Rotary Club of Duluth #25 and its many members experienced a sweeping youth movement Thursday that will be remembered for a very long time. This date marked our annual Junior Rotarian Day when the 2018-2019 corps of Junior Rotarians took over our weekly meeting. These young future leaders took over all the jobs from their Rotarian counterparts working as greeters and 50/50 sales among other duties.

 

 

President-elect Michelle Buria, sporting her “Class of 1989” Cathedral High School letter jacket, rang the Rotary Bell calling us to order followed by Rotarians singing
The Star Spangled Banner accompanied by pianist Past President John Baumgarten. President-elect Michelle led our Reflection with an acknowledgement that we were in the presence of our future leaders: young people who will do wondrous things for our community in the coming years.

 

The Fellowship Report began with President-elect Michelle seeking self-reports. There were a few surprises! Marc Seigar kicked off the fines by owning up to being a suffering Arsenal (English Premier Soccer League) fan as his team has been on a losing streak recently. Rob Hofmann reported that he successfully recertified as a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), a professional accreditation that is shared by only 6,000 in the world; among them being Traci Marciniak, a newly minted CFRE who also “kicked the golden can.” Jay Ott celebrated the birth of a new grandchild, while Dave Holappa welcomed “Denver” – a black lab into his family. Speaking of new family members, Robin Pestalozzi announced the news that she and husband Stephen are expecting their first!

 

President-elect Michelle invited the 2019 winner of Club #25’s 4-Way Test Essay Contest Lilly Latteral to the podium. Reading from her essay, Lilly delivered a message on deep personal truths, truths of caring for others, treating others with integrity, listening, and above all kindness – as measured by the 4-Way Test.

 

New Generations Chair Marc Seigar then invited representatives from Harbor City, East High School, Denfeld, Proctor and Hermantown schools to report on their Honorarium Projects. Harbor City plans to improve its theatre technology with LED lights. Hermantown will address a broken water fountain that is causing leaks in their new locker room. Proctor will purchase photographic equipment in support of their school paper and other school events. East split their fund for two programs: “Circle of Friends” – a student-to-student mentoring program, and “Dress Wear Closet” that provides dress clothing for students for job interviews or formal events. Denfeld has created “Hunter Hut” that provides fellow students the essentials for better hygiene.

 

Our program was a delightful performance from Harbor City’s theatre program. We were entertained with a small sample performance from their family friendly musical “Tuck Everlasting – The Musical.”