This week at Rotary
Wednesday July 18th was an exceptionally great day to be a Fergus Falls Noon Rotarian as we said farewell to our beloved exchange student, Pepe.
We were checked in by Ryan and greeted by Kathy. Katie Johnson called us to order in President Lori's absence and Tim H. led our invocation.
Keith Olson led us in appropriate songs for the Rotary Exchange theme of the day: #13 ROTARY "Flags of Many Nations", #74 It's a Small World (sung as a round and "the best he's ever hear us" exclaimed Pepe!), and #3 Smile followed the Happy Birthday song to members celebrating this month (Pete, Katie, Mike C., Scott, Buzz and Lori).
Announcements
1. Baby Contest Winner From Last Week was Ryan Welle. His name was drawn from the two people who correctly guessed the mystery baby was Matt Bucher. Ryan received a sleeve of golf balls for his good guessing skills.
2. Duck Derby Follow Up. Special round of applause to Ben Durbin for his impressive kayaking skills and a thank you to everyone who pitched in and made it a very successful event. All 1,000 ducks were sold and we'll get a final funds-raised update from our treasurer when he returns from time out of town. First and second place winners (Mike Welle and Zach Jeppeson) will not be able to attend a meeting to receive their prize money so their ticket sellers (Ryan and Greg) will deliver the goods. Winnings for the third place winner, Ingrid Leo, were given to her grandfather Buzz at the meeting with congrats and trust in him to get the money in her hands.
3. Peach Sale. Date of delivery is tentatively set for August 24th. Sales sheets were available for pick up and same song & dance as last year. No half boxes, only full. Price $30. Go forth and sell.
4. Board Meeting Report. Lori asked Katie to give a brief update on a couple of items from last week's meeting and noted that in the future, Board Members will be giving updates from their committee areas on the Wednesday following board meetings. Highlights were shared from the July board meeting about Committee Organization, Fundraising and Budgeting. The full minutes can be found here.
Rotary Minute
Bob asked Pepe to recall stories from people at each table he had spent time with throughout his year in Fergus Falls and he had at least one story from every table! Bob commended the club on being so involved in the exchange program this year.
Brags & Fines
The author lost her page of notes on brags & fines amidst trying to run the meeting and take notes. So from memory and apologies for any I forgot:
- Dan Johnson on the birth of new daughter Zoe Leona
- Tim H. for a couple of things I just can't remember but am sure they were really awesome!
- Keith O. for MCing his 40th class reunion with Hal Leland Jr.
- Hal Leland Sr. for the good comments he heard about Keith & Hal's reunion tour show
- Bob and Elaine for Pepe's year with us (Bob mentioned he has arranged a special goodbye breakfast at The Viking, lutefisk and all)
- Ryan for his brother's duck derby win (with money from his brother's duck derby win :-)
Program
Pepe gave us a pictorial overview of his year in Fergus Falls. The dozens of photos and his emotional and heartfelt gratitude were a wonderful commentary of the cause behind Rotary's exchange program. Building goodwill between nations and cultures through friendships and bonds built through the exchange program is indeed a worthy endeavor. Among the highlights Pepe shared were:
- Receiving the Outstanding Otter Award at FFHS
- Attending a Timberwolves Game, touring the Vikings Stadium and attending a Twins Game
- Visiting the Mall of America
- His quarterly Exchange group gatherings with other Rotary exchange students and a particularly special place in his heart for the student from Poland
- Attending snowball and prom
- Being MC for the talent show at the District Conference and at the Central States Conference
- His fishing trip to Lake of the Woods
- A trip to Itasca
- His trip to Washington DC, Niagra Falls, Philadelphia, New York & Boston (with a big THANK YOU for helping to fund it)
And among his many "firsts" during his time here he mentioned:
- Tubing
- Pontoon Ride
- Hunting
- Cleaning ducks
- Canning peaches
- Carving pumpkins
- Snowboarding
- Plowing and shoveling snow
- Building a snowman
- Eating lutefisk
Pepe's closing slide summarized his tearful goodbye sentiments: "Thank you for being part of one of the best years of my life. For your love, support and acceptance. For giving me the chance of living this experience. For being the best host club I could have asked for. For absolutely everything. I will always consider you my family and you will always be welcome in Mexico." ~Pepe Ramos
We have been changed for the better by Pepe! Please take a moment to say goodbye before he leaves if you haven't done so already. And stay tuned for more information on our 2019 Rotary Year exchange student coming soon!
Yours in service to Rotary,
Katie Johnson