President Elaine Hansen called the meeting to order at the Kitchi Gammi Club on one of those exceptionally bright winter days in Duluth.   Following the singing of our National Anthem, accompanied by Past President John Baumgarten,  invocator Sheryl Homan invited us to consider Aristotle’s wisdom, “it is the mark of an educated mind…to be able to entertain a thought…without accepting it.”  Darlene  Anderson’s fellowship report began with introducing guests from Hansen House Co., the College of St. Scholastica and the Labovitz School of Business and Economics.   Darlene then got down to business by fining Catherine Carter-Huber for St. Luke’s new hyperbaric chamber which will help in treating wounds.  Dan Bergeland self-reported that two sons-in-law were featured in the Duluth.com magazine.  Musician and teacher Rich Mowers was featured for contributing to the  Saratoga’s long-standing tradition of Saturday afternoon jazz.  And another son-in-law, Delta pilot Jim Dwyer, was named chief pilot at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, where he oversees 1,000 Delta pilots in the northeast section of the US.  Congratulations, Dan!  The talented Henry Roberts, Edie Michalski and Jon Helstrom were recognized for having their artwork displayed at the Duluth Art Institute.  Jeff Fifield eulogized Warren Lundeen, long-time Rotarian and resident of the Pike Lake area who died on January 22nd.  Warren was born in Duluth in 1921, attended the University of Minnesota where he played hockey, football and baseball.  He was on the Gophers’ hockey team which won the Big Ten championship.  A pilot during World War II, Warren ably represented Blue Cross-Blue Shield as its district representative.  A good friend of  legend Harry Newby, Warren was a famed story-teller, claiming he hit a golf ball over Pike Lake.  Of course, it was wintertime and the ball took a very big bounce on the ice!  Al Makynen graciously expressed appreciation for Rotarians’ charitable contributions to the foundation in 2016.  Tax statements with letters of thanks are in the mail.  Cathy Bergh, with help from Rob Hofmann, introduced the 14 Junior Rotarians from area schools for January and February.  What an amazingly talented group of students.  Ryan Johnson introduced our newest member, Michael Scharenbroich of the planning department at St. Louis County.  Ryan and Barb Perella co-sponsored Michael’s membership.   Dick Pelinka encouraged attendance at Tuesday’s Fish and Wild Game Dinner at G.B. Schneider’s.  Eighty members and guests are already registered, and there are a few more places available.  Again, seating is limited, but the menu will be divine.  Representing the fish category will be walleye, crappie, herring, lake trout and salmon.  Moose, venison, a variety of duck, grouse, geese and pheasant represent the carnivore category.  Accoutrements will also be on the menu.  A terrific speaker will round out the program. President Elaine updated the club on our move from the Radisson to either the Kitchi Gammi Club or the Holiday Inn.  She acknowledged Traci Marciniak, chair of the Commissary and House Committee and Jon Welles for their tireless efforts in shepherding this change.  The committee will make its  recommendation on February 13th, with the Board making the final decision at its meeting on the 15^th.  She encouraged  Rotarians to contact Traci or Jon with questions.

Elizabeth Simonson had the privilege of introducing the new President of the College of St. Scholastica, Dr. Colette Geary.  A native New Yorker, Dr. Geary is the first laywoman to serve as CSS president.  She is a clinical psychologist by training, and has vast experience in higher education as a professor, Dean of Students, Vice President of Student Services and Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning.  She is currently working on a master’s degree in theology from Notre Dame.  Since beginning her presidency 7 months ago, Dr. Geary has focused her collaborative efforts on establishing meaningful connections with Duluth’s business and educational community.  She sees these connections as vital to developing a collective vision and synergy between the college and area businesses, organizations and institutions.  These mutually beneficial connections will create a “path to prosperity” for the area’s strong economic well-being. 

After many years at the Radisson Hotel, Club 25 will be changing its location for our Thursday Noon meetings. Contract changes have forced us to search for a new home. The Commissary and House Committee  created a task force of Jon Welles, Betty George Sola, Peter Bagley and Traci Marciniak to tackle the task of researching locations. After much deliberation between the committee and the Board of Directors, our options have been narrowed down to the Kitchi Gammi Club and the Holiday Inn. We will be testing out both locations over the next few weeks to determine which would be a better fit. Please join us at the Holiday Inn on Thursday, February 9th to put the location to the test. All comments can be directed to the Commissary and House Committee via Traci Marciniak, tmarciniak@mdfoundation.org.

 

Applications for the 2018-19 Rotary Peace Fellowship program are now being accepted. The deadline for applicants to submit applications to our district is May 31st.  To view more information about the Rotary Peace Fellowship program please visit the Rotary International website by clicking here.

 

The Club 25 Grants Committee is accepting applications to provide funding to qualifying  organizations in 2017. For more information on the   criteria for receiving funding from Club 25, review the Grant Guidelines. To apply for funding, the organization should complete the Grant Application Form. All applications are due to Bri, bri@duluthrotary.org, by February 15th. If the organization received a grant from Club 25 last year, a Final Report must be  completed prior to being    considered for further  funding.

 

 

The Rotaract at UMD has been working on  several amazing service projects to benefit the community. In December, they held a birthday party at the Steve O’Neil Apartments to celebrate the children’s birthdays for that month.  The Rotaractors helped decorate t-shirts, played games, did face painting and had a pizza party with the kids. 

On a cold night in January, the Rotaractors gathered to create tie blankets to keep the youth, at Life House, a little warmer in the  frigid Duluth temperatures. 

 

The Youth & Community Service Committee will be having the Service Auction on Thursday, May 4th. This will replace our regular Thursday meeting. More details will be provided soon.

 

Are you interested in experiencing an exciting cultural exchange in Louisiana under the hospitality of  Louisiana Rotarians? If the answer is yes, please  complete the application, by clicking here. Applications are due by January 31, 2017. The exchange is  scheduled for April 19- May 3, 2017.  

To learn more about the Friendship Exchange, visit the District 5580 website http://tinyurl.com/hxxsgkm.