by Steve Yorde
President Elaine Hansen welcomed all to our meeting at the Kitchi Gammi Club and introduced Past President John Baumgarten to accompany us on the piano and the singing of our National Anthem. Past President Dick Carlson, today’s invocator, poetically offered a prayer of thanksgiving from an ancient hymn writer, that God’s divine hand is in all of creation. There was no hiding from Fellowship Reporter Peter Bagley’s booming baritone as he rounded up dollars for the Golden Can. Steve Burgess was recently named APEX’s new board vice president. Don Ness was fined in absentia for being credited in the DNT with leading the Parks and Rec’s strategic planning process. Dick Pelinka’s famous nephew Rob Pelinka was named LA Lakers’ general manager by Magic Johnson. Peter claimed that while Dick may get Lakers tickets, he (Peter) is no relation to the Vikings’ Lester Bagley and cannot get Vikings tickets. Jenny Peterson was in the news last week as the old boathouse on Park Point was demolished. John Baumgarten also pitched in some bucks to celebrate the new boathouse being constructed last summer, with bathrooms, locker rooms, boat storage and a fitness workout area for the rowers of all ages. Jay Parker was dinged for two items, retiring from Essentia after 35+ years and the birth of his new granddaughter recently. Denny Falk recently announced his retirement from UMD after 40 years. Two bucks, please. And Henry Roberts stepped up to pay for an extensive DNT story on Hallet Dock, founded by former Club 25er Cliff Grindy and “Hank’s” father in law, Turk McGiffert. And finally, Past President Mike Orman’s daughter Angela Stocke sold Bella Flora after 16 years in business.
President Elaine then announced that she had received a message from John F. Germ, president of Rotary International that TODAY, February 23, 1905 was the actual day Paul Harris hosted the first Rotary meeting. What a great “service above self” legacy that emerged from that initial meeting!
Proud Rotarians Dick Swenson, invocator Dick Carlson and Dan Bergeland pictured after Thursday’s meeting at the Kitch. These three have a combined 103 years of Rotary service, just shy of the 112 years since Paul Harris hosted the very first Rotary meeting, February 23, 1905 in Chicago.
Bill Abalan gave a heartfelt eulogy for his “good friend, good Rotarian and downtown business leader,” Al Markham, who was in Club 25 for twenty-plus years. Al and Leo Spooner owned Allenfall’s, an exceptional men’s clothing store downtown. Al and his wife Eulie had three sons, all successful in their own right; two of their granddaughters, Ruby and Ivy, were Rotary Exchange students to Spain and Chile. Al was a booster of UMD athletics, the Duluth Retriever Club, Ducks Unlimited, and he and his wife were expert marksmen in trap-shooting.
Announcements and opportunities for service were presented by Ryan Johnson (the Prime Rib Dinner & Auction on April 20), Jeff Bradt (Second Harvest Food Bank opportunities on March 3 and 8, the Spring Celebration dinner at Life House on April 3 and the Boys and Girls Club Spring Celebration Carnival on April 12).
President-Elect Tricia Bunten discussed the club’s re-structure from 27 committees to 15. Each member will receive an email this afternoon on signing up for committees for 2017-18. She also noted that the new Club Service Committee combines everything related to a regular meeting, invocation, fellowship, 50/50 ticket sales, sergeant-at-arms, etc. President Elaine referenced the Program Suggestion forms on the tables, as programs are a key part of the Club 25 experience. Please share your ideas on good programs.
Dick Pelinka introduced Deven Lakhan, Duluth East student who recently spent a year in Taiwan. He opened his comments by speaking “how are you?” in the Chinese language. Taiwan was first known as the “mysterious East India” jungle island. It was settled in 1624 by the Dutch East India Company. Prior to World War II, the Japanese invaded the island and created infrastructure for water, food, railroads not ever seen before. The Japanese influence was so great that the primary languages there today are Chinese, Japanese and now English. Over the past 30 years, Taiwan has strengthened its relationship with the United States by growing trade, education and its economy. The Taiwanese have also seen growth in wind turbine technology, transportation and tourism. At this time, things are “looking up” for Taiwan, despite its proximity to China.
Our club’s Rotary Exchange student from France, Louli Ponce, pictured here with today’s speaker Deven Lakhan from Duluth East whose presentation on his year in Taiwan was informative. Pictured on the right are Deven’s grandparents, Jill and Koresh Lakhan. Louli resides with Deven’s parents while she is here, studying at Duluth East.
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