Weekly Meetings: arrive at 11:30 am to order lunch and socialize. Meeting (Zoom) begins at noon.
August 7: Weekly Meeting 11:30 am -1:00 pm, VFW, Program/Speaker: Rotary International Convention - Calgary | Steve Sperling - REGISTER
August 13: TRCR Community Foundation Meeting noon - INFORMATION
August 14: Weekly Meeting at Willow Creek Golf Course pavilion - Tee It Up for the Troops | Lynn Clarey
- 10:30 am - recommended arrival time
- 11:15 am Parachute Jump
- 12:00 pm Opening Ceremony
- 12:15 pm - brief Rotary meeting
August 21: Small Group Gatherings noon-1:00 pm; Committee Meetings: VFW, Service: Mapping Prejudice Project - VFW conference room, Social: Meet at VFW for lunch
August 21: White Oaks Park Clean-up 6:00 pm; note date change due to August 20th ForWard Concert in the park
August 27: TRCR Board Meeting noon-1:00 pm via Zoom
August 28:Weekly Meeting 11:30 am -1:00 pm, VFW, Program/Speaker: Learning Through the World of Work | Alex Higano, Rochester Public Schools - REGISTER
All Rotary Club of Rochester members, friends, and family are encouraged to stop by White Oaks Park on the third Wednesday of the month (except for August) now through October. The Rotary Club of Rochester adopted White Oaks Park several years ago and each Spring, Summer, and Fall, members and friends meet at 6:00 pm to ensure the park is clean and inviting for members of the community. Clean-up takes less than an hour.Care to join? Bring a bucket or garbage bag, gloves, and work shoes as that's all that's needed for the clean-up.
Future clean-up dates to add to your calendar: 6:00 pm on Thursday, August 21; Wednesday September 17, and 5:00 pm on October 15.
Address: White Oaks Park, 4597 55th St NW, Rochester.
Four-person scramble, nine holes with cart is $32.00 All levels of golfers are welcome! This is meant for fun and fellowship! Sign-up as a team, or individually, and we will put you on a team. All Rotarians and friends are invited. Happy hour to follow at Willow Creek.
If you are interested in joining your fellow Rotarians to golf and/or attend happy hour, RSVP Tamsen: tamsenl@fmcommunity.com.
The Silver Lake Skate Park has been supported by The Rotary Club of Rochester since it opened in the early 2000s. In July, six members from our club took time refurbish three Rotary Park benches that had fallen into disrepair. The crew, made up of members Dave, John, Colin, Don, Steve, and Terry, did a fantastic job, and we thank them for their hard work!
The Rochester Rotary Clubs' outbound Youth Exchange students presented at our club's July 31 meeting. Laurel Nordaune will be staying in Belgium, and Madelyn Rand is going to Finland.
Laurel and Madelyn are participating in Rotary's Youth Exchange program as part of the North Star Youth Exchange which covers Rotary clubs in central and southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. The purpose of Youth Exchange is to offer a transformative year-long (academic year) or summer short-term exchange program that allow students to explore a new country, immerse themselves in a different culture, and forge lasting friendships. The program gives students the opportunity to spend on year of high school abroad, staying with two to three host families.
Thea, the Rotary Clubs of Rochester's 2024-25 exchange student, attended a TRCR meeting before heading back home to Denmark. Her mother, Lotte, traveled from Denmark to spend time with her in the United States before they travel back together. Lotte presented a reflection at our meeting thanking all the wonderful hosts and families who were so kind to her daughter during her year in Rochester. She shared her deep appreciation for members of the Rochester Rotary clubs especially those who spent time with Thea, including members Vicki Allen and Terry Sorenson (pictured), sharing many wonderful adventures with her.
Every good closet cleaning produces a treasure or two. While Rotarian Allie Good was cleaning out her closet, she came across a gently used Rotary Holiday Classic sweatshirt and sweater from the 10th anniversary of the Classic. The sweatshirt is an XL and the sweater is a L (unisex sizing). Contact Allie if you're interested in one or both items. She suggests making a donation to TRCR's Community Foundation in exchange for the garments.
August is ‘Membership and New Club Development’ month. As Rotarians, we always need to think of recruiting new members into Rotary. Bringing new members into our club gives it new energy, new ideas, and new life. A club will always lose members due to career changes, relocations, family issues, financial strife, etc. Without an influx of new members, a club will wither away and die. Since 2011, District 5960 has lost 11 clubs with the formation of only a satellite club during that same period. Data from Rotary International indicates that most growth comes from the formation of new clubs.
Speaking of satellite clubs, what is a satellite club? A Rotary Satellite club is smaller, independent group within a larger, established Rotary club (the "sponsor club") that offers a more flexible and accessible way for individuals to participate in Rotary. They have their own structure, meeting format, and sometimes even dues, but are still part of the overall sponsor club. Satellite clubs are often formed to attract new members who might not be able to participate in traditional Rotary meetings due to scheduling conflicts or other constraints. The Rotary Satellite Club of Cumberland Impact was chartered on June 12. This club is an extension of the Rotary Club of Barron County Sunrise in Wisconsin.
RI encourages clubs to be innovative. Change meeting times and locations, including mixing things up each month. Create your own Satellite Club. Consider forming a Rotaract Club in your community. The more hands that we have, the more we can Expand Our Reach and Increase Our Impact. Let’s grow Rotary!
For seven decades, Rotary members enthusiastically awaited the incoming Rotary International president’s announcement of their theme. The president announced the theme at the International Assembly, an annual learning event for incoming leaders.
The tradition of crafting a theme is credited to Percy C. Hodgson, Rotary’s president in 1949-50. When Hodgson addressed the International Assembly in 1949, he impressed upon the incoming leaders that they had a “glorious opportunity to impart Rotary knowledge” and that “lack of Rotary knowledge can be a deterrent to the successful operation of a Rotary club.” Hodgson’s 83-word theme, which included a list of four objectives, was substantially longer than the punchier themes of later years, but it captured his hope that incoming leaders have essential knowledge of Rotary.
In the decades that followed, RI presidents introduced theme logos, lapel pins, ties, and scarves. Limited-edition theme ties were introduced in the 1990s and scarves first appeared in 1998-99. Many designs incorporated the theme logo for the year. Others, such as those selected by William Boyd from New Zealand and Sakuji Tanaka from Japan, used colors or imagery that reflects their home country.
A new approach
Although the annual theme and logo had special meaning to many Rotary members, they had little significance to non-members and affected their understanding of Rotary. To avoid confusion with Rotary’s official mottos and vision statement, presidential themes and theme logos were retired at the end of the 2024-25 Rotary year.
A new tradition of an annual presidential message that is consciously aligned with Rotary's vision statement and Action Plan began in 2025-26 with Unite for Good, inspiring members, participants, and the public to join together and be people of action. This shift creates stronger name recognition for Rotary with the public, while retaining cherished aspects from the past for members. The president still announces the annual message at the International Assembly. Presidential ties and scarves (popular attire among district leaders for the year and donors to The Rotary Foundation’s Annual Fund) are still made, but without a one-off logo.
