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President Elaine Hansen welcomed the club on a gorgeous sunny spring day and then turned to Past President John Baumgarten who led the group in a bright rendition of America the Beautiful. Dan Mundt’s brief invocation reminded us to put service above self. Gary Bubalo provided the Fellowship Report, stating, “We’re going to raise a little money today.” He started by fining past UMD hockey players who may have previously played in the NCAA Frozen Four in the 80s. Skeeter Moore gladly paid. Sheryl Homan received a sales award from Realty Alliance. Allen and Dorothy Anway were recognized for being photographed at the Northshore Scenic Railroad’s locomotive dedication. Warren Bender, Assistant Governor, self-reported about attending the Belknap Groundbreaking project, and welcoming the first saltie of the year. Edie Michalski celebrated a new grandchild, and honored her grandson who received the Whiteside Scholarship from Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation. Dave Nolle noted that many Club 25 members were featured in pictures from Duluth Days at the Minnesota capital, and our politically active Rotarians stepped up to pay. Tom Young reminded Rotarians to sign up for the Prime Rib Dinner and Auction. The event will be on April 20th at 5:30. There will be no silent auction this year. Instead, there is a more substantial raffle, and Rotarians can take advantage of a deal – 120 tickets for $100 – by contacting Tom before April 19th. There are multiple opportunities for Rotarians to put service above self. Jim Schwartz found the three volunteers he needed to fill backpacks on Friday, April 7th. “That’s one of the ways our club makes a difference in the community,” President Elaine declared. The Boys & Girls Club is hosting a carnival on Wednesday, April 12 and interested Rotarians should contact Bri Braaten to volunteer. As the sun outside the Great Lakes Ballroom warmed the ground, Michelle Buria presented a check for $4,000 to Emily Richey of the Duluth Community Garden Program. This grant will help them complete infrastructure projects in the gardens, like cutting down trees for more sunlight, plowing gardens, and creating a soil amendment fund for volunteer site coordinators. The program is also seeking volunteers for their board and for other activities in the garden plots around the city; visit their website to get involved (www.duluthcommunitygarden.org). Michelle Buria and Emily Richey Jeff Bradt, CEO of Woodland Hills, was the Chairperson of the Day and introduced the day’s speaker as being an example of how hard work, determination, and trustworthiness can lead to a remarkable life. Chad Tafs presented the program titled “A Long and Challenging Road to Success.” He started by recognizing Judge Gerald Martin, the judge who sentenced him and who was in attendance for the presentation. “If he hadn’t sent me to Woodland Hills, who knows where I would have ended up. Thank you, Judge Martin, you saved my life,” Tafs said. He told the club that he started stealing at 4 years old, when others guided him into criminal activity. He stole his mom’s entire vacation savings, stole from a teacher’s desk, and stole lunch tickets to sell for money. “Anything I could do to hustle, I did,” he said. People started to see him as just a liar and a thief, adding “that’s the reputation that followed me.” When he was a young teenager, he was caught breaking into homes and sentenced to Woodland Hills. It was intended to be a 90-day program. After approximately 70 days, he went home on a weekend and was caught shoplifting at Target. He went back to Woodland Hills for nine months. “It made me realize that what I knew as my life didn’t have to be my life forever,” he said. Woodland Hills showed him that he can be whatever he wants to be if he is honest and holds himself personally accountable. After he left Woodland Hills, he still suffered under his bad reputation. He was accused of stealing a $3,000 moneybag, and his probation officer said he belonged in prison. But Judge Martin found him not guilty. “My classmates, my family - nobody wanted me around them,” Tafs said. Three days after he turned 18 he took a job selling magazines door to door across the country. He went on to other full-time jobs, while also working a paper route in the evenings so that he didn’t feel the need to steal or harm people. “Anybody in a desperate situation will do what they need to do to survive, and I know I couldn’t put myself in that position,” he told the club. He started selling flooring and now has a thriving, multi-million dollar flooring business in Texas that is growing rapidly. “My whole dedication to Woodland Hills is to teach people like me… that just because they’ve done some bad things in their life, it doesn’t define their entire life,” Tafs said. “The kids at Woodland Hills are there because they haven’t had the right people around them. Those kids deserve a chance, for someone to love them and teach them that they are better than they say they are.” He now gives his time, and funds, to supporting Woodland Hills and other causes, saying, “I want to help people, like the people at Woodland Hills. They’re just innocent kids put in difficult circumstances. They didn’t choose to be born into those circumstances, and now we need to get them out.” Chad Tafs and Jeff Bradt During the question and answer portion of the program, Chad Tafs stated that “givers gain” when they are helping others and giving back. As a testament to our speaker, Dave Gaddie, the winner of this week’s 50/50 drawing, stated that there were some extra tickets for the 50/50 that were unsold. He decided to pay for them - his return was maybe not 10-fold, but there was an immediate return from his spontaneous gift. |
