2005-06
2005
The club moved its meetings from the Elks to Bernie’s Vintage Ballroom.
With the Rotary International Theme, “Celebrate Rotary” the club celebrated the 100-year anniversary of Rotary with a special program.
The Annual Honor’s Banquet was held for BA and FHS seniors.
The Annual Strive Banquet was held with scholarships awarded at the Elks Club.
The club’s 3-year pledge drive for Polio Plus ended with collections exceeding the $7500 goal.
The Club held the annual picnic and silent auction at the Rotary Camp.
The club enjoyed the 66th annual Christmas Concert.
Our club’s 85th president in 2004-05 was Richard Cook. He joined our club in 1997 and has been a member for 23 years.
This was probably Dick’s fondest yet bittersweet memory:
"That has Rotary written all over it", a comment made observing kids playing soccer on our way to a 2004 training session at the Hasting High School. With me that day were Keith Shaffer, president-elect and Angela Storch. Keith wouldn't be president dying prematurely of a heart attack in 2005. Keith was one of those guys to get things done. That comment, that day inspired me. So, we signed a resolution on October 4, 2004 to take a leadership role in creating soccer fields in Faribault by assembling a group of key stakeholders to explore and lead this initiative.
The money piece, as past president Darlene Meillier noted 2 weeks ago, actually took place after her presidency. It was a big deal at the time and she is right the camp did come into play as a revenue source. It was subsequently dropped when Rotarian Wes Bahl talked to his son, Tracy. Wes had cancer at that time and an unknown future. When the Bahl Foundation committed a million dollars other stakeholders, like Faribault Rotary stepped up. Our club raised $50,000 for naming rights on one of the fields by sponsoring a couple of circus fundraisers. The fields and our commitment came to fruition in 2010 with the dedication of Faribault Soccer Complex and Bahl Field. Neither Keith Shaffer or Wes Bahl, both friends and Rotarians, never lived to see this come to pass yet were key inspirations.
2006
Our club’s 85th president in 2005-06 was Gary Peterson.
Gary’s memories from the year he was president started on a sad note with the unexpected and sudden death of incoming President Keith Shaffer in March 2005. He was one of the most respected and productive members of our club. He was missed greatly by everyone. As President-elect to follow Keith, I then became president a year earlier than anticipated.
Through the Rotary year we celebrated the Strive and Honors banquets recognizing the achievements of local students, the annual picnic at the Rotary Youth Camp, the 67th annual Christmas concert at St. Luke’s Church with the Faribault Senior High Choir, and all of the club’s ongoing activities.
The Club started the Rotary Readers program with the assistance of the first, second and third grade teachers at Jefferson Elementary School. Rotarians volunteered on a weekly basis to meet and read with students selected by the teachers in a one-on-one setting. Teachers reported positive results in student confidence and reading skills. Participating Rotarians contributed many hours of their time in this volunteer activity.
In addition, Rotarian Pastor Mark Noreen organized, and Capstone Press in Mankato provided, a gift of over 1,000 new library books organized and distributed by our Faribault Rotary members to the Faribault public elementary school libraries.