Rotarians gathered in fellowship on this day – Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day in the Lyric Conference Room at the Holiday Inn. President Tricia Bunten rang the Rotary Bell calling us to order. As proud Americans we sang The Star Spangled Banner with accompaniment by Past President John Baumgarten. Jeff Iisakka delivered the invocation by sharing some of the 20 definitions of the word SERVICE as found in the American Heritage Dictionary. One of the best is #11 – “An act of assistance or benefit to another or other’s favor. Favor – A gracious, kind, or friendly attitude. An act evidencing such an attitude; act of kindness. An act requiring sacrifice or special generosity. Friendly regard shown by a group or individual”. All Rotarians are asked to search our hearts for the true meaning of SERVICE and FAVOR through Rotary, and ponder the many blessings we have during this holiday season.
The Fellowship Report was delivered by Past President Phil Strom who welcomed two visitors: Jeff Fifield brought Mark MacDonald, Episcopal Church Bishop, and Natalie Zeleznikar hosted Sydney Simpson who is an intern at Keystone Bluffs. Credit went to our very capable administrative team, Bri and McKenzie, who reported seeing a number of Rotarians at the DSSO Christmas concert. Past President Bob Bennet, Tom McCabe, Jeff Iisakka, and Past President Bill Gravelle were called to “kick the Golden Can” as were any unreported Rotarians who attended. December 6, 2017 marked the one hundred year anniversary of Finland’s independence! All proud Finns were asked to contribute to honor their “native land”. Assistant District Governor Al Makynen, Dave Holappa, Michelle Buria, Gary Melander and Jeff Iisakka were a sampling of Finns who answered the call.
Following the Fellowship Report, Rotary Club of Duluth #25 bestowed the rare honor of the Service Above Self Award to longtime Rotarian Tom McCabe. His service to our club and to the community exemplifies what it is to be a Rotarian. Examples of Tom’s service shared included his work in the Amazon jungle during the construction of a Club #25 sponsored medical clinic, his personal Rose Sales that raised more than $50,000 of revenue that goes back into our community, his countless hours of volunteering in service projects throughout the year, and far more accomplishments than can fit in this issue of The Gimlet. CONGRATULATIONS TOM MCCABE!
President Tricia Bunten, Tom McCabe and Past President Phil Strom
Chana Stocke, from the Special Events Committee, reminded us of next week’s Club #25 Holiday Party which will be held during the lunch meeting on December 14th. The event will include an "upscale" lunch, cash bar, Christmas dessert and fun games, including prizes.
Jerry Pelofske still has a need for Salvation Army Bell Ringers! Volunteers are needed to ring bells for the Salvation Army. All locations are indoors Downtown. Those volunteering will meet at North Shore Bank of Commerce at 11:30 am to collect supplies. For those interested, there will be lunch after bell ringing at the Lyric Kitchen in the Holiday Center. Final date: Friday, December 15th 11:45 am- 1:00 pm.
Jeff Fifield asked all Rotarians to sign up for the Annual Rotary Club #25 Family Bowling Party on Thursday, December 28th at Skyline Bowl – Hermantown. All are encouraged to join in the fun. In addition to bowling, pizza, salad and pop will be provided. Last year’s winning bowling team captain Rob Hofmann is anxious to pass along the trophy to the next deserving Rotarian! It is recommended that a 4x4 truck (with heavy-duty suspension) be made available to haul the trophy away.
Recent Past President Elaine Hansen took to the podium to introduce the next slate of officers for the coming year: President– Elect Nominee Michelle Buria, Secretary– Elect Jeff Bradt, Board Members Jena Evans, Robin Maxwell Pestalozzi and Dan Dock. The vote to elect these officers will take place on January 11th. As Elizabeth Simonson transferred her membership to Cloquet as part of her new position at Cloquet Memorial Hospital, Sheryl Homan will serve as an interim Director for the remaining year and a half of Liz’s term.
President Tricia Bunten followed by announcing December birthdays to a large number of Rotarians who were serenaded with a rousing round of “Happy Birthday”.
Chair of the Day, President- Elect Steve Yorde, began our program with a graphic that shows our current decline in club membership. The decline is not unique to our Club alone, and he sees this as more on an opportunity than a crisis. One opportunity to improve membership is the creation of a Corporate Membership plan. This initiative is being led by our Club’s Strategic Planning Committee. A not surprising reality is that Club #25’s average age is 60 and up. Yet, we have members who represent the Millennial Generation – those individuals born between 1982 and 2000. There is an opportunity among this group as they are known to be “socially conscious” and sustain active networks among their peers. One challenge this population holds for traditional service clubs such as Rotary is this population tends to shy away from structured organizations. However, tapping into this population’s desire to “make an impact” is where a new membership strategy is required. Membership Committee co-chair Jena Evans then shared a prepared summary report on an exercise all Rotarians participated in back on March 30th. Results with comments were distributed to tables for review.
This summary document captured comments in answer to three questions:
1) What keeps you in Rotary?
2) What can be improved?
3) Attracting others to the Club?
Rotarians were then asked to revisit, comment, and record thoughts on these questions among their tables with each table assigned a specific question. The balance of our meeting was spent on this, and comment sheets were collected at the completion of this exercise. A new summary will be presented at the December 21st meeting.
