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One of the things that endeared me to Rotary and convinced me to join were the fun meetings run by Brenda "Woo-Woo" Tipton. Rule number one: Always have fun. If you're not having fun doing something, why bother? I was almost an honorary Rotarian because of my role with the American Red Cross as a blood donor recruiter. I remember one time a member got up to the podium, selected from a list of about 20 questions and spent time answering them. It was fun, funny and insightful. So...here goes my attempt. Next week Donna Gehringer will nominate someone else! 1. What is your name, and tell us about your family. I am J. Michael Lenninger, but my first name is John, but since birth my parents always called me Mike or Michael. Kathy Partridge and I have been married for 27 years and we have three children in a co-mingled household with Nancy Partridge, a retired Brighton schoolteacher and Kathy's older sister. 2. Where are you from? I was born in Orlando, Fla. but lived all over the state until we moved here in 2006. So I have lived in Winter Haven, Marathon in The Florida Keys, and Gainesville, home of the University of Florida ("GO GATORS"). 3. Where did you go to school? See above, but I also attended Polk Community College and graduated from the UF College of Journalism and Communication with a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism, majoring in public relations. Yes, I got a B.S. in how to do B.S. 4. What do you do now? I am the publisher of a private, local, targeted monthly magazine that is mailed to 22 of some of the finer subdivisions in the Brighton area. NEIGHBORS of Greater Brighton premiered in January 2018 and now reaches more than 3,000 households. We just added the Hidden Lake gated community in Green Oak Township. 5. Any hobbies? Just trying to keep my wife happy. Happy wife...happy life as the saying goes. I am an avid reader, so I like to soak up knowledge and useful information and share it on Facebook. 6. What would you like your fellow Rotarians to know about you? I've always been a joiner, going back to my junior year in high school when I joined four groups: Key Club, National Honor Society, Spanish Club and Drama Club. I have a tendency to overcommit and volunteer too much of my time, neglecting home life. (See answer to number 5 above.) Just in Brighton I was a member of the Kiwanis Club, Knights of Columbus, the Chambers of Commerce in Brighton, Hartland and Howell, a supporter of the Brighton Area Historical Society and volunteered with The Friends of the Brighton District Library as a board member. 7. Anything else you'd like to share? Nope. I wear my heart on my sleeve and my life is an open book! 8. Why is your photo sideways? Well, because no matter which way I rotated it using the software available, it appears upside down or sideways. Sorry! |
