Missoula Rotary Club Members gathered at the Salvation Army to put together neighbor bags.   The supplies are being donated through a generous $1,500 grant from The Rotary Foundation, a result of donations made by our club members and Rotarians around the world. The Rotary Foundation has been instrumental in the near eradication of polio worldwide and is using its network to support efforts to diminish cases of COVID-19.

“We’re pleased to partner with The Salvation Army in Missoula to help our neighbors in need,” says Victoria Emmons, president of the Rotary Club of Missoula. “It’s our way of giving back to a community we love.”

The Rotary Club of Missoula meets Wednesdays at the Florence Building
Register for Lunch in the Events section below 
Club Information

Welcome to Rotary Club of Missoula. Join us for lunch! For membership inquiries, contact Dean Fiedler at MissoulaRotaryMembership@gmail.com.   Thank you!

Missoula

Rotary Connects the World 

We meet In Person & Online
Wednesdays at 11:45 AM
Governor's Room, Florence Building
111 N. Higgins Ave.
Missoula, MT 59802
United States of America
Our club currently meets in person and also via Zoom. We meet weekly, except for the last Wednesday which is a member fellowship gathering in a different location.
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RI News
RI reveals new Area of Focus
What one thing is necessary for all life on Earth -- including all of Rotary's work? 
 
Join Rotarians and Rotary clubs from Edmonton and Alberta, Canada, to Arizona and New Mexico, USA, for a special online presentation March 2 on Rotary International's new Area of Focus.
 
Ian Riseley, Rotary International President in 2017-18 and chair of The Rotary Foundation Environmental Issues Task Force, will share the stories and reasoning that inspired The Rotary Foundation Trustees and Rotary International Board of Directors to unanimously approve Rotary's new Area of Focus.
 
When?
 
Ian, Rotary, and the Environment!
Tuesday, March 2, 2021
12:15 pm to 1:00 pm MST; 7:15 pm to 8:00 pm UTC
  • 12:15 pm:  Greeting & Intro: Fun info about Ian, RI’s new Area of Focus, RICON and the joint Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group & Rotary Action Group for Peace Conference, and more!
  • 12:30 pm:  Ian on RI's New Area of Focus/Cause: Protecting the Environment
  • 12:45 pm:  Q&A moderated by Karen Kendrick-Hands, ESRAG Projects Director, and Ken Howell, 2020-23 Zone 27 Rotary Foundation Coordinator
 
Register by Saturday, February 27 at Ian, Rotary, and the Environment!
 
 
Contact Laurie.Zuckerman@ESRAG.org for more information.
Paul Harris Award December 2020
  

PAUL HARRIS FELLOW AWARDED

 
 
President Victoria Emmons awarded a Paul Harris Fellow (PHF) to her future stepson Yucef Bouzina, 16, at the December 23 Rotary club meeting. A PHF honors someone who has demonstrated the Rotary mission of Service Above Self. Yucef is a junior at Santa Teresa High School in San Jose, CA. He is past VP and current outreach director of his Interact Club and serves as digital media executive for the Interact District 5170 Assembly. Yucef has been a competitive swimmer since he was a little tyke and switched to water polo when he was 13. He is captain of his water polo team and plays club water polo, as well as for his school team. Yucef is a creative young man with a newly-released composition to his credit. He is also an illustrator and designed the cover of his piece. He was valedictorian of his 8th grade class. Taking numerous AP classes this year, Yucef plans to attend college when he graduates from high school in spring 2022, but has not decided which colleges as yet to apply. He hopes to study computer science/data analysis in health care, as well as his creative endeavors in the arts world.

La Vega Water Project
Update on Global Coalition Projects
Mark Rohweder shares an update (see letter below) on our club’s involvement with the Global Coalition. Rotary Club of Missoula is one of a dozen Rotary clubs in Montana that have joined together to develop sustainable water projects in communities in Guatemala. Your annual dues help support these worthwhile endeavors, made even more vital to these poor communities with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Without clean water, it is difficult for people to sanitize hands. Our club is proud to be in our third year of supporting this international community development and education project under the guidance of our International Director Jim Hutcheson.
 
 
 
Dear La Vega Supporters,

We have started to receive individual club donations commitment to the La Vega Water Project. We had our project kick-off meeting with our partners in Guatemala earlier this month. We'll continue to have regular Zoom meetings with our partners. Our team is currently working with the District 5390 treasurer and the treasurer of the RC of Mazatenango to transfer money to get the project started. The first task will be to finalize the environmental assessment and obtain the final two permits.
 
The Project:
The Rotary Club of Kalispell and Partners have formed the Sustainable Global Coalition which is currently working on three projects, including the La Vega water project. We have assembled a highly capable and comprehensive team to design and implement sustainable projects in Guatemala.To implement a successful project, our Sustainable Global Coalition of Rotary Clubs has built strong partnerships with the community of La Vega, the Rotary Club of Mazatenango, Fundazucar (https://www.azucar.com.gt/fundazucar/) and Engineers without Borders to secure a safe and reliable source of drinking water for over 1,300 people. This project will be assisted through Rotary Global Grants, donors and in-kind contributions from the communities in the form of local labor, local funding, and local leadership.  
 
The Benefit:
This project will secure a safe and reliable water source for 1,340 adults and children. Currently, residents of La Vega rely on individual shallow wells that are generally 30 feet (9.1 m) deep. Homes in the community use individual pit toilets. Therefore, most wells are contaminated. By providing clean and accessible water, this project will assist this community to grow and sustain a healthy environment. Together, we can change lives for the better.

If you have any question, please call or email me. I'll provide another update in January. Thank you for your support.

Happy Holidays,

Mark Rohweder, PE, PMP
406-300-7099 Direct
406-890-1193 Cell
1830 3rd Avenue East Suite 202
Kalispell, MT 59901-5578
kljeng.com
Rotary Youth Exchange
 
Past President Martha Ripley attended the 2021 SCRYE virtual conference January 9. Training is important each year to certify our club for the Youth Exchange program. Martha attended breakout sessions for the District Committee Training, Student Health: Physical and Mental Health Needs, Club YEO, and Club Committee Training. Over 100 people attended the conference from around the country and the world. Another training will take place on January 23.
 
 
Zoom conference has over 100 people in attendance.
 
 Students experience all sorts of stressors when on an exchange. Training and preparing them are critical to their mental health while traveling or being away from home.
 
 
Having a good committee can create steps for success for students. If you wish to be a part of this exchange program, please speak with Martha Ripley.  
 

Santa's Elves

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rotary teams up with The Salvation Army and Toys for Tots

Rick Oncken, Ryan Boyd and Victoria Emmons spent hours last week helping to sort and distribute toys at The Salvation Army. Rotarians and other volunteers received wish lists from families in need and then "shopped" through the mountains of toys donated through Toys for Tots, deciding which toys should be placed in a red Santa's bag for each family's children. Kids asked for everything from "Frozen" dolls to Paw Patrol toys. One nine-year-old asked for everything basketball, so his bag was filled with a basketball book, a basketball hoop, a basketball game and a real basketball to play with. A pre-teen girl requested art supplies, which were available in varying sizes. The idea was to make every kid happy. Back-breaking work, but it felt good to be Elves for Santa.
 
 
 
 
Pictured above: (l.) Ryan is surrounded by the many toys available for the children. (r.) Rick is holding a “Frozen” character doll and a “Frozen” book called Anna’s Best Friends. 

Neighbor Bags

Homeless. Holidays. Health.

Rotary Club teams with The Salvation Army to provide sanitation tools for Missoula homeless families

As the homeless population rises in Missoula, in part due to the negative economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more families are asking for help from The Salvation Army.

“We’re seeing a big increase this year of people needing help,” says Ryan Boyd, corps officer with The Salvation Army. “Keeping safe from COVID-19 becomes even more critical for those without a home.”

Wanting to help, members of the Rotary Club of Missoula stuffed “Neighbor Bags” on Friday, December 11, at The Salvation Army headquarters in Missoula. The bags were later distributed to homeless families. Each bag includes hand sanitation tools, socks and other items necessary to maintain cleanliness and warmth on cold Missoula mornings.

“When you only have one pair of socks, it’s hard to stay healthy,” says Boyd.

The supplies are being donated through a generous $1,500 grant from The Rotary Foundation, a result of donations made by our club members and Rotarians around the world. The Rotary Foundation has been instrumental in the near eradication of polio worldwide and is using its network to support efforts to diminish cases of COVID-19.

“We’re pleased to partner with The Salvation Army in Missoula to help our neighbors in need,” says Victoria Emmons, president of the Rotary Club of Missoula. “It’s our way of giving back to a community we love.”

Our project with The Salvation Army was featured on KPAX-TV Channel 8 news on Saturday, December 12 at the 5:30 pm and 10 pm news casts with weekend anchor Katie Miller. If you missed it, check KPAX online. 

Pictured with 200 assembled Neighbor Bags -- results of a good afternoon's work -- are Jim Hutcheson, Ryan Boyd, Victoria Emmons and Kathy Schulte.
 
Ryan Boyd's spouse, Josh Boyd, joined the team putting together bags for the homeless. Both Ryan and Josh are officers at The Salvation Army and manage the Missoula location.
 
 
Kathy Schulte adds a prominent Rotary label to each bag to designate that the items are made possible through a donation from The Rotary Foundation.
 
 
Jim Hutcheson places three pairs of new socks into each bag. Owning more than one pair of socks helps promote cleanliness.
 
 
Ryan Boyd adds a warm hat to each bag. With Missoula's cold weather, it's important to keep heads covered. 
 
 
 
Speakers
Kathy Schulte, Donna Upson & Patti Schulte
May 19, 2021 11:45 AM
Awarding of Paul Harris Fellows
Dean Fiedler, PE, & Ryan Boyd, Secretary
Jun 02, 2021 11:45 AM
Club Assembly: Your Rotary Why
TBD
Jun 09, 2021
Tom Day
Jun 16, 2021 11:45 AM
When Russia Took Crimea
Melanie Brock
Jun 23, 2021 11:45 AM
Summit Independent Living
Club Leadership Changeover/New President Welcome
Jul 07, 2021 11:45 AM
Induction of Dean Fiedler as Club President
Emily Brock
Jul 14, 2021 11:45 AM
Midtown Master Plan
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President's Message

Victoria Emmons

member photo
A nod to all the Mothers
Something we all have in common … a mother. Whether our mothers were wiping our runny noses, dropping us off at summer camp or piano lessons, packing our lunches for school, sewing our wedding gowns, cheering us on at basketball games, offering a lake house for our family’s vacation, planning a reunion, running a business so we could pay our college tuition, buying a condo nearby so she could care for the grandkids while we’re away, baking cookies with our kids, keeping a scrapbook of our elementary school artwork, working three jobs cooking dinner and doing the laundry … each one them remain an amazing person. Some of us had mothers with us as we grew up, others of us had aunts, grandmothers, or step-moms who served the same role…or even an older sister. Yep, older sisters get that role, too, especially in a very large family.
 
It’s not so easy to be a mom, especially today. Sure, we have all those kitchen and laundry conveniences that our grandmothers could have only dreamed of. But many of today’s moms also work at least one or more jobs just to keep the family going. 
 
The last year has been a challenging one for moms in general. Being hunkered down in a home 24 hours a day with three or four little kids underfoot as you try to work online, yet share a computer with your kids so they can also sit in their online classes once a day had to be miserable. My daughter has two kids and I know the lockdown from the pandemic was hard on their family. Juggling all of that for more than a year is really asking a lot of moms … and dads, too.
 
So this week, I salute all the mothers in our Rotary club, in Missoula and the world over. Thank you, Moms, for raising your children to adulthood, instilling in them the values you share, and creating the next generation of productive people. Good job!
 
President
Victoria Emmons
President-elect/Vice-President
Dean Fiedler
President-elect Nominee
Wayne Hiett
Secretary
Ryan Boyd
Treasurer
Kathy Schulte
Past President
Martha Ripley
Sergeant-at-Arms
Mike Schauf
Director, Club Service: Programs
Royce Engstrom
Director, Club Service: Fellowship
Diane Dawson
Director, Club Service: Membership
Dean Fiedler
Director, Community Service
Wayne Hiett
Director, Community Service
Levi Thane
Director, International Service
Jim Hutcheson
Director, Risk Management
Wayne Hiett
Director, Vocational Service
Dolores Bandow
Director, Youth Service
Minot Maser
Director, Youth Service
Scott Johnson
Committee Chair, Public Image
Martha Ripley
Committee Chair, The Rotary Foundation
Kathy Schulte
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