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Last Time We Met - August 3. 2023
Today our meeting was led by President Debbi Rydberg. We recited the new pledge incorporating the four-way test as well as our inherent mission to serve the community.
Attending
Dirk Barrett, Melanie Clemons, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Molly Hanson, Katie Harstad, Heather Kliewer, Bonnie Koste, Mark Kuyava, Tove Lichty, Pete Reiner, Debbi Rydberg, Theresa Slominski, Marvin Sorvala, Joe Stremca, Dave Anderson, Stewart Wilson
Guests
Alan Sakry, former member; Leah Atkinson, prospective member; Molly’s niece Bree; and Mike Spellman, Assistant District Governor
Program
Our program today was Mike Spellman presenting his power point presentation on Making Peace Visible. He wanted to present to our group and have us critique it for him as he prepares to present to other clubs. The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) is an international think tank out of Syndey Australia and they embarked on the study of peace with such questions as “How can anybody know about peace? Does it exist? How can it be quantified?” Most people define peace as negative peace, the absence of bullets and war. Positive peace is the intentional creation and maintenance of conditions that result in peace. This begs the question, what are the conditions and how do we get them? Science tells us that if we can’t measure it, we can’t understand it, and so first we need to know what it is made of. They arrived at eight “Pillars of Peace”, each with three “indicators” that can be used to measure if the pillar exists. The eight pillars are all interconnected as a system of interdependent subsystems. One of the eight pillars is a Well-Functioning Government, and the three indicators for measuring it are transparency, effective public services, and rule of law. Rotary International has partnered with IEP and has a Rotary Positive Peace Academy available to educate on this information. And it’s a lot of information: 8 pillars x 3 indicators = 24 variables x 163 countries = 3,900 data points to be researched! Where does the research come from? There are 24,700 data sets from such organizations as United Nations, World Bank, World Health Organization, as well as government statistics, non-profit studies, and original IEP research. They produced a report with a Global Peace Index assigned and presented a snapshot color-coded map of all 163 countries. The United States is listed as marginally peaceful. The 163 countries are ranked each year from 1-163, best to worst, and the US has declined in its ranking in each of the last ten years. Other outputs from the research is an Ecological Threat Registry (identifying one billion people in threat of being displaced), Global Terrorism Index, and Covid-19 Pandemic research. Rotary’s impact can be seen in aligning the Seven Areas of Focus with the Eight Pillars of Peace. Our projects can relieve pressures to make better neighbors of people and promote peace. Any Rotary project should be considered in context of the project area’s pillars of peace system (domestic and international). All projects can be designed to impact some or all of the pillars and make peace more possible. In our clubs, our service projects, our social activities, district and global grants, we are challenged to “Make Peace Visible”……wherever you are!
To enroll in the Rotary Positive Peace Academy, go to www.positivepeace.academy . It takes a couple of hours to complete.
Rotating Reports
Debbi asked board member, Molly Hanson, Youth Services, to report on her goals for the year to the group. Molly’s goal is to bring back the Student of the Month program.
A Service Opportunity Moment was presented by Pete Reiner with the River Cleanup planned for August 23 at 5pm. Meet at the dam on Main Street, bring kayaks and canoes as they can be used to help with the cleanup, and there will be a social gathering after. Gloves and trash bags are provided. Pete shared that Tom McNair started the cleanup project many years ago and it was tied to conservation projects. Pete has been doing it for about 12-13 years and every year the river seems cleaner and cleaner. He estimates that there has been a ton of trash that has been removed over the years since Rotary started doing it. There have been some interesting things found over the years! Bonnie Koste offered to host the social afterwards again – thank you Bonnie!
The battery collection event is Saturday, August 5, from 10am to 2pm.
Next week CAER will be presenting the program.
Fundraising Opportunities
The raffle for the Rotary socks was drawn and Melanie won!
Delights and Dilemmas (formerly Happy Bucks)!
Tove Lichty shared that she visited with Mary Eberley and told her that she would be stating her happy buck was that she was able to visit with her, and Mary told her it needed to be $10!
Molly Hanson was $5 delighted that she was back after travelling, and she has accepted a new position as YMCA North VP for New Business Development! She starts after Labor Day and will be based out of her home.
Heather Kliewer was $2 delighted Dirk was here this week, she had a successful golf tournament and raised $39k for CAER, her son was home for a quick visit, and her son was excited for our battery collection event!
Bonnie Koste was $20 delighted that she was here and her super busy time is over! She was out of the country three times, had a retirement party, a graduation party, and was recognized in Kauai, Hawaii for 25 years with American Family!
Julie Fish was delighted that Heather helped her with some membership items and she was thankful!
Mike Spellman was delighted that he had a good presentation!
Marv Sorvala was delighted for having attended the St Paul Rotary Cruise!
Melanie Clemons won the card draw this week on the second draw!
Birthdays
There were no birthdays present to be celebrated today.
Pearls of Wisdom
“Mental Health is not a destination, but a process. It’s about how you drive and not where you are going.” – Noam Shpancer, Phd
Thursday July 27, 2023
Today our meeting was led by President Debbi Rydberg. She created a power point presentation to run the meeting and she also created a new pledge for us to recite at every meeting. The pledge incorporates the four-way test as well as our inherent mission to serve the community.
Attending
Melanie Clemons, Julie Fish, Katie Harstad, Heather Kliewer, Tove Lichty, Cal Portner, Debbi Rydberg, Theresa Slominski, Marvin Sorvala, Joe Stremca, Nicole Wojcik, Bill Yueill, Dave Anderson, Glen Ertel, Robert Maxwell, John Osterman, Stewart Wilson
Guests
Alan Sakry, former member, and Ashley Schultz, prospective member
Program
Our program today was brought to us by Bill Yueill. Bill stated the brochure that was distributed he created just for programs like this! Bill has been a board member since the 90s and Treasurer since December 2007. There is a (lengthy) quote on the brochure that talks about all there is to learn and how important it is to keep learning, and he stated this is what keeps him going. The Institute offers programs covering a variety of topics: AI, Water, Virtues, Recovering Roots, etc and he distributed two scrapbooks of programs since 1996. The fall program starts in November and the brochure has a sign up form, as well as an opportunity to donate. You can also email your information to register@astonishme.comto sign up. He stated the Institute will continue because of people like us. He introduced Reverand Alan James, Executive Director of The Institute of Theological and Interdisciplinary Studies.
The Reverand stated life is best when we look for the wonder and awe in it - and education accomplishes that. He spoke of Bonhoeffer, a man that was principle in the resistance to Hitler, and also spoke of Auschwitz and the Nuremberg Trials. The people that were against these atrocities of the day were educated, and artistic and he had many examples of their accomplishments as teachers, musicians, and lovers of art. He distributed several pictures of art and stated Bonhoeffer believed our ethics emanate from our art. The question gets asked, “How can so many be ok with the horrible acts being done? Where did the ethics go?” The Reverand has a presentation on this available, if interested. Bonhoeffer was an example of “university” and education and we should strive to be educated as well.
Questions from the group: 1) How did he begin? The Reverand’s background was that he obtained a graduate degree from Maple Plain and after serving for 12 years as a preacher he was asked to go to Jamaica to teach at a college. He took his three sons then ages 6, 8, and 10 and they learned the Jamaican ways and language. He commented that he didn’t know what a story was until there, and he learned how to tell a story from them. Then he was looking for “a place” and ended up as the director of education for a Presbyterian church, and at age 60 set up the institute. He calls is a stroke of misfortune! 2) What is the institute’s religious focus? It is an independent 501(c)3, doctrinally anchored in reform. He stated there are no bishops, kings, or princes – meaning decisions are made by the people and there are no favorites. 3) Any children? Three sons. He is very proud of their accomplishments and shared that they are students of education and passed the Cambridge entrance exams to get past the first two years of college basics. 4) What was it like in Jamaica? 82 degrees during the day and 68 degrees at night. It would take them 1 ½ hours to drive 24 miles to the beach due to the rugged terrain so they didn’t go to the beach much.
Rotating Reports
Another change instituted by Debbi is the Rotating Reports. She began by asking Heather to share her goals for the next year as the President Elect since she was not here last week. She stated that being President Elect was a big enough goal! She shared that as we are a growing club and adjusting to all the changes Debbi is introducing, what she can continue into the future is one goal. Also, she would like to adapt “the box” into something more portable for the meetings. Tove was also absent and she asked her to share her goals as Foundation Chair. She would like bring more life to the foundation aspect of the club. She’d like to have another fundraiser for the foundation, marry the fall event with a spring grant, and report more frequently on the foundation.
Debbi asked Tove to share a Foundation Minute. She shared how Rotary can advocate for global peace with our dollar impacts: $.60 can provide a child polio protection, $50 can provide clean water, and $500 can provide an anti-bullying campaign in our schools.
Service Opportunities are next weekend, August 5 at the Furniture and Things Event Center for the lithium ion batteries collection. She thanked the volunteers who had signed up: Cal Portner, Neil Gagnon, Bob Maxwell, Mark Kuyava, John Osterman, and Julie Fish. The River Cleanup will be coming up soon and more information will be coming on that event and the social to follow.
Michael Spellman, Assistant District Governor, will be the program next week. Patricia McCleese, District Governor, will be at our board meeting in August.
Birthdays
There were no birthdays present to be celebrated today.
Fundraising Opportunities
Delights and Dilemmas (formerly Happy Bucks)!
Melanie Clemons was delighted her 2 teenagers will be coming back home after being away with dad!
Joel Stremcha was delighted his dog is celebrating its second birthday!
Julie Fish was delighted she ran into Marv and Diane in Waconia when visiting a bakery with her cousin, and also that she is not taking notes as the secretary today!
Alan Sakry was delighted for the Ducks Unlimited Banquet to be held at Rockwoods August 10, and that he found a townhouse in Rogers!
Heather Kliewer was delighted there is a Venmo account available for IOUs now! (Neil has more to share at a later meeting.) She was also delighted for her Care Classic golf tournament tomorrow and the cooler weather that should be here for it, and the signs she just picked up from Julie!
Nicole Wojcik was delighted she survived her camping trip with the black flies and wasps, she bought a boat (a blow-up one), and her mom’s upcoming hip surgery!
Katie Harstad has a dilemma with losing her Event Center Director and the double responsibilities she will now have, and a delight for an interview for the position that went well! She also was delighted that she will be going to Alaska for her cousin’s wedding just before her birthday and taking her 12 year old daughter while the boyfriend watches the other kids!
Tove was delighted for the bike ride she participated in for two half days across IA. She and her husband did about 30 miles each day. Her husband wants to do it every year now with her brother but Tove is good with just the one year experience! Fun fact about the ride is that random farms along the way have parties and they stopped at the one with 20 kegs of beer just in time to tap the last keg!
Theresa Slominski was delighted for the success of her mom’s hip surgery. (IOU)
Debbi Rydberg was delighted that her daughter successfully travelled back to Delhi India after leaving her documents in Chicago but they forwarded them to the gate for her!
There was no winner for the card drawn. Debbi says we are drawing until there is a winner next week!
Pearls of Wisdom
Another change by Debbi, she will provide a quote every week. Our Rotary International President, R. Gordon McInally, has asked all Rotary members to become champions in our effort to illuminate mental health needs near and far. This includes helping one another feel more supported and advocating for mental health services and building bridge with experts in the field. So, each week, she will end our meetings with a supportive quote in an effort to support all of us.
“Happiness in a choice, not a result. Nothing outside of you will make you happy. You must choose to be happy, feel grateful and then share that with the world.”
Thursday July 20, 2023
Today our meeting was started by President Theresa Slominski, and then the gavel was passed to the new President, Debbi Rydberg, who finished the meeting.
New members Melanie Clemons and Joe Stremca were officially inducted!
Attending
Melanie Clemons, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Katie Harstad, Mark Kuyava, Cal Portner, Pete Reiner, Debbi Rydberg, Theresa Slominski, Marvin Sorvala, Joe Stremca, Nicole Wojcik, Bill Yueill, Dave Anderson, Glen Ertel, Robert Maxwell, John Osterman
Guests
Diane Sorvala, wife of Marvin Sorvala (celebrating 40th anniversary next week); Rob Rydberg, husband of Debbi Rydberg; Mike Spellman, Assistant District Governor; Ashley Schultz, prospective member
Program
Our program today was the passing of the gavel. Theresa Slominski recapped her year with the volunteer events the club participated in: River Cleanup, Mock Interviews at Elk River high school, serving hot chocolate at the United We Shiver event, Reality Fair at Rogers high school, The Taste of Elk River, and purchasing books to be distributed to classrooms (replacing the distribution of dictionaries.) We moved locations twice, we revised the By-Laws, honored Heather and Casey for their grant work at the District Gala, distributed $15,000 to 12 local non-profits, and had a wonderful holiday party. In serving as president in only her third year in Rotary she thanked the Board of Directors for their help and support. She then called up Debbi Rydberg, passed the gavel, and presented her with the president pin.
Debbi thanked Theresa for stepping up as president in her third year as a Rotarian, and presented her with the past president pin and a gift of appreciation. It was a beautiful crystal glass globe with an inscription on the base “President 2022-2023”. Debbispoke about a robust future for Rotary and our club and asked each of the directors to tell us one goal they had for the next year. Theresa Slominski, Secretary, shared she would like to see us participate in an international project. Neil Gagnon, Treasurer, said he would like to be more transparent in communication with the club finances in having financial information current and presented more often. Julie Fish, Membership, said she wants to focus on fun, and retention and recruitment of members. She has new membership packets that Tove created to share with new members. Molly Hanson, Youth Services, was unable to attend but Debbi shared that she wants to bring back student of the month visits to the club. Tove Lichty, Foundation, was also unable to attend but Debbi shared she hopes to have on additional small fundraiser like the bowling event. Pete Reiner, Service Projects, shared he hopes to have four projects, including the river clean-up and books plus two more. Cal Portner, Public Image and Communications, shared he would like to see improved visibility of the club in the community to be the best club by far in the community. Katie Harstad, Taste of Elk River Chair, shared she would like to maintain the integrity of the heart and soul of the event with changes that are like a bridge forward to be able to raise more money for the community. Debbi thanked the Board of Directors.
Debbi then talked about her goals for the next year, she would like to amp up the fun, have more engagement at the district level, and even the international level. We are more than a lunch club, we are serving the community. In a very informal club survey she did, everyone stated that they are a part of Rotary because they want to give back to the community. She stated to attract new members we have to toot our own horn about what we do and what benefits the greater good. She would like to implement “vocational minutes” where members talk about themselves and what they do. She is working on a pledge to recite each week to make us more united in our mission. She talked about the upcoming lithium battery recycle project and how it is a “project in a box” and would like to have more things like this that are easy to implement. She wants to encourage fellowship, to have fun, and celebrate success. She would like each board member to attend a district training, either in person or online. Ultimately, she wants everyone to be fulfilled in Rotary. She closed with a quote from Arch Klump, founder of the Rotary Foundation, “Rotary’s tomorrow depends on clubs today.”
Debbi showed a power point presentation on the lithium battery collection and recycle project (this fits well with the environmental focus of Rotary.) This is a Rotary District project in a box and we are the first to do it so are helping tweak the details as we go. There are so many lithium batteries in people’s junk drawers or in home devices that have not yet reached their end of life. It is estimated there were 500,000 in 2020 and will be 2 million by 2030. As electric vehicles and devices grow, so will the need for the materials to make new batteries and the collection of old batteries that much more important. This project event is August 5 from 10am to 2pm. If anyone additional can help from noon to 2pm that would be appreciated.
Mike Spellman showed off his Rotary T-shirt and socks, and presented Debbi with a tiny pair of tennis shoes to “hit the ground running!” He will be at our club in a couple of weeks with a power point presentation on the Rotary Positive Peace Academy. He would like us to be the first to see the presentation and provide him feedback for future presentations to the rest of the district.
We sang Happy Birthday to Pete Reiner the regular way, and Cal Portner backwards. (At the end of the meeting it was realized we forgot Glen Ertel and so we sang to him the regular way as well!)
Happy Bucks!
Nicole was happy her campground meeting went well, happy she had a great weekend with her former Bemidji State University friends, and happy for an upcoming camping trip to Savannah Portage.
Bill was happy to be the presider for his grandson’s wedding this afternoon and gave a preview of his marriage advice he’ll be sharing.
Glen was happy to attend his granddaughter’s soccer tournament where she got a hat trick!
Cal was happy to give a fine to Nicole since Bill’s happy buck presentation was longer than hers today! He was also happy for recent trading and firing activity of the Twins, and an upcoming celebration in New Ulm with beer and golf.
Marv was happy to attend the Blaine soccer tournament for this grandchildren, happy to attend the Sherburne County Fair and the Alex Miller show. He also shared that he will be attending the St. Paul Rotary Cruise and encouraged others to attend as well; it’s $25 August 1.
Bob was happy to have completed several successful doctor appointments.
Mike was happy to be here on Debbi’s first day of office and hopes to be here her last day of office and many visits in between. He met her at PETS and thinks she will do a great job!
There was no winner for the card drawn.
Together we recited the 4 Way Test of the things we think, say, and do!
Thursday July 13, 2023
Today, our meeting was led by 2022-23 President, Theresa Slominski! She will be passing the gavel to Debbi Rydberg next week, so be sure to attend the meeting to witness the great event as we review the past and look forward to the future!
Attending
Terry Bizal, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Heather Kliewer, Mark Kuyava, Tove Lichty, Dr. Laura Mullennex, Theresa Slominski, Marv Sorvala, Nicole Wojcik, Bill Yueill, honoraries David Anderson, Glen Ertel, Bob Maxwell, John Osterman, Bruce Tyler
Guests
-Ed Boeve, Assistant District Governor
-Ashley Schultz, prospective member with application turned in
Program
Our program today was arranged by Nicole Wojcik and she was the program! She told us how she visited the Hallway Café at Elk River High School and wanted to have a teacher or student from the culinary arts department to come and speak to us. Well, it is summer and they are not available so a Plan B was needed. She came up with some FUN for us for our program! She handed out sheets for a game we would play using our phones to gather answers. It was super fun and Bob Maxwell turned out to be the cell phone hoarder, so to speak! Lol! He won the game by a landslide, due to having 95 contacts starting with the letter R. He was the game winner with 229 points! He won a free lunch, compliments of Nicole! (Which He Declined) Theresa Slominski came in second with a score of 194! Thank you Nicole for a fun program!
Announcements
-Tuesday, July 18th at 5:30 pm, there will be a Taste of Elk River meeting at Furniture and Things Community Event Center. Please plan to attend this and help plan our 2024 event!
-Thursday, July 20th at our regular Rotary Meeting, we will pass the gavel from Theresa Slominski to Debbi Rydberg. Please join in on the fun celebration!
-Saturday, August 5th - -Debbi Rydberg is looking for volunteers from 10 am to 2 pm. She is in need of 4 to 5 volunteers, can be rotarians and their family or friends! We need help to host a table and collect lithium batteries during the EV event. The event is called Elk River ElectriFUNCATION & EV Test Drive Event. It is an educational event sponsored by the Initiative Foundation, City of Elk River, Sherburne County and the Elk River Area Chamber of Commerce. A sign up sheet will be sent around!
-Card Draw was a six of diamonds and no one had the match!
Happy Bucks!
-Theresa Slominski was happy for some travels to North Dakota to their family farm to help with clearing some things out, then to upstate New York to help her daughter move there from Mankato! She was grateful to have been able to help out. She is also happy that her rotary presidential term is ending and she was happy for all of the support she received over the past year!
-Heather Kliewer was happy for her grandson, Henry’s 4th birthday! She was also happy to tell us that Henry will be having a new sibling in February!
-Nicole Rasmussen was happy to tell us that her friend, now a breast cancer survivor, is hosting a dinner party tonight in Bemidji that Nicole is going to attend. She and Marc will also visit his parents while in Bemidji. She also had a asking for a prayer buck as her happy camper place is currently in turmoil with their leadership and the place is in a big riff and she is on the leading team to try to straighten things out. Prayers needed this Saturday morning for the meeting!
-Tove Lichty was sad to be missing the gavel passing next week. She will be traveling to South Dakota to see her brother who is moving to New Orleans soon. They will then travel to Iowa to her parents lake condo and will be participating for a couple of days in the RAGBRAI which is a bicycle ride across the state of Iowa. It is the 50th year of this event. The ride is a total of 500 miles!
-Marv Sorvala was happy to have spent eleven day sin the Rocky Mountains with is wife’s family!
-Julie Fish was happy to tell us that her next Great Niece/Nephew, #29, will arrive in January 2024! She was also happy to have sat by Ashley Schultz, newly applied member! She is amazing!
Together we recited the 4 Way Test of the things we think, say and do!
Thursday June 15, 2023
Today at Rotary, President Elect, Debbi Rydberg ran our meeting! John Osterman led our song and Bruce “Buck” Tyler had a solid prayer for us.
Attending
Melanie Clemons, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Katie Harstad, Mark Kuyava, Tove Lichty, Angela Nies, Cal Portner, Pete Reiner, Debbi Rydberg, Marv Sorvala, Bill Yueill, honoraries Bob Maxwell, John Osterman and Bruce Tyler
Announcements
-Debbi Rydberg asked us to save the date for August 5 from 10 am to 2 pm. She is in need of 4 to 5 volunteers, can be Rotarians and their family or friends! She needs help to host a table and collect lithium batteries during the event. The event is called Elk River ElectriFUNCATION & EV Test Drive Event. It is an educational event sponsored by the Initiative Foundation, City of Elk River, Sherburne County and the Elk River Area Chamber of Commerce. A sign-up sheet was sent around!
-Please Note – there will not be Rotary noon meetings for two weeks – June 29th and July 6th. We will resume meeting on Thursday, July 13th.
-SOCIAL! Will be held in place of our meeting next week and will be held at The Edge on Main Street in Elk River, beginning at 4:30 pm.
-Card Game – a 6 of clubs was pulled and there was not a winner!
Program
Bruce “Buck” Tyler arranged our program today and we had the privilege of hearing from the Mayor of Otsego Jessica Stockkkamp. Jessica and Bruce met many years ago when they served as board members for the Three Rivers Community Foundation. Jessica has been the Mayor of Otsego since 2007! She has enjoyed her role as Mayor for a city that deals with three school districts and five zip codes! She gave us an update on the City of Otsego. There is a lot going on! They are hiring their first emergency services director in July. They will still keep their community ties but are planning for their future. They have two parcels for future fire departments. They have plans to build out their city campus with a new building to come in the near future. It will be a City Hall addition. Housing market is strong with 94 permits in 2023. The interest rates have slowed things down. They have three apartment buildings in the city. People are always looking for apartment housing. The population of Otsego is now 22,705 and they are now third in the state for growth. They are also the largest city in Wright County. Otsego parks are going well. They have many walk, bike paths to get you around the area. There is a trails on 39 and 38 to connect you to the Albertville Outlet Mall! She spoke about the park that is behind Guardian Angels Riverview Landing and the future of it may include docks and kayak lockers. They hope to utilize the river better. They are working with Way Finding for a grant through the County for signage with QR codes to tell about the location you are at. Prairie Park is in the center of the city. It is a large community park with build out plans. They are asking people what they are wanting. 2022 welcomed many new businesses and 2023 welcomes many more! Michaels opened this year; Aldi is building, Blue Dot built a new building; Kennedy Vision from Elk River is moving to Otsego near Cowboy Jacks; Christian Brothers Automotive Repair is coming to the Target parking lot space. They will be new to Minnesota. Java Co. is building a three bay retail space that includes a drive-thru in the plans, but Jessica is not sure what is coming to that space. There will be a Starbucks in The Bank of Elk River parking lot and To Be Kids Daycare Center is looking into coming to Otsego. They are also working on improving their drinking water quality and working to decrease the magnesium and iron in their water. They have received a Federal grant for phase one of improvement. It will be impactful for residents. Their waste water treatment center is also being improved. Jessica reports that they are looking for fast food leads. She loves the sit down restaurants, but to balance things out, is looking for a fast food place. Dealing with three school districts is sometimes challenging and she also reminded us of the Kaleidoscope Charter School that is also located in Otsego. Debbi thanked Jessica for speaking to us today!
Happy Bucks
-Nicole Wojcik, who wasn’t with us today, sent a message with Julie Fish to report that they have won the treasure hunt three weeks in a row at their camper location and are looking forward to doing it this coming weekend again!
-Cal Portner was happy to be here. He is back from a trip with an airline debacles along the way!
-Bruce “Buck” Tyler was happy to hear from speaker Jessica Stockkamp!
-Julie Fish was $5 happy – happy for Jessica and her Mayoral service since 2007; was happy to have taken notes last week at her last time as Club Secretary at the board of directors meeting; final happy buck was for today as the last day of taking notes as the bulletin editor, a job she has done for about 28 years.
- Bob Maxwell wants to add - Having worked with Julie for all this time producing the bulletin together (she writes it - not an easy job) and I
produce it into bulletin. Having substituted a few times taking the notes you just don't know the time it takes during the meeting and putting it all together after. The bulletin is just one of the jobs Julie has had including President, Secretary, Paul Harris Super Contributer and so many more.
Oh, and she runs a great business too.
Thank you, Julie. Its' been my pleasure to work with you. Bob
Katie Harstad was happy for Rockwoods Bonfire Wednesday events and that they are going. well with a new rearrangement. She was also happy to be going to look at a house in Otsego to purchase.
-Speaker Jessica Stockkamp had a happy $10 to thank us for coming to rotary today; thank you for Katie and Rockwoods for all they do; and happy for Rotary and all we do!
-Mark Kuyava had a happy buck – he is happy to be happy!
Together we recited the 4 Way Test of the things we think, say and do!
Thursday June 15, 2023
Last week at Rotary, President Theresa Slominski led our meeting! John Osterman led our song and Theresa had a very solid prayer for us!
Attending
Dirk Barrett, Melanie Clemons, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Molly Hanson, Katie Harstad, Heather Kliewer, Tove Lichty, Pete Reiner, Debbi Rydberg, Theresa Slominski, Joe Stremcha, Nicole Wojcik, honoraries Dave Anderson, Bob Maxwell, John Osterman, Bruce Tyler, Stewart Wilson
Guests
-Don Horvath, past Rotarian, Paul Harris Fellow and guest of Heather Kliewer
-Bob Elveru, past Rotarian, past club president, visiting from Texas
-Jim and Heather, board of director members for the YMCA
-John Houlton, special guest for the presentation today
-Jane Barrett, wife of Dirk Barrett and special guest for the presentation today
President Theresa started our day with calling up Rotarian Molly Hanson with the YMCA and a couple board of directors, Jim and Heather to present them with a check from our fund raising the Taste of Elk River. The YMCA was our Signature Donation Recipient for 2023 and President Theresa and Treasurer Neil Gagnonpresented them with our oversized check (and a real check) for $12,000! It was a beautiful photo moment and Bob Maxwell captured it nicely! Molly thanked us for the funds and thanked her board members at the YMCA for all they do. The funds received will help families with child care needs!
Program
Honorary member and Paul Harris Fellow, Stewart Wilson welcomed everyone today for our annual presentation of Paul Harris Fellows! He stated that the check to the YMCA represents the importance and the essence of Rotary and how we help and serve people. We spread goodwill. He is proud that our club helps to support the YMCA. Stewart then went on to tell us who Paul Harris was and what the Rotary Foundation is about. It all began more than 111 years ago and now, Rotary boasts 46,000 clubs world wide! Paul Harris was the founder of Rotary. Paul was born in 1868 in Wisconsin. Stewart told of his rough childhood in poverty. His parents were not able to care for him and his brother so they were raised by their grandparents. Paul ensued his vocation in Iowa and received his law degree in 1896. He practiced law in Chicago. In 1905, at 37 years old, he formed a group with three people to meet weekly to share a meal and talk business. 1907 launched the first service project - construction public toilets in Chicago. By 1910, there were 15 clubs throughout the country, including St. Paul, Minnesota, who started the first international club in Winnipeg Canada. Now 46,000 clubs throughout the world and 1.4 million members! After 1912, Paul stepped aside for the most part and guided rotary until his death in 1947. Stewart shared a few quotes from Paul Harris. “Rotary allows ordinary people to do extraordinary things” is one of my favorites. In 1917, at the convention, Rotarian Arch Klump started a six point action plan to establish the endowment fund - the Rotary Foundation. This was started to build good in the world. For the past 11 years, the Rotary Foundation has received four star ratings by the international valuator. 92% of funds are spent on programs. Polio Plus program really shows the rotary way as it partners with the Gates Foundation to raise more funds, faster. Since 1980, Elk River Rotary has held an annual tradition of recognizing two new Paul Harris Fellows in our club and community. Our first Paul Harris Fellow was Bob Kemper, with Kemper Drug. Today we honor two new Paul Harris Fellows who exemplify Service Above Self. We have given two $1,000 donations for the awards and are pleased to present their awards as they join the list of 78 Paul Harris Fellows in Elk River Rotary.
John Osterman introduced John Houlton as our first recipient. John has been chosen for his contributions to our club through the Taste of Elk River. John was born and raised in Elk River. His family dates back to 1840 here! Both of John’s parents - Bud and Jane, have been honored as Paul Harris Fellows in the past. John said this award is extremely humbling and meaningful to him. He researched the award, and was more humbled after that! He thanked us for granting him the honor and has admiration for all of us and what we do. This is most special! Next up, Heather Kliewer introduced us to our next recipient - Rotarian Dirk Barrett. Dirk has been in the Elk River community since 1973 and an Elk River Rotarian for seven years, leading the Taste of Elk River for three of those seven years. Dirk also is a board member for the CAER Food Shelf and gives in full force there as well. He is a champion at CAER, St. Andrew’s Church and many other things that we don’t see! Dirk was also very humbled. He learned of Rotary and realized he had many connections to members and wanted to be a part of it! Congratulations to our newest Paul Harris Fellows - Dirk Barrett and John Houlton! Theresa Slominski thanked everyone while Julie Fish passed out a sheet listing all of our Paul Harris Fellows and pointed out that three of our newest members are club transfers and they come to us with the PHF! They include Marv Sorvala, Joe Stremcha and Bill Yueill!
Club Announcements
-Taste of Elk River by Katie Harstad - the After Taste meeting went well. They are considering major changes so please come to the planning meetings and be a part of this progression! The next meeting will be Tuesday, July 18th at 5:30 pm at the Furniture and Things Community Center.
-NO MEETING THURSDAY, JUNE 29th and NO MEETING THURSDAY, JULY 6th!
-Social Event - Join Rotarians on Wednesday, June 28th at the Edge on Main Street, starting at 4:30 pm. Need further information - contact Nicole Wojcik
-August 5th, your help is needed to man a table for the Elk River ElectriFUNCATION and EV test driveevent at the Furniture and things Community Center from 10 to 2. We will host a table and collect lithium batteries. Debbi Rydberg is looking for volunteers so please let her know if you can assist!
-Happy Birthday to Bruce Buck Tyler! We sang a horrible $5 version for his $10, by his request!
-Card draw was a 10 of spades and there was not a winner.
Happy Bucks -Theresa Slominski had a buck in appreciation of community volunteers and for those receive the Paul Harris Fellow award today!
-Dirk Barrett was happy to receive the Paul Harris Fellow today and happy to share the excitement with his wife and friends Don Horvath and Bob Elveru who joined in the celebration! Dirk was also happy because vacation is next week!
-Joe Stremcha was happy because it is his dog’s 11th birthday! Happy Birthday!
-Debbi Rydberg was happy to participate in a ribbon cutting this morning at the Sherburne County Government Center for Black Bird Coffee. It is a training facility for Options to train staff so they may enter in to the workforces of other barista jobs.
-Molly Hanson was $5 happy to have Jim and Heather with her here today, happy for our club and our community! -Pete Reiner was happy for all of our guests today and pointed out that guest Bob Elveru is a past president!
-Nicole Wojcik was happy to welcome the new Paul Harris Fellows; her step son had his one year anniversary in the military; it was a successful start to the summer program and that is very refreshing; happy for treasure hunts at the camper! -Tove Lichty was happy for her husband who finished his fourth year as a reader in a literacy program and she is happy for the community impact he has made for kids grades K-3!
-Guest Jane Barrett was happy for Dirk today!
Together we recited the 4 Way Test and President Theresa rang the dismissal bell!
Thursday June 1, 2023
Today our meeting was led by President Theresa Slominski!
Attending
Dirk Barrett, Terry Bizal, Melanie Clemons, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Katie Harstad, Heather Kliewer, Mark Kuyava, Dr. Laura Mullennex, Debbi Rydberg, Theresa Slominski, Marv Sorvala, Joe Stremcha, Adam Stumne, Nicole Wojcik, honorees' Bob Maxwell, John Osterman and Bruce Tyler
Visiting Rotarians
Floyd and Dave from the Rogers Rotary were here today to sell raffle tickets and invite us to participate in their upcoming golf tournament, which will be held at Fox Hollow on Tuesday, June 13th with a 10 am shot gun start. Floyd shared stories of how they have used the funds raised in the past. They also mentioned a new Chevrolet Silverado for anyone with a hole in one on hole #8!
Program
Adam Stumne arranged for our program today and presented us with Ken Seiser, Election Manager for Sherburne County. Ken has held this position for two and a half years. His first election was the state election last year. Is first presidential election will be in 2024. He also assists with township, primary, general, school and special elections. He shared details with us about filing for an election and the filing costs. Dominion is the company that handles the voting in Sherburne County. They use their equipment, memory cards, machines, etc. it is a top secure position. Many things are done with two people, one democrat and one republican. This is to make sure things are legit. Ken shared information with us about absentee voting and told us about voting for folks overseas in the military or abroad for other reasons. 92% of states, including Minnesota, use paper ballots for back up and they keep them for 22 months. There is a ballot room that is locked and takes two people of different parties to enter. The ballot boxes are sealed. Ken shared that Sherburne County is looking for election judges. All day or short shifts are available and you can be as young as 16 years old to be an election judge. He then opened for question/answer time. President Theresa thanked him for speaking and sharing this great information with us!
Announcements
Debbi Rydbergtold us to save the date for August 5 from 10 am to 2 pm. She is in need for 4 to 5 volunteers, can be rotarians and their family or friends! Help is needed to host a table and collect lithium batteries during the event – Elk River ElectiriFUNCATION & EV test drive event. Please let her know if you can help out!
-Taste of Elk River After Taste meeting will be held on Monday, June 12th at 6 pm at Aegir.
-Next week we will honor two new Paul Harris Fellows. Please be sure to attend!
-Card draw was a queen of hearts and there was not a winner.
Happy Bucks
-Theresa was happy to be here today as she drove here from her cabin near Bemidji and after the meeting, she is going back!
-Heather Kliewer paid her $20 birthday IOU. She also had a thank you buck for our club giving a scholarship to an Ivan Sand student. She attended and was thanked by a couple of people who said they were honored that Rotarians would come to present the scholarship. She was having “a day” today with a lot of debacles, but is getting through! She was also very happy for many wonderful friends and family who laid flooring at CAER on Saturday from 7 am to 6 pm. It is beautiful!
-Dirk Barrett is happy to be going camping with his boys to a location north of Grand Marais!
-Marv Sorvala was happy that next week he is going to Branson with his daughters and eleven grands!
-Nicole Wojcik was happy for the last day of school and believe it or not, her daughter will be a senior! She made it through her junior year! Nicole was happy to have gone to the camper last weekend and again this weekend and is having fun with a treasure hunt there. Handke is again going through a huge remodel and tomorrow they will relocate to VandenBerg school for the summer!
-Dave Christian, visiting Rotarian, had a happy buck from the Rogers Rotary. He shared a funny story about golf socks with 18 holes in them!
-Katie Harstad had a buck, not happy, then happy for some irrigation issues at Rockwoods and that things are now under control because her dad came to the rescue! She was also pooped on by a bird! Lol! It is all behind her and today is the last day of school and her daughter has turned her two or three F’s into passing grades!
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Our program today was Mike Spellman presenting his power point presentation on Making Peace Visible. He wanted to present to our group and have us critique it for him as he prepares to present to other clubs. The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) is an international think tank out of Syndey Australia and they embarked on the study of peace with such questions as “How can anybody know about peace? Does it exist? How can it be quantified?” Most people define peace as negative peace, the absence of bullets and war. Positive peace is the intentional creation and maintenance of conditions that result in peace. This begs the question, what are the conditions and how do we get them? Science tells us that if we can’t measure it, we can’t understand it, and so first we need to know what it is made of. They arrived at eight “Pillars of Peace”, each with three “indicators” that can be used to measure if the pillar exists. The eight pillars are all interconnected as a system of interdependent subsystems. One of the eight pillars is a Well-Functioning Government, and the three indicators for measuring it are transparency, effective public services, and rule of law. Rotary International has partnered with IEP and has a Rotary Positive Peace Academy available to educate on this information. And it’s a lot of information: 8 pillars x 3 indicators = 24 variables x 163 countries = 3,900 data points to be researched! Where does the research come from? There are 24,700 data sets from such organizations as United Nations, World Bank, World Health Organization, as well as government statistics, non-profit studies, and original IEP research. They produced a report with a Global Peace Index assigned and presented a snapshot color-coded map of all 163 countries. The United States is listed as marginally peaceful. The 163 countries are ranked each year from 1-163, best to worst, and the US has declined in its ranking in each of the last ten years. Other outputs from the research is an Ecological Threat Registry (identifying one billion people in threat of being displaced), Global Terrorism Index, and Covid-19 Pandemic research. Rotary’s impact can be seen in aligning the Seven Areas of Focus with the Eight Pillars of Peace. Our projects can relieve pressures to make better neighbors of people and promote peace. Any Rotary project should be considered in context of the project area’s pillars of peace system (domestic and international). All projects can be designed to impact some or all of the pillars and make peace more possible. In our clubs, our service projects, our social activities, district and global grants, we are challenged to “Make Peace Visible”……wherever you are!
just for programs like this! Bill has been a board member since the 90s and Treasurer since December 2007. There is a (lengthy) quote on the brochure that talks about all there is to learn and how important it is to keep learning, and he stated this is what keeps him going. The Institute offers programs covering a variety of topics: AI, Water, Virtues, Recovering Roots, etc and he distributed two scrapbooks of programs since 1996. The fall program starts in November and the brochure has a sign up form, as well as an opportunity to donate. You can also email your information to 
Another change instituted by Debbi is the Rotating Reports. She began by asking Heather to share her goals for the next year as the President Elect since she was not here last week. She stated that being President Elect was a big enough goal! She shared that as we are a growing club and adjusting to all the changes Debbi is introducing, what she can continue into the future is one goal. Also, she would like to adapt “the box” into something more portable for the meetings. Tove was also absent and she asked her to share her goals as Foundation Chair. She would like bring more life to the foundation aspect of the club. She’d like to have another fundraiser for the foundation, marry the fall event with a spring grant, and report more frequently on the foundation.
R. Gordon McInally, has asked all Rotary members to become champions in our effort to illuminate mental health needs near and far. This includes helping one another feel more supported and advocating for mental health services and building bridge with experts in the field. So, each week, she will end our meetings with a supportive quote in an effort to support all of us.
Today our meeting was started by President Theresa Slominski, and then the gavel was passed to the new President, Debbi Rydberg, who finished the meeting. 
Clemons and Joe Stremca were officially inducted!
Debbi showed a power point presentation on the lithium battery collection and recycle project (this fits well with the environmental focus of Rotary.) This is a Rotary District project in a box and we are the first to do it so are helping tweak the details as we go. There are so many lithium batteries in people’s junk drawers or in home devices that have not yet reached their end of life. It is estimated there were 500,000 in 2020 and will be 2 million by 2030. As electric vehicles and devices grow, so will the need for the materials to make new batteries and the collection of old batteries that much more important. This project event is August 5 from 10am to 2pm. If anyone additional can help from noon to 2pm that would be appreciated.
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We sang Happy Birthday to Pete Reiner the regular way, and Cal Portner backwards. (At the end of the meeting it was realized we forgot Glen Ertel and so we sang to him the regular way as well!).jpg)
Rotarian Molly Hanson with the YMCA and a couple board of directors, Jim and Heather to present them with a check from our fund raising the Taste of Elk River. The YMCA was our Signature Donation Recipient for 2023 and President Theresa and Treasurer Neil Gagnon presented them with our oversized check (and a real check) for $12,000! It was a beautiful photo moment and Bob Maxwell captured it nicely! Molly thanked us for the funds and thanked her board members at the YMCA for all they do. The funds received will help families with child care needs!
Stewart Wilson welcomed everyone today for our annual presentation of Paul Harris Fellows! He stated that the check to the YMCA represents the importance and the essence of Rotary and how we help and serve people. We spread goodwill. He is proud that our club helps to support the YMCA. Stewart then went on to tell us who Paul Harris was and what the Rotary Foundation is about. It all began more than 111 years ago and now, Rotary boasts 46,000 clubs world wide! Paul Harris was the founder of Rotary. Paul was born in 1868 in Wisconsin. Stewart told of his rough childhood in poverty. His parents were not able to care for him and his brother so they were raised by their grandparents. Paul ensued his vocation in Iowa and received his law degree in 1896. He practiced law in Chicago. In 1905, at 37 years old, he formed a group with three people to meet weekly to share a meal and talk business. 1907 launched the first service project - construction public toilets in Chicago. By 1910, there were 15 clubs throughout the country, including St. Paul, Minnesota, who started the first international club in Winnipeg Canada. Now 46,000 clubs throughout the world and 1.4 million members! After 1912, Paul stepped aside for the most part and guided rotary until his death in 1947. Stewart shared a few quotes from Paul Harris. “Rotary allows ordinary people to do extraordinary things” is one of my favorites. In 1917, at the convention, Rotarian Arch Klump started a six point action plan to establish the endowment fund - the Rotary Foundation. This was started to build good in the world. For the past 11 years, the Rotary Foundation has received four star ratings by the international valuator. 92% of funds are spent on programs. Polio Plus program really shows the rotary way as it partners with the Gates Foundation to raise more funds, faster. Since 1980, Elk River Rotary has held an annual tradition of recognizing two new Paul Harris Fellows in our club and community. Our first Paul Harris Fellow was Bob Kemper, with Kemper Drug. Today we honor two new Paul Harris Fellows who exemplify Service Above Self. We have given two $1,000 donations for the awards and are pleased to present their awards as they join the list of 78 Paul Harris Fellows in Elk River Rotary. 
Osterman introduced John Houlton as our first recipient. John has been chosen for his contributions to our club through the Taste of Elk River. John was born and raised in Elk River. His family dates back to 1840 here! Both of John’s parents - Bud and Jane, have been honored as Paul Harris Fellows in the past. John said this award is extremely humbling and meaningful to him. He researched the award, and was more humbled after that! He thanked us for granting him the honor and has admiration for all of us and what we do. This is most special! Next up, Heather Kliewer introduced us to o
ur next recipient - Rotarian Dirk Barrett. Dirk has been in the Elk River community since 1973 and an Elk River Rotarian for seven years, leading the Taste of Elk River for three of those seven years. Dirk also is a board member for the CAER Food Shelf and gives in full force there as well. He is a champion at CAER, St. Andrew’s Church and many other things that we don’t see! Dirk was also very humbled. He learned of Rotary and realized he had many connections to members and wanted to be a part of it! Congratulations to our newest Paul Harris Fellows - Dirk Barrett and John Houlton! Theresa Slominski thanked everyone while Julie Fish passed out a sheet listing all of our Paul Harris Fellows and pointed out that three of our newest members are club transfers and they come to us with the PHF! They include Marv Sorvala, Joe Stremcha and Bill Yueill!
