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The
'Power of One' that Started Red Wing Rotary Club
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The
following reports were submitted by Red Wing Rotary Club presidents for
each year.
1986
- 1987
Jerry Borgen, Charter President
| District
Governor |
Robert L.
Johnson |
| President
Elect |
Bruce Tollefson |
| Secretary |
Roland D.
Meffert |
| Treasurer |
Richard Bennett |
| Club Service
Director |
Todd Keute |
| Community
Service Director |
Roger Palmquist |
| International
Service Director |
Chuck Richardson |
| Vocational
Service Directo |
Mark Tesdall |
| Sergeant
at Arm |
Gordon Haugen |
My Rotary Year, by Jerry Borgen
The GSE team from Australia
was Len Sutherland, team leader; Ross Walker, sugar cane farmer; Neil Moran,
solicitor; Geoff Grant, teacher; Ray Cross, senior technician; and Barry
O'Sullivan, detective. On their day of arrival from Australia, we walked
up the backside of Barn Bluff to stretch their legs and get an overview
picture of Red Wing.
They enjoyed
it. I think their presence for four days caused our Club to gel. They
were a perfect match and our members still retain ties with some of these
GSE team members.
Kim Paanenan from Sweden was our first youth exchange. Kim was great!
We tried a couple of fundraisers that first year. The first was a sweet
corn sale at River City Days in August. We picked the corn in a field
near Oronoco in 100 degree weather. The weather in Levee Park was just
as hot or hotter. Kyle Nordine fainted and fell into the gravel near the
railroad tracks. He had to be transported to the hospital by an ambulance.
He suffered facial cuts and bruises.
Our second fund raiser was the Kiddy Carnival at the Red Wing Mall during
Shiver River Days. I helped plan it, but missed the event because of heart
bypass surgery. Bruce Tollefson had to run Rotary when I had my
brief span in the hospital.
Roland Wilsey was the organizer of our Club and provided the flame that
got us going. He provided the money and expertise for our basics and the
talent for a good solid base for our Charter members. He brought to our
Club each of the District Chairs in the various Avenues of Service.
We started on solid ground with 23 Charter Members - thanks to Roland.
We have grown to over 60 members and have achieved a good reputation in
Red Wing for great service.
1987
- 1988
Bruce Tollefson, President
| District Governor |
W. G. Gus
Doty |
| President
Elect |
Todd Keute
|
| Secretary
|
Roland D.
Meffert |
| Treasurer |
Roger Anderson |
| Club Service
Director |
Paul Reding |
| Community
Service Director |
Tom Stringer |
| International
Service Director |
Leland Finholm |
| Vocational
Service Director |
Arne Skyberg |
| Sergeant
at Arms |
Gordon Haugen |
My Rotary Year, by Bruce Tollefson
Our second year was an exciting
one. We were growing, and the enthusiasm generated in the first year continued
to build with new members. Rotary International had voted to admit women.
Since we had attached a letter with our Charter application requesting
RI Board of Directors to admit women, we were all very pleased.
The first woman to join Red Wing Rotary during this time was Susan Gillmer.
Immediately Susan became active. Other women followed her, Sonia Morphew,
an assistant in the Chamber of Commerce office and Marge Truwe, who both
joined early on.
We took first place in an ice cream cone building contest during a dairy
month promotion at F&D Supply. I particularly believe Susan Gillmer's
role in helping us win the trophy. We still have the trophy.
Our second youth exchange student was Carlos Lacuma from Spain. Carlos,
like Kim, helped us continue the enthusiasm of Rotary Foundation programs.
While the Australian GSE team from Sweden help gel our Club, the GSE team
from Sweden this year taught us more about the international sharing of
Rotary. I think, however, we are all still a bit embarrassed over the
lunch they were served. Members of this year will recall the 'famous turkey
wings' - and the wings weren't the drummy part either! We've had our laughs
about that lunch since, but at the time, we just had red faces.
Rotary entered Shiver River Days activities in January by sponsoring Donkey
Basketball. As I recall, it was a great addition for this winter celebration.
We also sent students to Camp Enterprise and Youth Leadership and our
youth scholarship program. We began promoting outbound youth exchange
program.
Gordy Haugen was named a Paul Harris Fellow by his son Jack.
Our Christmas Party was a gala event with spouses. Charter Night Banquet
was preceded with golf, and we were on our way to establishing some Red
Wing Rotary traditions.
The year went fast and was perhaps highlighted most by our increase in
membership and the admission of women members.
1988
- 1989
Todd Keute, President
| District Governor |
Robert (Bob)
Miller |
| President
Elect |
Leland E.
Finholm |
| Secretary |
Steven A.
Johnson |
| Treasurer |
Roger Anderson |
| Club Service
Director |
Paul Reding |
| Community
Service Director |
Susan Gillmer |
| International
Service Director |
Roland Meffert |
| Vocational
Service Director |
Dave Turner |
| Sergeant at
Arms |
Gordon Haugen |
1989
- 1990
Leland Finholm, President
| District Governor |
Eugene F.
Driessen |
| President
Elect |
Arne Skyberg |
| Secretary |
Kyle Nordine |
| Treasurer |
James Welsch |
| Club Service
Director |
Lee Neste |
| Community
Service Director |
Gene Kennedy |
| International
Service Director |
Gary Fryer |
| Vocational
Service Director |
Marlene Kosobucki |
| Sergeant at
Arms |
Gordon Haugen |
My Rotary Year, by Leland Finholm
This summary covers all of 1989
and the first six months of 1990. President Todd Keute accepted a position
in Virginia, Minnesota and departed our company in early 1989. President
Lee Finholm accepted the Club President position in January 1989. At the
end of December 1988, the club membership was at 40, which was an increase
of 4 members from the start of the year. It has been an up hill battle
to get a net gain in membership with the numbers of individuals that are
leaving to job changes and/or moves. At the end of June 1988, the membership
was at 41 and June 1990 at 43 members, but at mid-year membership was
at 47 members.
In January of 1989, Sally Fleming, New Zealand, arrived as our 1988-89
Rotary Youth Exchange Student. Nicole Aiken selected as our first out
bound exchange student. She was selected to Italy for the year. In July
1989, we received Izumi Torizawa from Nagoya, Japan as our 1989-90 Youth
Exchange Student. It was an extremely exciting time for our club in International
Youth activity for the year.
Also in January we sponsored Mutt Races at the Red Wing River Shiver Day
celebrations. This was a time for the club to participate in the winter
and the community. It was a fun time for all.
In April of 1989, we hosted the GSE team from South Africa. Bruce Tollefson
was the coordinator of the activities. The families of Roger Sammon, Rick
Adams, Gary Fryer, Leland Finholm, and Tom Stringer hosted the team members.
A club event with the GSE team was a family potluck supper.
In the spring of 1990, we hosted the GSE team from Taiwan. The team was
made up of four women and a male team leader. We hosted a special evening
with them at the Villa Maria where they showed us some of their traditional
clothing and art.
The District Conference for 1989 was held in Minneapolis at the Marriott
Hotel with Districts 5950 and 5960 jointly. This turned out to be a very
successful District activity as nearly 2000 Rotarians attended during
the weekend. The Club hosted a hospitality suite with Hastings and Cannon
Falls.
In May of 1989, Susan Gillmer and Gene Kennedy coordinated the Rotary
effort of sponsoring the Special Olympics at the Athletic Field. Fifteen
to twenty club members inflated and handed out balloons. We had a typical
Minnesota spring day - COLD!!
In 1989 and 1990, the Club also sponsored a Mississippi Shuffle team in
June, coordinated the efforts of the River City Days Parade - chaired
by Roger Sammon, had the annual Charter Night Banquets, and the late summer
beach party at Friedrich Point. We also sponsored students to Camp Enterprise
and Leadership Camp.
The Club provided a $500 Scholarship to Red Wing High School Senior Dawn
Wick with the alternate being Maribeth Schwartz. We purchased bicycles
for Red Wing Bike Rodeo contributed to YMCA Youth in Government and many
other organizations.
1989 marked the year the Club made a commitment to the Foundation by awarding
two Paul Harris Fellows annually and made it retroactive. Jerry Borgen,
Bruce Tollefson, Rollie Meffert and Roger Sammon were so honored. Gordy
Haugen was also named a Paul Harris Fellow in February of 1988 by his
son Jack. In 1990, both Todd Keute and I received Paul Harris Fellows.
Many other events and activities occurred during the 18 months of 1989-90
and the Rotary Club became stronger.
I have continued to remain active both at the Club and in the District
levels.
1990
- 1991
Arne Skyberg, President
| District Governor |
Robert L.
Haynes |
| President
Elect |
Paul Reding |
| Secretary |
Marge Truwe |
| Treasurer |
James Welsch |
| Club Service
Director |
Susan Gillmer |
| Community
Service Director |
Joe Dube |
| International
Service Director |
Marlene Kosobucki |
| Vocational
Service Director |
David Anderson |
| Sergeant at
Arms |
Gordon Haugen |
My Rotary Year, by Arne Skyberg
We kicked off our first meeting
in July with Senator Dave Durenberger and Lt. Governor Joanell Dyrstad
(‘Doanell Jyrsdad’ as was printed in the program. In the way of an apology,
I introduced myself to the gathering as ‘Sarne Arberg’. To this day, I
still get called ‘Sarne’).
The entire community was invited to this event. The newspaper and radio
were there and we did get a bit of press.
In August, we said our good-byes to our third exchange student – Izumi
Torizawa. Izumi came in July of 1989 and had overlapped about six months
with Sally Fleming from Australia. Izumi’s farewell presentation to the
Club was not only an emotional one for her, but also for the Club. Both
she and Sally came to all of our noon meetings and had become an integral
part of our Club. We were to receive a student from Argentina in January
of 1991, but for some reason that did not pan out.
We had been looking for a fundraiser when Marge Truwe received information
on selling roses. Her enthusiasm for the project got us going and we held
our first Rose Day in October of 1990. We chose the opening of hunting
season for the sale with the idea that hunting men would feel guilty and
buy roses for their wives or girl friends. That first Rose Day proved
to be quite successful!
Paul Reding got our Club interested in adopting Pottery Pond Park, a new
addition to the community. We planted trees and voted to budget $2,000
per year toward Pottery Pond. This was one of Gordy Haugen’s favorite
projects.
We also encouraged Elise Wrolstad (who has since become Lee Finholm’s
daughter-in-law) to apply for the GSE team to Australia. She did
and was selected. Lee Finholm was also selected as the alternate team
leader for GSE that year.
The District asked us to host the Midterm Assembly and PETS in January
of 1991. It was the first time we had done anything this major, but is
was in good hands under Rollie Meffert’s chairmanship. We sent Jim Hermlen
and Joelle Wyatt to Camp Enterprise. Marlene Kosobucki chaired our involvement
with the International Special Olympics in Minneapolis.
By popular demand and after a wrestling fiasco, we brought back Donkey
Basketball for Shiver River Days and challenged the Kiwanis and Red Wing
teachers.
We hosted the GSE team from Australia who gave their presentation at our
annual Charter Night Banquet.
We were also awarded with a District Governor’s Citation. The year was
a busy one and because of my new position with Red Wing Shoe, I had to
rely on Rollie Meffert, President-elect, a lot. Paul Harris Fellows
were awarded to Marge Truwe and me in May.
1991
- 1992
Roland Meffert, President
| District Governor |
Eugene L.
Dickinson |
| President
Elect |
Kyle Nordine |
| Secretary |
Ruth Howe |
| Treasurer |
Greg Kuglin |
| Club Service
Director |
Sonia Morphew |
| Community
Service Director |
Marge Truwe |
| International
Service Director |
Tom Stringer |
| Vocational
Service Director |
Mike Wilson |
| Sergeant at
Arms |
|
My Rotary Year, by Roland Meffert
It was a special privilege to
be President of the Red wing Rotary Club. I was able to stand in front
of the Club each week and look at eager, willing and dedicated fellow
Club members. Whenever volunteers were needed for the Parade, GSE, Youth
Exchange, Mississippi Shuffle and all of the other club events, our members
were the best at raising their hands and saying, “I can help”. The “I
can help” became the “We can help” in an instant, which resulted in our
projects to be accomplished in a very successful manner. My admiration
for our fellow Club members is a great feeling that continues to grow.
The monthly Board meetings were a very successful process that led our
Club. The Directors and Officers were the inspirational leaders of our
Club. As President, it was very gratifying to see the Directors and Officers
bring a proposed project to the meeting, formulate a game plan, present
it to the Club and follow the project to a successful conclusion. The
discussions were beneficial and supportive to other Board members. The
Board members made my role as President very easy – be there to call the
meeting to order and then close it!
Adrianne Sikorski from Brazil was our Youth Exchange Student, and the
GSE team was from the Philippines. Again, both fed into the enthusiasm
of our members for these two programs.
Although I was no longer President, one of my fondest personal memories
was the District Halloween Youth Exchange Party that we hosted in October
of 1992. This was truly going to be a new experience for our members.
I volunteered to chair the event and instantly had four others volunteer
to serve on the committee. The resourcefulness of our Club members was
the catalyst that made this a great event for the students, the District
and our Club.
Paul Harris Fellows were awarded to Mike Wilson and Gene Kennedy.
It is an honor to be a member of the Red Wing Rotary Club with the rest
of you as fellow members.
1992
- 1993
Kyle Nordine, President
| District Governor |
Jerome Showalter |
| President
Elect |
Gene Kennedy |
| Secretary |
Kristin Asp |
| Treasurer |
Greg Kuglin |
| Club Service
Director |
Ruth Howe |
| Community
Service Director |
Paul Reding |
| International
Service Director |
Gary Fryer |
| Vocational
Service Director |
Tom Ahern |
| Sergeant at
Arms |
|
My Rotary Year, by Kyle Nordine
The 1992 – 1993 Red Wing Rotary
year was filled with many interesting events. We began the year by touring
the newly remodeled Goodhue County Historical Museum. Our first project
for the year was the River City Days Parade with over 105 units. Our RCD
concession sales went well with pop and peanuts, but does anyone want
to buy any fireworks glasses with Randy’s coupons? We might still be able
to help out.
August kept us busy with Mississippi Shuffle with our Club sponsoring
two teams. We also sent Ruth Howe, Club Service Director, to Guatemala
with a Witness for Peace team from Red Wing. At the end of August we held
our annual steak fry hosted by Kevin and Ann Florine. August also ushered
in our Club brochure. (I told Ruth she couldn’t go to Guatemala unless
she got it together before she left.) We awarded Joe Goggin a Paul Harris
Fellow, the first non-Rotarian to receive this honor.
We welcomed our Exchange Student, Tina Szanberg, from Sonderberg, Denmark.
We assisted with the new shadow program sponsored by Leadership Red Wing.
In October we held our annual Rose Day sale. We sent Kate Jarmuz and Veronica
Tharalson to Camp Enterprise and we hosted the District Halloween Party
for the Exchange Students. The party was held at Twin Bluff Middle School
and Rollie Meffert chaired the event. Over eighty Rotary Exchange Students
and Roteract had a great time, an event both students and Red Wing Rotarians
will remember for a long time.
We began 1993 with a bang and a bunch of stars. We helped to host and
volunteer for the first ever Star of the North Games to be held in Red
Wing. Paul Reding chaired our committee and the event was extremely successful
and cold! We selected Tammy Foley for Japan and Ben Wells for Chile as
our outbound Youth Exchange Students.
New members who had joined to date were Mike Dube, Craig Stockel, Sheryl
Voth, Steve Perkins, Jim Ferguson, Laurie Smith, Don Rutten and others.
In February, we honored our sweethearts for lunch. We toured the new Republican
Eagle building as part of Vocational Service. In May we welcomed members
of the University of Minnesota Golden gophers football coaching staff
including coach Jim Wacker.
We ended the year by saying good-bye and honoring our fallen fellow Rotarian
Gordy Haugen. A pine tree was planted in his memory at Pottery Pond, a
project Gordy was very fond of in Red Wing.
Paul Harris Fellows were awarded to Rick Adams and me.
1993
- 1994
Gene Kennedy, President
| District Governor |
Gerald Meigs |
| President
Elect |
Marge Truwe |
| Secretary |
Mike Wilson |
| Treasurer |
Patricia Winget |
| Club Service
Director |
David Turner |
| Community
Service Director |
Kristin Asp |
| International
Service Director |
John Goeppinger/Sheryl
Voth |
| Vocational
Service Director |
Mark Merchlewicz |
| Sergeant at
Arms |
Robert Burggren |
My Rotary Year, by Gene Kennedy
Again, we organized the River
City Days Parade and our concessions brought in a few dollars. It was
followed by another successful Rose Day in October.
We were fortunate to have two Youth Exchange Students. Martin Jaigma from
Estonia and Sabastine (Sep) Pufpaff from Germany. Both were a real fit
for our Club and the school. Everyone very well liked them. They both
became very active in our Club and attended our noon meetings. We still
talk about them and we were sorry when they had to leave.
Because two of our members had become active with the newly formed Sister
City Commission in Red Wing, we were asked to sponsor the official signing
agreement with Red Wing’s first Sister City, Quzhou, China. The event
was held in the Sheldon and Jerry Borgen was the emcee.
We also got to understand our Saltash, Cornwall – Red Wing Rotary connection
better when Muriel Bellingham, widow of Gordon Bellingham, visited our
Club. Ruth Howe shared the committee and prepared a Red wing Rotary scrapbook
for Muriel. This event was attended by a lot of District people, and Red
Wing Mayor Romeo Cyr welcomed Muriel.
President Elect Marge Truwe was a lot of help to me that year as were
all my officers and directors. Lee Finholm and I also went to the International
Goodwill Conference in Winnipeg.
Our Club hosted the farewell party for the GSE team from Mexico.
Paul Harris Fellows were awarded to Ruth Howe from our Club and Jim Grantman
from the Red Wing community.
1994
- 1995
Marge Truwe, President
| District Governor |
John Votca |
| President
Elect |
Ruth Howe |
| Secretary |
Craig Stockel |
| Treasurer |
Patricia Winget |
| Club Service
Director |
Sue Dopkins |
| Community
Service Director |
Jill Bengs |
| International
Service Director |
John Goeppinger |
| Vocational
Service Director |
Roger Palmquist |
| Sergeant at
Arms |
Robert Burggren |
My Rotary Year, by Marge Truwe
Initially, I want to say that
when I agreed to assume the Secretary duties for a year, I had no idea
that there was whole progression of offices to follow. Was I surprised,
being a fairly new member that I was in for at least five or six years
of duty!
These duties over the years have been fun, and enlightening to the far-reaching
projects that Rotary is involved, both locally and on an international
level.
The Board of Directors that served with me for the year could not have
been a better team! At the risk of omitting anyone, I’ll say that Treasurer
Pat Winget worked very hard to develop a sound contribution policy that
was clear, equitable and sensible. She also spent many hours on the budget
that was within our means and reflected all of the areas that needed to
be addressed. Secretary Craig Stockel could not have been better! With
his sense of humor combined with the attention to detail and efficiency,
this man kept me looking like I knew what I was doing, at the same time
keeping the undertakings in perspective. President Elect Ruth Howe kept
the Rotary enthusiasm fore front and helped me to not become overwhelmed.
Pottery Pond continued to improve and a sign was designed and presented
by the City of Red Wing indicating our Rotary Club had adopted this park.
After some intense negotiations, Rotary maintained the honor (and hard
work) of putting on the River City Days Parade. One of the major contributors
to River City Days wanted to be named THE sponsor of the Parade. We succeeded
in convincing the Chamber of Commerce that one entity should be named
the sponsor to anyone event or activity.
Once again, Rose Day was a complete success and our Club remained solvent
for yet another year!
Elina Berklava from Riga, Latvia, was our inbound Youth Exchange Student.
What an absolute joy this young woman was! Elina had a firm grasp on English
when she arrived and it continued to improve throughout the year. She
was a star pupil and while here, took a test on which she scored the highest
anyone ever has! One of her pieces of artwork was selected to be on display
at a showing of the ‘Works of Bright Young Artists’ from across the state.
It then traveled to Washington DC to be displayed there. Elina truly is
a remarkable person. We all hope that she visits with us again some day.
The GSE team was from Sweden and also had their rest break here at the
Villa Maria Retreat Center.
Paul Harris Fellows ere awarded to Kristin Schoffman and Jill Bengs.
All in all, it was an exhausting but very satisfying year - one that could
not have been done without the love and support of my family. Thanks,
Tom and Ben, for your help and understanding.
1995
- 1996
Ruth Howe, President
| District Governor |
Jon C. Stillman |
| President
Elect |
Kristin Asp |
| Secretary |
Don Rutten |
| Treasurer |
Steve Perkins |
| Club Service
Director |
Sue Dopkins |
| Community
Service Director |
Jill Bengs |
| International
Service Director |
John Goeppinger |
| Vocational
Service Director |
Roger Palmquist |
| Sergeant at
Arms |
Robert Burggren |
My Rotary Year, by Ruth Howe
This year will be remembered
as the “M&M” year – money & membership. We led the District in
new members with fourteen or more, net gain of eleven. Because of that,
I was awarded a Paul Harris by the District – the real thanks, however,
goes to the members who got ‘their ASK in gear,’ and to PE Kristin Schoffman
who organized membership materials and held a membership meeting. We also
challenged the Stillwater Risers headed by Jane Stillman. Jane promised
their Club would do something for our members. Bob Burggren helped us
keep the Award of Attendance. Without the help of Kristin, Don Rutten,
Mike Wilson, Steve Perkins, Ron Herbst, Directors, the chairs of committees
and the membership in general, our Club would not have received the Presidential
Citation. Thanks to you – the magic of Rotary works!
Sibilla Zambon is our youth exchange student from Rovigo, Italy. When
I attended the RI Convention in Nice, I was able to meet Sibilla and her
family.
River City Days Parade under Sue Dopkins’ guidance was a big success.
Tom Ahern again chaired the Mississippi Shuffle for cancer and despite
the heat and humidity and thunderstorms, we did well for the cause. Dave
Turner continues to organize Pottery Pond clean up and is working with
the City on other projects we can do in this park.
Jill Bengs, Tammy Drebing, Jodi Schultz and Deb Albarado enthusiastically
co-chaired Rose Day and led us to another successful sale! Craig Stockel,
however, continues to be an inspiration to all of us in rose sales – 150
dozen! Early in the year, we voted to give the Library $2,000 for an environmental
beautification project. Jim Ferguson chaired kids fishing contests, which
seem to be big hits with the kids and KCUE and KWNG co-sponsor and gave
us a lot of air time in addition to cash. It is proving to be a great
partnership. Sandy, Steve and I went to International Goodwill Conference
and were awarded the Canadian flag.
Steve Perkins at the February 1995 planning retreat suggested Happy Dollars
and Steve’s led the charge at nearly every meeting. The money collected
should fairly well cover our wells in India, the World Community Service
Project. Sandy Nordmark actively pursues this project and once we complete
contacts, we can all be very proud of the work she’s done on this.
Jill Bengs has attended numerous meetings with Goodhue and Wabasha Counties
Public Health. We gave $500 for the T-shirt program and encouraged both
Wabasha and Cannon Falls clubs to join in. Because Gene Kennedy encouraged
Coe Leta Finke to apply for an Ambassadorial Scholarship through our Club,
we may have our first Ambassadorial Scholar.
Rollie Meffert chaired the District Midterm Evaluation seminar held in
Red Wing and had 15 or more Red Wing Rotarians on the committee. It was
well done by our Club.
Again, we sponsored another Sister City signing agreement with the third
Sister City, Ikata, Japan. Vocational Director, Roger Palmquist, and Dave
Anderson are lining up a teleconference at the Technical College, and
we will ‘conference’ with Mankato and Wabasha Rotary clubs. Roger is also
coordinated with the high school on Youth Leadership and our $1,000 Scholarship.
Charter members headed by Jerry Borgen have organized the Charter night
and Muriel and Heather Bellingham’s visit. Thanks to Roger Palmquist,
Roger Sammon and Lee Finholm for helping me bring 10 years of scrapbooks
up to date. Tom Feehan has produced a great video and he will add to it.
And, the GSE team from Chile arrives the Saturday after the Charter night.
Two members will be awarded Paul Harris Fellows. I echo Marge that it
has been “an exhausting but yet satisfying year”.
1996
- 1997
Kristin Schoffman, President
| District Governor |
Tom Yuzer |
| President
Elect |
Mike Wilson |
| Secretary |
Patricia Winget |
| Vice President |
Craig Stockel |
| Club Service
Director |
Jim Ferguson |
| Community
Service Director |
Jill Bengs |
| International
Service Director |
Roger Sammon |
| Vocational
Service Director |
Dave Turner |
| Sergeant at
Arms |
Robert Burggren |
| Rooter Editor |
Sister Mary
Kay |
My Rotary Year, by Kristin Schoffman
When I became the club president
in 1996 I had no idea how it would end in 1997. My term ended in April
as I went on maternity leave, a special thanks to president-elect Mike
Wilson for stepping in and taking over as club president. Thank you to
Craig Stockel, Vice President for keeping the programs interesting. Thank
you Patricia Winget, club secretary, Steve Perkins, and Scott Gillmer,
club treasurer.
We began 1996 with Luis Vicente Giay as president of Rotary International.
Build the Future with Action and Vision was the theme. The club was awarded
a Presidential Citation, by completing projects and activities in all
four avenues of service. District Governor was Tom Yuzer and Area Representative
was Dave Shafer.
Membership Challenge Plus was the campaign to focus on membership growth
and retention. New members included Marie Bousson, Paul Christensen, Chris
Palmer and Kristin Koplin. It was also the year of music. Prior to Paul
joining the club we were not much of a singing club. Thanks, Paul for
all the enthusiasm you bring to Red Wing Rotary.
One of the first community service projects each year is the River City
Days Parade. Our Grand Marshall was Tom Hughes, this turned out to be
a special day for him and his family especially as the float he was riding
in, passed his father sitting along the parade route in front of Hughes
Shoes, which was once his father’s store.
Ivan Cok joined our club as the Rotary Youth Exchange student from Croatia.
Croatia located on the Adriatic Sea, above Greece, across from Italy,
and surrounded by countries as Serbia and Bosnia. Thank you Phil McNairy
for your enthusiasm in coordinating the Youth Exchange Program.
Vocation service included tours of the Minnesota Correctional Facility
and the Environmental Learning Center. Thank you Dave Turner, Vocational
Service Director for arranging site visits and the coordinating the scholarship
program.
Community service projects included donations to the food shelf, the toys
for tots program, adopting a family for the holidays, fielding two teams
to walk in the Mississippi Shuffle, fishing contests for children, as
well as funding a number of community service projects. Thank you Jill
Bengs, Community Service Director.
This year our club partnered with the Rotary Club of Shirva, India to
provide funds for a new well in Kalathur India, so they could have fresh
water to drink. It is through the matching funds of our district and Rotary
International that World Community Service projects can change the world.
Thanks to Bill Laidlaw for planting the seed on this project and Sandy
Nordmark, World Community Service Chair for taking action so the well
could become reality. Funds were a result of collecting happy dollars
and pennies for change.
In May our club was host to the Rotary Exchange team from India. Thank
you Roger Sammon, International Service Director, for arranging housing
and transportation for the team from India.
A special thanks to Jim Ferguson, Club Service Director, Bob Burggren,
Sargent at Arms, and Rooter editor, Sister Mary Kay Milne.
Paul Harris Fellows were awarded this year.
Rotary is more than creating business contacts it is a group of people
genuinely concerned about our community and the members in the club. This
year demonstrates the “Service Above Self” that Rotary does for the community,
and the world. Thank you for being a part of Red Wing Rotary.
1997
- 1998
Mike Wilson, President
| District Governor |
Jim Bradshaw |
| President
Elect |
Craig Stockel |
| Vice President |
Don Rutten |
| Secretary |
Bill Laidlaw |
| Treasurer |
Scott Gillmer |
| Club Service
Director |
Leah Holst |
| Community
Service Director |
Tom Feehan |
| International
Service Director |
Roger Sammon |
| Vocational
Service Director |
Paul Reding |
| Sergeant at
Arms |
Robert Burggren |
| Rotary Foundation |
Roland Meffert |
| Youth Exchange |
Phil McNairy |
| World Community
Service |
Sandy Nordmark |
| Rooter Editor |
Tom Hanlon |
My Rotary Year, by Mike Wilson
My year as President of the
Red Wing Rotary Club came a bit early as out previous President Kristen
Schoffman asked me to take over for her so she could concentrate on the
upcoming birth of her baby. After my P.E.T.S. training in Chicago, I met
with the board consisting of Craig Stockel, Don Rutten, Bill Laidlaw,
and Scott Gillmer.
We laid out our plans and goals and started down the road to a very successful
year. We had a membership increase, we had our Ambassadorial Scholar,
Coe Lita Finke, go to South Africa, and we also were able to have to new
Paul Harris members. New for our Club was the organization of the Interact
Club at the Red Wing High School with an outstanding job done by Susan
Gillmer and Tom Feehan.
The River City Days Parade was another success along with Rose Day and,
of course, out continued work at Pottery Pond. Our Exchange Student, Rattpoo
(Tony) Kothcapong, from Thailand, gave our Club the International Flair
for the year.
1998
- 1999
Craig Stockel, President
| District Governor |
William E.
Salesses |
| President
Elect |
Don Rutten |
| Vice President |
Bill Laidlaw |
| Secretary |
Leah Holst |
| Treasurer |
Marie Busson |
| Club Service
Director |
Kristin Koplin |
| Community
Service Director |
Tom Feehan |
| International
Service Director |
Chris Palmer |
| Vocational
Service Director |
Paul Zeig |
| Sergeant at
Arms |
Robert Burggren |
| Rotary Foundation |
Roland Meffert |
| Youth Exchange |
Phil McNairy |
| World Community
Service |
Sandy Nordmark |
| Rooter Editor |
Tom Hanlon |
My Rotary Year, by Craig Stockel
The year I was privileged to
be this Club’s president was filled with ‘the usual’ as well as the ‘not
so usual’. By ‘usual’ I mean that as a Club we observed such favorite
traditions as the late summer steak fry where a good time is always had
by all, Pottery Pond clean-ups replete with a meal after, and the annual
rose sale that was our major fundraiser. Of course, the rose sale allowed
us to do projects in the community and the world.
By ‘unusual’ I mean that it was the year we instituted a vocational award
to local firefighters and law enforcers, a practice that continues today.
And I remember sitting around the table discussing the possibilities of
a band extravaganza. It happened the following year as a community service
thanks to the efforts of many, but primarily at the lead of Kyle Nordine.
It was on my watch that we welcomed Ana-Maria Raluca Marila (Ralu for
short) from Romania as our inbound exchange student. It was that same
year that we sent Lee Finholm off with two other worthy local candidates
– Ann Barsness and Lisa Marty – to learn the fine art of becoming sherpas
in Mongolia (not really- but they did go to Mongolia as Lee headed up
the GSE team that year).
And who can forget the perseverance and energies of CoeLeta Finke, who
brought us back ideas from her ambassadorial year in Grahamstown, South
Africa, for a worthwhile effort as we sought contributions from other
clubs for what became affectionately known as “CoeLeta’s Project”. For
that project, we secured a gift of $21,350, which included financial matches
from the District and the
Rotary Foundation.
While the year as Club President was fantastic in itself, the opportunity
to attend a Rotary International meeting was incredibly revealing to me
of the internationality of Rotary. We speak of our international membership,
but to experience it first-hand in Indianapolis was a fantastic experience.
It was a wonderful benefit that the Club offers for incoming presidents,
and I truly appreciated that opportunity.
Although I have become active in another Club, the Red Wing Club will
always be my ‘home’ club. It was indeed my honor to be in service with
they members of Red Wing Rotary Club, and especially to serve as its president.
I think the Club exemplifies the saying: “The hands that serve are infinitely
more powerful than the lips that preach.”
1999
- 2000
Don Rutten, President
| District Governor |
Steve Wilcox |
| President
Elect |
Bill Laidlaw |
| Secretary |
Tom Feehan |
| Treasurer |
Marie Busson |
| Club Service
Director |
Kristin Koplin |
| Community
Service Director |
Therese Heimel |
| International
Service Director |
Paul Zeig |
| Vocational
Service Director |
Chris Palmer |
| Sergeant at
Arms |
Roland Meffert |
| Rotary Foundation |
Roland Meffert |
| Youth Exchange |
Phil McNairy |
| World Community
Service |
Sandy Nordmark |
| Rooter Editor |
Tom Hanlon |
| Interact |
Susan Gillmer |
| Programs |
Paul Zeig/Clare
Pavelka |
My Rotary Year, by Don Rutten
The Red Wing Rotary Club began
this Rotary year with the challenge from District Governor, Steve Wilcox,
to make our club stand for something that would be readily recognizable
within the community. Our Club was already known to be the host of the
annual River ity Days Parade in August, for Rose Day sales in the fall,
and for sponsorship of Pottery Pond.
This year we conceived the idea of hosting a marching band competition
for high school bands around the region and so in late June, 2000, the
first annual Red Wing Rotary Band Classic was held. The weather was nice,
the crowd was large, and the competing bands all said that was one of
the better band competitions that they ever attended. The ‘Band Classic’
thus became a community service event for which our Rotary Club is known.
Our Club is also known for its international service and in the 1999-2000
Rotary year we continued to sponsor the Grahamstown, South Africa project
started the year before. In addition we sponsored one outbound youth exchange
student, Stacey Veek from Red Wing and hosted an inbound student, Hristina
Dojcinova from Macedonia. Our club absolutely enjoyed getting to know
Hristina. She had a wonderful personality and still keeps in touch with
many of us in the Club.
Paul Harris Fellows were awarded to two deserving club members, Phillip
McNairy and David Turner, and to one worth community leader, Dr. David
Harris.
All in all, it was a good Rotary year; one that I will long remember and
I hope one that shows that Red Wing Rotary stands for something.
2000
- 2001
Bill Laidlaw, President
| District Governor |
Al DeBoes |
| President
Elect |
Tom Feehan |
| Secretary |
Nancy Holt |
| Treasurer |
Linda Wiebusch |
| Club Service
Director |
Barb Koeller |
| Community
Service Director |
Susan Gillmer |
| International
Service Director |
Dave DeJong |
| Vocational
Service Director |
Paul Zeig |
| Sergeant at
Arms |
Roland Meffert |
| Rotary Foundation |
Roland Meffert |
| Youth Exchange |
Phil McNairy |
| World Community
Service |
Sandy Nordmark |
| Rooter Editor |
Tom Hanlon |
| Interact |
Susan Gillmer |
| Programs |
Paul Zeig/Clare
Pavelka |
My Rotary Year,
by Bill Laidlaw
One of the first things I remember
when I joined the Rotary Club of Red Wing in 1994 was when President,
Marge Truwe, said, “Rotary is an organization of volunteers”. This is
certainly true. Without the help of many member volunteers, the events,
services and contributions to the community and the fun we had would not
have happened during this Rotary year.
Our exceptional Rotary Exchange Student, Francisco Rojo (Fran) arrived
early and was welcomed at the home of Dave and Amy DeJong. Dave had a
new buddy. Fran’s new brother, Abe, was yet to be born. Abe is now less
than a year old and must hold the world record for the number of Rotary
meetings a newborn has attended.
As part of River City Days, Kyle Nordine ran the River City Parade. Don
Rutten held a meeting of the “Dead Presidents” to answer the question
“What do we really want to be known for?” Their consensus was: A CLUB
OF ACTION.
The continual support of Potter Pond was also part of this past year.
The rose sale on October 6th, organized by Barb Koeller, went well and
we made over $5,000. The roses were some of the best ever and the cold
weather was good for them even if it did cut down on traffic at the Mall.
Robin Fortier and Jerry Borgen put together excellent display boards to
let our members and the Red Wing community know more about Red Wing Rotary.
They were in the lobby of the Signal Bank until they got preempted by
their Christmas decorating.
We had ice for the winter kids fishing contest on January 20th this year
and while the fishing was not too good, everyone had fun.
On February 3rd, to everyone’s sadness, one of our members, Lyle Warrington,
died. On May 8th our first annual Lyle Warrington Blood Drive was held
thanks to Clare Pavelka.
On April 24th, Chuck Richardson and the Club hosted the Group Exchange
Team from East Africa and that same day Mandy Lohmann, who works with
Sue Dopkins, left for East Africa as part of the out going team.
As part of our International Service Project, we sent $2,000 to St. Mary’s
Daycare in South Africa. This will assist them in their food buying for
the next 13 months.
May 19th was Rotary Awareness Day in District 5960. Ned Lundquist and
Kristin Schoffman headed up out participation in that event which included
setting up our display boards at the Red Wing Mall.
Paul Reding worked with the City and other Rotarians to come with an action
plan for Pottery Pond, which includes a Lyle Warrington Memorial Bench.
The flood has delayed the planting of trees, which hopefully will be done
by the end of June. I would like to thank all of the volunteers who make
this a great Club, especially our Secretary, Nancy Holt. Don’t tell anyone,
but that is the toughest job in the Club.
2001
- 2002
Tom Feehan, President
| District
Governor |
Doug Johnson
|
| President
Elect |
Nancy Holt
|
| Secretary
|
Barb Koeller
|
| Treasurer
|
Linda Wiebusch
|
| Club Service
Director |
Tom Brown
|
| Community
Service Director |
Ned Lundquist
|
| International
Service Director |
Lee Finholm
|
| Vocational
Service Director |
David DeJong
|
| Sergeant
with Arms |
Paul Zeig
|
| Rotary Foundation
|
Roland Meffert
|
| Youth Exchange
|
Phil McNairy
|
| World Community
Service |
Roger Sammon
|
| Rooter Editor
|
Tom Hanlon
|
| Interact
|
Susan Gillmer
|
| Programs
|
Paul Zeig/Clare
Pavelka |
My Rotary Year, by
Tom Feehan
It was on July 3rd, 2001, to
the sounds of Paul Christianson, playing Hail to the Chief , that I entered
the Mississippi Room with a Rotary Blanket Cape and my Burger King Crown
to assume leadership of the Rotary Club of Red Wing.
It is with great honor that I was given this opportunity to lead this
darn fine bunch of humans and I will always be grateful.
Before my year began, I hosted
our 15th Anniversary Charter Night in May. Attendance and the speech by
St. Paul Rotarian, Jerry Meigs (now Chairman of the Rotary International
Board), was a highlight for me. Also before my year, I attended PETS Presidential
training at Rotary Headquarters in Chicago and attended the Rotary International
Conference in June in San Antonio. These two trips were great stepping
stones that helped build my understanding and appreciation for Rotary.
The year started out with a
bang on July 21st when we had our big tree and bush planting at Pottery
Pond. Led by Paul Redding, the improvements our club and Interactors planted
that day have really had a beautiful impact on the park s East end.
The River City Days parade
was one for the record books with temps over 100
but we kept our cool and hosted another classic. Our first on the new
4th street course.
I took Fabio Costa, our Brazilian
Exchange Student to the State Fair and he survived. I ll always remember
Oy Fabio, his contagious smile and his participation in soccer and swimming.
At one RWHS Girl s Basketball Game, his buddies started a gym wide Fabio
chant while I interviewed him for local TV.
September 11th, 2001 was a
regular Tuesday meeting but it didn t end up that way. Jerry Borgen called
to ask if we should meet and I said, Hell yes . Phil McNairy gave a stirring
invocation and I asked our Club to not let the bastards win by intensifying
our peaceful worldwide Rotarian efforts. Our Lyle Warrington blood drive
and our $650 (pennies for change) donation to Red Cross were a few of
our responses.
Our Interact Club conducted
a victim s scholarship fundraising dance at RWHS, one of many events that
made their year the best ever! Special thanks to Advisor Karen Heer and
amazing President Liz Lieder.
September 25th District Governor
Doug Johnson joined our meeting along with 2003-04 District Governor Cathy
Smith. The Mankato insurance salesman gave a nice speech and braved golfing
with Jerry Borgen. It was here Doug asked Jerry and our club to give the
Lake City Rotary Club another chance.
The Lake City project was one
of my proudest Rotary achievements. Jerry Beeeee spearheaded this, our
second try to start a Rotary Club in Lake City. After one disappointing
meeting with the 4 Red Wing Rotarians, the District Governor and 3 prospective
Lake City members, Jerry announced at our noon meeting that things were
looking dim and well . Mike Wilson cut him off and rallied the troops
to press on. Our luck changed when Cheri Kramer joined our cause. The
Lake City Medical Administrator was an ex-Rotarian and hit the ground
running. The Cheri and Jerry show did what many said couldn t be done
and on July 8th we chartered the Rotary Club of Lake City. Rotary Clubs
in Farmington and Ellsworth were also chartered during this year.
Finding someone to say a prayer
is one of the hardest parts about being Rotary President. Paul Christenson
gave us many a stirring invocation and his vocabulary was always loquacious.
Paul is one of the positive people that make our Rotary Club special.
His music and energy are great ways to start a meeting.
Tom Hanlon s work on the Rooter,
Claire Pavelka and Paul Zeig on programs, Barb Koeller as secretary, Linda
Wiebusch as treasurer and many more, all made this Rotary year so very
special.
The growth of our web site,
the first club wide e-mails, a new computer for the secretary and finally
getting our hands around the Clubmate Software, were some of our tech
news.
My renditions of Amazing Grace
and When the Rotarians Go Marching In on my Baritone Sax made it to a
couple of meetings much to the joy of several members.
Our International Service Project,
Get on the Bus was another team effort. With some help from area clubs
we put $4000 together which was matched by District and then matched by
International to get the $16,000 needed to purchase a Mini-Bus for a South
African Hospice. Roger Sammon was key to keeping on the paperwork and
meetings.
Our Community Service Project
was one more team effort and my personal favorite, the building of the
Memorial Bluff Disc Golf Course. It started with location research with
City Planner Brian Peterson. We decided the center of Memorial Bluff was
the perfect spot and so with the City s blessing we were able to bring
Frisbee Golf to Red Wing (course #57 in Minnesota). Chuck Kennedy of the
Minnesota Disc Golf Association helped us finalize the course layout.
We got 18 railroad ties, 18 four foot tee markers (that the Correctional
Facility residents cut and painted) and we got 9 disc golf baskets with
cement buckets. I picked them up with Mike Wilson s Monster Truck in Mankato.
I won biggest vehicle to attend the District Conference which happened
to be in Mankato at the time. After some sweat equity by Rotarians and
other Red Wing golf fans, the ties, tees and baskets were up and we had
18 holes of scenic and challenging disc golf. The City now mows the fairways
which add lots of character to the course. My third time out I got a hole
in one on #9.
Our Group Study Exchange Team
from South Korea was another huge effort by our Club. We gave our 5 new
Friends Forever a huge taste of Red Wing in their 11 hour visit. Highlights
were seeing them steer a boat on the Mississippi, throw a Frisbee into
a tree on our disc golf course and enjoy a Paul and Lois Christenson dinner.
They said on the way home that this was their best day of their trip.
The Rotary Band Classic was
another monster success and that means we may have to keep doing it. 14
Bands in three divisions marched 4th Street in June. Kyle Nordine carried
this one on his back. With his bag man Borgen and others, this event was
memorable for us, the spectators and the kids.
At the Charter Night Banquet
I said my thank yous and received a awesome clock from my fellow Rotarians.
I started two awards that I hope will continue. We awarded the Lyle Warrington
Suspender Award to our Rotarian of the Year, Paul Redding and we inducted
of first member into the Red Wing Rotary Hall of Fame. That could be none
other than the greatest Red Wing Rotarian of all time, Jerry Borgen.
I now give the gavel to Nancy
Green and wish her well. I thank my fellow Red Wing Rotarians for the
opportunity to lead and I will always consider this year of service one
of the greatest things of my life.
2002
- 2003
Nancy Green, President
| District
Governor |
Bill Rust
|
| President
Elect |
Barb Koeller
|
| Secretary
|
David DeJong
|
| Treasurer
|
Linda Wiebusch
|
| Club Service
Director |
Tom Brown
|
| Community
Service Director |
Ned Lundquist
|
| International
Service Director |
Lee Finholm
|
| Vocational
Service Director |
David DeJong
|
| Sergeant
with Arms |
Paul Zeig
|
| Rotary Foundation
|
Roland Meffert
|
| Youth Exchange
|
Phil McNairy
|
| World Community
Service |
Roger Sammon
|
| Rooter Editor
|
Tom Hanlon
|
| Interact
|
Susan Gillmer
|
| Programs
|
Paul Zeig/Clare
Pavelka |
My Rotary Year, by
Nancy Green
The Red Wing Rotary Club began
the year with us getting the Lake City Club chartered, thanks to the major
efforts of Jerry Borgen and other club members.
The Band Classic was again
started. This is a marching band competition for high school bands from
around the Region. It was a great success.
We continued hosting the River
City Days Parade, our community's annual celebration. Our fund raising
efforts for Rose Sales in the fall continued as well as our sponsorship
of Pottery Pond.
For our Rotary "Centennial
Project", we decided to continue and work with the City to expand
Pottery Pond Park with the hopes that eventually it will be renamed Rotary
Park.
Our club made a large commitment
for Polio Eradication and with the help of Lake City's Club, our Club
came up with a District Golf Tournament "PAR", Polio Almost
Rid. It was a great success, and all proceeds went to Polio Plus.
We completed a large international
project - a microbus for South Africa. We had two outbound students this
year, Grace Grinager and Kelly Walsh. They went to Chile and Bolivia respectively.
We had a visit our the GSE Team from Guatemala in April - a day enjoyed
by them as they visited a couple of museums, went on a boat ride and fished
the day with a dinner at Bill Laidlaw's house. We also received a visit
from Red Wing resident, Sue Hammes and her GSE Team who visited Korea.
All in all it was a very exciting
and busy year. I went through some major personal issues, but with the
support of my fellow Rotarians, I came through with flying colors. The
highlight of my year happened on our Charter Night, in May of 2003, when
I was awarded a Paul Harris along with fellow members, Paul Christiansen
and Jerry Borgen.
2003
- 2004
Barb Koeller, President
| District
Governor |
Cathy Smith |
| President
Elect |
Dave De Jong |
| Secretary
|
Tris Danielson |
| Treasurer
|
Bill Laidlaw |
| Club Service
Director |
Mandy Lohmann |
| Community
Service Director |
Troy Daniels |
| International
Service Director |
Roger Sammon |
| Vocational
Service Director |
Chris Palmer |
| Sergeant
with Arms |
Roland Meffert |
| Rotary Foundation
|
Roland Meffert |
| Youth Exchange
|
Phil McNairy |
| World Community
Service |
Roger Sammon |
| Rooter Editor
|
Tom Hanlon |
| Interact
|
Karen Heer |
| Programs
|
Clare Pavelka |
My Rotary Year, by
Barb Koeller
My year as president
started off with President Elect training in Chicago at the International
headquarters. What an incredible place to visit. You really feel the impact
of Rotary on the world after a visit there. It is hard to imagine the
true vision this organization has to make life better for us, our communities
and the world. There is no race, creed, color, gender only all working
together for the common good, improving the quality of life for those
less fortunate than us. What a privilege to belong to such a group, and
an honor to have served as president for such a fine organization of highly
respected businesses individuals.
Red Wing can boast that we
chartered another club in Zumbrota Minnesota. Many tireless, selfless
people like Marie, Jerry, Bill, Roger and of course Roland Wilsey must
be thanked for making my year as president a success, for this great accomplishment.
Our community service project for the 2005 Centennial year was Pottery
Pond Skate Park. Thanks to Tom Feehan, Dave Anderson and many others for
all their efforts, the dream is becoming a reality. Once again our park
and our club will brighten the lives of the young people of this community.
I was also asked to serve on DG Kathy Smith district advisory board. I
appreciate her trust and faith in my ability to lead. So many programs
were reviewed and discussed at these meetings, it really broaden my scope
of Rotary as a result of this connection to the district.
PAR (Polio ain't Rid) was of
course a great success, thanks to the efforts of our own, Jerry Borgen.
What a jewel in our Red Wing crown. Speaking of crowns, of course every
year it is said, but what a great group of ambassadors our Miss Red Wing
pageant ladies represented that year. They just seem to get better every
year and I know all of us Red Wing Rotarians are proud to be a part of
this great group of young women. The River City Days parade always brings
such joy to the festivities of the River City days weekend.
One of my greatest joys was
getting to know our exchange student, Paavo. Finland was very well represented
in him. He loved snowboarding and with our Christmas gift of a Welch Village
pass allowed him to hang out with friends and maybe not miss home quite
so much. I know he really got a hoot out of my ' little chick sounds',
since his family raised chickens, I just wanted him to feel at home. He
definitely left his mark on our hearts as do all of our 'kids' that we
sponsor.
When I decided to go on the 'lecture circuit' with my life experiences,
several of you insisted I start with my own club. You listened and some
of you even cried with me. I told someone telling my story left me with
the feeling a giant rock had been rolled away from the tomb I had been
in my whole life. Thank you for listening, understanding and still accepting
me. After that I shared my story with several other clubs which further
helped my personal growth. Thank you.
There is so much more, countless encounters with guest speakers, our Service
above Self recipients, the GSE team so many memories. I cannot thank all
of you enough for a memorable year.
I will end this with one thought.
Years ago when Ruth Howe asked me to join Rotary, I remember telling her
after my first lunch with all of you, "Ruth what can I possibly do
for Rotary"? Ruth's reply was, 'Barb it is not what you can do for
Rotary, it is what Rotary can do for you". God bless you Ruth, God
bless all of you and thank you from the bottom of my heart.
2004
- 2005
Dave De Jong, President
| District
Governor |
Ken Crabb |
| President
Elect |
Phil McNairy |
| Secretary
|
Chris Palmer |
| Treasurer
|
Bill Laidlaw |
| Club Service
Director |
Mandy Lohmann |
| Community
Service Director |
Troy Daniels |
| International
Service Director |
Meg Walch/Lynette
Pearson |
| Vocational
Service Director |
Chris Palmer/Randy
Johnson |
| Sergeant
with Arms |
Roland Meffert |
| Rotary Foundation
|
Roland Meffert |
| Youth Exchange
|
Phil McNairy |
| World Community
Service |
Roger Sammon |
| Rooter Editor
|
Dave De Jong |
| Interact
|
Karen Heer |
| Programs
|
Clare Pavelka |
My Rotary Year, by
Dave De Jong
Aaah, where to begin.
. . .
Exchange Student: Our
exchange student, Maria Andrea Flores Carver (Andrea Fores to us) joined
us in August. Her host families were Scott and Nancy Gillmer, John and
Sheila Walsh, and Paul and Michelle Zeig. Andrea was an outgoing, happy,
and full of opinions. Time will only tell whether she fulfills Jerry Borgen's
prediction that she becomes the President of Bolivia.
PolioPlus Commitment:
During Tom Feehan's reign as President in 2001-2002, the club committed
to raising $14,000 over the next three years for PolioPlus, the effort
to eradicate polio. We met that goal through the PAR Golf Tourney (Polio
Ain't Rid), generous contributions from club and community members, and
the secret pal at Rotary meetings (if you didn't shake the secret pal's
hand at a Tuesday meeting, you were encouraged to donate a dollar).
Pottery Park: Our club
had agreed to spearhead efforts to raise funds for a skateboard park to
be part of an expansion of Pottery Pond to the west of its current location.
Through the efforts of Dave Anderson, Bill Laidlaw, and Tom Feehan, we
saw those efforts come to fruition. By the end of the Rotary year, over
$140,00 had been raised.
Brazil GSE Team: In
April we enjoyed a visit from the Group Study Exchange team from Brazil.
The highlight of their visit to Minnesota had to be the water balloon
game engineered by Jerry Borgen. The Brazil team initially was far from
enthusiastic about tossing water balloons back and forth in 45 degree
weather, but ultimately succumbed to Jerry's entreaties. The Brazil team
leader, Lino, ended up getting soaked (and loving it).
Lee Finholm Installation
as District Governor: One of my personal favorite days of the Rotary
year was the June 28, 2005, installation of Lee Finholm as District Governor
of District 5960. Tom Feehan emceed the fun-filled evening. Among the
many highlights of the evening, Tom also starred alongside Paul Christenson
in presenting the play "The Unabridged History of Rotary." There
were many a proud Red Wing Rotarian when Lee officially took the reigns
of District 5960 from outgoing District Governor Ken Crabb.
Band Classic: The Fourth
Red Wing Rotary Band Classic was held on Saturday, June 18. There for
a little while, it wasn't clear that we were going to be able to pull
off the Classic, but we did, and hope that it can grow into what we all
envision it to be.
Rotary International Convention:
Our club sent Lee Finholm, Roger Sammon, Bill Laidlaw, Tom Feehan, Meg
Walch, Clare Pavelka, and Randy Johnson to the Rotary International Convention
in Chicago to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the founding of Rotary
in 1905. They each came back talking about their renewed appreciation
for Rotary and recommending that the rest of us get to a Rotary International
Convention.
All in all, it was a wonderful year to be a Red Wing Rotarian. This great
group of civic-minded folk is as good as it gets!
2005
- 2006
Phil McNairy, President
| District
Governor |
Lee Finholm |
| President
Elect |
Chris Palmer |
| Secretary
|
Margaret Ekdahl |
| Treasurer
|
Bill Laidlaw |
| Club Service
Director |
Mandy Lohmann |
| Community
Service Director |
Troy Daniels |
| International
Service Director |
Meg Walch/Lynette
Pearson |
| Vocational
Service Director |
Randy Johnson |
| Sergeant
with Arms |
Roland Meffert |
| Rotary Foundation
|
Roland Meffert |
| Youth Exchange
|
Phil McNairy |
| World Community
Service |
Roger Sammon |
| Rooter Editor
|
Dave De Jong |
| Interact
|
Karen Heer |
| Programs
|
Clare Pavelka |
My Rotary Year, by
Phil McNairy
This Rotary year offered many
challenges and new ventures for our club with something for everyone which
in itself provided the biggest challenge. The prospect of having a wide
array of activities and not having to participate in them all continues
to perplex some members. Regardless it was a rewarding year for me and
I am proud to have been able to offer my service.
Our normal projects, agumented with the Red Wing Shoe Anniversary celebration,
The Great River Bike Race and the restoration of the Band Classic in the
Spring of '05 and the District Governor's Conference in the following
spring, gave us a full agenda, and the club responded admirably.
This year we concluded our commitment to Polio Plus, initiated a service
project in Bolivia, and hosted an Exchange student from Bolivia while
sponsoring students from Red Wing to India and Bolivia.
Locally we completed the Skate Park project and began the process of discerning
the need and funding for an Impared Driving cart and program in Goodhue
County. We continued our Rose Day sales, The Christmas Party with the
two sister clubs which we sponsered, Salvation Army bell ringing, Service
Above Self awards for a city and a county employee, scholarships for a
high school and a tech school student, special leadership programs for
high school students, Paul Harris Fellowships for members of the community
and speakers at the District Conference and the River City Days Parade.
For club leadership we established the position of Club Secretary separate
from the food chain to President and a Vice President who would succeed
the President Elect in two years. We also placed people on the District
committees for GSE selection, World Service, and Communications. Finally,
and most important, we were honored to have our own Leland E. Finholm
serve as our District Governor.
All in all it was a great year, and I really appreciated all the support
that our club gave me.
2006
- 2007
Chris Palmer/David Anderson, Presidents
| District
Governor |
Diane Nesvig,
Lee Finholm |
| President |
Chris Palmer |
| President
Elect |
David Anderson |
| Secretary
|
Margaret Ekdahl |
| Treasurer
|
Bill Laidlaw |
| Club Service
Director |
Jerry Olson |
| Community
Service Director |
Mandy Lohmann |
| International
Service Director |
Meg Walch/Lynette
Pearson |
| Vocational
Service Director |
Randy Johnson |
| Rotary Foundation
|
Roland Meffert |
| Youth Exchange
|
Phil McNairy |
| World Community
Service |
Roger Sammon |
| Interact
|
Karen Heer |
| Programs
|
Clare Pavelka |
2007
- 2008
David Anderson, President
| District
Governor |
Clare Lillis |
| President |
David Anderson |
| President
Elect |
Clare Pavelka |
| Secretary
|
Margaret Ekdahl |
| Treasurer
|
Bob Deter |
| Club Service
Director |
Jerry Olson |
| Community
Service Director |
Mandy Lohmann |
| International
Service Director |
Lisa Marty |
| Vocational
Service Director |
Roger Palmquist |
| Rotary Foundation
|
Roland Meffert |
| Youth Exchange
|
Phil McNairy |
| World Community
Service |
Roger Sammon |
| Interact
|
Susan Horvat |
| Programs
|
Clare Pavelka |
Rotary Theme: Rotary Shares
District Governor's Theme: Be Rich with Good Works
My Rotary Years, by
David Anderson
My term as President of the
Red Wing Rotary Club was filled with a variety of exciting activities
and programs. I began the year by challenging our members to reach new
heights and to be creative like Dick Fosbury, inventor of the" Fosbury
Flop". He shocked the world as he won the high jump in the 1968 Summer
Olympics by jumping over the bar with his back first and flopping into
the pit.
The major undertaking that
our club participated in was a Vision Facilitation Process that helped
us develop our goals and give us guidance for the next five years . The
goals are:
Club Service - To integrate all members into club activities. To
offer high profile programs with media coverage. To provide leadership
training for members. To continue to host quarterly special fellowship
meetings.
Vocational Service - To develop a program that allows members to
partner with teachers to mentor and tutor students. To recognize Service
Above Self in the teaching profession. To develop Literacy teams for every
school. To become actively involved with the Interact Club.
Community Service - To integrate with the Interact Club through
joint projects. To develop a recycling program for businesses. To improve
quality of life for high-risk, low-income families.
International Service - For 25% of our members to directly participate
in international projects. To adopt a village and do "hands-on"
projects. To develop a micro-credit loan program. To run a youth conflict
management program with Rotary International.
Fundraising - To develop event fundraisers to replace sale orientated
fundraisers. To host an international youth exchange banquet and auction.
To develop a Rotary Bike Trek. To host a poker tournament.
Foundation - For each member to contribute to Paul Harris annually.
To contribute on average$20 per Rotarian to the Polio Plus Partners Program.
To annually donate to the Rotary Foundation $50,000. For one hundred percent
of our Rotarians to become Paul Harris Fellows.
Leadership Development - to reorganize our committees and leadership
model. To offer a yearly leadership retreat. To develop a committee and
leadership succession plan. To have one hundred percent participation
in District Training events.
A Vision Statement and Core Values were developed.
Vision: The Red Wing Rotary Club strives to become the premier
service organization in our community. We enjoy fun, fellowship and projects
that support youth and promote good will and peace in Red Wing and around
the world.
Core Values: Generosity, Service, Diversity and Integrity
We combined our Literacy Project
with the International Project by participating in the "Read to Feed"
Challenge at Sunnyside School. Students were challenged to read every
day and to collect a penny for every book that they read. The goal was
to raise enough money to buy an animal through the "Read to Feed
Program". Rotarians read to the students at breakfast on Mondays
and Fridays and financially offered to match their efforts, up to $1,000.
Students accepted the challenge and easily read enough books to exceed
the goal. Together we raised over $2,000 and were able to purchase a variety
of animals for a variety of communities in Africa.
Our exchange student, Sebastian
Cordova, came from Ecuador. His favorite activities included downhill
skiing, shopping at Mall of America, and hanging out. I would especially
like to thank his host families, Lynn & Pete Dulak, Meg & Chris
Walsh, and Marie & Bill Pond. Without them, we couldn't have offered
"Sebas" such a great experience. For the first time ever, three
students from Red Wing were selected to participate in the exchange program.
For the 2008/09 year Anne Grinager will be in Ecuador, Joe Walch will
be in Japan and Ingrid Anderson will be in Poland.
The rest of the year included
regular Rotary activities: River City Days Parade, Winter and Summer Kids'
Fishing Contest at Pottery Pond, Rose Day Sale, Band Classic, Fast for
Hope, the PAR Golf Tournament, and Charter Night.
2008
- 2009
Clare Pavelka, President
| District
Governor |
Roy Sjoberg |
| President |
Clare Pavelka |
| Vice President |
Meg Walch |
| President
Elect |
Mandy Lohmann |
| Secretary
|
Phil McNairy |
| Treasurer
|
Bob Deter |
| Club Service
Director |
Jerry Olson |
| Community
Service Director |
Scott McNurlin |
| International
Service Director |
Lisa Marty |
| Membership |
Scott Arneson |
| Vocational
Service Director |
Roger Palmquist |
| Rotary Foundation
|
Roger Sammon |
| Youth Exchange
|
Phil McNairy |
| World Community
Service |
Roger Sammon |
| Interact
|
Susan Horvat |
| PR |
Tom Feehan |
| Webmaster |
Randy Johnson |
| Rooter |
Tom Feehan |
| Programs
|
Meg Walch |
My term as president began
in a rather unconventional fashion. In May of 2008 I give birth to my
daughter Monica. I was committed to maintaining my service to Rotary and
knew it could be done with the help of my club members. And from the start
it was a success.
My first order as President was to get out and visit other clubs. With
Monica just a few weeks old, we visited clubs across the district to learn
what works for others and listen to new ideas. This was a great foundation
to begin working through my goals for the year. I asked Don Rutten, Past
President 1999-2000, to become the interim president because he was instrumental
in encouraging me to become involved in Rotary as program chairperson
when I joined in 1998. Don and I had weekly phone calls and together lead
the club through the busy summer parade season. The club again hosted
the Red Wing Band Classic lead by chairperson David Anderson. We also
coordinated the River City Days parade led by Tom Feehan and Mandy Lohmann.
On the evening of the annual steak fry in August our youth exchange student
from Finland, Juuso Jauhiainen, was introduced to the club for the first
time. Later in the year I had the opportunity to meet JJ's father when
he visited Red Wing. Many thanks to Phil McNairy and Lisa Marty for their
work with the Youth Exchange program and a big thank you to the host families.
I returned to my professional duties in the fall of 2008 to help launch
our inaugural year of STRIVE at the Red Wing High School. This mentoring
program received an added bonus with the recognition of a $5000 grant
from the Stepps Up Program. Emily Nelson was key in helping the club apply
for the grant and Meg Walch was the STRIVE coordinated this first year.
We had a fantastic group of 11 seniors to work with. Scholarships were
awarded to; Jennifer Scheuer, Tyler Boek and Morgan Bohmbach.
Our sole fundraiser, Rose Days Sales, chaired by Diane McNeil netted the
club $3,425.00. This money was used to fund our local projects including;
Kids Fishing Contest, up-keep at Pottery Pond and the Skate Park, River
City Days Frisbee Golf Tournament, SE Tech College Scholarship, Red Wing
High School Scholarship, Group Study Exchange and community grants.
With the help of a matching grant from RI, the club was able to provide
$1000 to Goodhue County Public Health for an immunization clinic. It was
one of many ways the club members were involved with hands on service.
Thanks to Club member, Margaret Ekdhal, for learning the RI grant process
and working diligently for our club to receive this grant.
We celebrated the holiday season with our annual Christmas Party at the
Indigo Room. Despite the blizzard that raged outside, we still carried
on singing songs and toasting with our friends from the Lake City club.
Because of the downturn in
the economy, the club looked at creative ways to increase our membership.
The new year brought renewed excitement in starting a morning Rotary club.
Tom Feehan became a champion of this effort by organizing Red Wing's first
Rotary Day.
You can't beat fun for a good
time, and we sure did have fun at our weekly meetings. Paul Christenson
was my faithful side-kick on the piano. We recognized our many wonderful
speakers with a book donation in their name to the Dolly Parton Imagination
Library. And we had had numerous off-site visits, including the Red Wing
Shoe Flagship Store that was under construction.
A highlight for the club is hosting the inbound Group Study Exchange team.
For one week we hosted the District 2360 team from Sweden. Team members
included; team leader Christer Wecke, Charlotte Karlsson, Jakob Sjodin,
Martin Dahl and Maria Lindberg. I had the pleasure of hosting Maria at
my house and it was a fabulous experience. A Double GSE bonus this year
was our club sponsoring an outbound GSE team member from the community,
Stephanie Riegelman. Steph is my colleague at Red Wing Shoe Company and
I was very excited for her to participate in this life-changing experience.
To round out my year in June Charter President, Jerry Borgen pulled off
another successful PAR (polio ain't rid) golf tournament. The event is
an annual fundraiser for the RI Polio Foundation.
I want to close with a HUGE thank you to all the members of the club.
When there was work to be done and projects that needed attention-members
stepped forward to volunteer their help. I felt like the conductor of
a well-tuned orchestra in that I lead the song and you played it beautifully.
I could not have taken on such a responsibility as President, plus a new
baby at home, without your help and cooperation.
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