Rotary Club of Minden President Graham Rogney with Main Street Gardnerville Executive Director Jen Tune

IF YOU NEED SOMETHING DONE, ASK A BUSY PERSON?

That old adage holds true in so many situations, but especially when the busy person involved has the name of Jen Tune.  The Main Street Gardnerville Executive Director often puts in 7 day work weeks orchestrating the local events and rolling up her sleeves to participate.  Juggling a Rotary meeting on top of dropping off her daughter for move-in day at UNR was just the start of a busy day for this busy woman.  And she managed to give a great presentation updating Rotarians about the huge progress at the Heritage Gardens.

The original garden space was donated to the Town of Gardnerville in 2011 and began as hay bale garden beds the community could rent.  Significant donations added a labyrinth and better garden beds.  The Master Gardeners - educated through the UNR extension - received space and developed a landscape plan.  A shed was donated by the owner of the Red Barn Carwash.  

In 2023, Main Street Gardnerville created a plan to expand Heritage Gardens. This plan was made into official architectural drawings in 2025 by a Landscape and Golf Course Architect (and friend of Jen Tune’s).  This plan included 

Fully enclosed growing space,

Shed expansion,

Movement of the original shed to the children’s garden,

Creation of a Pavilion, and

A memorial rose garden in a walking path

Much of this work has been done - or at least started.   Over a thousand hours of volunteer time in May through July made this possible.  A $30,000 grant and $60,000 in the budget helped purchase a modular green house in March of this year.  This green house will withstand 140 mph winds and up to 8 feet of snow. Thirty seven raised cedar beds were built with volunteer help, including an irrigation system in which Jim Parks did all the plumbing and irrigation.  A small dedication occurred recently and plans are to hold a large Garden Party in October to celebrate all the volunteer hours and fundraise for the next phase of the Gardens which includes the Pavilion.  

Upcoming events for Main Street Gardnerville also include the Annual Fall Festival & Coffin Races on Saturday, October 4th, at Heritage Park.  Get your vehicles ready!

MINDEN ROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGE WELCOMES DANI!

Meet Daniela ("Dani") - our new exchange student from Southern Italy!  Her first host family is Whitney and her family.  The two young kids will be making sure Dani picks up English quickly.  Welcome Dani!

The Rotary Club of Minden is happy to welcome the following new members:

• Ric Casper from the Douglas County District Attorney's Office
• Loral Langemeier from Live Out Loud Publishing
• Eric Barter from Bad Boys Bail Bonds (Past President from the Rotary Club of Arcadia)

We look forward to hearing your craft talks soon and getting to know you better!

8/22 (5-7pm) - Rotary Youth Exchange BBQ at Zach (contact Sam to sign up)

8/23 - Rotary Youth Exchange Pizza at the beach (contact Sam to sign up)

8/23 (12pm) 130 year celebration of Trinity Lutheran Church

8/27 (6:30pm) Reno ACES game - Club Social

8/29 (4-6pm and 6-8pm shifts) Rotary serves hotdogs at the Minden Concert series

9/2 - 9/5 (9am - 2pm) STEM volunteers at Gardnerville Elementary (contact Pat to sign up)

9/5 & 9/6 Douglas County Rodeo - Minden Rotary volunteers at the ticket sale counter from 4-8pm

9/11 Rotary Club of Minden Foundation Grant applications due

9/11 (3-5pm) - Job Fair and Volunteer Expo at the Douglas County Community Center - Minden Rotary will have a table and needs volunteers to man the table!

9/11 - STEM Literacy Night at Gardnerville Elementary School

9/13 (7am setup; 8-11 serving) SMASH Pickleball Fundraiser (club will be serving Breakfast Burritos)