This Week's Rotary Scuttlebutt 06.28.23 (Jun 25, 2023)

Morning Meeting:

Laura Plys - Project Joy

Join us Wednesday morning at 7:30am in the Great Hall - Kitchi Gammi Club (831 E. Superior St., Duluth, MN 55802) as we hear from Laura Plys on Project Joy!

In January of 2012 the Plys family lost an incredible husband and father, Patrick Plys after a 17 year battle with brain cancer. Patrick’s love for Jesus radiated hope and an abundance of joy to those lucky enough to know him. He expressed his love in action through countless acts of community service, always striving to meet the tangible needs of our community. And, he did just that.

What does loss have to do with JOY? When Patrick lost his ability to speak and walk following a stroke, a dear friend asked him what now? The diagnosis was bleak. But Patrick picked up a white board and wrote out in courage - "I choose joy"

And so now even in their loss, the Plays family carries on the heartbeat of his life: choosing joy, spreading hope, ending hunger. Cancer can steal a lot of things, but they refuse to let it rob them of joy and the courage to do something about the pain around us.

The Plys family is now carrying on Patrick's legacy and honoring him by addressing the needs of hungry children in the Northland through "Project Joy." Childhood hunger is a growing problem in our community - but a solvable one. With all of the challenge kids face today, let's not let hunger be one of them. From friends and family to strangers alike, the Project Joy team are all passionate about the same goal: end the food insecurity that's prevalent in our schools and communities.

Learn more about Project Joy here: https://projectjoynorthland.com/

Join us via Zoom! ID: 864 1777 1488 PW: 279016

Presidents Dinner Cash Raffle Winners

THANK YOU to everyone who came out for the 2022-2023 Presidents Dinner! We had a great night celebrating the past and looking forward to our club's future.

An additional thank you all for a very successful 2023 Cash Raffle! Congratulations to all those who were drawn for a prize! Below are the winners:

1st $10,000.00 308 Bill Roberts

2nd $2,500.00 172 Mary McDonald

2nd $2,500.00 304 Rick Oase

3rd $1,000.00 417 Dan Blank

3rd $1,000.00 378 Michelle Schubitzke

4th $500.00 39 Bryan Lent

4th $500.00 190 Linda Deneen

4th $500.00 345 Chris Trapp

4th $500.00 377 Michelle Schubitzke

4th $500.00 421 R. Kelly

4th $500.00 268 Jake Samuelson

4th $500.00 204 Bob & Diane Hansen

4th $500.00 5 Lucas Tellijohn

4th $500.00 247 Greg Smith

4th $500.00 455 Erika Rolling

5th $200.00 489 Russ Smith

5th $200.00 341 Chloe Strand

5th $200.00 381 Ray Peterson

5th $200.00 324 Garrett Bunkowski

5th $200.00 450 John Leask

5th $200.00 424 Jolyn Halvorson

5th $200.00 248 Bryan Lindberg

5th $200.00 273 Mike Radzak

5th $200.00 436 Robert Pasek

5th $200.00 272 David Jordan

5th $200.00 389 Deb Sweet

5th $200.00 349 Becky Grumdahl-Peterson

5th $200.00 54 Dean Casperson

5th $200.00 13 Robert Hansen

5th $200.00 50 Mary Riley

Bike Duluth Festival Raffle Tickets

Save the Dates! 2023 Harbortown Summer Fundraisers

Ridgeview Country Club in Duluth, Minnesota, USA | GolfPass

ONE WEEK AWAY!!!

The 2023 Harbortown Rotary Charitable Foundation Golf Fundraiser will be held on

Monday, July 24, 2023 at Ridgeview Country Club.

This fundraiser to benefits the Robert Hermans Scholarship Fund and the Donald Holm Founders Fund.

COME JOIN US as we raise funds that make impacts on the lives of local youth!

Complete the form, and then send/email it to Greg Goldman, Juhl Halverson, or Scott Fisher.

District 5580 - "Cross Currents" June 2023

Read June's District 5580 Cross Currents Newsletter HERE!

Parking at the Kitchi Gammi Club

The Kitchi Gammi Club would like all our Harbortown Rotary members who attend Wednesday morning meetings to know that the top row of parking spots in the Kitchi Gammi parking lot (marked in red on the map) is now leased to St. Luke's. Those spaces are for St. Luke’s employees only and are not available for us to park in during morning meetings. St. Luke’s will be towing those spots if the cars parked there do not have the appropriate parking sticker.

Hermans Scholar Spotlight - Anne Foldesi

Hermans Scholar Spotlight! Meet Anna Foldesi from Duluth Denfeld.

College: University of Minnesota Duluth
Major or Area of Study: Business

Dream Career and Why: I would like to own my own business in the future because I want to
be able to use my creativity, expand on my ideas, and have independence in my work.

The Song That Sums Up My High School Career: “Livin’ On A Prayer”

Elementary School: St. James Catholic School

Great leaders learn from other great leaders. That is what Anna experienced growing up with
older siblings.

“My older brothers have influenced me the most because they are amazing examples of how
to be caring, kind, and respectful, and they taught me how to work hard for the things you want
in life. They pushed me to become a better version of myself through their example.”

“My curiosity will help me be successful in the next part of my journey because it will help me
to stay persistent, it will allow me to go in-depth into everything I will learn, and it will push me
to explore unexpected opportunities that without my desire to learn, I would have never found.”

Upcoming Program Duties

If you have an upcoming program duty (please check the upcoming duty roster), please be sure to secure a speaker and provide notice to Chloe Strand (Chloe.Strand@hdcmn.org) as soon as that speaker is confirmed. If you are unable to confirm a speaker, please contact Rick Oase (rickoase@yahoo.com) or Stephanie Judd (sljudd@gmail.com) for help, consider other program ideas like a Ted Talk, presenting yourself on a relevant topic or your business, or creating some excitement for a community organization you are passionate about. It is your program, so think about what is interesting and engaging to you and share it with others!

If for some reason you are unable to switch duties with another member or you have simply exhausted all efforts to find a speaker, please notify Rick or Stephanie no later than 3 business days before the meeting (the Friday before the meeting your program is scheduled).

Harbortown Rotary has a Windows 11 laptop at the Kitchi Gammi Club for weekly Harbortown meetings. Presenters may bring a USB drive with the PowerPoint presentation (or whatever is wanted to be shown on the projector while speaking). Please share this information with your program's presenter.

Thank you for your help and thank you to all who are working hard to find engaging content for our upcoming sessions!

Upcoming Program Duties:

08.16 - Dave Kohlhaas

08.23 - Juhl Halvorson

08.30 - Scott Soderberg

09.06 - Scott Fisher

09.13 - Service Project

09.20 - Shawn Clairmont

09.27 - Evening Fireside (No Morning Meeting)

Harbortown News

For news, announcements, event promotion, social media, media releases, and more, please contact Charity Johnson (csjohnson@starbasemn.org / 218.788.7288) and Chloe Strand (chloestrand90@gmail.com / 218.340.2531).

For Scuttlebutt: If you are hosting the program speaker, please copy Chloe on the speaker's name, organization, and email. If you are the chair of a Harbortown Committee, please update Chloe on relevant information regarding grants and awards, meetings or news. Chloe and Charity will use this information to create more dynamic and engaging content to share with potential club members and on social media!

It is our goal to continue to share the good work that Harbortown Rotary is doing in our community, so your help and support is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Harbortown Rotary 2023