Past President Branden Robinson stepped up to the microphone in the Great Lakes Ballroom of the Holiday Inn for our meeting today as President Elaine Hansen is in Atlanta with President-Elect Nominee Steve Yorde attending the 2017 Rotary International Conference, and President-Elect Tricia Bunten is in Colorado with family.  We began our post- Flag Day meeting appropriately singing the “The Star Spangled Banner” accompanied by Past President John Baumgarten.

For our invocation, Jeff Iisakka reminded us of the “miracle creation of radio” and the wonder of how electromagnetic radiation can travel through the air from point “A” to point “B” and provide us with beautiful music, sports, and news. Historically, Guglielmo Marconi has been credited for inventing “the wireless”, but Jeff shared that Nikola Tesla was actually the inventor! We gave thanks for the many blessings mankind has received to create such wonders.

Fellowship Reporter Jena Evans welcomed a number of guests. Steve LaFlamme hosted Oneida Properties co-workers Patty McGaffey and Terry Netzel.  Gary Melander brought his father and former Club 25er, Don Melander.  After a warm Rotary welcome to our guests, Jena got down to the business of “The Golden Can”. Tom Young was called upon to make a “work-zone” contribution as he was pictured in an advertisement for his insurance agency in the Chamber’s Xpress newsletter. Dean Casperson and family were featured in the Congdon Neighbors publication celebrating Dean’s father – Carl Casperson’s 92^nd birthday!  Brett Kinney was fined – for all things – turning a young 50 years today.  With all kinds of excitement surrounding this weekend’s Grandma’s               Marathon, all who will run, have ran, will watch or otherwise participate were duly fined for this civic privilege.  All those who support Minnesota Public Radio as members or donors to this statewide treasure generated some extra funds with a trip to “The Golden Can”. Jena concluded the Fellowship Report with a heartfelt recognition of fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers to mark this Sunday’s Father’s Day celebration. 

Chana Stocke invited all Rotarians to attend President’s Night at Pier B Thursday, June 29^th.  We will celebrate the year that was as we honor President Elaine Hansen. The social hour begins at 5:00 pm with dinner at 6:00 pm. Chana encouraged us to invite non-Rotarian guests to share in the celebration and fun. Jim Schwartz shared a fishing report and a “boatload” of gratitude for the Club 25 fishing excursion held on Friday, June 9th.  This annual Club 25 outing introduced a “new school” of young adults from Woodland Hills to the joys of fishing and fellowship. Jim thanked fellow Rotarians for their service as Rotarian fishing guides.   Mark Boben, on behalf of Gary-New Duluth Development (aka GND-Rec), thanked Club 25 for a recent grant to fund a number of free concerts this summer and invited all Rotarians to enjoy these evening gatherings.  Past President Branden Robinson then shared the news that Club 25, along with Barnes & Noble Booksellers, will hold a Book Fair for Lowell Elementary on Friday, June 23rd. We are encouraged to visit Barnes & Noble  that day as 10% of the purchase price will be donated to Lowell Elementary School. He also asked Rotarians to speak with Bri about Duluth Sidewalk Days – July 12th– 14th  for volunteer opportunities at a Rotary Club of Duluth booth that will provide Club 25 a great promotional opportunity for prospective members.

Chairperson of the Day Mark Boben introduced our guest speaker and Eco Rotary member Patty Mester.  Patty Mester is the Regional Network Manager with Minnesota Public Radio (MPR). Patty wears many hats in her leadership role at MPR here in Duluth. She is a registered lobbyist in the State of Minnesota, an accomplished fundraiser, and works one-on-one with numerous corporate sponsors who, along with MPR Sustaining Members, keep MPR programming on the air. Patty shared a brief history of MPR that began on the campus of St. John’s University under the leadership of a young Bill Kling. MPR is celebrating 50 years this year and is the largest network of stations in the National Public Radio family. We learned that MPR is an important community  partner in Minnesota with three distinct areas of service: MPR News, a service that provides unbiased coverage of the important stories in Minnesota and the nation. MPR has a balanced mix of listeners, too, as defined by a survey where 44% identified themselves as liberal, 35% as conservative and 11% as independent.  Classical MPR provides programing that cannot be found anywhere else. In addition to classical music on the radio, Classical MPR oversees outreach programs that aid statewide music educators, provides used instruments for those who cannot afford them, and annual scholarships for high school music students to attend college through a state-wide performance competition known as Minnesota Varsity.  The Current, the youngest of MPR’s offerings, draws a younger demographic and has been successful in promoting many homegrown musical talents such as Trampled By Turtles an Low, among others. A vital service MPR provides the entire state is the Emergency Alert System. As MPR has the largest network of stations and transmitters reaching 95% of the state, it is the platform all other media outlets use to make emergency announcements. Patty concluded by inviting Rotarians to visit their new studios and offices in the Alworth Building. Our community has a great local partner in Patty Mester and MPR.

 

 

Join us for a night on the waterfront at Pier B to celebrate President Elaine Hansen on Thursday, June 29th. The cocktail hour begins at 5:00 pm with dinner served at 6:00 pm. The cost will be $35.75 for Rotarians and $51 for guests. Please register via our website by clicking here.

 

Downtown Duluth Sidewalk Days are July 12th-14th and Club 25 is going to have a booth set up outside of the Holiday Center. Volunteers are needed 11:00am– 1:00pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  Please consider helping spread the word about Club 25. To volunteer please email Bri at bri@duluthrotary.org or call 7222-0451.

 

Please join us and bring a guest to these exciting programs and events that are taking place in the fourth quarter:

On Friday, June 9th, thirty kids from Woodland Hills joined Rotarians and other volunteers for a fishing event on the St. Louis River. This year the fog joined the party and so did the fish. A number of fish will end up in the pan! The largest fish was 29.5 inch and was returned to the river. Thank to Rotarians Jon Ohman, Chuck Chairs, Jim Schwartz, Dale Johnson, Tony Sega, John Moir, Bob Bennett and Mark Eckman for volunteering their time and expertise. A big thank you to special guides Blake Yorde, Bob Mass, Tim Maki and Tom Ondracek who helped make the event     possible. Many thanks to Bernick’s, Miner’s and Fisherman's Headquarters for their donations.