It may have been a dreary spring day in Duluth, but it did nothing to dampen the warm fellowship as the Rotary Club of Duluth met for its weekly meeting.

 

With the ringing of the Rotary bell, all rose and were
welcomed by President Steve Yorde. Following the singing of the “Star Spangled Banner,” Past-President Dick Carlson asked all to pause for a moment of reflection focusing on the coming of the spring season. As we sow seeds in our gardens, so may we also sow positive seeds in the garden of life so others may reap the benefits of our sowing.

 

President Steve asked members to come forward and self report, adding their dollars to the Golden Can. Past-President Phil Strom immediately rose so that he could share the networking benefits of Rotary. As many know, Phil's wife Babs broke her femur last week, had surgery and now is being transferred to Ecumen for rehab. He wanted to thank Jena Evans for helping in so many ways to make certain that not only was a room available but also she and the staff were so welcoming. John Foucault thanked the Silent Auction Committee for all their hard work, even when he missed a meeting in order to attend a Twins game. And he put in a hearty plug for the upcoming Dinner and Auction on May 9. Past-President Tricia Bunten proudly announced that her oldest son Brian will be graduating from Iowa State University. Congratulations, Brian. And I did hear several comments from the group about “How could she have a son that old!”

 

Chana Stocke shared that she and Berb Perrella attended Art Work at Fine Piano and enjoyed hearing Bob Kase playing his trumpet. He is playing at that venue the last Friday of every month at 7:30. Perhaps a good idea for a fellowship time for Rotarians to gather and be entertained by some great music. Paul Helstrom praised the work of his wife Buffy as she organized the Harbor Highlands community clean-up day. Jim Schwartz dropped $2 into the Golden Can in order to announce that a few more hands are needed at the food bank and also at the Piedmont Elementary year-end party. Please let Jim know if you can help at either venue. A thankful Jeff Bradt shared that The Hills had received a $20,000 check from Essentia to use for their Neighborhood Youth Service (NYS) program.

 

Congratulations were given by Past District Governor Deb Warner to Club #25 on receiving the Presidential Citation Award at the District 5580 convention. Club #25 met all four areas of service under the leadership of Past-President Tricia Bunten. Way to go Club #25!

 

The latest international service project was working on a school construction project in Guatemala. Chair of the Day Renee Mattson shared that half of the citizens of Guatemala live below the poverty line earning less than $1.25 per day and 60% cannot read or write. A new school was the project that took Chana Stock, Rotaractors McKenzie MacFarlane and Alyssa Sorenson, as well as Deb Warner and her husband Ed to “The Land of Trees.” The existing school in the village of San Francisco was one room and inadequate. The new school building will house three classrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom for the children in grades 1-6. They were warmly welcomed as they worked alongside community members who have invested not only time but money to the construction of the new building. Chana, who as a banker likes figures, stated that the new school cost is $44,000 with $32,000 coming from Rotary District 5580 ($5,000 of that from our club); $5,800 from the government; and $6,300 from local community members. The contributions of the local people is impressive knowing their limited incomes. The school is not completed at this time, but the local people are continuing to work to see it finished and ready for their children. They promised to send pictures to show the progress in coming months so we can celebrate the school's completion with them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Boys & Girls Club Spring Carnival has been rescheduled to Tuesday, May 28, at the Boys and Girls Club in Lincoln Park, 2407 West 4th Street. Set-up at 4pm, games start at 4:30. We need 21 volunteers total (Rotarians, Rotaracts, and family) to help wit the games! Easy and fun and you's smile a lot! To sign up, please email Dan Dock at dandockdc@aol.com