This week at Rotary
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
Lunch Buffet
11:30AM START
At
Kitchi Gammi Club
Annual Joint Meeting of Rotary Club of Duluth and
Kiwanis Club of Duluth
Once again, two prestigious service clubs come together to celebrate great work, community service, and abiding fellowship! Join us for our annual Thanksgiving season joint meeting with Kiwanians of Duluth! Honor our local police officers and firefighters as we enter the holiday season.
Coming in December!
Next month, Club 25 will survey each Club member as we begin developing a strategic plan together. Your input will be invaluable to the success of this process! More details to come soon!
Highlights from Last Week’s Meeting
By Patra Sevastiades
President Elizabeth Simonson rang the bell with gusto and welcomed everyone. She led the group in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the Rotary 4-Way Test. She welcomed our guests, Alex Crisp of Cartier Insurance, Morgana Kolenda—a brand new Club member! —and Sara Niemi, today’s speaker.
Greg Hansen offers the Reflection.
Greg Hansen gave the Reflection. He attended the funeral of a woman he never met and heard inspiring stories about her life. He found himself regretting that he had never had the pleasure of knowing her. Contemplating this, he challenged Rotarians to be generous in both our financial resources and in sharing our time as volunteers, such as volunteering through United Way. He reminded us that there are many remarkable people out there that we have not yet met.
President-elect Zach Walters introduces our newest member.
President-elect Zach Walters introduced new Rotarian Morgana Kolenda: Born and raised in Duluth, she worked for 15 years at Maurice’s as a buyer and she has worked at Northwood’s Children’s Services for the last four years. She serves on the boards of Congdon Park School and the Minnesota Ballet.
A hearty welcome to new member Morgana Kolenda!
“I enjoy giving back to the community,” Morgana said.
Jerry Pelofske recruits a bell-ringing volunteer.
As if on cue, Jerry Pelofske stood and asked for one more volunteer to help with the bell ringing for the Salvation Army on Friday, December 13, 11am-1pm at the West Duluth Super One.
Anthony Nordin requests donations for the Food Drive.
Anthony Nordin invited Rotarians to donate to the annual Food Drive. Our Club has supported this cause for years, helping maximize the amount of holiday food provided to the needy in our region. The Salvation Army partners with SuperOne Food stores and their vendors to make it possible. President Elizabeth Simonson thanked Past President John Baumgarten for his many years of running the Food Drive for the Club. Past President John Baumgarten took a bow.
The President Elizabeth Simonson then highlighted three upcoming events:
Wednesday, November 26, at noon. Our annual Rotary/Kiwanis joint meeting, chaired by Kiwanians. We will honor our local police and firefighters.
Friday, December 6, at 7:30am. Fellowship breakfast at the Kitchi Gammi Club. Come join us for a delicious breakfast, a chance to catch up on everyone’s plans for the holidays, and to share your stories.
Monday, December 9, at 5:00-8:30pm. Our annual Holiday Party! Join us at the Northland Country Club (3901 E Superior St). Heavy hors d’oeuvres and cash bar. Nick Hyde, DJ and violinist, will provide music for listening and for dancing! $45 per person for a wonderful evening. Please RSVP President Elizabeth Simonson that you will attend and the number of guests you will bring at esimonso@umn.edu or 218-391-4772.
It's Holiday Party time!
Jeff Fifield, the Club’s self-proclaimed “not-IT IT guy,” appealed to all Club members to consider donating a laptop (less than 5 years old) to replace the Club’s laptop, which is on its last legs.
Chair of the Day Tammy Sundbom welcomes our speaker.
Chair of the Day Tammy Sundbom introduced today’s speaker, Sara Niemi, president, Head of the Lakes United Way (HLUW) for five months. Previously she served six years of the executive director of PAVSA Duluth.
Sara Niemi shares her vision for strong, healthy Northland households.
Head of the Lakes United Way (HLUW) provides two-pronged support to households in the community, Sara told us: by funding nonprofits that benefit our community members and by providing direct services.
HLUW’s mission is to unite people and resources. Its vision is to improve the health, education, and financial stability of the community. Its scope is Greater Duluth, Lake County, and Cook County in Minnesota and Superior/Douglas County and Ashland and Bayfield Counties in Wisconsin.
What is the need that United Way responds to? Nearly 1 in 3 households is struggling to make ends meet. Across the counties that HLUW serves, on average:
11% of households are in poverty.
21% of households are asset-limited, income-constrained, and employed (ALICE)—just barely managing to keep their heads above water.
United Way aims to strengthen those households by supporting nonprofits that serve them and by providing its own services, among them:
211 telephone referral services: with one phone call, letting people know what local organizations are available to help them.
Partnerships with organized labor: this makes possible programs such as Construct Tomorrow, National Letter Carriers Food Drive, etc.
Volunteer Center: volunteers can plug into opportunities, and organizations can request volunteers. Annually, 150-200 volunteers help with 40 winter projects and 50+ summer projects. Two “Days of Caring” are held, in December and in June, for this purpose.
Community Investment Process: the HLUW accepts grant requests to impact local health, education, or financial stability.
Other HLUW programs include:
Be on Board. Trains future board members.
Twin Ports College Connect. Connects students with volunteer opportunities.
Stuff the Bus. Sponsors school supply drives and distributes materials to local schools.
Sara welcomed Rotarians to donate to United Way, to volunteer in organizations that partner with United Way, and to seek volunteers and potential board members via United Way.
President Elizabeth Simonson thanked Sara and asked her to select the 50/50 winner: Patra Sevastiades, who received $30.
Sara Niemi draws the winning ticket.
Final financial details about the Rose Sale will be provided soon.
President Elizabeth rang the bell to close the meeting.
Jerry Pelofske, Tom Homan, Past President Bob Bennet, Past President and Assistant Governor Phil Strom, Rob Hofmann, and Paisley, our Procter Jr. Rotarian enjoy lunch.
Golden Nuggets of Club 25 History
Rotary Club of Duluth – Chartered July 17, 1911
By Rachael Martin and Jerry Thoreson
We’ve come a long way, baby! Duluth was WAY ahead of the times.
Did you know a women’s Rotary Club was formed in Duluth in 1911? Yes! There was a group of Duluth businesswomen who formed the Duluth Woman’s Rotary Club. Numerous RI articles reference Duluth. Links to some of those articles below, but here’s a summary.
- Founding: Irene C. Buell, a Duluth attorney, is generally recognized as the driving force behind the club's founding. She spoke to the 1912 International Convention held in Duluth seeking support for women’s clubs. It was discussed and the Convention rejected the idea of the admission of women.
- Membership: The club was made up of women in business or professions.
- Meetings: The club met on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month.
- Officers: Other officers included Dr. Sarah L. McClaran, Vice President; Dr. Mary Conrad, Secretary and Treasurer; and Mrs. Jane Everington Scully, Chairman of the Membership Committee.
- Recognition: The Rotary International (RI) board refused to recognize the club.
- Disappearance: The club's trail vanished completely in 1917.
The club was one of several all-women Rotary clubs that existed at the time, along with a similar club in Minneapolis. The Rotary International board disapproved of women's clubs but eventually allowed them to be formed. In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Rotary could not discriminate based on gender, allowing women to join Rotary worldwide
Links for more on the history of women in Rotary
Former Club 25 Historian Rachael E Martin researched and wrote several articles about the Duluth Women’s Rotary Club, including The Women Form Their Own Rotary Club 1911-1917. From our Rotary District 5580 is an article on the History of Women in Rotary. In the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF) details the decades-long internal and legal battle that occurred. Norm Winterbottom wrote Women and Rotary A Potted History for RCHF |
Service Above Self
Duluth, MN 55802
United States of America