest member of our Rotary Club.

 

Incoming president Kathy was awarded a Paul Harris by Gary and Donna Bogle in recognition of her international work. Her husband Scott was with her.

Fishing in the Great Lakes

Jon Osborne grew up in Holland fishing with his father on Lake Macatawa. Fly Fishing has grown to be his passion and he has written 4 books about various aspects of Fly Fishing. He started writing 12 years ago. Jon has worked for Holland Public Safety for 26 years and now does recruiting and training for the department.

Pet Photo Contest is Finished

1. Paul B with his cat Shatara.
2. Emma H and her dog Clark.
3. Mike W with Larry the Lizard.

School Based Mental Health

Amy Henry from the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District was one of a team that wrote a grant proposal to the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration last year. The grant was for developing a Positive Behavioral Intervention Support (PBIS) system to be used in school systems.

Mt. Baldhead National Register Listing

Mt Baldhead Radar Station

Energy Smart Program

Holland Chorale Dickens Quartet

The Next Holland Rotary Club Meeting is January 5, 2023

United Way of Ottawa and Allegan Counties

Brian Gaggin (President/CEO and Shannon Behm (VP of Development) talked about the United Way. The United Way was founded in 1887 as a partnership between corporations and non-profits. Globally there are 1.5 million volunteers and 7 million donors and 5000 corporate sponsors. United Way operates in every community in the US and 1100 communities outside of the US.

In our area 8,291 volunteers contribute 100,000 volunteer hours and $3 million in donations. The areas of focus of United Way are education, health, and financial stability. In Ottawa County, 31% of the residents are classified as ALICE (asset limited, income constrained, employed).

Rotary Updates

Rotarian Herb Dakin, a longtime Rotary After Hours Club member, died on October 24th. A service in memory of Herb will take place on Friday, October 28, at 1:00 p.m., at Third Reformed Church.

Help with Membership

• Record-keeping
• Intake and process applications
• Maintain membership category clarification (individual, corporate, etc.)
• Orientation of new members, make sure they find a welcome and a place for service.

Highway Cleanup Crew