Programs and Events

Noon at Senior Services, 08337 M-140, South Haven
NO ZOOM
RSVP Required. Send an email to info@scottclub.org

Join us for a wonderful lunch and entertainment by the Lighthouse Connection Quartet. The Lighthouse Connection Quartet sings four-part harmony, primarily in the barbershop style of music. Using contemporary arrangements, they perform a variety of music, including patriotic, spiritual and ballads. They love sharing their joy of singing with community groups throughout southwest Michigan and northwest Indiana.

We will call our Annual Meeting to order at noon. Our Board of Directors will be elected and installed during the meeting. After this short meeting, we will enjoy a delicious lunch prepared by Senior Services.

By John Wemlinger

John Wemlinger has become a master of the military romance, winning writing awards for nearly all of his seven novels. He often tells his readers, “The good news is today anybody can publish a book. The bad news is today anybody can publish a book.” Find out what he means as he talks about the why he writes and how.

John Wemlinger is a retired U.S. Army colonel and a veteran of the Vietnam War where he was a helicopter maintenance officer. In retirement he has become an award-winning author of seven novels writing about what he knows best, the military and its culture. He sits on the board of directors of the Michigan Library Foundation and he and his wife, Diane, reside in Onekama, Michigan.

By David Benac, Ph.D.

Rainforest Radicals presents the first history of one of the most innovative and successful environmental organizations of the late twentieth century. Rainforest Action Network (RAN) emerged in 1985, when it took over a fledgling effort to protect rainforests from transnational corporations funding the expansion of tropical cattle ranching. It excelled at using nonviolent, civil disobedience in dramatic campaigns that captured the attention of the public, media, and RAN’s corporate adversaries. As a result, two decades later rainforest conservation went from a niche academic topic to a fixture in American popular culture, the rights of Indigenous people had gone from ignored or romanticized to at least considered in discussions of the management of their ancestral homelands, and RAN had scored a series of victories over some of the planet’s largest corporations.

David Benac is an environmental and public historian of the post-WWII United States. His research investigates grassroots environmental action, popular perceptions of nature, the science of ecology, and the philosophy of ecocentrism. Rainforest Radicals: A History of Rainforest Action Network and Transnational Organizing (University of Nebraska Press, 2026) explores the radical environmental movement of the late twentieth century and international coalitions of grassroots groups devoted to supporting indigenous rights and environmental protections. Dr. Benac also works as a consulting historian, writing land-use histories for land-management entities.

By Tom Hoatlin

Tom will explore disability awareness and sensitivity through storytelling and guided discussion. He addresses respectful language and outdated terms (including “handicap”), etiquette, service and therapy animals, accessibility protocols, visible and invisible disabilities, inclusion, marginalization, and real-life experiences. The program is designed to help able-bodied people feel more comfortable interacting with people with disabilities, while including appropriate humor and audience participation through Q&A and shared dialogue.

Tom Hoatlin has more than 25 years of experience providing services for people with a wide range of disabilities. As Director of Development for 25 years at the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living he conducted and presented many tailored Disability Awareness and Sensitivity Training and educational workshops to the non-profit’s constituents ranging from elementary students to residents and physicians as well as faculty and staff at the University of Michigan. Tom also served as the Chair of the Spinal Cord Injury Advisory Board at the University of Michigan and served many years with the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation’s Peer & Family Support Program. As the Midwest Regional Representative, he coordinated a peer-to-peer mentoring and support program for people with new spinal injuries and their families in the five Great Lakes states.

By Gwen Botting

Opportunities Unlimited for the Blind Camps offers summer camps and select year-round programs for children and youth who are blind or have low vision. The programs emphasize essential independent living skills often overlooked in traditional settings, including personal organization, safe cooking techniques, and everyday problem-solving, while also fostering strong social connections. Through engaging and sometimes unexpected activities—such as kayaking, woodworking, ice fishing, and biking—participants build confidence, independence, and lasting friendships. These experiences help children develop skills naturally, in a supportive environment focused on mutual respect, capability, and fun.

Gwen Botting has served as Executive Director of Opportunities Unlimited for the Blind since 2012. Motivated by her experience raising a son who is totally blind and now lives and works independently, she identified gaps in blindness education and has dedicated her career to addressing them.

By Garry Lange

“Just a Little Baseball” offers a historical look at America’s national pastime. Along the way, attendees will learn about the game while enjoying opportunities to reminisce, reflect, and share their own memories and experiences.

Garry Lange operates the Biggest Little Baseball Museum in his hometown of Three Oaks Michigan. He played the game as a youngster, started coaching as a teen and loves the game, especially its history. The first Little League players that Garry coached turn 60 this year, a milestone in his lifelong love of baseball!

By Sara Schultz

If you’ve ever been to a beach in South Haven, then you’ve heard kids and adults alike exclaim, “Hey look! There’s a pirate ship!” Of course, the Friends Goodwill isn’t actually a pirate ship, but there’s a wealth of Michigan history behind the little sloop. Join us for a presentation on the history of the original Friends Goodwill and the story behind the Michigan Maritime Museum’s replica.

Sara Schultz is Head of Education at the Michigan Maritime Museum and has more than 18 years of experience working in museums throughout Michigan. She holds a B.A. in Public History and an M.A. in Socio-Cultural Studies of Education from Western Michigan University.

Save the date, October 20, for our first Reverse Raffle. Fifty tickets will be available for $25 each. Prizes will be awarded as the numbers are randomly chosen. The grand prize of $100 will be presented to the owner of the last number picked. There will be other prizes and cash awarded throughout the raffle. Tickets will be on sale later this summer.