Join us for our Midday Meeting this Thursday, 12-1 pm, on Zoom. Our program will be our annual Leadership Changeover. 2019-2020 Club President Colin Aldis will review last Rotary year, incoming 2020-2021 Club President Chris Colby will speak about our upcoming year, outgoing board members will be thanked, incoming board members will be introduced, Past Presidents will be acknowledged, and we will enjoy music by the D'Sievers. Please join us to make the annual recognition event meaningful for all!
Our Theme for this year “Rotary Connects the World”
One year ago, the world had not heard of Covid-19. We were free to travel to the grocery store without a mask, get on a plane, visit our grandchildren and freely go about our daily lives.
I began my Rotary year in May when Pat and I traveled to Europe for a mini tour before our Rotary International RI convention in Hamburg, Germany (June 1-5). Along the way we saw encouraging signs of Rotary. A Rotary Wheel in southern England. A chance encounter in Trafalgar Square the center of London that millions of tourists pass by, with a Rotarian from the East Coast bumping into a Minnesota Rotarian. A hotel manager in Dresden who was a Rotarian and proudly displayed our Rotary Wheel on the outside of his hotel. A tour guide in Bratislava introduced us to their meeting place and he was a former President of the local rotary group.
Hamburg was of course a highlight of our tour. With about 30,000 global Rotarians you feel like Rotary does connect the world. We meet a vast majority of strangers who are friendly as we arrive in a convention center that reminds us of an airport hangar. Indeed, the site has to be large to accommodate so many. Our morning commute involved a walk to the local bus stop from our hotel, followed by a transfer to a trolley, which took us to the underground for our train to connect to another shuttle bus that would take us to the bee hive of the convention, We did feel a “buzz” and our days started early and ended late. We were all accomplishing and deeply involved ourselves in every aspect of rotary. Platform speakers in the morning to breakout sessions in the afternoon, trying to grab lunch along with 30,000 other folks, before our evening events (our hotel was too far out to go back and change) Our rotary day was 16 hours long of amazing experiences.
A Rotarian from The Rotary Club of Rochester is needed to assist Holiday Classic Sponsor/Advertiser Chair Elaine Case. The role will assist in recruiting other TRCR Rotarians to follow up with 2020 Classic sponsors and advertisers and make a few contacts him/herself. Not a difficult role, just one part of a whole team. Please contact the Rotary office if you are interested/willing.
Mark your calendars for Wednesday, September 16, 12-1 pm, and save the date for our 2020 Rotary Golf Outing. It's a fun, event for Rotarians and friends of Rotary. If you aren't a golfer, join us for lunch, a short meeting, and a program. If you enjoy golf, even on the rare occasion, register with your own team or as a single to be grouped with other individuals. The event will take place unless another StayHomeMN order goes into effect for that time.
You are invited to attend either or both interviews for a candidate for Rotary Peace Fellowships. The team responsible for the endorsement decision will be inviting the two candidates to speak about their experiences.
Best part: you can come and enjoy with no responsibilities. It’s a great time to meet our candidates.
A caveat: there is a “rain date” for each candidate. In case we have to move to the rain date, we will send another invitation. You do not need to commit to both dates for each candidate.
We have just over a week of June left, which means we are nearing the end of our PUSH for $400K! We are doing great so far, so thanks go out to all of you that have contributed to the Annual Fund of The Rotary Foundation so far this month…you are making a difference! If you haven’t, there is still time…see the information below for easy ways to give!
Please help us reach our goal of $400,000 of Annual Fund contributions for 2019-20…your contributions will be put to great use impacting the lives of people locally and around the world!
Scrip cards to Apollo Liquor, Kwik Trip, and Menards are still available for purchase to support The Rotary Club of Rochester. Remember, you purchase and spend the cards at face value, and the club receives 5% back from Apollo Liquor and Kwik Trip, and 4% back from Menards. The club gets an additional 5% on purchases at Kwik Trip, other than gas, inside the store.
If you would like to make a scrip purchase, please email the Rotary office with your request. Apollo is sold in $10 increments, and no change is given in store. Kwik Trip may be purchased in increments of $5 up to $25, increments of $25 up to $100, and then $200, $250, and $500. Credit remains on the card until the full value is spent. Menards cards may be purchased in any denomination between $10 and $2000 with the credit remaining on the card, as well. Apollo and Kwik Trip cards will be delivered within a few days, and Menards cards may take up to two weeks. Scrip cards make especially great gifts for celebrations, including birthdays and graduations!
Separate from the Scrip program but another way to support Rotary is Amazon Smile. If you are already shopping on Amazon, please consider shopping Amazon Smile instead. Same items are available, but if you designate The Rotary Club of Rochester Foundation as your organization of choice, Amazon donates a portion of your purchase to RCRF. Thank you for your support!
Join us for our Midday Meeting this Thursday, 12-1 pm, on Zoom. Our program will be our annual Leadership Changeover. 2019-2020 Club President Colin Aldis will review last Rotary year, incoming 2020-2021 Club President Chris Colby will speak about our upcoming year, outgoing board members will be thanked, incoming board members will be introduced, Past Presidents will be acknowledged, and we will enjoy music by the D'Sievers. Please join us to make the annual recognition event meaningful for all!
Mark your calendars for Wednesday, September 16, 12-1 pm, and save the date for our 2020 Rotary Golf Outing. It's a fun, event for Rotarians and friends of Rotary. If you aren't a golfer, join us for lunch, a short meeting, and a program. If you enjoy golf, even on the rare occasion, register with your own team or as a single to be grouped with other individuals. The event will take place unless another StayHomeMN order goes into effect for that time. 
Scrip cards to Apollo Liquor, Kwik Trip, and Menards are still available for purchase to support The Rotary Club of Rochester. Remember, you purchase and spend the cards at face value, and the club receives 5% back from Apollo Liquor and Kwik Trip, and 4% back from Menards. The club gets an additional 5% on purchases at Kwik Trip, other than gas, inside the store.