President Mark called the meeting to order at noon and noted that 10/19 was an important day in history. In 1781, General Cornwallis signed the terms of surrender, ending the Revolutionary War. And in 1943, Selman Waksman discovered a compound that counteracted tuberculosis, leading to a vaccine.
President Mark led the group in singing God Bless America and in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
Wendy Irvin offered our thoughts of gratitude and reflection.
Jason Allen, plate in hand and without skipping a beat, helped with introducing visiting Rotarians and guests.
Club Announcements:
Ramona Pleva reminded the group about the upcoming blood drive being held on October 29. The blood drive will be held at Kirkbride Hall once again. Appointments are preferred, but walk-ins are always welcome. Visit www.Versiti.org/MI or call (866) 642-5663 to schedule an appointment. Donors will receive a limited-edition pint glass, while they last!
Ann Ralston let the group know about a great new volunteer project called Service Above Self. A group of our members partnered with the United Way to create an online portal that will link members with volunteer opportunities throughout the community. Please see the story in this newsletter for more details.
President Mark also had two announcements. First, the Gates Foundation is stepping up to help in Rotary’s fight against polio. They will match any donations 2:1 through 2023 (up to $50,000,000). Second, he shared the results of the recent poll about the frequency of future meetings. Over 60% of those responding wanted to return to weekly in-person meetings. Starting with the November 2nd meeting, in-person meetings will be held each week, with an option to join via zoom. The November 2nd meeting will be held at the Park Place and he’ll work to establish a permanent ‘home’ for us. If anyone has any suggestions, please let him know.
President Mark then introduced the program. Paul Heidbreder, publisher of the Record-Eagle, and Nathan Payne, Executive Editor of the Record-Eagle, gave an excellent presentation on the state of local journalism in our area and throughout the country.
The Record-Eagle is healthy, but local journalism more broadly faces struggles. Quality of ownership is one area that is important. Hedge funds and similar thinking entities are gutting the media companies that they run. Tribune Media is the most recent example. Locally, the newspaper in Petoskey was mentioned as an example. That organization is down to two reporters.
The two discussed subscriptions services, the analog (home-delivery) versus digital divide, and revenue approaches (subscriptions and advertising).
The industry has faced tens of thousands of layoffs since 2008. The Record-Eagle has been successful in keeping the staff necessary to put out a quality product. Nathan mentioned that the Record-Eagle has roughly the fourth largest number of reports in the state.
They discussed Report for America, as well. The organization will fund half of a reporter’s salary for underserved areas/beats. The Record-Eagle has two reporters funded through the program. One of those focuses on indigenous affairs and that is very unique.
The group had a lot of great questions for the two presenters and then President Mark presented both with the certificate for Wheels of Hope, noting the contribution made on their behalf.
President Mark led us in reciting the Four-way Test and then adjourned the meeting.
Paul Heidbreder & Nathan Payne
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