Past Meeting Notes | Rotary Club of Saint Paul #10

Rotary In Review: Foundation Update and Paul Harris Auction

Posted by Linda Mulhern on Nov 17, 2025

At 12:12 pm , Ken Schaefer, the President-elect, called the meeting to order at Intercontinental Hotel, Ken thanked the volunteers helping at the meeting, Heidi Fisher was the greeter, Shelly Rucks for her introduction of guests and Happy Dollars, Pete Grayson for the Inspirational Minute and Four Way Test, he spoke about Veteran’s Day which was established after World War 1 and how only 1% of the population has served in the military and thanked everyone for their service which included a number of St Paul Rotarians, our amazing IT tech team of Rob Thomas and the scribe, Linda Mulhern.

Michael-jon Pease spoke to the club about the St Paul Rotary Foundation which is run by the Board of Directors and it has distributed money for the following projects over the last year:

Centennial Scholars = $20,000
Camp RYLA - $6500
International Grants - $6000
Speaker Honorariums - $2500
Gordon Parks High School - $750
Education Outreach - $12000
Service Projects - $1000
Cleveland Circle - $800

The international global grant to Bolivia has impacted over 9,000 people in 3 villages and has improved their standard of living with the dam built, the use of new greenhouses and increase in animal husbandry. Our Centennial Scholar fund is doing well and could potentially increase funding for youth outreach. The club has distributed $250,000 in scholarships over the past 15 years. Currently, the club has 49 members or couples willing to donate from their estates for the St Paul Foundation, so the impact for our area is significant. To become a member of the Elmer L Andersen Fellows (St Paul Rotary Foundation), an individual needs to donate $1000 to the foundation, in which donations can be made on a monthly or annual basis, so think about donating.

Paul Kotz spoke about the Rotary Internation Foundation. He is the team lead for the international grant team. When money is donated to RI, the funds are invested and after three years, the money is returned to the district for distribution. Everyone is able to submit a proposal for a grant and will be assigned a mentor from our district, so if you see a need, think about what needs to be accomplished in our area or even if you travel abroad and see a need, think about how money can be used to improve the lives of others. Many people are concerned about the fundraising that is needed within the district, but again a mentor can help. As an example, if a project needs $12,000 to be funded, only $6000 needs to be fundraised from other clubs within the district to be matched. Paul spoke about a clinic in Rwanda that needed medical equipment which was done by local fundraising, along with the Global Grant to buy the equipment within Rwanda. The RI Foundation has a four-star rating for charities and a 100% approval through Charity Navigator. Please start thinking about how we can impact both the local community and the world if you see a need. Both Valdi and Paul are ready to help you get the grant proposal written!

Brianna Haglin – Wanted to do some fundraising for Paul Harris Awards and noted that Paul Kotz (received 2 as well as the Polio Plus award), Carla Hauge, Laura Nichols- Endres, John Guthmann and Karin Ciano have been awarded the Paul Harris Awards over the last couple of years. Brianna asked for contributions if a new Rotary member was willing to donate the first $100 toward the Paul Harris award and the following people can now claim to be Paul Harris award winners: Helen Wagner, Rob Thomas, Saint Riewestahl, Tamara Sparrow, Morgan Ritchie, Rob Mairs and Alison Rempel Brown. We were able to raise $7000 for Rotary International in just over 10 minutes!

There were a number of Happy Dollars donated today including new volunteer activities to be started at the Science Museum noted by Ken, Dana noted that Saint had joined the committee for the Winter Spark (on 12/4), Pete was just happy, Linda had a great meeting with the Växjö (Sweden) club last Friday and Saint is teaching a new class.

Upcoming meetings:

11/18 – Pool and Yacht Club with Frank Burns
11/25 – No meeting due to Thanksgiving
12/4 – Winter Spark at the Union Depot
12/9 – Intercontinental Hotel – with Chief Rondo
12/16 – Pool and Yacht Club with On the Art of Living
12/23 – No meeting due to Christmas holiday

Volunteer Opportunities include helping working at the YMCA tree lot, please contact David Dominick and the Rotaract Feed My Starving Children packing event on 11/12 at 7:15 pm.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:09 pm.

Linda Mulhern

Rotary In Review: Ann Bancroft Foundation Executive Director, Ethelind Kaba

Posted by Pete Grayson on Nov 05, 2025

On a beautiful fall evening, President Jason DeKeuster called the Rotary 5:01 to order. He immediately called upon past president Shelly Rucks for a sobering announcement that past president David Dominick’s partner, Joe Keenan, passed away suddenly this afternoon. Shelly asked for a moment of silence and prayers for David. President Jason then called upon Joy McElroy for an Inspirational Minute and Four-Way Test. Joy shared a truly inspiring success story about a resident from Life Haven. President Jason introduced past president Heidi Fisher to introduce visiting Rotarians and guests. Having none, President Jason pivoted quickly to call upon Karen Ciano to present our speaker, Ethelind Kaba, Executive Director of the Ann Bancroft Foundation.

Karen provided a brief bio of our speaker. Ethelind added a bit of her personal story growing up in Ghana. She never thought her family was poor, but she gradually learned that they were. As a child, Ethelind was required to perform numerous chores for her family that took much time away from study and fun. This provided the impetus for her belief that we put too much burden on our children. She gained passion around this topic, which continued after her emigration to the United States.

Due to the strong influence of her grandmother, Ethelind yearned for more. She dreamed of becoming a lawyer where she could fight for justice of those in need. Ethelind got a job with a large law firm before realizing that law was not for her. Through a friend, Ethelind received an interview with the Ann Bancroft Foundation. She had little experience but had the right passion around dignity for all (and especially for children). She ultimately won the job as Executive Director. Ethelind held fast to her grandmother’s encouragement to consider herself the stone that the builders refused.

Ethelind provided some background on Ann Bancroft, though this may not have been entirely necessary for this Rotary crowd. Two things stuck fast when Ethelind first met Ann: she loves children and has great respect for teachers. The fame that Ann earned through her expeditions left her with the nagging question of what to do with that fame. She determined to pick a focus and run with it. That focus was on empowerment and development of girls. This stuck with Ethelind’s ideas of dignity for all and that “stone the builders rejected” that her grandmother talked about.

Ann Bancroft established her foundation 28 years ago on the belief in potential for every girl. Ethelind provided some success stories of girls served by the Foundation, including that of a 6-year-old girl who received a grant! Ethelind cited various statistics that highlighted the struggles of girls in our society and shares some of the Ann Bancroft Foundation’s ideals for positive youth development.

Interestingly, the Ann Bancroft Foundation is funded 100% by fundraising. Ann had an idea, but outside of her name, had no endowment or other financial means to support this work. The Foundation focuses on grantmaking, mentoring, and leadership development for over 250 girls (K-12 grades) annually across Minnesota. One of their mottos is “progress, not perfection.”

Rotary can help in several ways: 1) Learn about and donate to the Foundation; 2) Sponsor a table at their Annual Fundraising event; and 3) Follow and stay connected on social media. It is very important to get the word out about this great work going on in our State.

President Jason thanked and recognized our speaker and then invited Rotarians to share Happy Dollars. As usual, he closed the meeting by announcing upcoming meetings and sharing the Rotary mission: TOGETHER we see a world where PEOPLE unite and take action to CREATE lasting CHANGE across the globe and in our communities and in ourselves.

Rotary In Review: RI Trustee Marty Helman

Posted by Lynne Beck on Oct 27, 2025

President Jason DeKeuster called the hybrid meeting to order at 12:19 pm. The greeters were Beth Naughton and Bob Cardinal. Lynne Beck was scribe. The A/V Tech Team was Andrew Vincelli and Matt Magers. Back of House was Shelly Rucks. Jason DeKeuster led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Susan Rostkoski gave the Inspirational Minute. She read a Letter to the Editor from the most recent Rotary Magazine. The message, Unite for Good, was filled with hope. It is a way of life: how we can change what we want to see in the world. She then led the club in the 4-Way Test.

Jason DeKeuster introduced the speaker Rotary International Trustee Marty Helman. Helman and her late husband Frank joined the Rotary Club of Boothbay Harbor in 2003. She has a passion for peace and has served as Rotary chair of the Peace Major Gifts Initiative. Marty said that Rotary is the only NGO that has a Plan for Peace. Rotary is partnering with Australia’s Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), a nonprofit that measures and promotes peace as a positive indicator of human well-being. IEP has developed a peace index that lists 7 indicators that create a peaceful society. As Rotarians, we can be proud pillars of positive peace by working with youth, LGBTQ+, veterans and immigrant communities. We can also install a Peace Pole in our community that gives information about Rotary or ways to promote peace.

Marty talked about Positive Peace Academies that offer a two-year MA program free of charge. There are five campuses, one at North Carolina and Duke University. The Rotary Positive Peace Program is a non-degree, online 10-week course that is also free of charge and open to people of any age and from any geographic location.

Dave Dominick asked for Happy Dollars. Dana Bruce is looking for volunteers to help with next year’s winter event. She encouraged people to donate experiences to the auction. Linda Mulhern’s sister lives near the house in North Carolina featured on television that looked like it was burning. Bob Cardinal visited Rotary member Jerry Meigs who 90 years old and lives at Lake Johanna Shores. He said Jerry is doing well. Shelly Rucks showed a photo from John Gutmann on a Viking Cruise to Japan with a group of Rotarians he met on the trip.

Jason DeKeuster made the following club announcements:

501: October 21, 2025 University Club or via zoom 5:01- 6:15 pm
Sudden Cardiac Death: What Do We Know?
Russell Luepker, Mayo Professor of Public Health
Signature Lunch: October 28, 2025 12:15-1:15 pm InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront or online via zoom
Hospice: A Compassionate Approach to End-Of-Life Care
Jeff Thorne, Our Lady of Peace
501: November 4, 2025 University Club or via zoom 5:01- 6:15 pm
Ann Bancroft Foundation
Ethelind Kaba
Signature Lunch: November 11, 2025 12:15-1:15 pm InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront or online via zoom
Saint Paul Rotary Foundation Update
Jason Bradshaw
501: November 18, 2025 University Club or via zoom 5:01- 6:15 pm
Author Frank Buras
Pushing the River

The meeting closed at 1:03 pm.

Lynne Beck Scribe

Rotary In Review: Venomous Snake Bites

Posted by Linda Mulhern on Oct 27, 2025

At 5:25 pm on October 7th, Jason DeKeuster, the President, called the meeting to order at the Pool and Yacht Club Jason thanked the volunteers helping at the meeting, John Chandler was the greeter, Heidi Fisher for her introduction of guests and Happy Dollars, Shelly Rucks for the Inspirational Minute and Four Way Test, she spoke about travel and home are both meaningful, our amazing IT tech team of Rob Thomas and Andrew Vincelli, and the scribe Linda Mulhern. Jason noted Rotarians with October birthdays and cupcakes were available to celebrate the occasion.

A new member of the club was announced. His name is Saint Riewstahl. He has worked at the NIH while Dr Fauci was the director and worked with the resources available to help with communication and computer programming.

Karin Ciano, introduced our speaker, Chloe Vasquez. Chloe spoke about the health crisis of snake bites. She graduated with a BA in economics and political science from Macalester. You may ask how she came to her fellowship on snake bites? Her mother was bitten by a pit viper in Costa Rico and thankfully a tour guide realized what had happened and got the medical care needed to provide antivenom for her. We saw pictures of how quickly the venom created havoc for her mother with swelling and even opening the leg wide open to help with the healing. She has made a documentary about the health system in Costa Rica since the health professionals are aware of what is needed and have the antivenom available to help people heal from the consequences of a snake bite in their country. Chloe noted that 140,000 people die each year from snake bites and 400,000 have permanent disability. Snakes will always be around people in Central and South America as well as Africa, so we cannot get rid of them, but we need to encourage education for the public as to what is needed to prevent death or disability if someone is bitten. Many people in Africa realize that if they are bitten, they would rather stay with family and prepare to die with their family present.

Chloe spoke about the needs to be done to prevent death.

Health Care access – Most people are hours away from medical care, no antivenom is available and clinics are understaffed.
Antivenom access – It is very expensive, and governments are not purchasing (it is made from horse blood that has been exposed to snake venom)
Untrained personnel – Most medical staff do not know how to diagnose or give a patient the antivenom
Investments are not being made and are neglected.

The antivenom companies are a small group of producers, so family members are asked to purchase the antivenom at a pharmacy for a loved one, unfortunately what is often stocked is incorrect for the snakes in the area and they may find cobra antivenom from India rather than black mamba antivenom for Africa.

Chloe suggested the following for people in areas with poisonous snakes.

Education is important – What to do if bitten, both the public in general and doctors
Health care access – Which includes providing an ambulance, training of medical workers, use of snake bite apps and providing novel therapeutics
Antivenom access – Funding schemes for stocking antivenoms for Africa in particular, but also use anti poison centers to help families provide the correct care
Funding and the Attention that is needed – Using collaboration and lobbying and even use of art to show the injustices of areas with poisonous snakes and the lack of medical care or antivenom.

Hopefully, people can use their expertise to help enlighten people of the snake bite problem with advocacy, partnerships and the use of world organizations such as Rotary.

Chloe also wanted to point out that there is a lot of misinformation here in the United States about snake bites. She said if you are bitten, immediately take off jewelry or tight-fitting clothing due to swelling, do not cut open the injury and suck out the venom, DO NOT use a tourniquet which increases venom in a smaller area and once the tourniquet is released, can create venom shock to the remainder of the body. Also know the snake, so the correct antivenom can be provided via an IV. Antivenom for the variety of snake that bit an individual must be used, it is not interchangeable! She said that due to the cost of antivenom, it can easily cost around $300,000 to recover from a snake bite here in the United States.

Jason presented her with a certificate for her presentation with a donation to the YMCA program for youth homelessness.

Maisia Her stopped by the meeting to thank the club after winning the Second Century Scholarship this summer. She is going to St Catherine’s University and has an interest in occupational/physical therapy. She was a little emotional about the award and we look forward to hearing about her successes in the future!

There were several Happy Dollars from Ken Crabb, Doug and Pat Hartford and Dana Bruce (she is looking for volunteers for the Holiday Party at the meeting on 10/21)

Upcoming meetings include a Zoom call from Mary Helman, a Rotary director, on 10/14. Dr Russell Luepker will talk about Sudden Cardiac Death and on 10/28 Jeff Thorne from Our Lady of Peace will speak.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:15 pm.

Linda Mulhern, scribe.

Rotary In Review: Our Lady of Peace

Posted by Shelly Rucks on Oct 30, 2025

Rotary in Review: Our Lady of Peace, October 28, 2025

At 12:18 on a crisp October noon, Jason DeKuester, St Paul Rotary’s 116th President, called the meeting to order at the Intercontinental Hotel. Members who helped make the meeting a success were

Greeters – Laura Nichols-Endres and Dana Bruce
Introducing guests and Happy Dollars – Melissa Musliner
Inspirational Minute and the Four Way Test – Michael-jon Pease
Tech team – Ken Crabb, Andrew Vincelli, and Matt Magers
Scribe – Shelly Rucks

and a thunderous applause for Club administrator - Amanda Mai, who returned from vacation.

Past President, and District Governor Elect, Michael-jon Pease shared an inspirational minute on hope and led us in the 4-Way Test. Club Secretary Mellisa Musliner introduced guests at the lunch on one on-line.

With a pun, Jason called Doug Bruce to the podium to introduce our speaker, Jeff Thorne to tell us about both hospice care in general and specifically about Our Lady of Peace which is a faith based non-profit. Jeff initiated his remarks inviting anyone interested in a tour.

Our Lady of Peace continues the work of Rose Hawthorne who started caring for cancer patients in the late 1800s. This was a time when it was thought that cancer was contagious and so many suffering from the disease were living on the street. Her work led to the creation of the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne in New York and the strong Catholic base continues today. Care and employment are available to anyone regardless of spiritual belief. While Our Lady of Peace is most known for its free residential hospice care, it also provides home health care to all ages, home hospice, and grief support services for families.

Jeff corrected many of the myths about hospice and defined it as providing symptom control and comfort for one who is dying. Hospice does not hasten nor postpone death; it focuses on quality of life for the patient, family and caregivers.

Medicare covers 90% of the costs associated with hospice, including durable equipment and supplies. One requirement to be Medicare certified – to get this funding – is 5% operational time must be provided by volunteers. At Our Lady Of Peace, 19 hours of care per day is provided by their dedicated volunteers. Only 2/3 of the hospice facilities in Minnesota are Medicare Certified

A few unique points of Our Lady of Peace –

MN state law limits residential hospice to 12 residents; there is a special exception for Our Lady of Peace which has 21.
They are one of three hospices in the country to be free of charge for all families (there is no need requirement) This is generally $600-800/day average cost
Average length of stay is 12 days, but the most frequent is 1-2 day
18 beds are generally in use every night, with the others promised to an arriving patient
Last year they served 800 patients
As some patients may desire medical aid to die, or to choose not to have food or water, this is in conflict with Our Lady of Peace’s Catholic identity and currently not an option.
Families are encouraged and welcome to stay in the private rooms with their loved one.

Many Rotarians have had great experiences with Our Lady of Peace and Jason thanked Jeff sharing his grandmother was well cared for there as well.

The nominating team for our 2026-27 year presented the intent to add a new position of President Elect Nominee – this role matches IR’s structure and the new 3 year rolling goal process. Additionally, it spreads out the responsibilities from the President, allowing him/her to focus on leading Tuesdays meetings and the Board. The President Elect will be the coordinator of the weekly details as well as annual fundraising, with the President Elect Nominee assisting with special projects and support as needed. The members in attendance unanimously gave their endorsement of this with no one opposed.

Michael-jon Peace shared inspiration and education from his recent experience at the Zone Institute and encouraged our Club to look at leveraging District Grants locally not just on an international project. He shared opportunities where these were used in Texas, Ukraine, and here in Fridley.

We concluded the meeting sharing Happy Dollars with

two shameless plugs with Ken S sharing about the History Theater season and the upcoming musical on Winter Carnival and Dana sharing that registration is now open on our website (under calendar date Dec 4) for Winter Magic.
John Guthmann highlighted his visit to Nagasaki and visiting the Peace statue on Saint Paul Street
Francis gave $30 in honor of his 30 year old daughter’s marriage last Saturday
Matt M highlighted having been to St Andrews in Scotland
Ken C invited everyone to the Scout’s event December 10 where he and Gwen will be recognized with the Scoutmaster of Philanthropy award
Sherry Howe shared she is running for Winter Carnival Senior Royalty and looking for a sponsor
Peter Groves and Linda Mulhern both thanked Our Lady of Peace for care a loved one had experienced.

The meeting ended at 1:17 pm.

Respectfully,

Shelly Rucks

Rotary In Review: One Mississippi

Posted by Pete Grayson on Sep 24, 2025

Rotary in Review: One Mississippi: Uniting to Protect People, Land, Water, and Wildlife (Trevor Russell and Michael Anderson)

At 12:15 on September 30, Jason DeKuester, the St Paul Rotary President, called the meeting to order at the Intercontinental Hotel. Jason led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and thanked the volunteers that helped at the meeting, Carolyn Will and Dana Bruce - greeters, Bob Cardinal - Inspirational Minute and the Four Way Test, Heidi Fisher - introducing guests, our tech team of Matt Magers and Ken Crabb, Ken Schaefer - the scribe and our club administrator Amanda Mai.

Susan Rostkoski introduced the speakers, Trevor Russell (Friends of the Mississippi) and Michael Anderson (One Mississippi) covering Uniting to Protect People, Land, Water, and Wildlife for the Mississippi. Trevor and Michael overviewed the “state” Mississippi River and One Mississippi programs followed by a Q&A session.

Happy Dollars led by Heidi Fisher that raised funds for Saint Paul Rotary Club Foundation.

Announcements:

Zone conference on October 3rd at Mystic Lake.
Jason summarized upcoming meetings and speakers.

The meeting ended at 1:10 pm.

Ken Schaefer, Scribe

Rotary In Review: Club #9 President Jireh Mabamba

Posted by Pete Grayson on Sep 24, 2025

A fine crowd of Rotarian gathered at the InterContinental St. Paul Riverfront Hotel on Tuesday. At 12:17 President Jason DeKeuster rang the bell to kick off the meeting. He asked all to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and then thanked the meeting volunteers. Club Secretary Melissa Musliner cited a Mahatma Gandhi quote on happiness for the Inspirational Moment and led a recitation of the 4-Way Test. Past President Al Zdrazil introduced visiting Rotarians and guests.

President Jason introduced his counterpart, President of the Minneapolis Rotary Club, Jireh Mabamba, as today’s speaker. Jireh regaled the crowd with his wonderful life story by connecting the Rotary dots and of the gift of service.

Jireh Mabamba was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. During the time Jireh was growing up, rebellion was tearing apart the DRC. Their family was targeted by rebels. Rebels were kidnapping young children and forcing them into labor and conflict. At the time, Jireh was approaching the age of potential rebel kidnapping. His family left everything behind but their hope and faith. They landed in South Africa. Jireh was 9 years old and was struggling with the new environment, the language, and missed his home. School was very difficult due to the language barrier.

Jireh finally got a foothold by working with other immigrants and providing service to each other. Just showing up for each other created stability. Local Rotarians took notice of Jireh’s potential and helped obtain a scholarship to high school for him. This is the first dot where Rotarians impacted Jireh. In high school, Jireh became a mentor to the school’s youth exchange students, which, through his service, led to him become a Rotary Youth Exchange student to the United States (Rotary Service dot two).

As fate would have it, Jireh moved from the warm climate of South Africa to Duluth, Minnesota! Though this was another huge culture change for him, it soon felt like home. He was warmly welcomed into his new city and school. Because of his short time horizon as an exchange student, Jireh tried EVERYTHING and made the most of his year. Jireh’s host family and Rotary Club did all they could to help Jireh to attend college in the U.S. Their work helped him receive a scholarship to the University of Minnesota – Duluth (Rotary Service dot three).

Jireh approached college the way Rotary had taught him to live his life – through service. He started a Rotaract Club at UMD that grew to over 200 members. A key to the success of that club was its strong mission to support homeless. The Duluth Rotary Clubs supported that club regularly (Rotary Service dot four).

Upon graduation, Jireh ventured into the corporate world. He quickly determined it was not for him. He found that his corporate experience was not a good match with the 4-Way Test, so he started testing the waters for other opportunities. A mentor with the American Red Cross suggested a non-profit related to support for disabled individuals. Jireh’s first host family had a disabled child, so he reached out to them to see if they knew anything about the organization. Not only did they, but they utilized the services of that organization for their child. (Rotary Service dot five).

The full circle of this story is Jireh’s continuing service with Rotary. That led him to joining – and becoming the youngest ever President – of the Minneapolis Rotary Club. (Rotary Service dot six). As Jireh explains, service is not something that you do, it is something that you become. Rotary provided Jireh a path and a blueprint for leadership. Rotarians believed in Jireh. He says that the most powerful thing you can provide to others is belief in them. Jireh encouraged us all to turn service into legacy. Be the leader. See potential in others. Be the dots!

President invited Al Zdrazil to poll for Happy Dollars and then closed the meeting by announcing upcoming meeting topics and sharing the Rotary mission: TOGETHER we see a world where PEOPLE unite and take action to CREATE lasting CHANGE across the globe and in our communities and in ourselves.

Pete Grayson, scribe.

Rotary In Review: District Governor Visit

Posted by Dave Dominick on Aug 28, 2025

Rotary in Review (9/09/2025): District Governor

At 12:17 pm on September 9th, Jason DeKeuster, the St Paul Rotary President, called the meeting to order at the InterContinental hotel. Following the pledge of Allegiance, Jason thanked the volunteers helping at the meeting:

Heidi Fisher – Introducing guests
Micheal-jon Pease - Inspirational Minute and the Four Way Test,
Matt Magers, Rob Thomas and Tamara Sparrow - Tech team
Ken Schaefer – Scribe
Amanda Mai - club administrator

Micheal-jon Pease provided the Inspirational Minute. Heidi Fisher introduced visiting Rotarians and guests.

Ted Blank, assistant governor of District 5960 introduced District Governor, Glenn Bowers. His talk covered our make peace visible theme, uniting for good and background on new Rotary International president Francesco Arezzo. Glenn reviewed RI goals for 2025/2026:

Membership
Peace
Finish Polio Plus that would be aided by members’ contributing to this fund
Core Vales – Fellowship, Trust

Glenn covered the District’s and St. Paul’s membership trends. He updated the club on our giving trends and projects. Future opportunities include:

Crutches 4 Africa originated for polio victims. District 5960 will lead this effort for 2025/2026.
District conference. Continue to support the food security initiative that started last year. This year’s conference is April 17-18 focused on mental health, including youth mental health.
Water project completed during Earth Week 2026 (4/26 to 5/2)
Preparation for the 2028 convention to be held in Minneapolis, May 27-31. 2,000 volunteers needed.
Youth exchange via North Star youth exchange, the joint 5950/5960 program. Further, looking at an exchange program with Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Heidi Fisher led Happy Dollars that raised funds for Saint Paul Rotary Club Foundation.

Announcements: None

The meeting ended at 1:07 pm.

Ken Schaefer, Scribe.

Rotary In Review: Tom Gump on Membership and Nagasaki Rotary Visitors

Posted by Dave Dominick on Aug 28, 2025

President Jason DeKeuster called the August 26 Tuesday Signature Luncheon to order with a very packed full house of Rotarians, visiting Rotarians and guests. Additional tables had to be set up for this exciting luncheon. Probably our highest attended Club meeting this year besides our annual RYLA luncheon.

We kicked off the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Immediate Past President Shelly Rucks shared a Japanese word "Ganbate" which means do your best, hang in there and good luck. She led the Club with the 4-Way Test as a part of her inspirational minute.

Past President Heidi Fisher spent some time introducing visiting Rotarians, guests which many of them were former youth exchange students going as far back as 40 plus years ago.

Our program speaker was Tom Gump and his wife Catherine. Tom and Catherine are from the Edina Rotary. Tom was recently elected International Director. Tom reflected on Club Membership. He shared some current data which included number of members, number of members annually recruited and annual drops. In the area of attracting new members, Tom indicated that Clubs should focus on the cause, have affordable dues, offer service projects, meet at least twice per month and have a diversity of ages. There are many reasons when Club members quit, so it is important to engage new members immediately through committee work, networking and service. Another way to increase Rotary membership is to form new clubs. People join Rotary to build friendships/relationships; for professional development; and for giving back to their communities.

Other tips for recruiting include encouraging new members to join in pairs and prioritize for members to network.

Our Club had in attendance our sister Rotary Club from Nagaski Japan. Nagaski Rotarians were introduced and they provided gifts for all Club members in attendance.

Lots of HAPPY DOLLARS were flowing led by Past President Heidi Fisher. President Jason DeKeuster adjourned the meeting sharing Rotary's Vision. It was a fun and exciting Rotary meeting for All.

Meeting minutes recorded by Past President Dave Dominick.

Rotary In Review: Healthy Homes

Posted by Dave Dominick on Aug 28, 2025

Our August 19^th St. Paul Rotary 501 was held with a packed house of Rotarians and guests. President Jason DeKeuster kicked off the meeting thanking meeting volunteers.

Past President Michael-jon Pease inspired us with a theme around Healthy Home Environment leaving us a thought of thanking helpers and what glimmers you. Michael-jon then rallied our audience around the 4-Way Test.

We had one visiting Rotarian Michelle from Stillwater Noon Club and a guest of Jim Hart. President Jason's younger brother Jeff a former RYLA graduate came to check out our Club as a potential new member.

Past President Karin Ciano introduced our speaker Hunter Babcock. Hunter started a young company recently which helps individuals focus on identifying their home that meets their healthy health. Hunter indicated that we spend much of our time in our homes and that the lighting and water quality in our homes impacts our health. Hunter also discussed EMS which is least researched today which is energy management systems for homes. He suggested keeping your WIFI router at least 10 feet from the bed or your office area.

Happy Birthdays were celebrated for August with Dave's Cupcakes.

Our Sister City Rotary Club is arriving this week with opportunities of service which include meeting the Mayor and City Council at the airport on Thursday at 2:30 PM; helping the delegation at the State Fair this coming Sunday along with visiting the History Center. More Rotarians arrive this Saturday at the airport at 11:20 am so come and help roll out the welcome mat.

Next Tuesday's Signature Luncheon's program speaker is Rotary International Director Elect Tom Gump from Edina.

President Jason thanked everyone for attending and close the meeting with the clanging of the bell.

Meeting minutes recorded Past President Dave Dominick.