On the second Thursday of February, Club 25 Rotarians, joined by our February Junior Rotarians, assembled in the Lyric Conference Room at the Holiday Inn. President Tricia Bunten, fresh from her sojourn to Florida, rang the Rotary Bell calling us to order. All were in good voice as we sang America the Beautiful with accompaniment by Past President John Baumgarten. Assistant District Governor and Superior City Counselor Warren Bender, guest of Dick Pelinka, delivered the invocation with a call to remember Rotarians who have recently passed: Mark Eckman of our Club and Rod Campbell of Superior Rotary, of whom Past District Governor Earl Rogers was called upon to share a heartfelt reminiscence. Invocator Warren Bender reminded us what we are called to believe and remain true to – Faith, Hope and Love.
The Fellowship Report was delivered by Past President Bob Bennett who brought in a few dollars to the Golden Can. Jon Ohman’s 11 year-old grandson, Grady, won his age and weight class last Saturday to become the Arkansas State Wrestling Champion! Past President Elaine Hansen was quoted throughout a DNT article about the end of the Labovitz Award at UMD. New father (for a second time) Ryan Johnson self-reported the birth of daughter Kennedy Lee. Jay Ott also self-reported, giving a nod to our program speaker and shamelessly promoted his firm’s publication – Positively Superior. Completing the Fellowship Report, President Tricia Bunten reminded us all that the Winter Olympics will begin soon. She thanked Club 25 for the privilege of attending the International Rotary Convention in Seoul, South Korea as President-Elect in 2017.
Chairperson of the Day Steve Yorde introduced our guest speaker, Superior Mayor Jim Paine, with some background of his service to the community and our country. Jim served in the U.S. Marine Corps in Japan immediately following high school in Superior. Then he earned degrees from UWS and UMD where he received a Master’s Degree in Advocacy and Political Leadership. Later he was vice chair of the Douglas County Board of Supervisors. This background set the stage for a lively presentation by Mayor Paine: Vision of Superior’s Future. Mayor Paine’s theme was “a city that works for everyone.” It was a comprehensive vision for Superior’s future, encompassing a balanced budget and a focus to make Superior a vibrant city. Under his leadership, Superior has retired the city’s half-million dollar deficit while providing meaningful tax cuts to Superior residents. Even with these tax cuts, Superior is funding investments in the police and fire departments to help keep residents safe. Housing is an ongoing challenge for the city. If affordable housing is not available, many working families have no opportunity to prosper. To address this issue, Mayor Paine’s administration established a Task Force that includes experts from Minneapolis who are taking stock of what properties may be “recycled” for a better use. Mayor Paine believes that reinvesting in housing stock by providing incentives to families and developers will increase property values within Superior that, in turn, will improve Superior’s quality of life. Superior intends to make $250,000 available for this effort and provide families with working capital to improve their futures. One of the great qualities of the City of Superior is access to the outdoors. With Lake Superior, the St. Louis River and municipal forests and trails, residents and visitors have many opportunities to embrace nature’s abundance. Improvements are planned to create even more opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. More access to beaches, an improved trail system for hiking and all-terrain vehicles, and an archery range are in the works. Transportation improvements in all forms are also in the works for Superior. Mayor Paine shared that $18 million will be invested in roads, sidewalks and bike paths. He said he hopes to make Superior a “Walkable City.” Leading by example, Mayor Paine walks to as many meetings as possible. Business development is also a key to Superior’s success. Mayor Paine shared that the recent announcement of the closing of the Younkers store is not of concern, as he sees this as an opportunity to grow the number of passionate, locally owned businesses. Local businesses are a better fit for Superior as they rely on local vendors for their supplies and local residents as employees. Big-box stores pay among the lowest taxes of any business and are constantly seeking even lower taxes. Local business owners live, work and invest in their communities. The fact that more locally operated retail businesses are filling storefronts in downtown Superior is a great source of pride to Mayor Paine. Retail alone does not make for a healthy economy for Superior. Mayor Paine shared that new developments in industry and manufacturing will increase wages and create a more robust tax base. Even though employment is the highest on record, there is room for improvement. The anticipated Nemadji Trail Energy Center project represents one example with a $1 billion investment. Mayor Paine mentioned there are other projects in the works that he will speak of in the future. If there is any legacy that Mayor Paine wishes to leave, it’s that Superior is “a city worth talking about.”
Chair of the Day Steve Yorde, President Tricia Bunten and Speaker Jim Paine, Mayor of Superior
The Club 25 Grants Committee is accepting applications to provide funding to qualifying organizations in the Spring, 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.
My favorite past times are watching hockey, playing golf and motorcycle riding.
My wife, Rochon, is with Allete. Our favorite hobby together would be walking our Labrador “Kevin” on the Hartley trails. The activities we do together include running our son from one event to the next, going to the cabin and cooking.
My son, Griffin, plays hockey, golf and enjoys riding dirt bikes.
An interesting fact about my family is that my Great Grandfather was a Wisconsin State Senator.
I like the mission of Rotary on an international level as well as our local club level. The members I have gotten to know are quality people with the very best of intentions. The outreach our club makes to local organizations in need makes me proud to be a Rotarian.
I was involved in the building of our Club’s Amazon medical clinic in Peru. I had never traveled outside North America, so the entire experience was incredible. I still receive a newsletter from the clinic which outlines all the help they have provided to local people each year. The facility and overall experience were truly amazing.
Back for a return engagement, the Harbortown coffee crew will be appearing before and after the February 15th meeting at the Holiday Inn, to offer for sale, Harbortown Coffee. Price is still $10 per bag and all proceeds go to worthy Harbortown Rotary causes!
Rotary is arranging a trip to Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, India on March 2nd– 13th to administer polio vaccinations. Rotarians in India indicate that this trip may be the last opportunity to be involved in helping end polio. If you have ever wanted to be a part of eradicating polio, this would be the trip to do it. The 12-day trip will cost $2,449 per person (double occupancy) or $1,060 per person (single supplement). This price does not include airfare. For more information please visit: www.howardtours.net.
As reported at our meeting 2 weeks ago, the Cloquet Rotary Club is holding an event to raise funds for area veterans. The funds will be used to help them adjust, cope and heal after returning home from active duty. Part of the funds will also go towards the Cloquet Rotary Club and its mission.
This event’s focus is to educate our communities about Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSS) and how it affects veterans and their loved ones. It will include a speaker from “Pets Loyal to Vets,” an All-American dinner and a silent auction. There will also be entertainment, featuring “Letters From Home: The Patriot”.
When: Saturday, March 3rd (5:30 PM Social, 6:30 PM Dinner and 7:30 PM Entertainment)
Where: AAD Shriners Building (5152 Miller Trunk Hwy.)
Registration: Tickets on sale until February 19th. Call Aspenridge Chiropractic at 218-879-1942.