On a beautiful summer afternoon in the Great Lakes Ballroom of Holiday Inn, President Elaine Hansen rang the Rotary Bell calling us to order. Rotarians were in good voice as we sang America the Beautiful accompanied by Past President John Baumgarten.
For our invocation, Tom Wheeler reminded us that “change” is our only constant - and a necessary part of our lives. Just as the Queen’s Guards of Buckingham Palace have their long tradition of “Changing of the Guard”, so too do Rotarians. We gave thanks for those Rotarian leaders who have served this Club with distinction, and extended our welcome to those who now step into new leadership roles.
The fellowship report was brief, yet ably presented by Mark Eckman. We warmly welcomed two visiting Rotarians Deb and Carlton Cunningham from Lutz, FL. Jireh joined us from Twin Ports Rotaract. Mark was able to raise a few dollars for the Golden Can by fining Past President Branden Robinson for a KBJR report that pictured him supporting the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation’s Youth Leaders Fund. President-Elect Steve Yorde paid his fine in absentia for a story in the Woman Today Magazine that highlighted his wife Adele. Henry Roberts imposed his own generous donation to the Golden Can as he self-reported that his winnings from last week’s Trip Raffle were awarded to his wife Terri. A “work zone” fine was assessed to Skeeter Moore for an appearance on local television promoting his inline skating event “Skate & Sip” with promotional partner Bent Paddle. President Elaine Hansen also called-out Skeeter Moore for his cell phone intrusion during Mark Eckman’s fellowship report.
Finally, we took a moment for a Rotary Banner Exchange between our visiting Rotarians Deb and Carlton Cunningham and President Elaine Hansen.
Deb and Carlton Cunningham with Elaine Hansen displaying the exchanged flags.
Elaine Hansen thanked three directors who are completing their terms of service. We all expressed our gratitude to Dick Pelinka, Skeeter Moore and Jon Ohman for their service. Edie Michalski is finishing her term as Club Secretary, while Deb Medlin is ending her term as Club Treasurer. Past President Branden Robinson will complete his term after serving the last 5 years on the Board. Elaine made a special acknowledgement to President-Elect Steve Yorde for his service as The Gimlet Editor-in-Chief. The oath of office and presentation of the President’s Pin to President Tricia Bunten was done with honor by President Elaine Hansen. Past President Branden Robinson then stepped up to present the Past President’s Pin and Former Club 25er and Past President Larry Fortner’s ring to Past President Elaine Hansen.
President Tricia Bunten stepped to the podium to present Director Pins to our newest Directors and deliver the oath of office to Ryan Johnson, Director of Fundraising, who was present. New Directors Betty George, Director of New Generations, and Elizabeth Simonson, Director of Communications, were unable to attend this meeting, so they will take their oaths of office and receive their Director’s Pins at a future meeting. Directors in their second year of their two year terms remaining on the Board are: Barb Perrella, Director of Membership; Jeff Iisakka, Director of Club Service, and Doug Erickson, Director of Community & International Service. Club Secretary Chana Stocke and Club Treasurer Greg Hansen were unable to join us today and will also take their oaths of office and a later Club meeting.
Immediate Past President Elaine Hansen then took the microphone to share some heartfelt remarks as she reflected on her year as Club 25 President. Elaine reminded us of the past year’s theme “Serving Humanity”, and what Club 25 did to meet this challenge in a year of great transitions. She asked us to consider the tens of thousands of dollars distributed within our community, the countless hours of volunteer service to others, to look no further than to the long list of community service projects that Rotarian Dan Dock had presented in a pamphlet to our Rotary District Governor. As part of our club’s place on the international stage, she recognized Rotarian Dick Pelinka for traveling to Peru to help Dr. Linnea with our Amazon River Clinic, Twin Ports Rotaract and Club 25 staffer Mckenzie MacFarlane traveling to Guatemala for her spring break as a “working ambassador”. Together, we transitioned from Patty Shogren to Bri Braaten as executive directors, the Radisson Hotel to the Holiday Inn as our new home for Club meetings and office space. Elaine then requested that the following remarks be placed in The Gimlet:
“Thank you to: Dick Pelinka and Jerry Pelofske for always being there to assist with making things work; Jeff Fifield for his behind the scenes assistance along with Jay Ott and Bill Gravelle; John Baumgarten for our weekly decisions of anthems - that has been truly special; Tricia and Steve for the partnership we have formed to provide a future vision for our Club.
Thank you to all of our members, committees and the Board for the support and for giving me the opportunity to serve you this year as your President – we had fun and embraced change and transition, supported each other, and faced it together in a united front – all the while showing how Rotary Served Humanity and making our Club stronger.”
President Tricia Bunten unveiled the 2017/2018 Rotary International banner “Making a Difference”. She then began her official duties with a speech that reminded us of much of what Immediate Past President Elaine Hansen shared in her remarks: We Make a Difference! Even though our club is smaller than it was just a few years ago, we can and do make a significant impact in our community. We have provided coats and boots for children, we distribute food to the hungriest among us, and we have provided experiences for young people that will remain in their memories for a lifetime. To emphasize this point, that great things come from even the smallest initiatives, Tricia shared a quote from the Dalai Lama: “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito in the room”. She then shared her goals for the coming year: 1) Stabilize and grow club membership. Achieving a growth in membership will have a direct impact in our ability to serve our community while increasing our financial resources. 2) Newly installed Rotary International President Ian Riseley has challenged all Rotary Clubs in the world to plant one tree for each member. Club 25 will strive to do this by Earth Day 2018, making a difference in the beauty of our community and our fragile climate. 3) Under the leadership of President-Elect Steve Yorde, we will engage a strategic planning process to continue the great work and service Club 25 provides for the Twin Ports. Tricia asked all Rotarians to re-pledge our individual commitment and passion for all we do while we enjoy the fellowship and fun that is in being a Rotarian.
Tricia closed by inviting us for a night on the waterfront at Pier B to celebrate Immediate Past-President Elaine Hansen’s year of service 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. President’s Night will replace our Noon meeting on Thursday, June 29th.
Immediate Past President Elaine Hansen and President Tricia Bunten
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.
The Trip Raffle drawing took place last Thursday, June 15th. With your help the Club raised $7,017 to give back to the community. Thank you to all who participated! Below are the winners:
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.
On Wednesday, June 21st, Rotarians spent a sunny afternoon serving lunch to the children at Valley Youth Centers of Duluth for the United Way Day of Caring. Thank you to Peter Dock, Dan Dock, Dick Pelinka, Bob Bennett, Mike Orman, Tom Homan and Dale Johnson for volunteering at the event.
Tom Homan, Peter Dock, Dan Dock, Dick Pelinka, Bob Bennett, Mike Orman and Dale Johnson pose before getting down to work.
Peter Dock and Tom Homan pass out chips as Dick Pelinka, Dale Johnson, Mike Orman and Bob Bennett prepare hot dogs.
