The Great Lakes Ballroom at the Holiday Center was abuzz with fellowship as President Tricia Bunten called her first meeting to order. Past President John Baumgarten provided the music to keep us in tune as we belted out America the Beautiful on a day where the skies were truly spacious. Past President Dan Bergeland, in his invocation, covered our blessings from the Fourth of July, to our new Rotary President, to Lutheran Social Services’ recently completed Center for Changing Lives. Past President Bob Bennett introduced our civilian guests followed by two long distance visiting Rotarians with one from Florida and the other from South Dakota. A surprisingly large crowd was present for a holiday week. However, a number of members must be on vacation as the fines for the Golden Can were light. Tom Wheeler had a guest editorial in the Duluth News Tribune where he suggested the politicians in Washington, DC be locked in a room and not let out until they get their work done. Money did flow from the recognition of 15 members’ birthdays for the month of July who have a combined total of 303 years of service to Rotary! Congratulations.  Nine of the fifteen Rotarians celebrating Birthdays in July: John Hawley, Jon Helstrom, Deb Medlin, Skeeter Moore, David Allison, Dick Carlson, Wally Holt, Jenny Peterson and Dennis Cummings. Working hard to blend into the crowd at the back of the room, now Past President Elaine Hansen was acknowledged for attending her first meeting as a regular attendee. There was a special thank you to Chana Stocke for her work as Chair of the Special Events Committee and to Skeeter Moore and Sheryl Homan for stepping in to cover for Tricia Bunten who had suddenly taken ill the day of President’s Night. The highlight of any meeting is the introduction of a new member. Eric Dott began a new tradition by introducing himself. Eric moved to Duluth eleven years ago from Minneapolis along with his wife Debora DeLuca and their two children. Both he and his wife grew up in Madison, Wisconsin where they met in graduate school. Eric works for Barr Engineering Company with a focus on hydrogeology and environmental assessment. His classification is “Engineering – Administration”. Our newest member Eric Dott with proposers Steve Yorde and Jeff Iisakka. With a new Rotary year comes new officers and directors. A few folks were unable to attend the Changing of the Guard held on June 22nd. To complete the slate of directors and officers for the coming year, Betty George – Director of New Generations, Elizabeth Simonson - Director of Communications, Chana Stocke – Secretary, and Steve Yorde – President-Elect were sworn in together. It was clear they all planned to take on their new responsibilities with a healthy dose of comradery and fun! Chair of the Day, Robin Maxwell Pestalozzi, introduced our speaker Jen Julsrud from “The Center for Changing Lives” which is an initiative of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota. The new building, which opened in June on Superior Street at 14 th Avenue East, represents a $9 million investment to provide multiple programs including housing alternatives for youth. The new facility has a neighborhood feel with easy access to the bus route. The goal is to reduce from 120 the number of youth in Duluth who each night face the challenge of not having safe housing. There are a number of reasons a young person becomes homeless. The number one reason is turning 18 while in foster care and having to leave the program. The current initiative is to generate 500 ideas to end youth homelessness. Many ideas have been generated, but more are needed. Please share your ideas by clicking here: Google surveyTricia Bunten, Speaker Jen Julsrud and Robin Maxwell Pestalozzi One of the more recent programs introduced is “Host Homes” where mentoring adults give a young person a stable, family environment. The commitment is for up to one year. However, many of the youth who are screened to be an asset to the family are able to transition sooner into independent living. With a fresh start, at either the Center for Changing Lives or with a Host Family, homeless youth see a different future and create higher self-expectations. Based upon the signs of success in other communities, and with the early results of the work done here in Duluth, we now know how to reduce homelessness. What is needed is additional ideas to reduce homelessness here and increased funding to implement the programs.
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