WELCOME to the newsletter of the Rotary Club of Livonia AM. Our club meets weekly to socialize, discuss the needs of our community and the world around us, and take action to address those needs. Please consider visiting our club or joining us on a service project.

All Are Welcome!

Meeting Notice and Club News

Coming Up This Week

President David Stechholz invites you to a Hybrid Zoom meeting scheduled for Wednesday, April 30, 2025, at 7:30 AM.

This week, our speaker will be Kelly Rockwood, Anastasia and Katie’s Coffee Shop and Cafe, with an Invocation by Mike Ladwig.

Attention, Fellow Rotarians and Volunteer Corps Members:

Please invite your friends, neighbors, family, and potential new Rotary members to hear Kelly Rockwood from Anastasia and Katie's speak about her coffee shop and the wonderful things they are doing at their restaurant to support MI Works and employees with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Coffee and tasty pastries will be provided by Anastasia's and Katie's.

District Assembly

April 26, 2025

Several club members attended the District Assembly at St. Clair College in Windsor this past weekend. Dave Stechholz, Nancy Darga, Erin Dobbins, and Bill Friske presented a session titled "Collaborative Club Projects". Tammy Bonifield presented a session for "Club Treasurers". Our newest member, Tom Martin, was there to support us.

Besides the training sessions that we led, we were able to attend two additional sessions ourselves.

District Assembly is a valuable tool for increasing your knowledge of Rotary and to learn from other Rotarians' experiences.

Member News

Tree Planting at Rotary Park

May 03, 2025

Please check out this volunteer opportunity to plant (9) trees at the front entrance of Rotary Park on Saturday, May 3rd.

Ted Davis with the Parks and Rec Department will have the holes prepared and the trees ready to go in. We just need to bury them in. Once these are planted, we will need volunteers to water them.

Perfect for sharing with high school or community groups. Sign up HERE.

Livonia Kiwanis, Rotary (AM and PM) and Parks and Recreation are teaming up to restore Livonia Rotary Park's native tree canopy after the park sustained damage resulting from the EF-1 tornado in June 2024.

Volunteers will be given lunch. We ask that you bring your own supplies (e.g., gloves).

Member Spotlight Featuring Tom Martin

April 16, 2025

President Dave led our meeting in the Pledge of Allegiance. He reminded the members that April is "Maternal and Child Health Month" and "Environmental Month" in Rotary. Bob Carris gave the Invocation.

A New Member Induction was held for our two newest members, Marlene Katafias and Wayne Kinney by PDG Traci Sincock. A huge round of applause was given to our two new members. Welcome to our Rotary Club!

Sharon Pommerville collected Happy Bucks. Many bucks were for the two recovering members, Susan Paluchniak and Victoria Haltom.

A plea was put out to our members to help with the Rotary Easter Egg hunt this Saturday at the Rotary Park baseball diamonds and Pavilion 5, at 8:30 AM. This is put on by the Livonia Noon Club.

This Thursday, Stevenson HS Interact Club will hold its first meeting at 2:30 PM. If you are attending, you need to pre-register.

Steve Alexander reminded the members that there will be a cherry blossom tree planting event on May 5 at Rotary Park. These 9 trees will be planted along the entrance road on the right side of the road. Park and Rec Dept will dig the holes, we put the trees in the holes and fill in dirt. Lunch will be provided.

RYLA 2-night training weekend. This is a camp in Fenton. They are looking for two men and two women to spend the night in a camp, May 2-5, as chaperones.

Our Member Spotlight today featured Tom Martin. Tom told us the story of how he was introduced to Rotary. A Rotary Club wanted to sponsor a local student to travel to Siberia for 6 weeks. Since Tom was interested in Russia, he applied for the Program. The students need to get all their high school graduation work done before they travel to another country. Besides Tom's experience traveling abroad, his family hosted two exchange students themselves. Youth exchange is a program of the U.S. State Department.

There is a lot of information on the Rotary website about Youth Exchange programs. Our club could start small by hosting an event for a club with an exchange student.

Greg Greene had some great Easter jokes.

No meeting next week, April 23, as we will be attending the Mayor's Ambassador Breakfast at 8 AM, at Laurel Manor.

Susan Paluchniak

District Conference Attendees

CONCERT PRE-SALE EXCLUSIVE!

May 30, 2025

As a DISCON registrant – you already have YOUR OWN PERSONAL PASS to Friday’s concert, featuring Grammy Award winner Gaby Moreno and members of the S’Aints!

YOUR EXCLUSIVE DISCON OFFER:

NOW – and only until May 3^rd – you have an exclusive opportunity to get tickets for friends and family BEFORE they are released to the public and SOLD OUT.

DON’T WAIT! THERE ARE ONLY 100 TICKETS AVAILABLE IN THIS PRE-SALE – ACT NOW BEFORE THEY’RE GONE!

REMEMBER – You only have until May 3^rd – when these limited tickets will be released to the public.

CLICK HERE https://bit.ly/Gabytickets to get your tickets now!

Upcoming Club Meetings

04/30/2025 - Kelly Rockwood, Anastasia and Katie’s Coffee Shop and Cafe, Invocation by Mike Ladwig.

05/07/2025 - Club Assembly, Invocation by Mike Ladwig.

05/14/2025 - C hris Matus, DTE Community Affairs, Invocation by Greg Greene.

05/21/2025 - Kayleigh Kavanagh Reid, Executive Director, Livonia Spree, Invocation by Victoria Haltom.

05/28/2025 - Veronica Cruz, Director, Livonia Breaking Barriers, Invocation by Nancy Darga.

Join Us

VISIT OUR CLUB IN PERSON

We meet at the

Livonia Senior Center Complex

15218 Farmington Road

Livonia, MI 48154

Every Wednesday, 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM

All Are Welcome!

Upcoming Events

05/02/2025 - Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) at Camp Copneconic in Fenton, MI, May 02 - May 04, 2025, Registration Details HERE.

05/03/2025 - Tree Planting at Rotary Park, Join the Rotary Clubs of Livonia AM and Noon, the Livonia Kiwanis Club, and the Parks and Rec Department, Sign up HERE.

05/17/2025 - Livonia (Noon) Rotary Club's Third Annual "Wine in the Park", Rotary Park, Pavilion 3 and 4, 1:00-4:00 PM, $35 per Person, Event Details HERE.

05/19/2025 - Livonia AM Rotary's Annual Carnival, Sears Parking Lot at Seven Mile and Middlebelt, Monday, May 19, 2025 - Sunday, June 08, 2025.

05/30/2025 - District Conference, St Clair Centre for the Arts in Windsor, Ontario, Friday, May 30 - Sunday, June 01, 2025. Registration Details HERE.

06/06/2025 - Livonia Symphony Orchestra, Bob Bennett Memorial Golf Classic, 11:00 AM Check-in, Noon Shotgun Start, Whispering Willows Golf Course, Sponsorship and Registration Details to Follow.

06/07/2025 - Passport To Safety, 10:00 - 2:00 PM, Livonia Police Department & Fire Department Headquarters, Event Info to Follow.

06/14/2025 - Installation Party at the Bonifield's Lake House. Event Details to Follow.

06/21/2025 - Rotary International Convention, Calgary, Canada, June 21st - June 25th, Event Information HERE.

06/29/2025 - Livonia Spree (LAMR at Beer Tent During Fireworks Night), Event Details and Signup to Follow.

09/08/2025 - District Governor's Golf Outing 2025, Lakes of Taylor Golf Course, Registration and Sponsorship Details to Follow.

09/09/2025 - Rotary & Schoolcraft College Night at Comerica Park, Go Tigers! Event Details to Follow.