Regular Meeting - June 20, 2024 (Jun. 25, 2024)

Last Time We Met 6/20/2024

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 Wade Bastian, Melanie Clemons, Roger Clemons, Julie Fish, Katie Harstad, Thomas Kerber, Heather Kliewer, Laura Mullennex, Garrett Prehatney, Debbi Rydberg, Alan Sakry, Theresa Slominski, Marvin Sorvala, Joe Stremcha, David Vinje, Nicole Wojcik, Bill Yueill, Glen Ertel, Bob Maxwell, John Osterman, Bruce Tyler

Guests Attending Katie and Todd Shatusky, Owen Nadeau, Doug Kliewer (husband of Heather Kliewer and celebrating 26 years of marriage today!), Ashley Hall and Jessica Ovall (staff of CAER), Hanna Johnson (staff of Thumbs Up), Don and Jody Kriser (parents of Katie Shatusky), Cindy Archer of Kiser Construction

Program Paul Harris Paul Harris awards were Image result for paul harris

presented today.

Stewart Wilson was unable to attend and present as he had Covid after returning from his Europe visit. He is doing fine, just didn’t want to share that kind of love. Debbi Rydberg presented in his place. Rotary is a global network of 1.4 million people, and 46,000 clubs that are committed to integrity, advancing world understanding, goodwill and peace, through its fellowship of businesses, professional and community leaders. Today our club welcomed three new Paul Harris fellows that embrace the Rotary moto of service above self. They join over 80 other Paul Harris fellows in our club. Debbi provided the history of the Rotary Club organization, the Paul Harris fellowships, and the Rotary Foundation. Our Rotary Club contributed cash gifts and club points to the Rotary Foundation for each Paul Harris Fellow recognized today.

Our first Paul Harris Fellowship was presented by Debbi Rydberg to Theresa Slominski, current member, recent past president, and current secretary, for her dedication to the club and embracing Rotary’s values of service above self.

Our second Paul Harris Fellowship was for Katie Shatusky. Heather Kliewer introduced her as Executive Director and co-founder of Thumbs Up. She was recognized for her drive and deep-rooted passion for community service and helping others. She has worked with multiple businesses, started two small businesses, published and illustrated a children’s book “The Lady Bug Hug”, is a mother of two daughters, wife of thirteen years, and kidney donor to a complete stranger.

Our third Paul Harris Fellowship was awarded posthumously to Joy Nadeau, with her husband Owen Nadeau accepting on her behalf. Nicole Wocjik presented the award. Joy left us January 2, 2024, grew up in Robbinsdale, Mn and enjoyed visiting the family cabin in Big Lake, MN. Joy’s passion was education and children, and will be remembered for her kind heart, warm soul, and dedication to helping others. She was also the Director of Sherburne County Area United Way.

Gavel Passing Debbi Rydberg recapped her year as president. A year ago, her desire was to “amp up” the fun and increase the engagement of our members. Some goals were accomplished, others were not. One goal was to introduce Vocational Minutes and she didn’t do as many as she would have liked but was happy with the start of this opportunity to learn more about our fellow club members. Another goal was to increase community service and we collected lithium-ion batteries at the city electric vehicle event (and decided to continue the efforts in the Farmers Market this summer), did our annual clean up the river event, served hot chocolate at the United We Shiver event, continued to support students by providing books to third graders in Elk River, re-instated the Student of the Month program, and provided $6,000 in scholarships to graduating seniors in Elk River. We also supported fundraising events, raising $1,500 for Polio Plus, participated in the District’s Share the Love campaign to contribute to the Rotary Foundation, participated in the District’s Shark Tank event contributing $4,000 to three different projects in other area clubs, and moving our annual fundraiser to a new location and date. We had many successful programs to learn about the needs in our community and many thanks to Bruce Tyler for coordinating that! We had our first Membership Campaign and welcomed five new members this year (putting us on the cusp of moving from a small club category to a medium club category), and our club received an award from the District for Public Image.

Debbi installed Heather Kliewer as the next club President, passed the gavel and presented her with a president’s pin. Heather presented Debbi Rydberg with a gift of a crystal globe engraved with her name and president’s term, and a “past president” pin. Heather shared her excitement of establishing our goals for the next year as a club and is grateful for many current members of the board continuing during her term.

Board & Committee Updates and Reports

No regular meeting 6/27 - Taste meeting instead (it will be in the area next to our regular meeting room.) No meeting for 7/4 – Happy Fourth of July! Meeting 7/11 Club Alcohol and Safety Training Fundraising

Opportunities Delights and Dilemmas

Heather Kliewer was delighted for her 26th wedding anniversary, and her grandfather will be recognized as Roger’s Citizen of the Year.

Debbi Rydberg was delighted for the gavel passing, the Paul Harris winners, and going on a solo road trip to Kansas City to see her mom.

Katie Shatusky was delighted to have the support of her husband and family over the years, and that she has two staff members now.

Nicole Wocjik was delighted to have her daughter graduate from High School, have the grad party, and get her registered for classes at Moorhead State, and the opportunity to present the Paul Harris award for Joy Nadeau.

Julie Fish was delighted and happy for so many things and didn’t have enough cash for them all so just said she was SO happy.

Katie Harstad was delighted with her side job as a wedding officiant, and was so grateful for an extra tip from one of the couples.

Pearls of Wisdom: “Leadership is the art of giving people a platform for spreading ideas that work.” Seth Godin

Last Time We Met 6/13/2024

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, Terry Bizal, Melanie Clemons, Roger Clemons, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Katie Harstad, Thomas Kerber, Heather Kliewer, Joseph Libor, Tove Lichty, Debbi Rydberg, Alan Sakry, Theresa Slominski, Marvin Sorvala, Bill Yueill, Bob Maxwell, John Osterman, Bruce Tyler Debbi gave a brief update on Mark Kuyava. He had a defective heart valve and so he had the same surgery as before to replace it and now is on the same path of recovery again.

Guests Attending Gigi Clemons, Heather a new employee in sales for Kiser Construction, Emmitt Edwards from Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Central Minnesota Program

Tove Lichty introduced Emmitt Edwards from Big Brothers and Big Sisters. Emmitt thanked us for

having him and said that they really needed “Bigs” in this area, and even more so, exposure in this area. Their mission is to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. This Central Minnesota organization covers the Canadian border to the Dakotas and serves approximately 500 youth per year. They have well known community-based programs that meet one on one with littles 2-5 times per month for 2-4 hours at a time, school programs where high school students mentor elementary students, some organized activities for Bigs and Littles to attend as a group, and Bigs on Campus where 2 times per month/every other week there is a 1 hour program at colleges and trade schools introducing students to colleges so it is not so intimidating after high school graduation. Emmitt explained their matching process for Bigs and Littles, and there is a whole team that matches up Bigs and Littles based on interests through an interview process. Some of their success statistics are 87% of Littles say their Bigs have made a positive impact, 96% report no alcohol or drug use, and 84% report higher self-esteem. There are approximately 130 Littles waiting for Bigs, with little brothers waiting an average of 321 days for a big brother, and little sisters waiting an average of 240 days for a big sister. (In Elk River, little brothers wait approximately three and a half years for a big brother, and little sisters wait approximately two years for a big sister.) Ways we can help: volunteer on various committees, BIG online auction every April, fundraising with Go Big For Kids Sake (as a business you sponsor an activity for fun to bring potential mentors together and BBBS educates the group after the fun), follow on social media, provide opportunities to present to the community, and donations.

District Updates Board & Committee U

pdates and Reports

Paul Harris and Gavel Passing next week 6/20 (with a mystery guest coming!)

No regular meeting 6/27 - Taste meeting instead

Fundraising Opportunities Delights and Dilemmas Debbi Rydberg was delighted at how much fun her cats had with the tulle for her derby hat today.

Julie Fish was delighted for celebrating her father’s 92nd birthday, and being the officiate at her niece’s wedding a week later

Alan Sakry was delighted for the outdoor concert at the Edge Bar at 5:00 today, and the Farmers Market starting today.

Theresa Slominski was delighted for all the derby hats today.

Terry Bizal was delighted to have another successful graduation ceremony with 394 graduating seniors, and he is on day 2 of retirement that is going very well!

Birthday Bruce Tyler gave $10 to have a $5 Happy Birthday song

Taste update Cal Portner was not in attendance and so Katie Harstad gave a kickoff of the derby race with the teams on the tasteofer.com website. We had nonalcoholic mint juleps to celebrate and many hats to celebrate as well!

News and Notes from the Floor Heather Kliewer updated on the Livin Festival September 14. We will be helping, we just don’t know how yet. Lithium battery collection starts today at the Farmers Market.

Pearls of Wisdom: “What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.” Dwight Eisenhower

Last Time We Met 6/6/2024

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, Wade Bastian, Melanie Clemons, Roger Clemons, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Molly Hanson, Katie Harstad, Thomas Kerber, Heather Kliewer, Dr. Laura Mullennex, Cal Portner, Pete Reiner, Debbi Rydberg, Alan Sakry, Ashley Schultz, Theresa Slominski, Bill Yueill, Bob Maxwell, John Osterman, Bruce Tyler Guests Attending Seth Calvin, Garrett Prehatney, Ezra Keagan Anderson from ILT Academy, Dave Lucas from Sherburne County Solid Waste Ezra spoke briefly about the ILT Academy. He is a recruiter for ILT entrepreneurial academy, a free ten week program that is sponsored by the City of Becker and other economic development corporations in Minnesota. They are doing this because Microsoft bought 300 acres of land in Becker, MN and they are building a Data Center so ILT is giving free entrepreneurial training and education tools to entrepreneurs in the city so they can survive when this happens.

Program Mark Kuyava was supposed to have the program today and unfortunately, he is in the hospital so keep him in your prayers. Debbi introduced Dave Lucas, the Sherburne County Waste Administrator. Dave stated that solid waste is his passion as he is dedicated to preserving the environment. Counties are mandated by the state to have a solid waste plan in place that honors the reduce-reuse-recycle-organics recycling-waste to energy-landfill with gas recovery-and landfills. (These are in the order of preference for disposal.) They also coordinate the city cleanup days around the county, work with financial assistance for failing septic systems (low interest loan programs and low-income grant programs), source separated organics programs, and business recycling bin grant programs. The goal is to reduce landfill waste and make sure hazardous waste is disposed of properly. They did a study of school waste and determined that the trash was 38% food waste, and 11% “share table” waste (uneaten, whole items that are thrown away.) Organic food waste is a huge focus of the county.

District Updates Board & Committee Updates and Reports Membership Committee –

Julie Fish officially inducted Alan Sakry into membership today. She also shared that at the Board Meeting earlier today Garrett Prehatney and Joe Libor were voted in as two new members.

Taste Meeting Cal Portner introduced the team

competition for ticket sales that will have a derby theme this year. There are eight teams with various “silk” colors. The teams need to determine their horse’s name, and the stable team members of owner, trainer, groom, and jockey. Cal announced the teams and next week we will have an official derby start, complete with hats, and nonalcoholic mint juleps! He also shared many horse racing terms to educate the group.

The Taste of Elk River website, developed by Emily Novotny, has been officially launched and is linked to our regular website, so ticket sales are live! The website is tasteofer.com. The horse teams mentioned above will be listed on the website for the ticket purchaser to select so the website will track the team sales and Katie will report each week on how the horse race is progressing. Be sure to share your team colors and names with people you are encouraging to purchase tickets. Sponsors will be given a promo code to use to obtain their tickets from the website. At our board meeting we discussed the THC/CBD option of beverages. We decided we are not ready for that this year and so we will be doing it next year. So…. if people ask, tell them we will not have that this year but are preparing to offer it next year. Katie and Melanie are requesting help with the food vendor recruiting. Melanie will share information she has so you can provide it to the general manager or marketing person at your favorite restaurant.

Next week 6/13 the program will be Big Brothers and Big Sisters, followed by a Taste Meeting after the regular meeting 6/20 is the gavel passing and Paul Harris presentation 6/27 will be a major Taste Meeting (no program) 7/4 there will be no meeting –

Happy 4th of July! 7/11 special alcohol training

Fundraising Opportunities Card Draw – Melanie Clemons won the card draw this week.

Delights and Dilemmas Bruce Tyler had a dilemma as he shared a traffic stop incident (that may or may not have actually happened.)

Molly Hanson was delighted for her nephew graduating Elk River High School!

Wade Bastian was delighted for a new pack starting at St Andrew’s school, and he will not be here next week as he will be fishing in ND.

Alan Sakry was delighted that Jordan is home for the week!

Debbi Rydberg was delighted that Amanda was home and had Sunshine Depot pizza!

Tove Lichty was delighted for 20/15 vision with Lasik surgery, up from 20/400!

John Osterman was delighted to have been fishing on Dead Lake and caught the limit of walleye.

Melanie Clemons was delighted to have won the card game and gave a demo of the multi-faceted pen that Kiser Construction shared with the group.

Pearls of Wisdom: “Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” Arnold Schwarzenegger

Last Time We Met 5/30/2024

Today our meeting was led by President Debbi Rydberg.

Attending:

Melanie Clemons, Roger Clemons, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Katie Harstad, Thomas Kerber, Heather Kliewer, Mark Kuyava, Dr. Laura Mullenex, Cal Portner, Debbi Rydberg, Theresa Slominski, Marv Sorvala, Joe Stremcha, Bob Maxwell, Bruce Tyler

Guests Attending:

Marissa Dickinson, granddaughter of Bob Maxwell; Joe Libor Jr., City of Elk River Fire Chief; Garrett; Lloyd Greer, owner of Twin Cities Indian Motorcycles in Rogers and St. Paul and Lloydz Garage

Program Bob Maxwell introduced Lloyd Greer to talk about Lloyd Greer and Friends, a program that was started in the state of New York for at-risk youth. Lloyd shared that this was his passion as he was once an at-risk youth himself. The program took a group of these high schoolers and they built a racing motorcycle that they then took to the Bonneville Salt Flats to “race” and set a record! The program incorporated all the studies of engineering, math, history, and geography into a Friday curriculum at his shop for the entire school year in 2013. Since then, the program has built numerous partnerships with businesses and companies to provide state of the art equipment and certification opportunities. It has also expanded into other areas of study including medicine, astrology, accounting, math, and science providing educational opportunities and real-world experiences like no other.

To learn more about the program Lloyd spoke on just click the link below for an extended video.

https://youtu.be/5Jd8Mh6P5KI?si=HuFlLz6fWxlmI3xQ

District Updates District 5960 is recognizing our club for a 12% growth with an increase of 3 new members. As other clubs are shrinking, this is significant – way to go Julie Fish, our Membership Chair!

June 22 is Rotary Night with the Lynx at 7:00 p.m. To purchase tickets, go to https://5960.link/lynx Passcode: 24ROTARY5060.

The White Bear Lake Roary Club is co-sponsoring the “Skills for Disagreeing Better” workshop with the White Bear Lake League of Women Voters and the White Bear Lake Chamber of Commerce. The workshop is scheduled for Tuesday, June 11 from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. You can get more information and register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skills-for-disagreeing-better-registration 894283214167?aff=oddtdtcreator

Board & Committee Updates and Reports Service Committee – Mark Kuyava We will have a lithium battery collection site each week at the Farmers Market in Elk River from 3:00 – 7:00 p.m. We will also have a table at the Farmers Market on July 25, two weeks before the Taste of Elk River, and will need some volunteers (approximately 4 volunteers, 2 people for 2 shifts) for tickets and information. Board Meeting next week, June 6 at 11:00 a.m., before the regular meeting

Taste Meeting June 13 after the regular meeting, and June 27 will be a Taste Assembly in lieu of a regular meeting. No meeting July 4 July 11 Meeting will be Alcohol Liability and Education training for everyone. We haven’t had this training in a while, and it is a necessary component for a successful Taste event. (If we bartend as a service opportunity at the Livin’ Event, this will also be required.)

Rotary Vocational Minute featured Cal Portner

Fundraising Opportunities Delights and Dilemmas

Theresa Slominski was delighted for Minnesota to win the Walter Cup for the Professional Women’s Hockey League in this inaugural season.

Cal Portner was also delighted for this win and commented that the trophy was created by Tiffany & Co and was the same size and weight as the men’s Stanley Cup and was impressed that the women hoisted it above their heads and skated like the men do and no one dropped it (apparently the Stanley Cup has been dropped before.)

Marvin Sorvala was delighted to have attended the Junior College World Series to watch his wife’s grandson’s team play. They did not win the series, but they were glad they were able to see him play at that level.

Bruce Tyler was delighted that the garbage company took the child’s electric car that he and his wife dug out of the river, even though it didn’t fin in the garbage can.

Bob Maxwell was delighted for his granddaughter Marissa and her accomplishments, as well as his guest speaker Lloyd and his accomplishments.

Birthdays – We sang to Heather Kliewer for her birthday on May 29.

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

Pearls of Wisdom: “If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” Anonymous

Last Time We Met 5/23/2024

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

Dirk Barrett, Wade Bastian, Melanie Clemons, Roger Clemons, Julie Fish, Neil Gagnon, Thomas Kerber, Heather Kliewer, Cal Portner, Theresa Slominski, Marv Sorvala, Joe Stremcha, Nicole Wojcik, Bill Yueill, Bob Maxwell, John Osterman, Bruce Tyler, Stewart Wilson Guests Attending Seth Calvin, City of Elk River IT Manager; Joe Libor Jr., City of Elk River Fire Chief; Garrett

Program Our program was a no-show this week, so we moved right into Updates.

Taste Sponsorship information has been emailed to prospective sponsors and Theresa Slominski passed around a list asking Rotarians to sign up to contact any of the prospects they may have a relationship with. Cal Portner talked about a new way to have friendly competition for Taste ticket sales among Rotarians using a Horse Race Team approach. It was well received, and more information will be coming.

Heather coordinated an impromptu Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament to use some time and it came down to the two Floridians: Stewart and Marv, with Marv coming out the winner and he received a round of applause!

District Updates The district website has a scavenger hunt at https://www.rotary5960.org. There is a link that has you complete a survey form answering questions you find on their website. The prizes are a $100 gift card for first place, a $25 gift card for second and third place, and the deadline to participate is May 30.

Fundraising Opportunities Delights and Dilemmas

Stewart Wilson was delighted to be back from Florida, and he will soon be leaving again for a trip to Scandinavia and Scotland but will be back in time for the Paul Harris awards on June 20 and will be bringing a special mystery guest.

Neil Gagnon has a dilemma for being shamed at eating a tater tot right before the meeting started. He was delighted to have all the paperwork for the Taste submitted and the Paul Harris items ordered and on the way.

Marv Sorvala was delighted to be back from Florida, and also that his wife’s grandson is on a Jr. College baseball team that is #1 in the country and participating in the Jr. College world series in Grand Junction, CO and they will be flying there to attend.

Bob Maxwell was delighted to have been to IA for a Chicago concert, sitting in the second row, middle, and a VIP visit with the band too!

(Just had to share. A gift from our kids)

Julie Fish was delighted to welcome home Stewart Wilson and Marv Sorvala, that she had Garrett’s application for membership, for Memorial Day coming up to remember our heroes, her dad celebrating his 92nd birthday and still in good health, and that she has taken up a new sport of horseshoes and wants prayers for improvement in it because she is horsesh** at it.

Joe Stremcha was delighted to have been able to attend the Timberwolves basketball game last night as his grandmother won free tickets.

Theresa Slominski was delighted to be back from upstate New York visiting her daughter for her birthday, and thankful to John Osterman for taking the minutes in her absence.

Nicole was delighted that there are three days left of school for her senior daughter Haley, that they would be going up to their camper to stay for the weekend, for her cousin’s wife’s baby shower in Grand Rapids that also resulted in a girls’ night with her mom and daughter.

Heather was dilemma-ed for her son-in-law in Boseman MT on his way back through a winter weather advisory, and delighted for her granddaughter Olivia’s seventh year birthday.

Birthdays – We sang to Stewart Wilson for his birthday that was way back on April 3.

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

Pearls of Wisdom: “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter the words, but to live by them.” JFK in honor of Memorial Day.

Last Time We Met 5/16/2024

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

1^st off, President Debbi had me (John O) start the singing – then recited our 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

Our attendance today included Wade B, Terry B, Melanie C, Roger C, Neil G, Katie H, Thomas K, Heather K, (her meeting today with the guest speakers) Mark K, Dr. Laura, Cal P, Debbi R, Joe S, David V, Nicole W, Bill Y, David A, Maxie, John O, Buck T.

Filling out his application form, Garrett (don’t have his last name!) was present! Possible new member from the ER fire dept. – Bill Labore (sp)

Then she had our guests from the Rogers Rotary – Dave Christian and Lloyd sell their tickets ($10 ea) for the golf tourney June 11 at Fox Hollow!

Then Heather introduced our guest speakers – past District Governor Ed Marek, and Bruce & Kathy Morian – discussing their website and initiative called “ Braver Angels “. Alliance the red/blue to see eye to eye.

Braver Network nationally – “A movement for Civil Renewal”. Locally, there are presently 15 chapters attempting to ( their mission ) “Braver Angels bringing Americans together to bridge the partisan divide”. It’s an attempt to strengthen our democratic republic. As individuals, we try to understand the other side’s point of view, even if we don’t agree with it.” In our communities, we engage those we disagree with, looking for common ground and ways to work together. In politics, we support principles that bring us together rather than divide us.

Braver Angels Debates

A Braver Angel Debate is a different kind of debate in which a group of people think together, listen carefully to one another, and allow themselves to be touched and perhaps changed by each other's ideas. When done well, everyone walks out a little closer to the truth, more aware of the validity in opposing views, and with tighter community relationships. Encourages the passionate and energetic expression of ideas. Allows for the expression of nuance and ambiguity. Lets' people admit if they're not really sure which side to support.

Join the Braver Angels – just go to their website – “Braver Angels” - Braver Angels

On June 22, there is a “Rotary Night with the Lynx”. More on this as we get closer to the event. Ticket link; “ https://5960.link/lynx Passcode; 24ROTARY5060

District News – ready to have some scavenger hunt fun? We want to see if you can find these 6 items on our district website. We will have a drawing of all the complete submissions to win a !00 gift card for 1^st place, with the 2^nd and 3^rd names drawn winning a $25 gift card. Deadline for all submissions is May 30. District site is “ https://www.rotary5960.org/

Link to get the clues and submit your scavenger hunt – https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YJFR8MX

Lots of happy dollars and birthday songs to

Debbi (our usual song) and Dave Anderson wanting the totally awful song!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Card Draw - Heather Kliewer was the winner of the card draw.

Next at Rotary;

May 23 – Emmitt Edwards, Big Brothers Big Sisters. May 30 – Lloyd Greer & Friends – Twin Cities Indian Motorcycles.

June 6 - Dave Lucas, Sherburne Co. Solid Waste Administrator.

Pearl of Wisdom – there are 2 great days in a person’s life – the day we are born and the day we discover why!! William Barclay

Last Time We Met 5/9/2024

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

Attending

Dirk Barrett, Wade Bastian, Terry Bizal, Melanie Clemons, Roger Clemons, Julie Fish, Molly Hanson, Katie Harstad, Thomas Kerber, Heather Kliewer, Mark Kuyava, Cal Portner, Pete Reiner, Debbi Rydberg, Theresa Slominski, Joe Stremcha, Nicole Wojcik, Bob Maxwell, John Osterman, Bruce Tyler

Guests Attending

Student of the Month Audrey Horner and parents Adam and Kelli Horner, Calleigh Smart from Haiti Outreach, Garrett, Celina

Program

Thomas Kerber introduced Calleigh Smart, Executive Director of Haiti Outreach. The organization started in 1997, and is based in Pignon, about 90 miles north of Port of Prince. The humanitarian crisis in Haiti right now is greater than the earthquake. Haiti is a very poor country and 75% of the population lives on less than $3 per day. Haiti is the only successful slave rebellion to form a new country. Spain and France controlled originally, and both brought slaves over from Africa. The mountainous side of the country France occupied and because of the terrain they had the “stronger” slaves that were able to defeat France at that time. The price of freedom was for 100 years they had to pay France for the lost wages and workers, essentially 80% of their federal budget, leaving no money for infrastructure. Additionally, they were largely cut off from the rest of the world for trade because no one wanted to deal with “slaves” and the political bad light. Haiti has had lots of outreach from many organizations to build wells and provide clean water sources but 50% of the wells failed or became contaminated within 18 months. Haiti Outreach wanted to figure out what happened and determined that ownership and sustainability was the problem. Calleigh provided an analogy of if your parents bought you a new car every year, would you really take care of it or just wait for the new one. Haiti Outreach built a curriculum around community buy-in and leadership, involving the community rather than just “doing” for the community, implementing a pay-for-service water model. Haiti Outreach has worked with 520 communities, impacting over a quarter of a million people, and 90% of the wells are still working after 20 years. They have worked with Rotary, and Rotary International has determined that Haiti Outreach has the best model for providing clean water and created a pilot program around it. Haiti Outreach is now working on helping to create the counter-cultural ambition and empowering people to want to develop their own country. They see that sustainable access to clean water is the catalyst for social change. The community will not “show-up” to talk about laws, regulations, leadership, or social change, but they will ALL “show-up” to talk about clean water. So, they talk about water systems and in the process talk about improving their communities and help them accomplish that.

The last Student of the Month for the year was Audrey Horner. She has 5 AP classes, is involved with Speech and Debate, Swim and Dive, National Honor Society, band, and in her spare time she is involved with her church and works at the YMCA. Her favorite classes are math, world history, and literature. When asked why math is her favorite subject she said there is always a concrete answer, even if it is challenging. Her hero is her grandpa who passed away in September because he was a person who chose to live every day with a smile and helped others in any way that he could. Her favorite memory was a 7^th grade school trip to Washington DC where she was chosen to say the pledge of allegiance on National Television as part of the 75th D-Day Ceremony. Her leadership is demonstrated through attitude and work ethic, approaching every challenge with an open mind and positive attitude. Her approach to getting everything done and still having time to sleep is procrastination! She gets done what she has to do for the next hour or the next day, goes to bed every night between 10:00 and 10:30pm, and if she still has more to do for the next day, she just gets up earlier in the morning. She believes she won this award because she is hardworking, kind, and willing to face challenges.

District Updates

May is Youth Services Month for Rotary. They have a quote from Dr. Suess to promote it: “Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive that’s you-er that you!”

Our club took third place in the Conference of Clubs for Public Image in the small club category! There were 6 other small clubs participating, and 21 clubs in total competed in 9 areas.

Last night Debbi Rydberg and Theresa Slominski participated in Shark Tank and awarded funds to the three clubs participating: with $750 to a greenhouse and animal husbandry project in Bolivia, $750 to a clean water project in Tanzania for a vehicle to distribute ceramic filter buckets to communities, and $500 for an adult English instruction project for their “new neighbors” in the Columbia Heights/Fridely area.

Debbi shared a video she found of the Four Way Test sung by an Interact Club in Africa.

Board and Committee Updates

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

Terry Bizal was delighted to share the Elk River Pro-Start team took third place in the country at the competition in Maryland.

Katie Harstad was delighted (looking at the bright side) that their prep kitchen floors are squeaky clean due to three floods in the last two weeks.

Wade Bastian was delighted to share that Boy Scouts of America is changing their marketing to Scouting America, and their leadership breakfast is next Thursday, 7am at the American Legion.

Molly Hanson was delighted for the Wolves’ wins and hopes for four.

Melanie Clemons was delighted to ask Terry Bizal to explain the Elk Pride Award. It is for seniors who demonstrate good things in the building and is a $500 scholarship given to approximately 30 students.

Heather Kliewer was delighted to promote the mailbox collection of food for CAER Foodshelf.

Cal Portner was delighted to have attended three concerts lately. The Kenney Chesney concert on Saturday was very good - and he’s not even a country fan.

Debbi Rydberg shared that Neil Gagnon was delighted to be attending the Presidents’ Circle lunch with his mom today in lieu of Rotary.

Debbi Rydberg was delighted that Boomer received a promotion and now has a permanent route in Minneapolis instead of travelling all over the country.

Nicole Wojcik was delighted for her husband’s 53^rd birthday on Saturday, Prom for Haley, and 27 days until graduation (14 days of school.)

Dirk Barrett was delighted for the rewards program at Rockwoods.

We have Celina visiting Rotary today. She was a participant prior to Covid and is glad to be back. She is the owner of BroGav Solutions, a reseller of data center equipment business.

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:

Scholarship Awards for Elk River and Ivan Sands coming up.

If you can help with setup and takedown of the meeting site every week, please let John or Melanie know.

The Farmers Market starts June 13, 3-7pm and Rotary will be collecting lithium batteries every week. If you are attending the Farmers Market, check in with the table and see if they need anything.

Pearls of Wisdom:

“The way to war is a well-paved highway and the way to peace is still a wilderness.” Paul Harris

Last Time We Met 5/2/2024

Today our meeting was led by President Debbi Rydberg.

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:

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

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