A difficult childhood in Morgan Park led Chaf Tafs into trouble at an early age. He was 14 when he was sent to Woodland Hills for burglarizing fifty Duluth homes. At 18, he took a job selling magazine subscriptions door-to-door and left Duluth with nothing except his determination NOT to fail. Today, twenty-plus years later, he’s a successful businessman, a philanthropist, and—most importantly—a loving husband and father. It’s a fascinating and inspirational story.
WHAT A MEETING! In a packed room on a beautiful spring day, the fellowship and enthusiasm of our members was on full display. After singing America The Beautiful in a coordinated and rousing manner, Greg Hansen gave us a strong invocation which later received hearfelt applause. It was entitled “Why Rotary?” He then listed ten reasons starting with number ten: the Meals, Roses, Programs, Polio Plus, Young Rotarians, Bright Lights (lighting the Lift Bridge and Enger Tower), Fellowship, Smiles, History, and, of course, People. Jena Evans cheerfully presented the fellowship report for which she described as a “slow week” After introducing guests, she called Cathy Bergh forward for her article in the Duluthian about “The Center For Changing Lives” being built by Lutheran Social Services. Sheryl Homan received the 2017 Maters Circle Award for her outstanding sales performance and customer service skills. John Foucault was interviewed on 88.1 Radio this week discussing his experience as a CEO. Karol Sowers was appointed to the Depot Foundation Board, and Adam Sippola, son of Carlene Sippola, was given the artist award from the Depot Foundation. Catherine Carter Huber self reported that she spoke at Skyline Rotary last week about St. Luke’s Hospital.
Ryan Johnson and Natalie Zeleznikar encouraged every one to attend the Prime Rib Dinner and Auction. There will be some changes in the auction to streamline the time and foster fellowship.
Superior Rotarian Warren Bender introduced visiting Byron Alvarez of Centro Cristano de Guatemala. Byron thanked Rotarians for their support of this important childrenʼs program in his country. Rotarians recently helped to build a secondary school in Guatemala and assisted with the programs that Byron described. Because of widespread hunger in the young children, CCCG has an early morning breakfast program before school. To deal with the problems of parasites, E coli infections and dental disease, medication and clean water are supplied. Also, toilet facilities and wood floors in homes are being encouraged, along with basic health education. Another example of Rotarians reaching out to the children of the world.
Before introducing club members Steve Yorde and Melanie Goldish, President Elaine talked about the generosity of Club 25 to the community of Duluth for the past one hundred years. She added, though, that we have challenges and must start thinking about being “The Club 25 of the Future”, and we have to be transparent about problems and changes that need to be made. Steve, our soon to be President– Elect, while mentioning increasing member enthusiasm, pointed out our decreasing membership trend and accompanying decrease in operating revenue . This trend is similar to that of most North American Rotary Clubs, but membership is actually increasing in Asia. In spite of these trends in the last year, we have served the children of Duluth by donating $50,000 in grants to several organizations; such as The Boys and Girls Club, Kids Closet, and Damiano Center. Melanie then took the podium to lead a “table talk” with each table discussing and tabulating answers to the following questions: WHAT KEEPS YOU AT ROTARY? WHAT CAN BE IMPROVED? WHAT CAN WE DO TO ATTRACT OTHERS TO ROTARY? The discussion was lively, and with time running short, only a few ideas were shared, but all will be tabulated and considered in depth by the officers.
Rob Hoffman gave a moving eulogy for one of Club 25ʼs favorite members - Curt Aherns. Curt had a long and distinguished medical career involving both teaching and serving patients, and is remembered by club members for his friendliness and irascible sense of humor. One of his neighbors reported that even all the dogs loved him, and his daily walks were lengthened by his conversations with every one he encountered. His legendary love for selling Rotary roses helped raise money for many years, and he knew how deserving the projects were. He will be sorely missed.
If you missed the meeting last week or if you did attend and you would like to share additional ideas on the questions that were asked, a Google Doc has been created to allow you to contribute. All responses are anonymous. Please click here to access the Google Doc. We appreciate your feedback!
The Rotary Office is officially in the Holiday Center at the address listed below. The office still has long way to go to get settled, but everything is now in one space. We appreciate the help we have received from Wherley Moving Systems, Citon Computer Corp, Integrated Office Solutions, Northern Business Products, and Charter Communications to make this move happen. We also appreciate all of the Rotarians that have assisted with the move and donated office furniture. We are looking forward to settling in to our new space!
The Youth & Community Service committee has organized a Spring Celebration Carnival at the Boys & Girls Club in Lincoln Park. The event will take place on Wednesday, April 12th 4:00– 6:00 pm. There are many volunteer opportunities available for this event.
1. 30 dozen cookies are needed for the event. We currently have 6 dozen volunteered.
2. On Wednesday, April 5th 4:00– 5:00 pm, the committee will be meeting in the new office to assemble some of the games for the carnival.
3. On the day of the carnival, volunteers are needed to help with setup at 3:30 pm and needed to run the games for the youth during the event.
If you are willing to volunteer for any of the above opportunities please email Bri, bri@duluthrotary.org, or use the online sign-up sheet by clicking here.
Get ready for a first-rate District Conference as we come together and celebrate, "The Great Spirit in Rotary," April 27-29, 2017, at Fortune Bay Resort and Casino in Tower, MN. The Rotary Clubs of Quad Cities and Virginia have planned this Conference with you in mind! There are excellent speakers, breakout sessions, activities and events you won't want to miss. Before you register, please take a look at the Schedule of Events posted on this Site Page. This Schedule is subject to change, but those changes would be minimal. PLEASE REGISTER BEFORE APRIL 10, 2017. Registration after April 10 must be done on-site. Online registration can be done be clicking here.
The Rotary Club of Duluth- Club 25 invites all area Rotarians and their guests to our Prime Rib Dinner and Auction on Thursday, April 20th which begins with a social hour at 5:30 pm. The location of the event is Marshall School 1215 Rice Lake Rd., Duluth, MN, 55811. The cost of the event is $35 per person. If you would like to attend please click here to register you and your guests. . We hope you can join us for this great Rotary event!
Rotary Club Ancona Conero invites you to join them to tour the Marche Region in Italy. The tour is organized in support of “END POLIO NOW”, and introduces members and their guests to the treasures of the Marche Region – its architecture, art, painting, nature, and cuisine. Even though the Marche is less well-known among Italian regions, it encompasses the country’s most distinctive features; hence its definition as “Italy in one Region”. The tour will take place May 22nd– 27th. The cost of the tour will be $950 (depending on the exchange rate). For more information on the tour please click here. If you are interested in booking a place on the tour please click here or contact Mr. Luigi Cafasi (Rotary Club Ancona-Conero) phone: +39 3356404673 or email: luigicafasi@gmail.com.
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