Regular Meeting - May 2, 2023 (May 07, 2024)

Last Time We Met 5/2/2024

Today our meeting was led by President Debbi Rydberg.

We sang and recited the pledge: We pledge ourselves to "Create Hope in the World". We will accomplish this by reaffirming our mission to inspire leaders with passion to serve humanity, strengthen youth for tomorrow's leadership and dedicate ourselves to enhancing lives in our world. Before we speak, act, or make decisions, let us pause and ask ourselves: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? These are our compass and will ensure that our actions are filled with integrity and genuine care.

Attending Dirk Barrett, Melanie Clemons, Roger Clemons, Julie Fish, Molly Hanson, Katie Harstad, Heather Kliewer, Bonnie Koste, Tove Lichty, Pete Reiner, Debbi Rydberg, Theresa Slominski, Nicole Wojcik, Glen Ertel, Bob Maxwell, John Osterman, Bruce Tyler

Guests Attending Victoria Powell and Melissa Pribyl with Sherburne County Substance Use Prevention Coalition, Garrett

Program Molly Hanson introduced Mellisa Pribyl, a Community Health Nurse with Centracare, and Victoria Powell, the Assistant County Attorney with Sherburne County, who both work with the Sherburne County Substance Use Prevention Coalition, SUP for short. It is a youth service organization to provide resources to youth to keep them from using drugs and alcohol or help them if they are. Melissa spoke first and shared the Mission of the Coalition is to prevent youth substance use by promoting safe and healthy choices among community members. It was officially established in 2012 by Sheriff Joel Brott and works in partnership with the sheriff’s department. Their focus is middle school and high school students 12-18 years old. They receive $125,000 from a Drug Free Communities grant that is overseen by the CDC. There is a match they must do that is comprised of volunteer time, space used, materials utilized, mileage, Melissa and Victoria’s time, etc. that totals $187,500. There are twelve different sectors that make up the partners in the community and these partners meet once a month. One of the sectors they are needing more representation in is the Business sector, such as a business owner or part of a business, and they would love your business perspective on all things youth. They shared information from an anonymous state-wide survey from 2013-2022 and there was a decrease in all categories of the past 30-day use for the last three years! Using this data the areas of focus for SUP are alcohol, marijuana, and e-cigarettes use. Interestingly and unfortunately, this data also shows that Sherburne County youth are more likely to use these than other youth in the state. Victoria talked about the things she is seeing in the courtroom, such as kids getting DWIs, kids as young as twelve stealing cars, the fact that kids think “everyone is doing it”, that drugs like LSD and mushrooms are back and kids aren’t always sure what they are using. These trends are harming kids physically, emotionally, psychologically, and criminally, and kids as young as ten can be charged. What can we do? Educate ourselves, be good role models, talk often in short “snip-its” to youth encouraging them not to use, and keep them busy with after school activities as this is the most likely time for using in middle school and high school. Their website has many resources (like where your kids hide the drugs) at https://www.sherburnesupcoalition.org.

Their closing statement was “If we don’t deal with it now, we will be dealing with it later”.

District Updates World Immunization week was April 24-30 and Debbi shared a link with information: https://www.endpolio.org/a-commitment-to-the-children-of-the-world

Board and Committee Updates Membership Induction – Julie Fish officially inducted Roger Clemons to our membership today! Congratulations Roger!

Rotary Vocational Minute – through a series of questions, Debbi invited Katie Harstad to talk about her vocation at Rockwoods and her commitment to Rotary.

The Board meeting was today at 11 a.m. Updates are: • We have two scholarship nights coming up: May 15, 7 p.m., at Zabee Theater for Elk River High School, and June 3, 7 p.m., at Ivan Sands. Both schools will receive two $1,500 scholarships. If you would like to be present to help award the scholarships with Molly Hanson and Heather Kliewer, let Molly know. •

We have an opportunity to serve alcohol and beer at the Livin’ event, Saturday, September 14, so please save the date on your calendars. More information will be coming.

Next week will be Ceallaigh (Kelly) Smart from Haiti Outreach for our program.

There will be a Taste meeting after the regular meeting May 9. The Paul Harris ceremony will be June 20, as well as the passing of the gavel.

Fundraising Opportunities Delights and Dilemmas

Heather Kliewer was delighted that her son Jackson is officially marrying a doctor, as his finance passed her physical therapy exam.

Tove Lichty was delighted for her awards banquet last week, and hopefully solve her raccoon problem today with a new pole purchase for her bird feeder.

Theresa Slominski was delighted and grateful for family as her siblings are all working well together in solving issues and taking care of her mother.

Debbi Rydberg was delighted to visit a potential sitter/daycare for the cats, Chip and Dale, while travelling. Birthdays –

There were no birthdays to celebrate today.

Card Draw - There was no winner for the card draw this week.

Other news from the floor: If you are interested in helping John and Melanie set up before meetings, please let them know.

Pub, Putts, and Par, the Otsego Lions’ Pub Crawl and mini golf event will be May 18, from 12 noon to 4 p.m.

June 27 is the Chamber golf tournament at the Elk River Golf Club and it is filling up fast.

July 26 is the CAER golf tournament, and June 7 is the Three Rivers Community Foundation golf tournament.

Pearls of Wisdom: “People with goals succeed because they know where they are going.” Earl Nightengale

Last Time We Met 4/25/2024

Today our meeting was led by President Debbi Rydberg. We sang and recited the pledge:
We pledge ourselves to; Create Hope in the World;. We will accomplish this by reaffirming our mission to inspire leaders with passion to serve humanity, strengthen youth for tomorrows' leadership and dedicate ourselves to enhancing lives in our world. Before we speak, act, or make decisions, let us pause and ask ourselves: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? These are our compass and will ensure that our actions are filled with integrity and genuine care.
Attending
Dirk Barrett, Wade Bastian, Terry Bizal, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Katie Harstad, Thomas Kerber, Heather Kliewer, Mark Kuyava, Dr. Laura Mullennex, Cal Portner, Pete Reiner, Debbi Rydberg, Theresa Slominski, Joe Stremcha, Nicole Wojcik, Bob Maxwell, John Osterman, Bruce Tyler

Guests Attending
Garrett

Program
Debbi introduced Bret Denison of Diageo Hospitality Partnership Spirits Education; Tasting. They are a parent company that owns many different brands of liquor. The program was very educational on what bourbon is and isn’t. To be sold as Bourbon in the USA, it needs to be made in the United States, must be made from at least 51% corn, aged in new charred oak barrels, and it can’t be distilled to over 160 proof. It is one of the most regulated alcohols in the world. We sampled Bulleit Bourbon, Bulleit Rye,
George Dickel 8 years, and George Dickel Bottled in Bond. Bret was very knowledgeable and provided a wealth of information regarding bourbon, whiskey, whisky, proofs, definitions of labels, the production processes, and history of the liquor.

District Updates
Shark Tank is May 8th . It is a virtual event and Debbi will be attending. Let her know if you are interested in attending also.

Board and Committee Updates

Service Committee – Mark Kuyava shared that we will be collecting lithium batteries at the Farmers Market every week this summer. We will also be helping as bartenders with the Livin Event at the racetrack in September and more information will be coming.
The next Taste meeting will be May 9 after the regular meeting. Katie thanked everyone for the feedback on the ticket site. Jim Boyle will be doing an article in May.

Public Relations - Cal Portner shared that Star News has started publishing the upcoming speakers in the Star News, and so thank you to those who provided bios on the program along with the speaker and organization name.

May 2, 11 a.m. is the next Board meeting.

May 2 program will be Victoria Powell and Melissa Pribyl with Sherburne County Substance Use Prevention Coalition.

May 9 program will be Ceallaigh (pronounced Kelly) Smart from Haiti Outreach.
Rotary Vocational Minute – through a series of questions, Debbi invited Neil Gagnon to talk about his vocation at The Bank of Elk River and his commitment to Rotary.

Fundraising Opportunities

Delights and Dilemmas
T

erry Bizal thanked Debbi for leading the Student of the Month program last week in his absence and was delighted to have attended his daughter’s game in Montreal.
Wade Bastian was delighted to have done maple “syruping” for the first time. He has two batches, a “blonde” and a “brunette”.
Julie Fish was delighted with Saturday’s adventures. She went to friends’ Ryan and Becky Thompson’s Produce in Nowthen to get eggs and a sneak peak at the greenhouses. Then she went to her sister’s house for a visit with her five grandkids under the age of 4 and loved the noise and the chaos!
Bob Maxwell thanked Katie for her help with the ticket site that is ready to go once we get the all clear.

John Osterman was delighted to have talked with Cathy Mehelich at Marilyn VanPatten’s funeral and coordinate a Polio Plus bowling tournament with the St. Cloud Rotary.
Neil Gagnon was delighted for the Timberwolves 2-0 record over the Suns, significant because they have been dominated by them losing 13 of last 15 games previously.
Tom Kerber was delighted to have passed his private pilot’s exam a week and a half ago, and his number two son passed his driver’s exam.
Cal Portner was delighted for the NFL draft to actually start today because he is sick of all the speculative drafts.
Nicole Wojcik was delighted to have attended a Tim McGraw concert, and Sunday they opened the camper and only found 5 mice. She had a bit of a dilemma with April as a close friend of Haley’s passed away and Marilyn’s funeral was the third one in the month, and the six year anniversary of her dad passing on Tuesday. She went to the cemetery with her mom and then went shopping and they had a great day together.

Birthdays - Wade Bastian paid $20 not to be sung to for his birthday.

Card Draw - There was no winner for the card draw this week.

Debbi said that there was good Rotary representation at Marilyn’s funeral and wake.

Pearls of Wisdom:

“Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but whenever
you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in.” Unknown Author

Last Time We Met 4/18/2024
Today our meeting was led by President Debbi Rydberg. We sang and recited the pledge:
We pledge ourselves to Create Hope in the World. We will accomplish this by reaffirming our mission to inspire leaders with passion to serve humanity, strengthen youth for tomorrows leadership and dedicate ourselves to enhancing lives in our world. Before we speak, act, or make decisions, let us pause and ask ourselves: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? These are our compass and will ensure that our actions are filled with
integrity and genuine care.

Attending
Wade Bastian, Melanie Clemons, Roger Clemons, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Heather Kliewer, Tove Lichty, Cal Portner, Pete Reiner, Debbi Rydberg, Alan Sakry, Theresa Slominski, Joe Stremcha, Glen Ertel, Bob Maxwell, John Osterman, Bruce Tyler

Guests Attending
Patricia McClease, District Governor; Syd McGowan with FirsTeam; Gigi Clemons (Melanie’s daughter); Student of the month, Isaac Sydow and parents Lori and Kelly Sydow; and Garrett who is checking out our club.

Program

It was Club Assembly today and we started by recognizing our Student of the Month, Isaac Sydow. He is captain of the Tennis Team and also captain of the Robotics Team, a position he has held for the past four years. He is also on the Math Team and a member of the Jazz Band. His favorite classes are Manufacturing Shop and Calculus. He plans on attending the University of Wisconsin – Madison and majoring in Engineering after graduating. In his spare time, he likes to repair vehicles, create metal art, build rockets, JAVA programming, fly drones, scuba diving, and sailing. His leadership style is to learn and then teach and encourage others. He believes anyone can do anything they set their mind to!

Next was Paul Harris recognition. Julie Fish, Tove Lichty, and Cal Portner each received Paul Harris pins for their generous contributions to the Rotary Foundation. Also recognized but not present was Stewart Wilson. District Governor Patricia McClease thanked them for their generosity.

Debbi Rydberg shared that we will be collecting lithium batteries at the Farmers Market each week this summer. She has also been asked to share information about our collection events with the Conference of Clubs.
Julie Fish thanked everyone for attending the membership social last week. We had 19 people attend, gave away four gift cards, and recognized Melanie Clemons for bringing the most guests to our meetings and having the most new members join, and all had fun.

Next week at Rotary we will have Bret Denison from Diageo Hospitality Partnership Spirits for some education and tasting.

Patricia McClease was asked if she would like to share a few words and she said she was happy to attend our meeting today, thanked the Paul Harris contributors, and then asked various members what they were proud of with our club.

Tove Lichty was proud of the audio visual display that is now at each club meeting, Theresa Slominski was proud of our opportunity to partner with the club in Rwanda for a global grant (and also asked for another committee member to join!),

John Osterman was proud of our Taste event, Wade Bastian was proud of the welcome he received as a new club member,

Peter Reiner was proud of all our Paul Harris members, and

Julie Fish was proud of the Student of the Month program we have.

Debbi Rydberg shared that Marilyn VanPatten-Chuba passed away April 14 of Glioblastoma brain tumors. The visitation will be Tuesday, April 23 4-7pm at Dares Funeral and Cremation in Elk River, and the funeral will be Wednesday, April 24 12:30 at St Andrew’s Church. A moment of silence was held followed by a few moments of remembering her lively spirit as others shared favorite memories.

Rotating Reports

District updates
Celebration of Clubs is Saturday, May 4, $20 per person, at the Phipps Center for Arts in Hudson, WI, and Boyd Huppert will be the speaker.

Fundraising Opportunities

Delights and Dilemmas:
Cal Portner was delighted to attend a tribute band concert for ELO at the Burnsville Center and an upcoming trip to Vienna and Prague with his wife and daughter.
Bob Maxwell was delighted to be back om Arizona.
Roger Clemons was delighted and proud of his daughter, Melanie Clemons, for being honored as the Volunteer of the Month for the City of Elk River.
Theresa Slominski was delighted Bob was back, for the student of the month, and that Patricia was able to visit us.
Tove Lichty had a dilemma that raccoons broke her new Oriole bird feeder.
Wade Bastian was delighted to be able to carry on the Leadership Breakfast that Jim Acres used to organize. He has passed and the Leadership Breakfast is now in his name and will be held 5/16.
Heather Kliewer was delighted to be able to recognize the wonderful person Marilyn was, and for the Loons playing at the Dayton bar last Saturday.
Julie Fish was delighted for Marilyn’s life, for Melanie because she loves Rotary so much, for Garrett attending our social and coming back to visit our club meeting, the attendance at the social, and for her business being recognized in the small business section of the newspaper in March.
Alan Sakry was delighted for the 5 days of peace and quiet he had while his wife and daughter were in Arizona hiking, had a dilemma when his furnace went out during that time, and a delight in memory of Marilyn.
Debbi Rydberg was delighted to have attended an Air Force concert in St Michael for her husband’s birthday, and also in remembering Marilyn.

Birthdays – There were no birthdays to recognize this week.

The winner for the card draw this week was Theresa Slominski.

Pearls of Wisdom:
“Minds are like parachutes – they only function when they are open.” Thomas Dewar, in honor of a Braver Angels event Debbi Rydberg attended Tuesday evening.

Last Time We Met 4/4/2024

Today our meeting was led by President Debbi Rydberg. We sang and recited the pledge:

We pledge ourselves to "Create Hope in the World". We will accomplish this by reaffirming our mission to inspire leaders with passion to serve humanity, strengthen youth for tomorrow's leadership and dedicate ourselves to enhancing lives in our world. Before we speak, act, or make decisions, let us pause and ask ourselves: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? These are our compass and will ensure that our actions are filled with integrity and genuine care.

Attending

Melanie Clemons, Roger Clemons, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Molly Hanson, Katie Harstad, Heather Kliewer, Bonnie Koste, Mark Kuyava, Dr. Laura Mullennex, Cal Portner, Debbi Rydberg, Theresa Slominski, Nicole Wojcik, Bill Yueill, John Osterman, Bruce Tyler

Guests Attending

Rachael Hill of Jeff Hill Legacy Fund and Molly Ruby, Associate Director of YMCA

Program

Melanie Clemons introduced Rachael Hill with the Jeff Hill Legacy Fund. Jeff Hill was Rachael’s husband and they met in the Air Force right out of high school in Technical Training and were married in Guam when they were 19 years old. They lived in Alaska for a time and then were transferred to Mississippi where both their sons were born. He was diagnosed with a medical condition the jeopardized his ability to be a pilot, however he fought this and was able to continue to be a pilot and in 2007 received

his dream assignment to fly C17s in Alaska. The family did a

lot of camping and outdoor activities together while in Alaska and were living the dream! On July 28, 2010, Jeff was called out to a routine flight assignment, expecting to return home after dinner time. Rachael received the phone call that the plane went down killing all four crew members on board. The boys were 3 and 5, and she made a pact with herself that they were not going to live a sad life but were somehow going to turn this tragedy into something good – she just didn’t know what or how. Several of her friends made suggestions over time and it just kind of happened

that the Jeff Hill Legacy Fund was created. She shared a video of Jeff and her family’s life, with pictures of scholarship winners and fundraising events. The organization has given over $150,000 to 80 cadets in scholarships to the University of Anchorage Alaska, (Jeff was the first pilot to receive his wings at the Anchorage detachment and is really why the whole thing started), the University of Minnesota, and the University of Madison Wisconsin. In addition to money, the organization is about taking care of others. Jeff was the guy who was always taking care of others, and the organization is a network to do just that. One of her favorite quotes is that a person dies twice, the first time when they stop breathing, and the second time when their name is spoken the last time. Through this legacy, she can continue to impact lives and have Jeff remembered, and his name spoken.

Rotating Reports

District updates

Celebration of Clubs is Saturday, May 4, $20 per person, at the Phipps Center for Arts in Hudson, WI, and Boyd Huppert will be the speaker. We applied for awards in Club Service, Administration, Community Service, and Public Image.

Community update reports

We had a board meeting before this meeting. Some updates are we are going to award $6,000 in scholarships: 2 $1,500 scholarships to Ivan Sands and 2 $1,500 scholarships to Elk River high school. Fundraiser goals for the foundation were $2,000 for the general fund and we have given $2,220 YTD, and $2,500 for Polio Plus and we have given $1,537 YTD. The Star News has offered to publish our upcoming speaker list for our programs, however, to do this we need to provide the information earlier to Bruce and Cal and need to include a little bio of the program. We voted for two new members and have added Alan Sakry and Roger Clemons to our membership.
Julie Fish gave an update on the membership campaign. The celebration will be April 11 at POUR Cocktail Bar and Bites, 5:30-7:30pm and we will not have a regular meeting that day. Appetizers and one drink will be provided.
Katie Harstad gave a Taste update. We are looking for other fundraising game ideas – something big and visually impactful, like a giant Wheel of Fortune wheel or something. We are moving from a silent auction to a raffle for donated items. The Taste date is August 8, 2024 this year.
If you are interested in helping represent Rotary and present the scholarships to either Ivan Sands on June 4 7:00pm, or Elk River on May 22 7:00pm, please let Molly Hanson know.
April 18 will be Club Assembly, there will be four Paul Harris pins to present, and there will be a Student of the Month presentation.

Fundraising Opportunities

Delights and Dilemmas:

Debbi Rydberg had a dilemma for being hacked on Tuesday but was delighted for her IT guy.

Cal Portner was delighted to announce he will be a grandfather for the first time in September.

Roger Clemons was delighted to have returned from Mexico with his youngest granddaughter, and for the Twins opener today.

Molly Hanson had a dilemma that she was in a car accident on her way to Rotary today. She is grateful for her insurance agent, and her friendship with Rachael who was so supportive with her sister’s death.

Melanie Clemons was delighted for Rachael and her boys, and her parents’ 55^th anniversary 4/19.

Heather Kliewer was delighted with the story of Rachael’s husband and that they share the same birthday, May 29.

Nicole Wojcik was delighted that Haley’s surgery went well, and for her stepson in the Air Force and was encouraged with Rachael’s story and the support the organization provides.

Bonnie Koste had a dilemma that her son’s best friend’s father (Dan Ward) lost his life in a farm accident, and he was a wonderful man who helped everyone and was loved by everyone.

Neil Gagnon was delighted to be back from a family road trip to Florida. He had a dilemma that after switching his home and auto insurance he has a tracker in his vehicle, and he may lose his discount.

Birthdays – Molly’s birthday is next week, and she gave $20 not to have us sing to her.

There was no winner for the card draw this week.

Wade Bastian had an announcement that the Jim Acres Leadership Breakfast is May 16, 7am at the Legion. Trisha Mowry of Metalcraft will be the keynote speaker.

Pearls of Wisdom:

“Most everything that you want is just outside your comfort zone.” Jack Canfield

Last Time We Met 3/28/2024

Today our meeting was led by President Debbi Rydberg. We sang and recited the pledge:

Attending

Dirk Barrett, Wade Bastian, Terry Bizal, Melanie Clemons, Julie Fish, Molly Hanson, Katie Harstad, Heather Kliewer, Mark Kuyava, Dr. Laura Mullennex, Debbi Rydberg, Ashley Schultz, Theresa Slominski, Joe Stremcha, Bill Yueill, John Osterman, Bruce Tyler

Guests Attending

Alan Sakry, Shilo Klinkhammer of Homestead Electrical Services, Eileen and Emily Anderson of Northstar Arts, and Bret Weber Beecher of Weber Interiors.

Program

Dirk Barrett introduced Eileen Anderson from Northstar Arts and her daughter Emily. Her father (Les) was a Rotarian and today was the 15^th anniversary of his death. She

shared that on his box where his ashes are stored, the Rotary symbol and the Lions symbol are proudly displayed. Her parents originally started the Elk River Theater in this community in 1974, and have since added a children’s theater component, and morphed into the Northstar Arts that it is today. She shared that there is a greater impact to theater than entertainment for the community; it also helps growth of the participants. She shared many stories of children and adults that started out shy and came out of their shell and some went on to have careers in c

communications. The many benefits are developing creativity and imagination, the power of communication, confidence, critical thinking skills and seeing the other perspectives, cultural awareness, emotional intelligence, self-expression, teamwork, and social skills. She stated that theater is comparable to sports in many ways; it is a team sport, but everyone can win in theater! This theater group has travelled all over the world to perform. They currently are out of room and are seeking additional space and developing a fundraising plan for accomplishing that. The next production will be The Diary of Anne Frank in October, at a place to be determined.

Rotating Reports

District updates

Celebration of Clubs is Saturday, May 4, $20 per person, at the Phipps Center for Arts in Hudson, WI, and Boyd Huppert will be the speaker.

Community update reports

Julie Fish gave an update on the membership campaign. There was applause for Melanie Clemons who has brought a guest to every meeting! The celebration will be April 11 and we will not have a regular meeting that day.
Student of the Month may be moved to April 18.
Julie Fish was asked to provide a Rotary Minute and she shared how she first heard of Rotary when the high school choir she was in, came and sang Christmas carols, and then as a senior in high school she was student of the month, and as a junior she went to Camp Enterprise. At that time women were not allowed in Rotary. Then in 1987 women were allowed and Mag Johnson invited her. She applied and was denied her first time because there could not be more than one of any trade classification in the club as there was already a printer. She applied a second time as a Graphic Designer, and she got in! She was the second woman to be in the club, however five men quit the club because of the women membership. We have come so far!
A Taste meeting will be today after the regular meeting.
Next week is the board meeting before the regular meeting.

Fundraising Opportunities

Delights and Dilemmas:

Melanie Clemons was delighted and thanked Debbi for the fabulous Chamber event last week, she thanked Emily and Eileen for coming and for the work that they do as her kids have benefited from it, and she thanked Molly for the great heart to heart conversation they had. She had a dilemma that her kids were on spring break, and she had to shovel all the snow by herself, and she is watching her parent’s dog that has some digestive issues.

Terry Bizal was delighted and thanked everyone for their support and kind words regarding his daughter’s story, and her decision to no longer be private about it but go public and hopefully help others struggling with any health issues.

Katie Harstad had lots of dilemmas with her son’s health issues, losing a close family friend, and having approximately $20k of catering equipment stolen from Rockwoods. However, looking on the bright side, she was delighted that the criminal was identified, and they can hopefully retrieve some of their equipment. She was grateful for all the support that Rotary and her other groups provided during these challenging times.

Theresa Slominski shared that her husband was out of town again when all the snow fell, and she had to snow blow again.

Debbi Rydberg was thankful to Heather for leading the meeting last week while she was working on her event. She was grateful to be able to work from home with the recent snow fall and that her husband was home to shovel for her.

Eileen Anderson was delighted to share that when her father was a Rotarian there was a rule that if you missed a meeting you had to make it up, so they used to go to Rotary in Florida while on spring break. If they could not get to the Fort Myers meeting, they went to the meeting on Sanibel Island. That club assessed fines of $500 to $1,000, which was pocket change to them!

Heather Kliewer thanked Emily and Eileen for their work and the benefits her kids received being in theater and the friends she and her husband made helping. She fined Dirk for he and his family being in the paper and he did not even realize it!

Birthdays – Julie Fish has a birthday on March 30 and requested to be sung to backwards. She stood in the middle of the room, and we all turned our backs to her and sang.

There was no winner for the card draw this week.

Pearls of Wisdom:

“The rough side of the mountain is the easiest to climb; the smooth side doesn’t have anything for you to hang on to.” Aretha Franklin

Last Time We Met 3/21/2024

Today our meeting was led by President-Elect Heather Kliewer.

We sang and recited the pledge: We pledge ourselves to "Create Hope in the World". We will accomplish this by reaffirming our mission to inspire leaders with passion to serve humanity, strengthen youth for tomorrow's leadership, and dedicate ourselves to enhancing lives in our world. Before we speak, act, or make decisions, let us pause and ask ourselves: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? These are our compass and will ensure that our actions are filled with integrity and genuine care.

Attending Wade Bastian, Terry Bizal, Melanie Clemons, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Thomas Kerber, Heather Kliewer, Mark Kuyava, Tove Lichty, Cal Portner, Theresa Slominski, David Vinje, David Anderson, John Osterman, and Bruce Tyler. Guest Attending Speaker Dave Williams - Elk River Highschool School Resource Officer, Alan Sakry, Roger Clemons, Dawn Carlson of Dream Vacations, and Katie Shatusky of Thumbs Up.

The speaker was running late and so the agenda was a bit different this week….

District Updates – The Celebration of Clubs at the Phipps Center for Arts in Hudson WI, Saturday May 4

Delights and Dilemmas!

Roger Clemons was delighted to be taking his granddaughter to Puerta Vallarta for spring break since his grandson will be in Florida for baseball training.

Theresa Slominski was delighted to be attending the Men’s College Hockey NCHC Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul this weekend to cheer on UND.

Alan Sakry was delighted to have spent Tuesday with Stewart Wilson in Florida while on a week of rest and relaxation.

Tom Kerber had a flight dilemma that he wasn’t leaving on a plane until Monday due to the weather but was delighted to be able to spend a week in Cancun.

Wade Bastian was delighted that his daughter was married last weekend, to another Wade!

Heather Kliewer was delighted to a great 5K tournament last weekend. They had 274 runners and raised $23,000! Her seven year old grandson ran the whole race!

Elections – Heather Kliewer, President Elect, reported that the President-Elect for the 2025-2026 will be Cal Portner and the 2024-2025 Board will also include Mark Kuyava, Theresa Slominski, Neil Gagnon, and Julie Fish. The gavel passing will be June 20 as Debbi will be gone June 27.

Program Terry Bizal and Dave Williams arrived and immediately started presenting.

Dave has been in law enforcement for 16 years and has been in Elk River for the last eight years. He currently is stationed at the Highschool but works with the other two School Resource Officers (SRO) in the area to serve the 16 schools. They do investigations to determine if a crime occurred and then proceed with education or charges, depending on the situation. Mostly he does a lot of educating. He enjoys building rapport with the kids so that when something does happen, he can be a known resource. A typical day can involve bullying/harassment, sexual misconduct (mostly with cell phones), and vaping or THC using. His most rewarding situation was helping a student and the family through two very difficult times where he was able to provide support and encouragement.

Birthdays – there were no birthdays this week.

Card draw – there was no winner this week.

Pearls of Wisdom “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” - unknown

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