Thursday, February 3 is TRCR's committee meeting day. The registration deadline to pre-order lunch has passed, but you are welcome to stop by for lunch at a cost of $25 or join your fellow Rotarians without lunch. Continue reading to learn more about what happens the first Thursday of each month.
So, what happens from 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. the first Thursday of the month? To encourage members to participate in club committees, the first Thursday of the month has been designated as a time when members of club committees can meet during the club's originally scheduled meeting time. This saves members from trying to find another time outside of the club's regular weekly meeting time to take care of committee business.
What if I'm not on a committee? You are welcome to come to the Even Hotel (our new meeting place) and socialize. If you're planning to come and eat lunch, the same meeting registration process as the Midday meeting pertains. You must register by noon on the Monday prior to that week's meeting to reserve lunch at the $20 rate. Day of the meeting lunch is available for $25.
If you're currently not a member of a committee and are interested in joining one, let Amber or one of the club's board members know, and they'll try and find a committee that fits your interests.
Join your fellow Rotarians at the February 10 Midday Meeting of The Rotary Club of Rochester. Lunch is available at the door for $25, or you can attend the meeting without eating lunch.
Rebecca Irby is the Founding Partner and President of PEAC Institute. Over the last 10 years, Rebecca has served as an education and technology consultant on diversity and cultural awareness initiatives with the New Jersey Department of Education, Rutgers University, the National Liberty Museum, Nagoya University, and many others. Rebecca also sits on an advisory board incorporating social skills training into the core programs of schools around the United States. She recently completed a cross-cultural communications textbook for the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry. Additionally, she created business English communication curricula for some of the world's largest organizations, including the Red Cross, Toyota, and Mitsubishi. When not consulting on education initiatives, she works on social documentaries and charity events. She produced and debuted her first film 'That Day,' the story of a Hiroshima survivor, on August 6, 2013. Her last charity event was on March 2015, when she organized and rode in a 500km bike and run through the areas affected by the tsunami of 2011. Her last assignment was working as Dean of Special Education for BRICK Peshine Academy in Newark, NJ. With PEAC, she has organized, trained, and facilitated youth forums to the NPT PrepCom in 2018, 2019, and 2020 as well as a High-Level forum in conjunction with the New Zealand Foreign Ministry and United Nations. Rebecca has spoken about nuclear abolition and heart-centered leadership at Harvard Law School, the Yale Policy Conference, The PyeongChang Global Peace Forum; the Free Minds Free People Conference; Busan Democracy Forum; and will be at Barger Leadership Institute (BLI) at the University of Michigan in 2021.
North Star Youth Exchange has a desire to host a STEP Camp in July 2022. This short-term exchange camp would allow 12 students from around the world to come to Minnesota for two weeks to experience nature and technology. The Rochester clubs have been asked to participate in the camp which would include hosting students during their time in town and planning activities for the students including a visit to Mayo Clinic. We were planning to participate in the camp in 2020 when it was originally planned but due to COVID, the camp was canceled.
Before we commit to participating in the camp this year, we would like to gauge the interest of our members to be a host family for one or more students for 3-4 nights in July. I am anticipating that Rochester would host near the end of the camp around July 11-15. As a host family, you would be asked to provide breakfast each morning, one evening meal, and transportation for the students to a common meeting place in the morning and pick-up in the afternoon/evening. Host families are welcome to join the students for the activities as well.
If you are interested in being a host family for this camp, please let Melody Trimble, thetrimbleotherhalf@gmail.com or any Youth Exchange committee member know by February 4 so we can inform our Rotary District as to whether Rochester will participate.
Rotarian Phil Karsell shared his love of woodworking with a few fellow Rotarians at January's Third Thursday Meeting. Thank you, Phil, for sharing your talents and for your hospitality.
You're invited to join the White Bear Rotary Club for a program on Black Wall Street. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear from a nationally renowned speaker and author, Dr. Duchess Harris, on a little-known part of history.
Registration is not required for this event. Join the online presentation at 7:30 am on Wednesday, February 2, 2022 at this link.
Professor Harris arrived at Macalester as an instructor and a visiting assistant professor in 1994, teaching courses in women’s and gender studies. In 1998 she joined the tenure-track faculty in political science and African American studies. She was tenured in 2004, earned a Juris Doctorate in 2011, and was promoted to full professor in 2013. Dr. Harris was also a founding member of the American Studies department and served as chair for eight years, including as its inaugural chair. The breadth of courses Dr. Harris has taught is wide-ranging, and includes Foundations of U.S. Politics, Policy Analysis: Health Care in the United States, Black Political Thought, Race and the Law, and “The Obama Presidency.” Among the things she’s most proud of during her time at Macalester are the lifelong bonds she builds with her students in the classroom.
Locally, Professor Harris was appointed as a Minneapolis Civil Rights Commissioner by Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton, appointed to the Governor’s Council on Black Minnesotans by Governor Jesse Ventura, appointed to Co-Chair the Statewide Martin Luther King Holiday (twice) by Governor Mark Dayton; and appointed to the Board of Public Defense by Governor Tim Walz.
As a member of the Rotary Club of Rochester, there are three "To Do List" items to sign-up for the second and fourth Thursday meeting from now until the end of the year.
1. Sign-up to lead the four-way test
2. Sign-up to give a reflection
3. Sign-up to be a greeter
4. Sign-up for the visitor table / introductions
5. Sign-up to share your story by giving a member spotlight
The three District Governors (#5580, #5950 & #5960), have decided to postpone the Tri-District Conference originally scheduled this April. This is not the decision they wanted to make but the decision they had to make at this time. When dealing with risk/reward scenarios, this is the prudent thing to do for a variety of reasons (COVID-19, staffing shortages etc). There has been a team of 83 Rotarians, from all three Districts, working for the past 2 1/2 years to bring us all a top-notch event. A make-up date has not been determined yet and if you have already registered and paid, you will be refunded 100%.
Did you know that if you buy the majority of your gas at Kwik Trip, you could pre-pay for your gas AND help the club at the same time? A $100 Kwik Trip card immediately creates $5 for the club and any in-store purchases creates another 5% donation.If you would like to purchase Scrip cards, send an email to romnrotary@gmail.com with how many and what denomination you'd like. In additional to Kwik Trip, Scrip cards are also available to Apollo Liquor and Menards. The cards are purchased at face value, but the club receives 5% back from Apollo Liquor and Kwik Trip and 4% back from Menards. The club receives an additional 5% on purchases at Kwik Trip, other than gas, inside the store.
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North Star Youth Exchange has a desire to host a STEP Camp in July 2022. This short-term exchange camp would allow 12 students from around the world to come to Minnesota for two weeks to experience nature and technology. The Rochester clubs have been asked to participate in the camp which would include hosting students during their time in town and planning activities for the students including a visit to Mayo Clinic. We were planning to participate in the camp in 2020 when it was originally planned but due to COVID, the camp was canceled.
join the White Bear Rotary Club for a program on Black Wall Street. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear from a nationally renowned speaker and author, Dr. Duchess Harris, on a little-known part of history.
