PLEASE NOTE: If you receive the Moccasin Flower via GMAIL, the message may be "clipped" due to its length. No worries, click the "View entire message" link at the bottom of the Moccasin Flower email to read the entire newsletter! Remember to visit the TRCR website for the most up-to-date news.
June 6: First Thursday Committee Meetings | Noon-1:00 pm | Even Hotel | If you are not a member of a committee, stop by and learn more about committee topics. You may order lunch from the hotel menu so no need to register or pay ahead
June 13: Second Thursday Mid-day Meeting | Noon-1:00 pm | Even Hotel | Program: Leadership Celebration & LIFT Initiative Update | Speakers: Ashok Patel and Dave Moertel
June 19: White Oaks Parks Clean-up Crew | 6:00 pm | 4597 55th St NW, Rochester
June 20: Third Thursday Rotary Service or Social Option | Service: Mapping Prejudice Project | Even Hotel | bring your laptop | you may order lunch off the menu Social: Meet at Twigs at Centerstone Plaza Hotel for lunch - REGISTER for social option
June 26: Rotary Club of Rochester Board Meeting via Zoom
June 27: Fourth Thursday Mid-day Meeting - Rochesterfest Community Appreciation Day - All Service Club Luncheon at Soldier's Field Park (South tent) | Purchase lunch from Rochesterfest food vendors | REGISTER
A reminder to all that the Thursday, June 27, Rotary Club of Rochester weekly meeting will begin at 11:00 a.m. at the South tent at Soldiers Field Park and NOT at the Even Hotel. You do not need to register to attend this event.
Rochesterfest is hosting an All Service Club Luncheon and all service clubs in Rochester are invited to attend. The goal is to connect with other service clubs and learn about what each club is doing in service to our community. The event will be on Thursday, June 27 from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. The Rochesterfest theme that day is Community Appreciation .Day: Celebrating Those That Give Back.
Club members are invited to purchase lunch from one of the many Rochesterfest food vendors. Arrive when you can and stay as long as you'd like. At 12:30 p.m., a member from each service club will talk about their organization and key projects.
This short (less than 5 minute) survey will help all of us better understand why rotary is important to you and help us achieve our recruitment goal of 100 members by 2025.
Mark Dockery moved to Rochester in March to begin work as the new Director of Stewardship and Development for the Diocese of Winona-Rochester. Prior to Rochester, Mark served as the Donor Relations Officer for Catholic Community Schools in St. Cloud and, before that was the campaign director for the Diocese of Austin, TX. Mark and his wife, Robin, have been married for 32 years and have three adult daughters, all of whom live in Chicago. Mark previously served with the St. Cloud Rotary and is excited to continue his service here in Rochester. While Mark currently commutes to Winona for work, he will be located in the new Chancery in Rochester (across from Lourdes High School) starting July 1. Mark is a St. John’s University graduate and is assisting with their 35th class reunion in June. He hopes all St. John’s and Saint Ben’s alumni attend reunions June 21–23! Mark enjoys hiking with his wife and dog, is trying to learn golf (still horrible), and enjoys live music and theater productions.
John McKee was born, raised, and educated in Iowa! He graduated from Clinton High school in 1961 and Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa in 1965. After serving in the US Army he returned to Waverly and began a 50-year career in real estate brokerage and development. John is married to Rosemary and between them have four children, seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren. John joined the Waverly Rotary Club in his early 20s and was president of the Club in 1978-79. John is also a Paul Harris Fellow. John moved to Florida in 2017 and also bought a condo in Rochester so he and Rosemary could volunteer at Mayo Clinic where he has been a patient for over 30 years. Now a full-time resident of Rochester, they wish to become involved in the Rochester community year-round.
Pictured L-R: Past President Audrey Betcher, new members Mark Dockery and John McKee, Don Meyer (John's sponsor), and President Ashok Patel
A small group of Rotary Club of Rochester members regularly clean White Oaks Park on the third Wednesday of each month during the warmer months, usually beginning at6:00 p.m. for less than an hour.
Why not join? A bucket or plastic garbage bag, gloves and good shoes is all that's needed for the clean-up. There is a sign in the park stating that the park has been adopted by our club. If you would like to help keep the park clean and be outdoors, come the next third Wednesday of the month. Address: White Oaks Park, 4597 55th St NW, Rochester.
If you're a social person who likes to be around people enjoying themselves while also serving your community, this may be the perfect volunteer opportunity for you! The Rochesterfest Beer Tent is in need of servers on the following days. If you are interested in learning more or interested in volunteering, please contact TRCR member Kristine Ihrke (kihrke@soldiersfield.com) to reserve a date and time to volunteer.
Thursday, June 27 | 4:00-7:00 pm: 5 volunteers needed
Thursday, June 27 | 7:00-10:00 pm: 8 volunteers needed
Friday, June 28 | 4:00-7:00 pm: 6 volunteers needed
Friday, June 28 | 7:00-11:00 pm: 8 volunteers needed
Saturday, June 29 | 4:00-7:00 pm: 6 volunteers needed
Saturday, June 29 | 7:00-11:00 pm: 8 volunteers needed
TRCR members are invited to recycle lithium-ion batteries at the June 27 All Service Club meeting at Rochesterfest. A collection box will be available.
On behalf of Vicki Allen and the Program Committee… Thank you, UMR staff, for being such gracious hosts and to the 21 Rotarians who attended Rotation Day at UMR! What a wonderful program and tour! Everyone enjoyed it thoroughly. Rotation Day is such a great way to share our love for the places we work at and the community organizations we hold dear. Ann, Barry, Paul, Lindsey and Molly all made us feel so welcomed as they shared the UMR vison. Thank you also for the beverages, treats and pins. It was a great day! We send our wishes for a speedy Covid recovery to Chancellor Lori!
Thanks to volunteers from the Rotary Clubs of Rochester as they worked to clear land at Quarry Hill Nature Center. This year’s efforts focused on preparing an area of forest near the Quarry Hill pond for tree planting in Spring 2025. Work this year focused on removing invasive buckthorn and removing woody branches from diseased ash and box elder trees that have been removed from the area. Watch the news coverage by KIMT-TV.
Host an exchange student for few months next school year!
The Rochester Rotary Clubs are sponsoring a female foreign exchange student, Luca-Marie, from Germany to attend Mayo High School during the 2024-25 school year. During the school year, three families within the same high school attendance area are needed to host the student from mid-August – early June (approx. August-November, December-March, March-June). We are currently looking for host families for mid-August through November and mid-March through June. The exchange student benefits by experiencing the different ways in which each family lives and builds relationships with a variety of people.
Many Thanks to the seven TRCR Rotarians who provided the meal for Cook 4 Kids at The Jeremiah Program on May 21, 2024!
Those generously providing a meal for 37 families (each with 1-5 children) were Audrey Betcher, Josef Chlachula, Cynthia Daube, Marilyn Deling, Tamsen Leimer, Melody Trimble, and Lingxin Zhang. Tamsen's friend, Alexis Groteber, also contributed. Four of these Rotarians, plus Alexis, had also planned to serve the meal, but the severe storm that evening prevented that. Everyone was flexible and prompt to instead deliver the food at 2:00 pm and provide takeout containers so the moms could dish up their meals and return to their apartments. An amazing crew!
Mark your calendar for the next TRCR Cook 4 Kids on Tuesday, September 17.
Rotarians are invited to submit a proposal for a presentation at the Cradle 2 Career Annual Education Summit scheduled for October 9, 2024. Topics can relate to anything that promotes child well-being and development from Prenatal to Career (18+). Submit proposals to angalees@c2cmn.com
TRCR Rotarians are also invited to donate to next year's (2025) Education Summit through the TRCR Foundation. Donate by clicking here.
Through the years, The Rotary Club of Rochester has accumulated "points" which can be converted to Paul Harris Fellows. The points total continues to grow so the TRCR Board decided now is as good a time as any to share the spirit of Rotary and the honor of awarding Paul Harris Fellows to deserving members of our community. Nominees can be a Rotarian but do not have to be as a nominee can be anyone in the community.
The final month of every Rotary year is Rotary Fellowships Month and it is a fitting finale because "fellowship" is such an important part of Rotary. The word "fellowship" is right there at the top of the current core values of Rotary. It's the reason why we have Rotary "clubs" so we can do our good in the world along side fellow Rotarians and not just by ourselves. For many Rotarians, the highlights of their Rotary experiences usually revolve around doing projects with others. It is probably the reason why so many Rotary Fellowships have developed where Rotarians from around the world can join together doing activities they enjoy. We often hear Rotarians say that they joined Rotary to "make a difference," but they stay in Rotary "because of the fellowship."
As our club members make preparations to celebrate The Rotary Club of Rochester's 100th anniversary in 2025, we are looking for missing Moccasin Flower newsletters. If you happen to have hard or soft copies of any newsletter that's missing a link (indicated in black type) on the Moccasin Flower archive page, please forward to Lorie Luedke. Hard copy newsletters will be scanned and returned to you. Thank you for your assistance!
.png)
A small group of Rotary Club of Rochester members regularly clean White Oaks Park on the third Wednesday of each month during the warmer months, usually beginning at 6:00 p.m. for less than an hour. 
Many Thanks to the seven TRCR Rotarians who provided the meal for Cook 4 Kids at The Jeremiah Program on May 21, 2024!
Through the years, The Rotary Club of Rochester has accumulated "points" which can be converted to Paul Harris Fellows. The points total continues to grow so the TRCR Board decided now is as good a time as any to share the spirit of Rotary and the honor of awarding Paul Harris Fellows to deserving members of our community. Nominees can be a Rotarian but do not have to be as a nominee can be anyone in the community. 
The final month of every Rotary year is Rotary Fellowships Month and it is a fitting finale because "fellowship" is such an important part of Rotary. The word "fellowship" is right there at the top of the current core values of Rotary. It's the reason why we have Rotary "clubs" so we can do our good in the world along side fellow Rotarians and not just by ourselves. For many Rotarians, the highlights of their Rotary experiences usually revolve around doing projects with others. It is probably the reason why so many Rotary Fellowships have developed where Rotarians from around the world can join together doing activities they enjoy. We often hear Rotarians say that they joined Rotary to "make a difference," but they stay in Rotary "because of the fellowship."
