Thursday, March 12, 2026

Lunch Buffet

Doors Open 11:30AM

At

 

 

Deyona Kirk is the founder and executive director of Divine Konnections, Inc. (DKI). She is dedicated to transforming the lives of Black, Indigenous, people of color youth and young adults by providing them affordable housing and comprehensive support. DKI's mission is to create a model of community care that encourages those who have been helped, to give back, fostering a cycle of service and support.

 

 

2302 Commonwealth Avenue

Duluth, MN 55808

 March 11, 2026, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

 

We have an opportunity to help fight hunger in our area! Our Rotary Club has partnered with Second Harvest Northland to assist them in their mission to create a hunger-free Northland at their new facility in West Duluth.  

For more information about Second Harvest Northland visit: https://secondharvestnorthland.org/

Or Contact :Daniel Maki

 

President Zach Walters opened the meeting and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and the Rotary 4-Way Test.

 

President Zach Walters opens the meeting.

 

Club 25 fellowship—creating meaningful personal connections.

 

Anthony Nordan stepped to the podium to offer his Reflection. He noted that in Luke chapter 10, a man seeking to minimize his responsibilities by narrowing his definitions asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus told the parable of the good Samaritan. Today’s speaker, Anthony said, provides medical care to everyone who comes to her clinic in the jungle of Peru. Likewise, he said, Rotarians must be generous when we answer the question, Who is my neighbor?

 

Anthony Nordan offers a stirring Reflection.

 

President Zach welcomed our lunch guests: Judy Sage, wife of Allen Anway, Patti and Latasaija, Jr. Rotarians from Denfeld High School; Lukas, a Jr. Rotarian from Harbor City International School; Linnea Smith, M.D., today’s speaker; Jerry Goth, our speaker’s friend; and Bob McClellan, from Superior Rotary.

 

Dr. Bob McClellan invites us to a wonderful fundraiser on March 25.

 

When it was time to self-report, Judy Rodgers reported that when she recently attended Superior Rotary, a member offered free knit winter hats decorated with the new UWS logo. She immediately recalled Nate Kesti, recent speaker and Outreach Specialist for Downtown Duluth’s Clean & Safe Team, and his request for donations of socks for people living on the street. Judy scooped up 25 hats. Five days later, they had all been given away by Nate! Dr. Bob McClellan noted the recent passing of Rotarian Julius Erlenbach, former chancellor of UWS. He also invited us to attend the Superior Rotary’s upcoming 14^th Annual Craft Beer & Wine Tasting fundraiser, to be held on Wednesday, March 25 on Barker’s Island, 5:30-8:30pm, $40/ticket (tickets: www.new.biddingowl.com/). He recently helped build a school in Guatemala with fellow Rotarians. “It was life-changing,” he said, “You should do it, too.”

 

Jon Ohman: Sign up today for our Kentucky Derby Rotary Gala & Auction!

 

Pitch-man Jon Ohman stood at the podium and reminded everyone to register for the upcoming Rotary Gala & Auction, to be held on Thursday, May 7, at the Kitchi Gammi Club. Then, with astonishing aplomb, he donned a frilly pink hat to remind everyone of the theme, Kentucky Derby! Every Rotarian is encouraged to attend or donate $100 if unable to attend. Sign up and/or donate using this link https://duluthrotary.org/events/2026-rotary-gala-auction/.

 

Club Treasurer Jen Smith aims to streamline members’ billing experiences.

 

Jen Smith, Club treasurer, announced that she has just sent out digital invoices for March dues. (1) The invoices show past charges and payments, and at the bottom of the page is a link allowing you to pay your dues online. (2) If you would like to set up a reoccurring automatic monthly payment, it is now possible! Please reach out to Jen (at jsmith142000@yahoo.com or in person). (3) You are also welcome to pay by check, either mailing it or giving it to Jen at a lunch meeting.

 

Chair of the Day Past President Bonita Nelson introduces our speaker.

 

Past President Bonita Nelson introduced our speaker, Linnea Smith, M.D. Dr. Smith told her astonishing story. She had several plants from Peru in her home, and she decided to visit the place they originated. Off she flew from Wisconsin to Peru. In the jungle, she did see the beautiful plants, and she encountered beautiful people in need of a physician. This sparked an idea that would change her life: she would open a clinic in a place so remote it could be reached only by boat.

 

The original clinic was a single room in a thatched-roof home built on stilts, part of an ecotourism compound marked by the barest simplicity. The stilts protected the home from the regular surges of the Amazon, which can rise as much as 35-40 feet. Cooking in the tiny kitchen was done over burning coals. Mosquito nets protected those sleeping from mosquito-borne diseases.

 

The tiny clinic had space for a cot, two chairs, and a desk. It had no electricity. When Dr. Smith returned to Wisconsin, she was interviewed on Wisconsin Public Radio. A Rotarian from Club 25, the late Jon Helstrom, was listening to the radio and was inspired. Dr. Smith needed a bigger clinic; he was an architect. Might the Club be interested in arranging to build a clinic in the jungles of Peru? Yes! In 1993, Club 25 Rotarians helped build the clinic designed by Jon Helstrom for Dr. Smith. They stayed in the ecotourist lodging nearby. Construction materials were transported down the Amazon and carried on shore.

 

The first clinic built by Rotarians for Dr. Smith. Note the long wooden sidewalk.

 

The clinic measured 30’ x 60’ and was built on stilts. It had an elevated wooden sidewalk that extended 150’ to the edge of the river. No rock is available in the Amazon for shoring up the banks, and as time passed, chunks of the riverbank collapsed and were carried away by the relentless river. By 2008, the edge of the river was only 15’ from the clinic’s front door!

 

Dr. Smith reached out to Jon Helstrom, and a fresh team of Rotarians was assembled to build a new clinic using new architectural blueprints. The new clinic would be located not on the Amazon but on a stream that fed into it. It would be larger. Three groups of Club 25 Rotarians each spent a week helping build the clinic for Dr. Smith. At the end of the project, one of the Rotarians, Bill Harrison, passed away, with his wife and daughter beside him. A plaque was added to the building, “Bill Harrison Memorial Clinic,” in his honor.

 

Week 3 of building the second clinic in 2009.

 

Jon Helstrom, Dr. Linnea Smith, Past President Bonita Nelson, and two other volunteers beside the Rotary Club 25 plaque on the second clinic.

 

In 2011, Dr. Smith received funds from Rotary Club 25 that allowed the introduction of solar panels and LED lights. and would include a lab and a room for dental work.

 

On average, the clinic receives $2 from each patient it treats, not nearly enough to cover the bills, pay the staff, and treat the thousands of people who come to the clinic each year. Dr. Smith sometimes receives grants and often receives donations from tourists who have visited the clinic. “I’m not as poor as I thought I was,” they often remark. Visiting Rotarians see the Club 25 plaque on the clinic wall and are inspired to give, too.

 

Dr. Smith now has two nurses and one lab technician. She writes letters six times a year to raise funds for the clinic. She brings some supplies from Wisconsin each time she visits home, and she also obtains supplies in Iquitos, Peru.

 

You may order Dr. Linnea Smith’s book HERE

 

Dr. Linnea Smith, a woman of vision, grit, and good humor.

 

She treats everything—snake bites, piranha bites, spider bites, stingray bites—to basal cell cancer, to abscesses caused by poor nutrition, to burns, to tetanus, to HPV. She gets as many people vaccinated as possible: women and children show up at the clinic, but the men try to avoid needles by staying at the river. Dr. Smith goes to the river with hypodermic needles.

 

This tough, funny physician won over the audience, who were left amazed by her grit and dedication to the people of the Peruvian jungle. To donate to her clinic, visit www.amazonmedical.org/.

 

Next week, another person inspired by need and vision will speak: Deyona Kirk, founder and executive director of Divine Konnections.

 

The 50/50 winner this week: Past President Barb Perrella!

 

Overheard after the meeting: Past President Bonita Nelson said of rebuilding the clinic in Peru, “It was a wonderful project for my year as president, and Jon Helstrom made it happen!”