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PP Diane Good hosted today’s meeting which was held at the Collins & Katz YMCA. Hillel is busy hosting summer camps, so the Club will be having its regular meetings through July elsewhere. Be sure to read the Windmill or the weekly email so you know where the meetings will be held.
PP Diane thanked Janet Schwartz for greeting; Aaron Donahue for leading the pledge of allegiance (wonderful news for Aaron - he is moving to Westchester to become the Director for the YMCA there. Congratulations Aaron!!); Mathew Yuan for the “Thought of the Day” and, PP and Maestro Ed Gauld for leading the singing of “The Happy Wanderer” as so many members are wandering all over the world right now!
New member Sam Botol brough guest Toby Lory.
John O’Keefe, Rotarian of the Year for 2022/23 introduced his good friend of many, many years, Mike Sullivan. Mike is an American film maker who has numerous film and television credits as a writer, director, and producer. He was the president of entertainment for the United Paramount Network (UPN) from 1994 – 1997.
Sullivan began his career at ABC in 1976 and by the early 80s was named director of comedy development. He left the network in 1983 for Warner Bros. TV, where he became executive producer of the sitcom "Growing Pains". In 1993, he formed Michael Sullivan Productions, an independent firm; but in 1994 joined UPN where he helped launch the hit series Star Trek: Voyager. He remained at UPN until 1997. He then returned to being an independent producer.
Mike Sullivan became President of Paulist Productions in 2018. He has been on its Advisory Board along with John O’Keefe for the past 25+ years. Paulist Productions is a faith-based production company in the Catholic tradition. It creates media content that reveal’s God’s presence in the contemporary human experience. The company was founded over 50 years ago. Mike spent most of the meeting talking about two new films the company has released.
The first film discussed is called “FIGHTING SPIRIT, A Combat Chaplain’s Journey”. The movie is about army chaplains who regardless of faith – be it Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or otherwise, accompany soldiers into combat without a weapon to provide hope, courage, and comfort on the front lines. The movie focuses on a young former chaplain who unexpectedly embarks on his own journey to learn about and become inspired by the untold stories of the 419 U.S. military chaplain heroes who've given their lives for this unique calling.
The second movie, “Baseball: Beyond Belief” is a documentary based on a book, “Baseball as a Road to God” by former New York University President, John Sexton. The documentary explores the importance of hope and optimism, while providing a compelling look at the spiritual side of our nation’s past time, baseball. You will be amazed by the surprising similarities that are many and varied between religion and baseball.
These two documentaries can be and should be viewed on YouTube, Apple TV, and Amazon Video. It would be well worth your time to watch them both. Thank you, Mike, for the wonderful presentation.
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