John MacFarlane offered our invocation and then we heard from Nathan Johnson and Sunrise Rotarian Karen Terry about the need for volunteers on May 6th if Fergus Falls native Chris Tungseth was one of the three finalists on American Idol. Unfortunately, he did not make it. Laly Parent was our guest as was her current host mom, Katrina Johnson, Cody Odland's sister. Cody told us about the highway clean-up scheduled for this past Saturday and the need for volunteers to show up for that. President Ryan reminded us to order barbecued ribs if we are going to do so by May 15th, with delivery on the 21st. Dean Monke agreed to represent our Club at the Channing Child Care ribbon cutting ceremony coming up.
There was a special presentation to representatives of Apple Tree Dental of a $10,000 grant so it can buy needed dental equipment for its Fergus Falls facility and enhance its mobile operations. Representing Apple Tree were Elizabeth Rogholt, Office Manager and LDA Supervisor in Fergus Falls and Dr. Lyubov Slashcheva, Director of both its Research and Apple Tree's Advocacy Program. The $10,000 including $4,500 from our Club, $500 from Pelican Rapids Rotary and $5,000 from The Rotary Foundation, was presented by President Ryan and District Governor Elaine Hansen.
Left to right: President Ryan Welle, Elizabeth Rogholt, Dr. Lyubov Slashcheva and District Governor Elaine Hansen
Our program was District Governor Elaine Hansen, a member of the Duluth 25 Rotary Club and who served as our District's Treasurer for 15 years. She first told us that former member Anthony Nordan, now in her club, speaks highly of his time with us and extends his greetings. She talked about the expanse of the District and traveling from Thunder Bay to International Falls to Duluth and then taking Highway 2 out to Dickinson, swinging down to Bowman and then coming back on I-94, then on to Brainerd and to Ashland - a loop of just over 2000 miles with 56 clubs to visit. Elaine thanked Deb Maertens for her hard work as the District's Youth Exchange Chairman, noting the energy Deb has brought to the effort. Elaine herself is 77 years old and has been in Rotary going on 26 years. She said our task is to be relevant and that is what will attract new members. She talked about Rotary removing barriers and uniting dedicated individuals to do service. Although we will no longer have annual themes, we will have slogans. This year's is "United for Good," while next year it will be "Create a Lasting Impact." Rotary is not political but champions good citizenship; Roary is not a charity, but it embraces the opportunity to uplift individuals; Rotary is not sectarian but stands on timeless principles that have guided humanity. When Rotarians come together, they can do the impossible.
Rotary is changing - in our District over half of our clubs have less than 20 members, so ours is consider one of the larger clubs. Worldwide, the average size of a Rotary club is 34 members. Elaine believes every club should be asking themselves what they want to be in their community. Members need to have fun and sharing that through pictures with others in the community will encourage participation. But in the end, promoting Rotary's image comes down to each one of us talking about what Rotary is and does. She concluded by encouraging participation at the District level and thanking us for the opportunity to be with us.
District Governor Elaine Hansen, Laly Parent and President Ryan Welle
