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

Member News

Club Meeting Featuring, Wayne County Sheriff, Raphael Washington

February 11, 2026

Our meeting was opened with an Invocation led by Mike Ladwig, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

President Nancy reported that Rotary International wants the clubs to focus on the Next Generation of Leaders. Nancy is very happy that our club has two active Interact groups at Churchill HS and Stevenson HS.

Our Club is pleased that the ultrasound machine has finally arrived at the maternity clinic in Cameroon. The residents are happy, dancing around the machine in thanks, as shown in this video. Bob Carris will talk to the doctor there on WhatsApp this coming week.

Happy Bucks were collected by Sharon Pommerville, a lot of those were for Nancy's "Nancy Darga Day" award from the City of Northville. Congratulations, Nancy!

The club was happy to hear that the Monks finally made it to Washington DC.

We are very pleased to have Raphael Washington, Sheriff of Wayne County, and three of his co-workers who work on community engagement with us today. Since the county is so large, with 43 cities and townships, the sheriff's department needed to divide the county into parts so that citizens are better served. That’s why the department has the community engagement officers. The main job of the Sheriff Department is to assist cities where needed, such as working parades, festivals, mounted unit, park patrol, marine unit, special response team, and patrol secondary roads.

The sheriff's department is one of the few in Michigan that still has a mounted unit. Sheriff Washington passed out the Wayne County Community resource guide. Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputies guard the 3rd Judicial District Circuit Court, which is the largest circuit court in Michigan.

When asked how he decided to join the service, he told the story that at a young age, he and several friends were playing ball with pop cans when one of the cans hit him in the face above his eye. A police officer took him to the hospital to get stitched up. That officer followed Raphael through the years, talking to him, seeing how things were going, and that relationship led him to join the sheriff’s office. He’s been in law enforcement for 43 years.

Last minute business, the Stevenson HS Interact club requested a $140 grant for a Valentine's Day donut sale at the school. The group voted and accepted.

The meeting ended with the 4 Way Test, and one Greg Greene joke.

Susan Paluchniak

Upcoming Club Meetings

02/18/2026 - Sharon E. Sexton, Author, Public Speaker, and TV Personality, Invocation by Victoria Haltom.

02/25/2026 - Steve Speitzer, Community Organizer, Invocation by Rev. David Stechholz.

03/04/2026 - Club Assembly

Join Us

VISIT OUR CLUB IN PERSON

We meet at the

Livonia Recreation Center

32001 Five Mile Road

Livonia, MI 48154

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

ALL are Welcome!

Visitors and friends are welcome to sign on and participate with our meeting on ZOOM.

Please introduce yourself to the
group when recognized at the
start of the meeting.

Upcoming Events

02/17/2026 - How Empathy is Part of a Path to Peace, In-Person and Zoom, Rotary Action Group For Peace (RAGFP), Henry Ford College, 4:00 - 7:00 PM, Register HERE.

02/24/2026 - Special Online - Peace Begins at Home International Mega Meeting, 9:30 PM, Register HERE.

02/24/2026 - Livonia-Westland Chamber of Commerce, Leadership & Awards Celebration Dinner, 5:00 - 7:30 PM, Registration information HERE.

03/02/2026 - Grant Management Seminar #1, via Zoom, 7:00-8:30 PM. Once you register, you will receive a meeting link. Register HERE.

03/12/2026 - Grant Management Seminar #2, via Zoom, 7:00-8:30 PM. Once you register, you will receive a meeting link. Register HERE.

03/19/2026 - President-Elect Learning Seminar (PELS), March 19-21, 2026, Kalamazoo Radisson Hotel & Conference Center, Register HERE.

04/18/2026 - District Assembly, Plymouth Cultural Center, 8:00 - 12:00 PM, $35, Registration Details to Follow.

05/01/2026 - District Conference at the Bavarian Inn Lodge in Frankenmuth, Registration Details HERE.

Upcoming Committee Meetings

03/16/2026 - Giving Committee Meeting via Zoom, 6:00 PM.

06/15/2026 - Giving Committee Meeting via Zoom, 6:00 PM.

09/21/2026 - Giving Committee Meeting via Zoom, 6:00 PM.