August 26, 2025 (Aug. 26, 2025)

Rochester Rotary Club RotoScoop

Report on the August 26, 2025 Meeting

Menu for September 2: Salad bar, chicken piccata, pasta with white wine butter sauce, Italian roasted potatoes, roasted vegetables, and a variety of mini desserts.

ATTENDANCE

We had a lively meeting today with 44 people in attendance, including two guests: Amy McGowan and Dan Gilbert, both guests of Tamara Tazzia. Tamara knows Dan from her time with the West Bloomfield Optimists Club, and Amy through her connection with Oakland University.

INVOCATION

President Rachel Aviles gave today’s invocation.

FIFTEENTH

Greeter Kay Ellen Wilkins announced that Ron Lichtle was today’s Fifteenth Handshake winner—earning him a fine-free day!

WHO AM I?

I joined Rotary because of Bill Trent. My favorite Rotary memory was Ross Lindsay. I had heart surgery. He is Jerry Wanket, who is apparently very stingy with words.
I joined Rotary to be more connected to the community. My favorite Rotary memories are of the Beer and Wine Tasting Committee. I've been to 92 countries. Jeff Duperon is this week’s world traveler!

ROTARIAN OF THE WEEK

Annette Werner is taking her time choosing the next recipient for the traveling award. (Shirley Gofrank took two weeks, Annette’s now at three!) No rush—the treasury appreciates the extra contributions.

BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES

There were birthdays galore this week: Ted Roumell, Greg Schaefer, Tamara Tazzia, Dave Dulio, Mo Sayed, and Alan McLellan. (Must’ve been a festive and sexy New Year’s!)

Trevis Harrold is celebrating his 2nd anniversary with Rotary. We miss him—let’s encourage him to rejoin us soon.

HAPPY BUCKS

Phil Lowman shared a happy/sad buck—he’s proudly strutting with his brand-new hearing aids! Now he can catch every single thing people are saying about him (the compliments and the jokes).
Karen Joyce is excitedly counting down to her upcoming vacation in Scandinavia next week—what an adventure!
Paul Haig was beaming after winning five out of six pickleball games this week. Way to go, Paul!
Yolanda Udell helped move her daughter back to the University of Michigan, and the best part—no furniture assembly was needed this time around. A minor moving miracle!

CLUB ANNOUNCEMENTS

We are pleased to welcome Adem Althor to our Club! Adem officially transferred his membership from the Midland Rotary Club on August 21st. He recently joined the staff at Oakland University, and you can read more about him in this write-up from OU: tinyurl.com/yentxayj.
Once again, the Rochester Rotary Club has been honored with a Certificate of Achievement from last year’s Rotary International President, Stephanie A. Urchick. At the start of each Rotary year, club presidents set a series of goals for their term—ranging from membership growth and participation in social events, community visibility, contributions to the Rotary Foundation, and maintaining a strong digital and media presence. This certificate recognizes that the Rochester Rotary Club met or exceeded most of those ambitious goals. Congratulations to all our members - this reflects your dedication, service, and commitment to Rotary Values!
We’re looking for a new Assistant Treasurer. This person will tally fines, collect charity funds, prepare deposits, and serve on the Charities Board. (The heavy lifting—accounting, billing, reports—is handled by the Treasurer.)
Thank you to Yolanda Udell for volunteering to take on the responsibility of setting up the meeting!
Free Bikes 4 Kids (FB4K): Tim Duncan announced that Bike Collection Day is Saturday, Sept. 27 (9 a.m.–2 p.m.) at Bordine’s of Rochester Hills. Donated bikes will be refurbished at the Piston Group’s warehouse and gifted to kids before the holidays. Volunteer opportunities will be shared soon.
Annual Golf Outing – Monday, September 22 at Twin Lakes
- Tee time: 10:00 a.m. | Awards & meal: ~3:00 p.m.
- Meal-only option for non-golfers
- Music, cash bar, and lots of fun!
- Cost: $170 per golfer
- Goal: 100 golfers + event sponsors
- No regular Tuesday meeting that week
- Register here: Rochester Rotary Golf Outing

SONG LEADER

Song Leader Bob Lytle skipped the mic today (Daisy the dog didn’t approve last time). Free hands meant he could blow his wooden train whistle while we sang I’ve Been Working on the Railroad and School Days.

SHERIFF'S REPORT

Sheriff/Mayor of Rochester Hills Bryan Barnett took the podium and raised money for Rotary.

First victim—target—of the day? Phil Lowman. He’s sporting new hearing aids and can finally hear what’s going on. Congrats, Phil, now you’ll actually know when you’re being fined.
Sheriff Bryan declared it the Dog Days of Summer and charged all dog owners. Cat owners? Oh, they got slammed with a $1,000 fine—because our Sheriff/Mayor has no love for cats. (Sorry, feline fans, justice is ruff.)
With the temperatures dipping, the Sheriff asked who was already wearing sweaters or—gasp—had turned on their heat. Only Linda Eastman admitted to cranking the furnace in AUGUST. That’ll be a $500 fine, Linda. If you can afford to pay for heat in August, you can afford the fine.
Anyone reminiscing about their first day of school or (even better) attending a one-room schoolhouse $5. History has its price!
Sports fans, brace yourselves. Tiger fans got dinged for last night’s loss. Lions fans? The Sheriff wasn’t letting you gloat. Anyone who thought the Lions would win10 10+ games this year paid up. A few brave souls raised their hands. When asked who thought the Lions would win fewer than 10 games, only Stuart Siegner admitted it—earning himself a $10 penalty. (Poor Stuart, punished for being realistic.)
Sheriff Barnett arrived in a spiffy summer outfit—all matchy-matchy—and declared himself the Fashion Police. Not wearing plaid? Fine. Consider yourselves warned.
Funeral director John Modetz was hustling hard during table talk—asking people their ages (aggressive much, John?) and jotting notes on who had heart surgery. Nothing wrong with a little lunchtime networking… just maybe don’t scare off the crowd.
Yolanda Udell stepped up to volunteer for setting up the meeting. Question: Why didn’t anyone else at her table follow her lead? Shame!
The Eastmans were, once again, joined at the hip at the same table. Folks, Rotary is about branching out. Give each other a break—absence makes the heart grow fonder!
This Day in History (with a twist):
- August 1920 – Although Phil Lowman was not born, the 19th Amendment was adopted, granting women the right to vote. Tom Neveau grumbled it was “a day that will live in infamy.” Careful, Tom—you’re vastly outnumbered.
- August 26, 1939 – First televised Major League Baseball game. Ernie Schaefer swears he was there. Sure, Ernie.
- August 1944 – Paris was liberated. But the movie An American in Paris didn’t premiere in Paris—it debuted in London in 1951. Geography is hard.
- 1968 – The Beatles’ Hey Jude hit #1 and stayed there forever (or at least nine years). Cue the endless “na-na-na’s.”
- August 26, 2014 – Burger King bought Tim Hortons. Translation: Americans pay $5.60 for a coffee, while Canadians pay $7.75. Naturally, every Canadian—or ex-Canadian—in the room got fined.

Thanks to Sheriff Barnett's creative enforcement, and despite our maximum fine being $5, we raised an additional $210 for our scholarship program! Remember, these “fines” are all in good fun and serve a great purpose: building camaraderie and raising funds for our charitable efforts, especially scholarships. Let’s continue living out the Rotary motto, "Service Above Self," with enthusiasm, punctuality, and a healthy dose of Rochester pride and humor!

SPEAKER

We did not have a speaker, so President Aviles declared it a social hour, which was a great success. She suggested some topics for discussion, but didn’t monitor the room to see if anyone focused on her suggestion.

What is your best childhood memory?
What is your favorite holiday?
What family member are you closest to?
What skill would you most like to learn?

She had to declare the meeting closed as the room was talking on and on.

Sep 09, 2025

Judy Privasky

Avon Players

Sep 30, 2025

Rene Caruso

Health and Wellness

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Rochester Rotary Charity Golf Outing
Twin Lakes Golf & Swim Club
Sep. 22, 2025 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Rochester Rotary Golf Outing
455 Twin Lakes Drive
Sep. 22, 2025 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-04:00)

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