Club members Melissa Spranger and Jonathan Webb (standing at back) recently delivering special dictionaries/encyclopedias to a third grade classroom in Saginaw Township.
An annual program sponsored for our club, this year we will distribute nearly 700 of the books to 12 Saginaw County schools.
Saginaw citizens trapped in fires hopefully now have a better chance of surviving.
In January 2019, the Rotary Club of Saginaw -- Downtown presented the City of Saginaw Fire Department a check for $4,500 to purchase four thermal imaging cameras.
Fire Department Chief Chris VanLoo (pictured, center) called the frontline apparatus a wand-like device with a small screen that upon arriving on the fire scene can be used to scan and locate any people trapped inside.
So far this year alone the department of 38 firefighters has been called to 16 fires. And it is under severe budgetary struggles as well. VanLoo said when he began 28 years ago there were 100 firefighters on duty.
The money for the donation was raised by our club's annual golf scramble fundraiser ....so again thanks to all who participated in that September event.
At left is club secretary Laura Crase and at right club president elect Cathy Tafel.
In October 2018, on World Polio Day, a special event raised $3,141 for Rotary International's ongoing PolioPlus campaign to eradicate polio from the world.
The Rotary Club of Saginaw-Downtown and Riverside Saginaw Film Festival teamed up to show the 2017 movie "Breathe" -- based on a true story about a man's battle with the disease in the late 1950s.
Nearly 100 people attended the fund-raiser at the Court Street Theatre and donated $1,047 in freewill donations. That amount was matched 2 to 1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, amounting to $3,141 headed to Rotary International.
Since 1985, Rotary International and its clubs worldwide have contributed more than $1.8 billion, including matching funds from the Gates Foundation, to fight the disease.
In April 2018, we presented AMP (All Music is Power) performers Laurie Middlebrook & Donny Brown (second and third from right) +with a check for $5,000 — raised by our Saginaw on Stage fundraiser. AMP provides an interactive music experience for students with special needs. Check them out at allmusicispower.com
Today (June 27) several members of our club stopped by the Savoy Bar and Grill, 127 S. Franklin in Saginaw, to present its co-owners with our first annual Ethics in Business Award.
The newly created honor, a first for a Michigan-based Rotary Club, honors a local business exemplifying our famed Four Way Test pledge and a commitment to the community.
Since opening the Savoy in 2007, owners Steven Jeffrey West Jr. and Jim Atwood -- and a crew of volunteers -- have hosted a free Thanksgiving dinner for needy citizens at the eatery.
Held the day before Thanksgiving, it features a turkey dinner with all the fixings and has served upwards of 500 walk-in people annually. That translates to 26 turkeys and 60 home-baked pumpkin pies.
The award included a certificate, a large window decal and a $500 check. -- Photos by Janet I. Martineau
At our Jan. 27 meeting, Covenant Kids Foundation was presented with a $3,000 check from money raised through our 2015 Saginaw on Stage concert.
At left is club member Dave Oppermann, a Saginaw on Stage committee member, presenting the check to Heather Appold, the Covenant Kids coordinator.
Covenant Kids is a fund component of Covenant HealthCare. It helps supply equipment and other needs for pediatric services covering youths from birth to 18 -- emergency care, trauma center, intensive care, neonatal intensive care, surgery, neurosurgery, cardiology, diabetes and enderinology care, and rehabilitation. --.jpeg)
Photo by Janet I. Martineau
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d the 52 elves of our club to help fill the Christmas wishes of a mother and her four children under the care of the Underground Railroad of Saginaw. The gifts were delivered in December ...not by sleigh but an SUV..jpeg)
-- Paul Boursinhac (far left) from France is attending SVSU for just this semester, as a mechanical engineering student. He is already employed by a company back home that designs and crafts airplane seats. He was born in Paris and is a bicycling athlete..jpeg)
The students are pictured with club member Pat Shellley, who oversees the selection process..jpeg)
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r club's members achieved perfect attendance during the 2014-2015 year. From left are Melissa Spranger, Ken Santa, Janet Boes, Rod Bieber, Jim Mitchell, Tom Cline and David Oppermann. Missing from the picture is the photographer Janet Martineau, Jim Hayes, Carl Hubinger and Bill Priest.It was a battle of wills Wednesday during the 10th Annual Altrusa Bee for Literacy -- when 12 three-member adult teams competed and went through more than 300 words before a winner was declared -- and that winner was our club’s team, called the Rotary Spellarz.
Team members Melissa Spranger, Sam Merrill and Catherine McMichael won with the word hematite (a mineral) during a long, long “final two” battle with The Word Slingers, a team from The Saginaw News.
The money raised benefits a program for second graders at the Mid-Michigan Children’s Museum. Pictured are members of the Rotary team (seated to right of banner) and their noisy supporters (other Rotary Club of Saginaw members) -- Photos by Janet I. Martineau
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He's our official Rotary Club of Saginaw Hero -- CARL HUBINGER.
The District 6310 governor of Rotary International inaugurated a "Rotary Hero" initiative at this month’s district convention, with each club submitting a member to honor. He is show at left, receiving his award...jpg)
Here are some facts about our Carl Hubinger, who lives in Hemlock and is a retired prosthetic dentist.
-- Became a Rotary member in 1974.
-- Is a Past President (1981-1982), a Paul Harris Fellow (twice) and a Sustaining Member of Rotary.
-- His father, Dr. Herm Hubinger, was also a Saginaw Rotarian.
-- Camp Rotary, founded by our club in 1925, has been a big part of Carl’s Rotary experience. He served as the contractor and on-site supervisor of the building of the Nature Interactive Center at the 1,000-acre camp near Clare, and is currently a Camp Rotary Foundation Trustee.
-- Hosted Group Study Exchange guests on a number of occasions.
-- Traveled to the Dominican Republican in conjunction with our water project there and oversees our contributions to it.
-- Every single year, stands out in the freezing cold and rings the bell in order to garner contributions for the Salvation Army.
-- Cooked hot dogs at our Friday Night Live concert series food booth.
-- Annually helps deliver dictionaries to third grade classrooms in Saginaw County.
-- Helped research and compile information for our club's 100th anniversary in 2014.
-- Has maintained a perfect attendance record for Rotary for several years.
-- Heads the nomination committee for our club officers.
-- Photo by Janet Boes
Each year, as winter turns into spring, members of the Rotary Club of Saginaw deliver paperback dictionaries/mini-encyclopedias to third graders in Saginaw County. We are in the process now of delivering 703 copies to 12 public and parochial scchools in Saginaw, Saginaw Township, Shields and Hemlock.
Our members introduce what is in the book to the students, lead them on a brief tour through it, ask a few questions for them to tackle and tell them a little bit about Rotary.
Rotary Club of Saginaw members Bill Mitchell and Bill Priest visited two schools on this day, resulting in this photo. More pictures are on our Facebook page. . -- Photos by Janet I. Martineau
A pair of Santa's Rotarian elves paid a pre-Christmas visit to a Saginaw home to deliver our club's adopt-a-family gifts to a mom and her two sons.
Among the nearly 20 gifts are clothing and boots for all three; a vacuum, microwave, silverware, sheets, radio/CD player, kitchen items, and Kroger and Meijer gift cards for mom; a wagon, dump truck toy and games for the two kids.
Oh, and one club member donated this Christmas tree, with all of its lights and decorations included.
The three recipients recently lost just about everything they owned and mom is recovering from a stroke.
Those two elves in the picture also wrapped most of the gifts for club members who are less gifted at that task.
As has been the custom for several years now, on Saturday (Dec. 6) 10 members of our club volunteered as bell ringers for the Salvation Army – filling up an entire day's shift at the north door of Macy's.
Pictured in their Christmas finery are Cathy Tafel, left, and Dayna Neef. Also volunteering were Ken Santa, Cameron Brady, Bill Priest, Gary Fahndrich, David Oppermann, Pat Shelley, Carl Hubinger and Marc Kaeckmeister.
At our Nov. 19 meeting, we drew the winning name for our $5,000 fund-raising raffle. Tickets were $50 each, nearly 200 were sold, and the winner took home a nice check. Doing duty in rotating all the entries was none other than Saginaw Mayor Dennis Browning, who also drew the winning ticket. 
And the winner was.....well, were are keeping it secret so he/she is not pestered by "friends." -- Photos by Janet I. Martineau
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Service Above Self
Saginaw, MI
United States of America