Stories

September 17 Meeting Highlights

President John DeBettignies welcomed members back to Roosevelt park for another outdoor meeting. Deputy Chief of Richfield Police, Mike Flaherty joined Richfield Rotary for a great overview of RPD’s current operations as well as the response and action plan that followed the death of George Floyd and the unrest in Minneapolis. (Read more)

October 1 Meeting Reminder

October 1, 2020 Meeting Reminder

11:30 AM – 12:45 PM - – Woodlake Nature Center

This meeting will be a club assembly led by President John DeBettignies. Key topics for discussion and decision-making will include:

Richfield Rotary participation in October 12 Volunteer Community Event

Please attend so you can be part of the discussion and decision-making!

August 20, 2020 Meeting Reminder

11:30 AM – 12:45 PM - – Richfield Bandshell

This meeting will be a club assembly led by President John DeBettignies. Key topics for discussion and decision-making will include:

Richfield Rotary participation in October 12 Volunteer Community Event
NetGiver App fundraising alternative
Feedback and Suggestions – Fall Schedule

Please attend so you can be part of the discussion and decision-making!

Plans Announced for Upcoming Meetings

With limited time before weather changes, club officers have decided to hold club meetings outdoors, with contingencies in case of inclement weather. Calling it a “Richfield Community Tour,” President John stated, “In these coming outdoor meetings, we are going to visit different parts of Richfield.” John will announce the locations as soon as arrangements are made with the City of Richfield. An outline of fall meetings and activities appears below.

August 6, 2020 Meeting Highlights

President John DeBettignies welcomed members back for the first in-person meeting since March!

We welcomed frequent guest Mike Spencer, who thanked Barb Devlin for helping the St. Louis Park Sunrise Club with their club relaunch. There were lots of Happy Dollars, mostly reflecting how nice it was to see one another in person again! President John showed off the 2020-2021 Rotary Theme Banner, and distributed theme banner pins to those present.

Our speaker was Amy Markle, Richfield Recreation Director, who shared how recreation services are being delivered during the pandemic and led us on a tour of the planned off leash dog area within Roosevelt Park.

July 16, 2020 Meeting Highlights

This meeting included several items of club business, and a “Meet the Rotarian” program featuring “veteran” Richfield Rotary members, Lynne Alexander and Chip Groth, pictured at left.

OUTDOOR MEETING SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 6, 2020!

Put away your computers this Thursday, pack a bag lunch, and bring a lawn chair to our first in-person Richfield Rotary meeting since March!

To maximize safety during the pandemic, we’ll meet outside at Roosevelt Park, 7644 4th Ave S, Richfield, MN 55423.

Our speaker will be Amy Markle, Recreation Services Director for the City of Richfield, who will update us on the Augsburg Park Universal Playground and the dog park section of Roosevelt Park, two projects that have received financial support from Richfield Rotary. Since Rotary is a service organization, Amy may also suggest ways that we can provide volunteer support for city parks and recreation in ways that consider members’ health and safety during the pandemic.

Both Richfield Rotary members and others interested in Rotary are encouraged to attend!

June 18, 2020 Meeting Highlights

For those of you who attended this meeting, John and I apologize for our intermittent participation from a travel plaza in upstate New York! Thanks to incoming President John DeBettignies for beginning the meeting in my absence, and filling in whenever we became disconnected!

The meeting included some reflections on my year as Richfield Rotary President, a presentation by Sandhya Gupta on the small international project our club supported in 2019-2020, and the proposal approved by the club for 2020-21, subject to approval by the District 5950 grants committee.

Membership Application Received

I am pleased to announce the membership application of Charles (Chuck) Standfuss, a “semi-retired” attorney and HR executive who provides consulting services from his home office. Chuck and his wife, Liz, have an adult daughter (Tiffany Goehner) who lives in Richfield with her husband and their grandchildren. Chuck’s hobbies and special interests include service on nonprofit boards, spectator and youth sports, golf, reading, and political discourse.

Chuck has been a member of St. Paul Rotary Club #10 since 2003, serving as a Board member and Board Secretary. He is a Paul Harris Fellow of The Rotary Foundation.

Chuck is seeking to transfer his membership to Richfield Rotary, to be closer to home and serve the Richfield Community.

A second announcement will be made in next week’s e-Spokester. Absent any objections, Chuck will be inducted into membership at our July 2 Zoom meeting. Chuck promises “religious” participation in Richfield Rotary meetings and activities, beginning with the July 2 meeting!

Richfield Rotary Awards Cameron Scholarships

At our June 4 meeting, Richfield Rotary awarded $1000 Cameron scholarships to three Richfield High School seniors (L to R): Vashti Sanichara, Katherine Vasquez, and Anna Jensen.

The Cameron Scholarship Fund was established by family of the late Don Cameron, a local dentist and charter member of Richfield Rotary to support the post-secondary education of selected students who aspire to careers in a medical field. Cameron scholarships are awarded to selected seniors from Richfield High School and the Academy of Holy Angels. No applications were received from AHA students in 2020, so this year’s scholarships were all awarded to students from RHS.

Together We’re Helping our Neighbors

The results are in! At our June 4 meeting, we learned that food donations from the Richfield City-wide food drive in May totaled 13,166 lbs – more than 6.5 TONS of food! An additional $1050 was donated to the Richfield Rotary Foundation in support of the drive, providing the purchasing power for an additional 5000 lbs of food, or about 3000 meals.

Food Drive a Smashing Success!

Richfield Rotary was looking for a way to help the community in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and a food drive seemed like a great way to provide immediate help to community members. The Richfield Community responded in a big way, with nearly $1000 in cash contributions and enough food to completely fill the Schneeberger Group office on Penn Avenue, plus

John Devlin’s SUV!

1st photo: Current and Incoming Presidents Barb Devlin and John DeBettignies at RBCU drop-off location

2nd photo: Jay Clark unloading contributions

3rd photo: Front row - Food Drive sponsors Dave and Lisa Hintermeister, TCF Home Loans and Steve Schneeberger, Keller Williams Realty; Back - Joe McDonald, VEAP CEO, Barb Devlin, President, Richfield Rotary Club

The Thank Yous Say It All - Richfield Rotary is Making a Difference!

Some nice “thank yous” were received in response to Richfield Rotary’s Spanish-English Dictionary and Book Project and our contributions toward the City of Richfield Dog Park and Universally Accessible Playground projects. Read on to see some wonderful messages!

Dictionary and Book Deliveries Nearly Complete!

Delivery of the Spanish-English dictionaries and culturally relevant books to schools is nearly complete! Thanks to all the Richfield Rotarians who helped out, including our newest member, Kelsey Nagel and work colleague Steve Pierson (pictured at right), who inserted donation labels and delivered dictionaries and books to Sheridan Hills Elementary School. (Reminder to volunteers: Please forward any digital photos you took to Barb Devlin so she can include them in our final report to District 5950. Thank you!)

Click here to read the Richfield Sun-Current article about the Dictionary and Book project, which was supported by a District 5950 Local Community Service Grant.

Wanted: Encouraging Cards and Artwork for Confined Elders

New member Linay McCrady invites Rotary members, friends of Rotary, and their families to create some "thinking of you" cards for residents of Havenwood of Richfield, possibly including some children's artwork if you have access to any!

Spanish-English Dictionaries and Books Delivered to Schools

After months of waiting for them to be reprinted, Richfield Rotarians are finally able to deliver Spanish-English Dictionaries and culturally relevant dictionaries to area elementary schools!

Click here to read the Sun-Current article about the project.

Referrals Requested for New Rotary e-Club

Karen Walkowski, 2017-2018 President of the Excelsior Morning Club, is working with Rotary District 5950 to establish a new Rotary e-Club focused on ending human trafficking. She is asking for help from other Rotary clubs in referring potential members of this new club. Click here to read Karen’s detailed message.

If you know of anyone who would like to help end human trafficking and might be interested in joining an e-club, please email Karen with their name and contact information, or encourage interested individuals to contact Karen at

kwalkow59@gmail.com.

Richfield Rotary Meetings to Go Virtual

In response to new Federal guidelines during the coronavirus outbreak, face-to-face meetings for Richfield Rotary will be suspended until further notice. We will still meet virtually, via Zoom! Prior to the meeting, you will receive an e-mail from the meeting host, with a link to log in.

(Note: We won’t be at Local Roots, but you can still munch on your lunch while we meet!)

Announcing Two Membership Applications

Following our February 27 Richfield Rotary Relaunch Meeting, we were delighted to receive two membership applications! The applicants are:

Cassandra Nickell (left in photo) – Cassandra is the Associate Director of Outreach Marketing at Village Shores. Other memberships include the Richfield Chamber of Commerce, Minneapolis Area Senior Workers Association, and SWIM. Cassandra graduated from college with a degree in music therapy, and has eclectic interests including music, animal rescue, dementia care, and fitness. She shares our club’s commitment to helping the community, including its outdoor recreation spaces, and hopes her background in music therapy, marketing, social media and graphics could be of benefit to the club.

Linay McCrady (right in photo) – Linay is the Marketing Coordinator for Havenwood of Richfield. She enjoys working with senior citizens, and special interests include dementia care and mental health. Other memberships include the Richfield Chamber of Commerce, Minneapolis Area Senior Workers Association, and Dementia Friends of Richfield. Her hopes for Rotary in Richfield are “to grow with the organization” and see how her background in marketing, social media, and health care can combine with Rotary.

Hopefully, Cassandra and Linay will be able to attend our March 5 meeting so club members can meet them in person! This is the first announcement for each, and a second announcement will be made at our March 5 Rotary meeting. Absent any objections, they will be inducted into membership on March 19 or April 2. Please welcome them!

Club Membership - Tracking Our Progress

On March 2, District 5950 will conduct an online meeting focused on membership, including a short video recording describing Richfield Rotary’s Relaunch initiative. The video outlines some of the ways we have grown and changed in the first six months of this Rotary year:

11 members as of July 1, 2019
18 members (including 2 shared) as of January 1, 2020; includes 9 "veteran" members and 9 new / shared members
Membership includes 10 men and 8 women, with some growth in racial / ethnic diversity
Average member age decreased from 56.6 in July 2019 to just under 50 in January 2020.

Note: If Cassandra Nickell and Linay McCrady are brought into membership, we’ll be at 20 members, evenly split between men and women, and with an average member age just under 48! Let’s continue our efforts to increase awareness of Richfield Rotary and engage even more people who have a service orientation and are connected to the City of Richfield.

Richfield Rotary Relaunch Continues!

Information Meeting: February 27, 2020

The Rotary Club of Richfield MN has been serving the Richfield community for nearly 70 years. We are neighbors, friends and community leaders who come together for networking, fun, and to create positive, lasting change in the Richfield area and around the world. We are part of an international network of 35,000 Rotary Clubs with 1.2 million members worldwide, reaching across boundaries to expand our impact.

A “Richfield Rotary Relaunch” began in July 2019, with a focus on expanding membership and strengthening connections with the Richfield community. Our goal is to create what is essentially a new club with a majority of members that live, work and/ or do business in Richfield.

Some wonderful new members have come on board over the past few months, including Richfield Mayor Maria Regan Gonzalez and City Manager Katie Rodriguez. Our new members range in age from 21 to the mid-50’s, and represent various professional backgrounds. All of the new members live, work, and / or do business in Richfield, and are eager to have others join them to further expand the club’s impact!

If you live, work, and / or do business in the Richfield area and would like to support the Richfield Community, please attend one of the Richfield Rotary Relaunch Informational meetings scheduled for:

February 27, 11:45 AM – 12:45 PM at Local Roots, 817 E. 66^th Street, Richfield MN 55423 (Come a few minutes early if you want to order lunch.)

Feel free to check out a regular meeting as well! Club meetings are the 1^st and 3^rd Thursdays of each month, 11:30 AM – 12:45 PM, also at Local Roots Restaurant. (The first 15 minutes is for ordering lunch, signing in, and networking; the meeting starts at 11:45 AM.)

For more information, answers to questions, or to get on the Richfield Rotary mailing list, contact Barbara Devlin (richfiedrotary@gmail.com). For more information about Rotary, go to https://www.richfieldrotary.org/ or check out the Rotary Club of Richfield Facebook Page.

Applications Invited for Rotary Peace Scholarships

Promoting peace is one of Rotary’s main causes. The fully funded Rotary Peace Fellowship, which covers tuition and living expenses, increases the capacity of existing leaders to prevent and resolve conflict by offering academic training, field experience, and professional networking.

Clubs and districts have the power to shape the next generation of peace leaders by recruiting and nominating peace fellows, and keeping them engaged after the fellowship ends.

Districts interview and endorse qualified candidates, which is required before The Rotary Foundation can consider a candidate. Clubs help by recommending and coaching qualified candidates.

The application process is now open, with a due date of May 31 for applications to be submitted to Rotary Districts.

Click here for additional details regarding the application process and qualifications.

If you know someone you think would make a good candidate, please refer them to Rotary International using this online form. If the person is interested in applying, let me know so we can meet with the individual and decide whether to endorse the application as a club.

Special Message on Rotary Foundation from DG Russ Michaletz

In a recent letter to club presidents, DG Russ Michaletz wrote, "The Rotary year reached the halfway point at the end of December, and….it’s time to push The Rotary Foundation fundraising into high gear. What we do this Rotary year will impact our project activity at home and around the world, including specifically what our district Rotarians will have available for matching grants 3 years from now. Last Rotary year, our district Rotarians gave $271 per capita. ..We hope to match or exceed that number this year. "

District 5950 would like EVERY ROTARIAN, EVERY YEAR, to make a contribution to the Rotary Foundation. The District invites a commitment to TRF of at least $1 per day (or whatever you can afford), and our club invites an additional contribution to the Richfield Rotary Foundation (RRF).

Members are asked to complete and submit the attached 2020 TRF / RRF Combined Pledge Form on or before our March 19 Rotary meeting, when District Governor Rus Michaletz will be our special guest. It would be great to be able to announce 100% club member response on that date!

Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Star Tribune “Remembering” Article on Tommy Thompson

Long-time Richfield Rotarian Thomas A. “Tommy” Thompson was recognized in a Star Tribune “Remembering” article as a “master builder” whose legacy is still evident in Minneapolis. Thompson, who died January 2, served as Minneapolis’ first city coordinator. The article noted that, although he retired in 1983 due to heart problems, “Thompson remained involved in many groups including Rotary International.”

Click here to read the full article, which paints a picture of a man who truly believed in Service Above Self.

Virtual Meeting Reminder

Thursday, April 2, 11:30 AM - 12:45 PM via Zoom

Welcome, Thought for the Week, Introduction of Guests and Announcements

Induction of New Members - Linay McCrady and Cassandra Nickell

Linay (right) is Marketing Coordinator for Havenwood of Richfield, and Cassandra (far right) is the Associate Director of Outreach Marketing at Village Shores. Both are eager to become involved in Richfield Rotary as a way of serving the Richfield Community. Please welcome them!

Program: District Governor Russ Michaletz – “Rotary 101”

Known as “Retention Russ,” Russ Michaletz has focused his year as District Governor on retaining membership by ensuring its value. In his presentation, Russ will share some “Rotary basics” that will help each of us maximize the value of our membership in Rotary.

Some Zoom Basics

Rotary member and technology expert Brandt Krueger will host the meeting. Brandt provided the following information about connecting to and participating in a Zoom meeting:

If you've never used Zoom before and want to try to connect beforehand, let me know (brandt@brandtkrueger.com) and we can try and set up a time to get you online before next Thursday
If you have headphones with an in-line microphone, please wear them, but even regular headphones help mitigate echo and background noise
When you connect, your mic will be muted. We ask that you only unmute while speaking, and to stay muted otherwise.
Figuring out our "new normal" may take a bit, so let's try and be patient while we try to figure out how to do things like "happy dollars", pledge of allegiance, 4-way test, etc. Some things just don't work online!

To Join the Zoom Meeting

Click on the link below:
https://zoom.us/j/957681665?pwd=ZTVZYlBpUTk5TFRpWmhUTUswSW1adz09

Meeting ID: 957 681 665
Password: rotary2020

Meeting Highlights

MARCH 5, 2020 MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

Congratulations to Karen Crane (right), who just returned from her Honeymoon!

Second announcement of membership applications from Linay McCrady and Cassandra Nickell (pictured in previous article). Members welcomed them both, along with visitor Kelsey Nagel, a funeral director with Morris Nilsen Chapel.

Program: Amy Markle, Recreation Services Director for the City of Richfield

Amy introduced herself, described key department projects and activities, and suggested ways in which Richfield Rotary and / or other community organizations and individuals can help. Possible areas of involvement include:

Help City staff with construction of new playground structures at Washington Park (May 30) and Madison Park (June 14).
Make a monetary contribution or assist with fund-raising to support construction of a universally accessible playground at Augsburg Park, which would be a “destination playground” in the South metro area. The City has raised $510,000 of the $700,000 needed to begin construction, hopefully in 2020. Amy noted that there are multiple levels of sponsorship, which will be recognized.
Construction of an off-leash dog area (dog park) within Roosevelt Park, sometime in early summer, 2020. There will be separate fenced in areas for both large and small dogs. Possible areas for ongoing involvement include periodic park clean-up and sponsorship of 2-3 “doggy do” bag dispensers, with restocking on a regular basis.
Provide volunteer assistance for the July 25 Urban Half Marathon.
Attend the Friends of Woodlake Dinner in April, the proceeds of which are used to fund a naturalist position at Woodlake Nature Center. If enough Rotarians sign up to attend, we can sponsor an entire Rotary table.

Member Survey to Determine 2020-2021 Service Priorities

Click here to respond to 6 questions growing out of Amy’s presentation. Responses from ALL MEMBERS are needed to help guide club decision-making regarding future short and long-term service projects. Please take 5 minutes and respond today! Thanks!

Richfield Rotary Relaunch Continues! Help Needed From Club Members!

A “Richfield Rotary Relaunch” began in July 2019, with a focus on expanding membership and strengthening connections with the Richfield community. Our goal is to create what is essentially a new club with a majority of members that live, work and/ or do business in Richfield. The Relaunch is continuing, with one additional Relaunch Information Meeting scheduled for February 27, 2020, 11:45 AM - 12:45 PM at Local Roots. Please share the attached flyer with friends and acquaintances who live, work, and / or do business in Richfield. Encourage them to attend one of the meetings and, if possible, attend the meeting with them!

Note: In addition to President Barb Devlin, John DeBettignies and Jared Shepherd have signed up to attend the February 27 Relaunch meeting. Please let Barb know if you will be attending and / or have invited anyone to attend. Thank you!

A Message of Peace

Hello my fellow Rotarians!

Today is the first day of Hanukkah and this week Christians celebrate the birth of a Jew. It is wonderful to recognize that mutual heritage in this age of so much divisiveness. As Rotarians know, we are all brothers and sisters.

In that spirit, this email is about another Jewish person many of you know, Ellen Kennedy (right). Ellen is a long-time Rotarian with the Minneapolis University Rotary club, Past Club President, current District Peace Scholars Chair and an amazingly active Rotarian.  She has successfully shepherded nine Global Peace Scholars through the process of being selected for the prestigious Rotary International Peace Scholarship program.  Ellen is also the Founder and Executive Director of World Without Genocide, a non-profit organization that calls attention to the world’s genocides directed at people of all races, genders and religions.

She recently received an email with the chilling title “We see you Jew.”  The email recited personal information about Ellen and her work and was intended as a threat to intimidate and frighten Ellen because of her work and her status as a Jew.  Here is a link to an article Ellen published in the St. Paul Pioneer Press describing the impact of receiving this type of hate directed at her personally from a cowardly, anonymous author. https://www.twincities.com/2019/12/01/ellen-j-kennedy-we-see-you-jew/

I cannot say that I truly understand what it is like to be on the receiving end of this type of hate.   As as an old, white, Christian-raised male,  I believe it is important for Rotarians like me to recognize that in today’s world, our daily Rotarian experience is fundamentally different than the experience of those Rotarians living as a Jew, or a Latino or an African American, or as someone differently colored, gendered, oriented or of a different faith.  We cannot be silent to this kind of bigotry and be true to our Rotarian values.

As we embrace this holiday season, I would ask that as Rotarians you reach out to those who are different from you; to those who may have different physical features, speak a different language, worship a different god and let them know they are valued as a part of your community. Even more, if this issue matters to you, please reach out to give Ellen and her organization support for their work. If you would like to know more about how to help this important work, please respond to this email and I will give you my thoughts on what we can do.

Thanks and here's wishing you the best of the Holiday season!

Bob Halagan

PDG 2017-2018

Pizza Luce Fundraising and Fun!

Thanks to Chip Groth for organizing the December 9 Pizza Luce Fund-raiser, with proceeds going to the Richfield Rotary Foundation to support club projects and activities that benefit the City of Richfield. Thanks also to the Richfield Rotarians who participated and encouraged others to support the event, including Chris Walsh (with son Hayes, with family members in the background), Jean and Denny Fox and Friends, Bridget and Jay Clark, and Chip Groth, John DeBettignies, and Barb and John Devlin.

Several other Rotarians, family members and friends ate earlier, including John DeBettignies who had both lunch and dinner at Pizza Luce! Way to go, John! At a future Rotary meeting, Chip will report on the proceeds to the Richfield Rotary Foundation.

Area 3 Rotary Clubs Honor Veterans

Several Richfield Rotarians were among the attendees at the annual Area 3 Veterans Day Luncheon. Representatives of Cub Scout Troop 384 presented the colors. Pictured with the scout members were (L-R) Richfield Mayor Maria Regan Gonzalez, Chip Groth, Barb Devlin, John DeBettignies, John Devlin, and Lynne Alexander. Missing from the photo was Katie Rodriguez.

A brass quintet played a salute to veterans from each branch of the armed services. An empty table memorialized those who gave their lives for our country.

In his keynote address, Congressman Dean Phillips shared that 75 members of Congress are Veterans, and that bills related to Veterans health, suicide prevention, and homelessness have received “near unanimous support.” Congressman Phillips has formed a Veterans Advisory Council because “Representation begins with listening.” Congressman Phillips conveyed a debt of gratitude to all veterans, stating, “America will remain the Land of the Free as long as we remain The Home of the Brave.”

Announcing Applicants for Membership

Three applicants are scheduled for induction at our November 7 meeting, following two or more prior announcements to the club.

Karen Crane is the Manager of the Richfield Branch of RBCU. Karen grew up in Richfield, graduating from Richfield High School. Karen was a stand-out fast pitch softball player at RHS, and now coaches girls fast pitch softball. Karen is interested in Richfield Rotary membership as a way of building on her connections to the Richfield community.

Ella Lingat (left) is a financial advisor with AXA Advisors, LLC. She is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota in the area of applied economics and will easily be the youngest member of our club! As a financial advisor, Ella helps her clients understand their current financial situation and determine their goals and priorities. Hopefully, she will share her expertise in planning and priority setting with Richfield Rotary as well!

Marta Shahsavand serves as the Principal of Richfield Dual Language School. Marta would like to share a membership with Latanya Daniels, Principal of Richfield High School. Latanya is already a member and will remain the “official” member. However, with a shared membership, Latanya and Marta will share participation in club meetings and activities.

Richfield Mayor Maria Regan Gonzalez and City Council Member Simon Trautmann have previously been announced and will be inducted as shared members at a future meeting.

Nari Gunjan Benefit a Success

Richfield Rotarian Barb Devlin and former members Sally Parks and Gay Greiter attended a July 16 benefit for Nari Gunjan, ("woman's voice”) a not-for-profit organization that provides education, literacy, vocational training, healthcare, advocacy and life skills for Dalit (“untouchables” caste) girls and women.

The funds raised will enable girls served by Nari Gunjan to participate in educational programs provided by Aavishkaar, the educational organization founded by Bloomington Rotarian Sandhya Gupta and her husband (pictured at left) to nurture “curious, critical and creative thinking” and to spark a “joyful relationship with math and science.”

Richfield Rotary and other Area Three Rotary Clubs are among many organizations that have contributed to several grant projects developed and overseen by Sandhya Gupta over the past several years, including educational programs for Dalit girls.

Q1 Meeting and Activity Schedule

Following is the first quarter meeting and activity schedule agreed upon at the June 13 Club Assembly, including four club meetings, service projects, Relaunch information meetings, and the official Relaunch and Installation of New Members:

Club Meeting Schedule

Four meetings, 7:30 – 8:30 AM on the following Thursdays: June 27, July 11, August 15, September 12
Location – Local Roots, 817 E 66th St, Richfield, MN 55423
The July 11, August 15 and September 12 meetings will provide an opportunity for debriefing and planning regarding the relaunch. Programs will be Rotary and club-related.

Club Service Activities

Continue Bread of Hope - See “Richfield Rotary in Service” article for a list of volunteers to date and open sign-up slots.
The Club will conduct at least one service project during the first quarter. See July 11 meeting highlights for details regarding the selected project.

Relaunch Information Meetings

Attendance: Richfield Rotarians plus anyone interested in the Richfield Rotary Relaunch
Four information meetings planned to date:
- Thursday, June 20, 5:30 – 6:30 PM, Local Roots
- July 24, 7-8 PM, City Hall, Bartholomew Room
- Thursday, August 22, 7:30 – 8:30 AM, Local Roots
- Wednesday, September 11, 3:45 - 4:45 PM, Central Education Center, 7145 Harriet Ave So., Multi-purpose Room

Richfield Rotarians are encouraged to attend the Relaunch Information meetings. Please RSVP your attendance to Barb Devlin.

Formal Relaunch and Installation of New Members – Tuesday, September 24, 5:30 – 7:00 PM (Location TBD)

Richfield Rotarians - Please plan to attend this important meeting!

Bandshell Opening Recognizes Current and Former Rotarians

The Richfield Bandshell opened on June 9 with great fanfare! Richfield Rotary and individual Rotarians were recognized for their financial contributions, and former member David Butler was dubbed “Richfield’s Own Music Man” for his tireless fund-raising efforts. The family of the late Gertrude Ulrich, a civic leader and member of Rotary, was recognized for their contributions to a garden by the bandshell in Gertrude’s memory. Area cub scouts, led by Rotarian Hae Kyung Thompson, presented the colors. And on top of the celebrating, there was terrific music by members of the Peterson family, the Richfield Symphonic Band, and the Northern Winds Band.

Richfield Rotary Relaunch Underway

The Rotary Club of Richfield MN has been serving the Richfield community for over 60 years. We are neighbors, friends and community leaders who come together for networking, fun, and to create positive, lasting change in the Richfield area and around the world. We are part of an international network of 35,000 Rotary Clubs with 1.2 million members worldwide, reaching across boundaries to expand our impact.

As club members have retired and / or moved away, fewer Richfield Rotarians have maintained direct connections to Richfield, making it more difficult to effectively serve the community.

A “Richfield Rotary Relaunch” is now underway, with a focus on creating what will essentially be a new club with members that live, work and/ or do business in Richfield. Under the Rotary International umbrella, the new club will set its own schedule and determine its own goals and activities, based on members’ interests and personal commitments.

Informational and planning meetings will take place this summer, in preparation for a formal Relaunch in September, 2019. Updates and scheduled meetings will be posted on the web at richfieldrotary.org and on the Rotary Club of Richfield Facebook page.

For more information or to get on the relaunch e-mail list, contact Barbara Devlin or Chip Groth.

LFL Build Day a Success!

Saturday, May 11, was "Build Day" for Richfield Rotary's Little Free Library Project. Rotary members and LFL recipients worked side by side at the

Richfield Arts Commission building at Veterans Park, painting, adding doors and roofs to partially completed LFLs. Mayor Maria Regan Gonzalez stopped by, as did two members of the Richfield Arts Commission. The smiles reflected happiness all around!

Installation of the LFLs is scheduled the morning of June 1.

Mid-Term Assembly Offers Insights and Ideas

Barb Devlin was among about 300 Rotarians in attendance at the January 26 Mid-Term Assembly. As District Governor Irene Kelly welcomed everyone, Rotarians made donations to Polio Plus. District 5950 Polio Plus Chair, Tim Mulcrone (right), happily placed Barb's contribution into his "Year of the Pig Polio Plus Bank."

Keynote speaker, Dr. Ramon Pastrano (left), helped participants explore how the limitations of our knowledge and experience contribute to “unconscious bias.” He encouraged us to seek out the perspectives of others, adding, “We cannot lead in a multicultural world with mono-cultural mindsets.”

The Mid-term Assembly also included an Information and Sharing Fair highlighting District 5950 and club projects and activities, including a new Leadership Fellows program that will launch in September 2019. Barb hopes that Richfield Rotarians will be part of a future District Assembly to share information our Little Free Library project!

Congratulations to Chris and Denise!!

Our heartiest congratulations to Richfield Rotarian and New Dad Chris Walsh and his wife Denise on the birth of their new baby boy, Hayes!

(Editor's comment: Hayes looks like a serious mini-Chris, but without the hat!!)

Little Free Library Project Generating Interest

A posting about our Little Free Library project in the Richfield Community Page has generated 50 responses to date, including

expressions of interest in receiving a LFL and offers to help with construction and /or contribute financially.

A proposal is being finalized for submission to District 5950 for funding to assist with the project. The posting reads as follows:

The Richfield Rotary club is developing a Little Free Library (LFL) project that will offer a limited number of LFL's available for installation late spring early summer of 2019. The club is looking for feedback from the community as to interest in the project. The LFL's will be available for a small nominal fee (as yet to be determined) so that individuals/owners will be invested in the project. A "LFL assembly day" will be scheduled and interested community members can assist with the final assembly of the LFL's (basically screwing them together and painting, all the parts will be pre-cut to size). Richfield Rotary believes the project will promote literacy and add to the overall welcoming appearance of the city/neighborhood. Comments and or expressed interest can be made below or by messaging the club through our Facebook page at Rotary Club of Richfield Minnesota.

At left is the "deluxe" model of the Little Free Library, which will be raffled off to help provide additional funds for the project. Thanks to Jay Clark for contributing his time and talent!

Latino Three Kings Celebration a Success

Richfield Rotary designates one meeting per month for an evening service project / social. Our service project for January 2019 was helping the Latino Resource organization, MIRA, with its Reyes Magos (Three Kings) celebration on January 4. Richfield Rotarians and spouses who helped out included Jay Clark and Chris Walsh (two of the maji!), Bridget Clark, Barb and John Devlin, Chip and Deanna Groth, and Dave and Joan Melcher.

MIRA’s treasurer Rosa Rubio reported attendance of about 400 children and adults and added, “Great work everyone!!! Our most sincere appreciation to all the Rotarians that helped and donated for this event!!! It would not have been possible without all of you!” The photos provide clear evidence that everyone present - including the volunteers - had a lot of fun!

Highlights - April 18, 2019 Vocational Ethics Day

Seven Richfield Rotarians were joined by Richfield High School Assistant Principal Teresa Rosen and six RHS juniors at the 9^th annual Rotary Area 3 Vocational Ethics Day, at Edina Country Club. Over lunch, Rotarians and guests discussed questions relating to ethical behavior. Keynote speaker Jerome Mayne explained how his own fraudulent behavior in the real estate loan business resulted in his imprisonment for two years. Once driven by greed, Mayne learned the hard way that crime doesn’t pay!

Thanks to Chip Groth for representing Richfield Rotary on the VE Day planning committee.

Heart of Dance Volunteering Brings Smiles!

On Saturday, December 8, Richfield Rotarians

joined many other volunteers

and dance enthusiasts at the seventh annual Heart of Dance team match, which brought together children from classrooms around the state. Richfield Rotarians registered schools, handed out programs, pinned team sashes and color names on dancers, and helped manage dancers in the "on deck" area. President Kirsten Nielsen was one of the event sponsors. Thanks to Kirsten, Jay Clark, Pat Dale, Barb and John Devlin, and Jay Clark for supporting these young dancers!

November 29 Meeting Highlights

As our November service project, we inserted Rotary donation labels

in the front of dictionaries to be presented over the next several weeks to all third grade students in Richfield public, non-public and home schools. Thanks to Jean Fox for processing the dictionary order, Lynne Alexander for obtaining the donation labels, and to HaeKyung Thompson, Dictionary Project Chair. See the “Richfield Rotary in Service” section below for more information about the Dictionary Project and when volunteers are needed for delivery to schools.

December Service Project - Heart of Dance Event

For our December service project, we'll be providing volunteer support for the “Color of Rainbow” Team Match Event, which will bring together children from around the state to form a larger "dancing family" representing Minnesota’s diverse cultures and ethnicities. The team match confirms the core values of the Dancing Classrooms program: mutual respect, tolerance, teamwork, sportsmanship and elegance amongst children.

The Team Match Event is scheduled for:

Saturday, December 8, 2018

DoubleTree by Hilton Bloomington - Minneapolis South
7800 Normandale Blvd
Minneapolis, MN 55439

Please RSVP your participation to President Kirsten Nelson. Be sure to let her know which volunteer role(s) you’d like to perform, and for what period of time. Click here to view the volunteer schedule and vacancies. The roles are described in detail below:

Registration/Dancer Check-In: Before each competition begins, you will help check in participating students, collect permission slip signatures if any are missing, and direct students to their school’s section.
Audience/Volunteer Check-In and Passing Out Programs: Throughout the competition, you will help to orient audience members, answer any questions they may have, ask guests to sign up for more HOD updates and information, and pass out programs. You will also help check-in volunteers and direct them to their positions if need be.
Team Coordinators: You will make sure the correct students get to the on-deck area for each dance throughout the competition. You will also help pin sashes and color names to each dancer’s clothing, and assist parents in signing up for alumni dance opportunities and filling out surveys. More details to come day of.
Deck: You will help get students to the on-deck area, and manage overall flow of the event by assisting Team Coordinators with managing students.
Scoresheet Runners: During the competition, you will take score sheets from the judges to the scrutinizer to calculate points.

November 29 AM Meeting Reminder

A reminder that the Veterans Day Luncheon on Monday, November 12, 11:15 AM at the Bloomington Hilton will take the place of our regular Thursday AM meeting. Our special guest will be Jay Nielsen (far left), a Vietnam Veteran and the father of member HaeKyung Thompson.

See Upcoming Events for more event details.

Richfield Rotary Seeking Community Input

Richfield Rotary collected some feedback from Richfield residents at Penn Fest, and would like to continue collecting feedback via an online survey. Thanks to Alyssa Swanson for posting the survey in an online format, with a link that will appear on our Richfield Rotary Facebook page, web page, and the Richfield Community Page. Please feel free to forward the following link to any Richfield resident you think might be interested in responding:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QM8GZ53

Tommy Thompson Update

Tommy Thompson’s daughter, Patty Gourley, informed us that her Dad has been hospitalized three times since August and is now back in rehab. He will not be going back to his apartment, and the family is "in the process of trying to find a place with more care for him.” Patti thanked Chip Groth for staying in touch on behalf of Richfield Rotary, and "will let Tommy know we are interested in how he is doing." Please keep Tommy in your thoughts and prayers. Click here if you wish to send a message to Tommy via his daughter, Patty.

OPTIMISTS / ROTARY SHARE TABLE AT PENN FEST

Sunday, september 15, 1-5 pm

Open Streets at Penn Fest is a day to explore the Penn Central neighborhood in Richfield. Traffic will be off the street and replaced by fun activities like music, dance, food, sports, games, pet exhibits and more. Penn Avenue will be closed to traffic from 62nd to 76th Streets, with activites and exhibitors from 62nd to 71st Streets.

Richfield Rotary and Optimists will be sharing a table. We'll need two Rotarians for each of two shifts, 12:45 - 3 PM (including help with set-up), and 3PM - 5:15 PM (including help with clean-up). One volunteer will apply temporary tattoos to children, while the 2nd volunteer will share information with their about the Richfield Rotary Relaunch and our new meeting schedule. Click here to volunteer for one or both shifts. Thank you!

November 8, 2018 Meeting Highlights

Thought for the Week, Happy Dollars and Announcements

Recently, one of Jay Clark's patients told him about the eastern Indian holiday, Diwali. See the Thought for the Week section for inspiration from Diwali, "the festival of lights."
John Devlin shared greetings from our most senior member, Tommy Thompson. Tommy is currently residing at Tower Light Senior Living, 3601 Wooddale Ave S, St Louis Park, MN 55416, and welcomes visitors!
HaeKyung Thompson is in the process of scheduling dictionary deliveries to 3^rd graders in all Richfield schools. Stay tuned for more details and a chance to volunteer.
Chip Groth shared that the student Richfield Rotary sponsored for Camp Enterprise was selected as the CEO of her team’s company! The student and her DECA advisor will be invited to a future club meeting.
Chip is arranging for distribution of hats and mittens to the Richfield Schools.
President Kirsten Nelson proposed that Richfield Rotary provide volunteer assistance at an upcoming Heart of Dance “Colors of the Rainbow Team Match,” on Saturday, December 8, as our December volunteer project. There was general agreement, with 11 AM – 1PM as the preferred volunteer time slot. Kirsten will confirm and get back to us with more details.

Program: Barb Devlin - “Unraveling the Mysteries of ClubRunner”

Barb Devlin introduced members to ClubRunner, the online platform used by Rotary International, District 5950, and Richfield Rotary to facilitate information-sharing, communications, and record-keeping. Her goal was to get all members signed on, check and edit their personal profile, access the club member directory, and learn now to send e-mails to club members through ClubRunner. Denny Fox, our club web master and all-around tech guru, was on hand to assist.

Unfortunately, the ClubRunner tech department chose precisely the time of the presentation to perform some ClubRunner servicing, which made the application inaccessible! As a further complication, the "Links" feature of ClubRunner is not active at the moment, so Barb was unable to create a link to the presentation outline, which provides step-by-step instructions for doing the activities on your own. As soon as this feature is active, Barb will e-mail it or include it in a future e-Spokester.

November 8, 2018 Meeting Reminder

Reminder: November 8, 2018 Morning Meeting, 7:15 - 8:30 AM, Richfield / Bloomington Honda 2nd floor Boardroom

Thought for the Week: Jay Clark

Greeter and Happy Dollars: Jean Fox

Program: Barb Devlin, "Unraveling the Mysteries of ClubRunner!"

At a recent Club Assembly, several members acknowledged that they had never logged in to the Club or District 5950 websites using Club Runner. Barb Devlin will show members how to log in, check, and edit your personal profile information, and will highlight information you can access in the "Members Only" section of the Club and District websites. PLEASE BRING YOUR LAPTOP SO YOU CAN GET HELP LOGGING IN. (Note: Members who are experienced with ClubRunner will be put to work helping other members, so everyone should attend!)

Past President Celebration Highlights

Saint Paul Saints Game a Hit!

The Saint Paul Saints may have lost the game, but Richfield Rotarians had fun despite the score!

Thanks to Jay Clark for organizing a great celebration of Chip Groth’s two years as President of Richfield Rotary. The Groths and Devlins arrived by light rail, where they joined several other Rotarians and spouses for a pre-game libation and food at the Ox Cart Ale House.

The entire group convened at the Saint Paul Saints ball park. We were joined by Lloyd Campbell, District 5950 Membership Chair, who is a member of the Glenwood Rotary Club but was in town visiting his son.

Thanks for two years of dedicated leadership, Chip!

Hail to the Chief! Kirsten Nelson Elected Club President for 2018-2019

At our June 21 meeting, Nominating Committee member Dave Melcher announced that Dr. Kirsten Nelson has agreed to serve as Richfield Rotary Club President in 2018-2019!

After the cheering and congratulations died down, Kirsten was elected unanimously, and outgoing President Chip Groth presented her with the 2018-2019 Rotary International banner to make it official!

Kirsten shared that she made the decision after speaking with one of her chiropractor colleagues who will be serving as President of the Excelsior Rotary Club this year. When Kristen asked him how he would fit it in, he told her, “Oh, I’ll just squeeze it in amidst everything else I do!” After some soul-searching, Kirsten made her decision, saying "I love Rotary and thought it was important to step up."

Chip Groth will be honored for his two years of service as President at a future soiree. Kirsten said, “Maybe we can have the party at our house, so we can also inaugurate our new deck!” Stay tuned for details in a future e-Spokester.

Mid-Term Assembly Attendance Sets Record

President Chip Groth and Barb Devlin joined over 260 Rotarians from across District 5950 at the Mid-Term Assembly, the largest attendance ever for this event. They heard from District Governor Bob Hallagan, who highlighted contributions of District leaders and clubs. They visited booths in the Rotary Showcase, attended in-depth breakout sessions on topics of interest, and were inspired by KSTP sportscaster Joe Schmit, who shared stories from his book, Silent Impact: Stories of Influence Through Purpose, Persistence, & Passion.

Barb Devlin attended two break-out sessions, each opening the door to possibilities for Richfield Rotary:

"People of Action: Join the Campaign"

While “Service Above Self” is the long-standing motto of Rotary International, the “People of Action” campaign highlights Rotarians being active in service. Rotary International has resources for clubs to use to show club members actively engaged: connecting, inspiring, transforming, or helping to end polio. Local clubs are encouraged to use these resources to “tell our story,” e.g. in our newsletter, website, Facebook page, or the local community page. The Branding Center tool kit is available at myRotary.org.

“The Opioid Epidemic: Time to Act”

Josh Sprague, Rotary Club of Edina, introduced the session, noting that marketing of opioids by big pharma over the past 20 years has resulted in a nation-wide epidemic. “Death due to opioids is now the leading cause of death for people under age 50, and a third of the population is susceptible to becoming

addicted.” Three impressive panelists joined Josh in the presentation.

Hennepin County Sheriff Richard Stanek observed, “People start on prescription opioids, get addicted, and then move to street drugs. In Minnesota, there were 400 opioid-related deaths in 2015 and the opioid-related death rate in Hennepin County has doubled from 2015 to 2017.”

Lexi Reed Holtum, Executive Director of the Steve Rummler Hope Network, described the “disease of addiction” that lead to the death of husband and father Steve Rummler and so many others. She thanked Edina and other area Rotary clubs for providing funding for a 2017 TPT documentary video. (Click here to watch excerpts.) https://vimeo.com/rummlerhope

Rob Reynolds, Director of Advocacy, Verde Technologies (shown at left), noted that unused opioids sitting in our medicine cabinets are a tempting target. He handed out a “Deterra” packet to each attendee, a “safe, convenient, and effective way to deactivate drugs,” and suggested that local Rotary clubs could fund the purchase and distribution of these packets within the community, e.g. as part of the National Night Out event. He noted that the packet could be printed to include the name of the sponsoring Rotary Club.

Sprague concluded by saying that the Edina Club remains committed to combatting the opioid crisis. Their 2018 Action Plan is set up an online curriculum ($9200) and an interactive website and video intended for HS students. Participating clubs would have access to and be able to promote the resource in their own communities. Edina has a grant proposal for a District match, but would like other clubs to participate for as little as $100.

December 28, 2017 Meeting Highlights

January 4, 2018 Meeting Reminder

January 4, 2017 Program: "I'm Alive. Courage, Hope and a Miracle.

My name is Duke Pieper and I went to Shattuck St. Mary's in 2005. I am the author of my book "I'm Alive Courage, Hope, and a Miracle." My book was recently published by a company by the name of Triumph Books out of Chicago. I was a hockey player myself I played at Shattuck St. Mary's and in 2008 I had a cavernous hemangioma. I came close to death multiple times. During the first surgery I actually had a 5% chance to live and on another occasion I was only hours away from dying . I also had multiple brain infections and the last one landed on my spinal cord paralyzing me from head to toe. From this point on I had to re-learn everything from walking to talking, eating to breathing. I believe the true reason I made it though those nine months in the hospital was to help other people! I truly believe that with the things that I had to experience and had overcome in my recovery it all was to share my story and help other people. So in my book along with telling my story on how I got through everything I put 15 bullet points in the back pertaining to how I overcame those challenges and adversaries in my recovery. I made it real general though so anyone can relate to it no matter what the situation is or no matter what your trying to overcome. I have also started a Foundation "The Pieper Hope and Courage Foundation"

Highlights - Annual Veterans Day Luncheon

Nine Richfield Rotarians joined with other Area 3 Rotarians to honor our nation’s veterans, including HaeKyung Thompson’s father, Jay Nielson, and our own David Melcher, both of whom served in the U.S. Army.

Angelica Cantanti Choir provided patriotic music while the Como Park High School ROTC group presented the colors. The keynote speaker was Colonel Ken Rizer (Ret.) who served 25 years as an Air Force fighter pilot and commander, completing 15 assignments including tours in Iraq. His last assignment was serving as commander of Andrews Air Force Base, the home of Air Force One. With 1.2 American lives lost in past conflicts, Rizer reminded us that “freedom isn’t free" and added, "We owe a debt of gratitude to all veterans and current military.”

In Memoriam - Herb Perry

We were saddened to learn that former Rotarian Herb Perry died on October 13 following a heart attack, at age 81. Herb’s business partner posted a notice on Herb’s Facebook page, along with information about Herb’s life. Herb spent 35 years serving clients in both the Las Vegas area and his home state of Minnesota. He grew up near St. Cloud and was married for 59 years to his wife, Darlene, who died in 2016. He is survived by his daughter and an adopted daughter, a boat person from Cambodia who he and his wife adopted during the 1970's.

Herb spent winter months in Las Vegas and summer months in Richfield. He was a volunteer deputy sheriff for many years in Hennepin County, MN. He was also public affairs director of CBS radio for 20 years at KXNT radio in Las Vegas and hosted the Sunday public affairs show.

He was an AIDS activist. His 25-year-old son was one of the disease's first victims due to a lab accident, where an open wound was exposed to contaminated blood. His only son died 25 years ago.

Our sympathies are extended to Herb’s daughters.

Important Tips from ClubRunner

Clubrunner Tips - Richfield Rotary’s Web and Newsletter Platform

Gaining Member Access; Editing Your Own Member Profile

All club members have a member account on ClubRunner, our website and membership service.

If you have not already done so, please create a password for our website by clicking the attached link or pasting the URL below into your browser:
http://www.crsadmin.com/Gen/PasswordRecovery.aspx?aid=6743

Once you've reset your password, you can then login and access the secure member's area of our website. Please note that the Membership tab includes contact information for all club members. In this section, you can also add to or edit your own profile information.

Click here to learn more about ClubRunner and visit the ClubRunner knowledge base.

How to Avoid Blocking e-Spokester

Recently, a Richfield Rotarian reported that he was no longer receiving the e-Spokester. Other Rotarians have reported this from time to time as well.

Denny Fox contacted ClubRunner Support, who noted that the block occurs when the Rotarian reports a ClubRunner document as spam (usually a District 5950 e-mail message or notice), which then blocks all future ClubRunner documents, including the e-Spokester. ClubRunner Support recommends, “If someone gets an unwanted email from ClubRunner their best bet is to delete it. If they choose report as spam it can stop future emails.”

Note: Click here to view how to remove blocked emails.

Possible Program Presenter

If you have a program coming up and are looking for a speaker, click here for information about a speaker who is interested in giving a presentation.

July 27, 2017 Meeting Highlights

New Member Induction

Chris Walsh, a member of the Webb Group at Remax Results in Edina, was inducted into Richfield Rotary, and Chip managed to “pin” Chris without drawing blood! Chris commented, “I love living in Richfield and Rotary is a great way to become more involved in the community.”

Happy Dollars

There were lots of Happy Dollars in honor of Chris Walsh and HaeKyung Nielsen’s upcoming wedding. There were other reasons for happiness too!

Jean Fox shared the thrill of watching her Son- in- law Paul became a US citizen. Jean noted that the ceremony included people from all over the world, and especially appreciated the presiding judge’s “beautiful message” on the importance of immigrants.
Jay contributed $30 happy dollars in honor of his 30th wedding anniversary.
David Butler was pleased to announce that, after a five-year battle, the City Council gave final approval to construction of the Richfield Band Shell. If he looks tired, it’s because he still needs to raise another $30,000 to finalize the project! David warns, “I may be calling you….

Announcements / Club Business

Chip provided a list of Richfield Rotary projects and activities, many of which take place or commence in the fall. He noted that our next club assembly will focus on how to support these and other projects and activities.
Kirsten Nelson (right) provided a brief update on the Richfield Rotary CORE Group and invited club members to participate in a planning / fellowship meeting on the evening of July 27. (See separate article below on Richfield Rotary CORE Group News.)
There will be no morning club meeting on August 17. Instead, our club will join the Edina Noon club for lunch and a presentation by Neel Kashkari of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve.
President Chip encourages club members to attend the upcoming District training on September 15. (See separate announcement under Upcoming Events)

Program: HaeKyung Nielsen, "A Korean Wedding"

HaeKyung Nielsen was born in Korea but was raised in the United States. Although her mother wanted HaeKyung to become “Americanized,” HaeKyung developed a strong interest in other languages and cultures. In preparation for her upcoming wedding in August, HaeKyung set out to learn more about Korean weddings, and plans to incorporate some Korean traditions into her own celebration.

A few facts about Korean weddings today:

The couple doesn’t meet each others’ parents until marriage is being considered.
No engagement ring
Large, formal engagement photo that is painted and presented to the parents of the bride and groom
Weddings are often held outdoors and incorporate Buddhist elements even if the couple is Christian. The parents determine the guests.
The Pyebaek (family ceremony) is complex, with vows that must be memorized. The couple has a year to prepare.
Very expensive! The average cost is $100,000, compared with $35,000 in the U.S. Features adding to the cost include multiple events, each requiring a separate wedding dress. Dresses include white (signifying purity) western-style dresses and the traditional Korean gown, called a Hanbok. HaeKyung will be wearing a Hanbok at her wedding.
The reception is more of a family dinner, with a money tree in lieu of gifts. Dishes, etc. are passed down within families.
After the wedding, the bride remains dressed in the traditional Hanbok until the mother of the groom certifies that she can properly take care of her son- usually @ 2 days.
Duck carvings serve as an ongoing barometer of the marriage relationship. If the ducks are facing each other, all is harmonious. However, if one or both ducks are turned away, one or both members of the couple are dissatisfied, which prompts them to work to resolve the problems.

HaeKyung - May the ducks in your marriage always be facing each other!

Richfield Rotary Evening
Group News

Richfield Rotary has several members who are unable to attend most morning meetings. For the past year, the group has held one planning / social meeting and one service activity each month. All Richfield Rotarians are invited to participate in the evening group's monthly meetings and service projects.

The evening group has a Facebook Discussion Page, open to Richfield Rotarians and friends of Rotary who request to be included. Contact Laura Briggs if you would like to be added to the Facebook discussion page.

District Conference - A Play in 3 Acts!

This year’s District Conference was a unique 3-Act production at the Guthrie Theater. Act I featured Past District Governors Jim Nelson and Tim Murphy as George and his guardian angel, Clarence (photographed at right, descending from Heaven!), who presented "angel wings" to District and local club projects and initiatives that have created “A Wonderful Life” through the power of Rotary. Richfield Rotary has made financial contributions to two of the recognized projects, the District 5950 tree planting initiative and Edina Rotary's project to combat opioid abuse.

The Keynote speaker for Act I was Marilyn Carlson Nelson, retired chair and chief executive of Carlson, a global travel company. Carlson described the efforts of Carlson Company and the Carlson Family Foundation to address the issue of human trafficking, including support for the “Minnesota Girls are Not for Sale” campaign, and a “replicable strategy” developed for the Super Bowl that can adapted to prevent trafficking at future large-scale events. For Rotary Clubs confronting challenging issues, Carlson encouraged us to follow her father’s advice, “If you don’t like it, fix it!”

Act II focused on Rotary Members in Action, including a “Done in a Day” project putting together self-care “Dignity” bags for rescued human trafficking victims, and a presentation by Maria Pacheco about Rotary projects to help Guatamalan women entrepreneurs bring their products to market and improve the well-being of their families and communities. Maria shared her formula for success: “Dreams + Opportunity = Change,” and thanked Rotary for helping Guatamalans make their dreams come true. The emcee added, “District 5950 has two service teams going to Guatemala in January and February. Sign up, and it will touch your heart!”

Rotary Youth Exchange students were introduced by country (right), and District Governor Bob Halagan also recognized several clubs for increasing female membership, including the Rotary Club of Richfield with over 50% female membership.

Act III, “Back to the Future,” occurred after the Richfield Rotarians went home. However, Barb Devlin, Chip Groth, and Jean Fox (pictured at left in costume) agree, “It’s a Wonderful Life” as a part of Rotary!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Richfield Tourism Board Meetings

The Richfield Tourism and Promotion Board (Visit Richfield) is beginning a year-long self-study process in collaboration with the U of M’s Tourism Center to help us determine our tourism priorities. The first step is to meet with our community to assess our community strengths! The public is invited to one of two upcoming meetings:

Tuesday, January 7:

6:30-8:30 p.m.

Richfield Community Center; 7000 Nicollet Avenue South

Saturday, January 25:

9:30-11:30 a.m.

Wood Lake Nature Center; 6710 Lake Shore Drive South

They will have refreshments, and will ask us to think about Richfield’s tourism assets. Please come ready to talk and share with your fellow community members!

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

District 5950 Midterm Assembly

Theme - Maximize The Global Value of Rotary!

Jan 18, 2020 9:00 AM - Jan 18, 2020 12:00 PM (Breakfast included)

(1:15 PM for President-Elects, Assistant District Governors and Rotaractors; lunch included)

Minnetonka Community Center
14600 Minnetonka, Blvd
Minnetonka, MN United States of America
55345

No charge to members. (The cost included in club training fee, which is built into member dues.)

Click here to register.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SAVE THE DATE! District 5950 Governor Russ Michaletz’ “Rotary 101” presentation at Richfield Rotary Club,

Thursday, March 19, 2020, 11:30 AM – 12:45 PM.

Please mark your calendar and make every effort to attend this important meeting!

March Madness Fun-Raiser for Polio Plus

Posted by Jay Clark

barb busted the BRACKETS for polio plus!!

Congratulations to Barb Devlin for her victory in the March Madness Challenge for Polio Plus. Barb relied on tips from experts, plus blind faith that the Minnesota Gophers would advance to the second round!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the bracket challenge by making a contribution of $20 or more to the Rotary International Foundation for Polio Plus.

Meeting Assignments through September 2019

Date	Program	Thought for Week	Attendance / Happy Dollars
09/12/19	Barb Devlin	Jay Clark	John DeBettignies

65 Year Celebration a Success!

Thanks to all who helped to make the 65th Richfield Rotary Celebration on January 6 a great success! Proceeds from the silent auction and wine raffle drawing totaled about $1000.

The near-capacity crowd enjoyed mingling and bidding, followed by a delicious dinner catered by Beautiful Day Catering.

Left: District Governor Mark Hegstrom and his wife Connie enjoyed dinner with President Chip Groth and his wife, Deanna.

Above: Elected officials and representatives of MIRA and Richfield Schools responded to a "mannequin challenge," while Mike and Jorina Andrews looked dignified, as usual!

Kirsten Nelson emceed an enjoyable program, which included highlights from Richield Rotary history, punctuated by music from Shar Salisbury and back-up singers Barb Devlin and Steve Larson.

District Governor Mark Hegstrom awarded an honorary Paul Harris Fellowship to Hennepin County Commissioner and former Richfield Mayor Debbie Goettel. Debbie stated, “I am honored to receive this award, and want to express my appreciation to the Richfield Rotary for its community involvement, support and service.” Debbie added, “While I will be undertaking a new role, I am not going away. I will still be a part of the Richfield community.”

The party was a great way to celebrate our club's contributions to the community, kick off the next 65 years of Richfield Rotary service!

Click here to read “Richfield Rotary Through the Years,” prepared by Barb Devlin.

Special thanks to the planning committee (Barb Devlin, Jean Fox, Chip Groth, and Kirsten Nelson) and to Dave Kostik for making arrangements for us to use the City Bella Community Room.

REMINDER - NO MEETING ON JULY 13

After surveying members and discovering that over half of us will be on vacation, President Chip decided to cancel the July 13 meeting. He hopes to see us all again on July 20! In the meantime, have fun with whatever you're doing on your summer vacation!

Chip Groth to Serve as Temporary e-Spokester Editor

Barb and John Devlin will be AWOL from January 20 – February 19, so Barb will be unavailable to do the e-Spokester for the weeks of January 29 and February 5, 12 and 19. Thanks to President Chip Groth for volunteering to serve as temporary e-Spokester editor during Barb's absence.

News and information turned in between January 20 - February 18 should be submitted to Chip. Thank you.

A Plea from District Governor Elect Bob Halligan!

If you haven't already done so, District Governor Elect Bob Hallagan asks you to please respond to the District 5950 Rotary Survey no later than Wednesday, January 11. It will take you only 10-15 minutes, and the results will help inform decisions at both the Club and District levels. Click here to link to the survey.

Thank you!

HELP NEEDED for January 6 Celebration!!

Thanks to all Richfield Rotarians who have volunteered to help out with our January 6 celebration. Following is a list of volunteer tasks, the names of volunteers to date, and volunteer help still needed. Let Barb Devlin know if you can volunteer. We'll finalize the list of volunteers at the January 5 meeting.

Silent Auction donations are still needed. Click here for ideas. Contact Jean Fox or Kirsten Nelson to confirm your auction contribution(s), and bring them to Kirsten's office or to our January 5 meeting.
Loan holiday table cloths or place mats for the evening - Mary Martha Butler, Barb Devlin, and Pam Serdar. Please bring table linens to the meeting on January 5.
Help out the day of the event. Rotarians who have already signed up are listed below. Let Barb Devlin know if you are willing to help out where help is still needed:
- Help with set-up for auction, dinner and program (4-6 PM) - Barb Devlin, Jean and Denny Fox, Kirsten Nelson
- Serve as event greeters (Need 2 people inside the front and rear entrances to the City Bella lobby to admit guests and direct them to the 2nd floor party room.
  - 5:50 - 6:30 PM - Chip and Deanna Groth
  - 6:30 - 7:10 PM - Pat and Patti Dale
- Be one of the Richfield Rotary Singers during the program! (Shar Salisbury will have the lead on all songs, so we’ll be back-up on all songs!) Barb Devlin and Kirsten Nelson; could use more volunteers
- Help with auction check-out - John Devlin Need 2 more volunteers
- Help with clean-up - Barb and John Devlin, Chip Groth; could use more help.

Rotary Merchandise for Under the Christmas Tree!

Several Rotarians have requested information about how to orders Rotary-themed clothing and merchandise. Several blue Rotary tee shirts are available for borrowing in men's sizes (large and extra large). However, Russell Hampton and National Awards are two websites with clothing available to match your body size and personal taste, along with other Rotary merchandise. Just click on each name to get to each company's website.

Richfield Rotary Fills Pizza Luce

November 14 - Richfield Rotary Night at Pizza Luce

Yesterday, Richfield Rotary received 25% of the pre-tax proceeds from meals purchased at Pizza Luce from folks presenting Richfield Rotary flyers. One of the managers commented last evening, "We have seen lots of flyers, beginning with folks coming in earlier in the day."

Proceeds will support our “Warm Hands, Heads and Hearts” project, which provides winter hats, gloves and mittens for needy elementary and secondary students in the Richfield Public Schools.

Thanks to Richfield Rotarians, family members and friends who helped spread the word and who supported the fund-raiser by dining at Pizza Luce. We enjoyed great food and fellowship while doing good in our community!

President Chip will have a report soon regarding fund-raiser proceeds.

July 20 Meeting Reminder

Sergeant at Arms - HaeKyung Nielsen

Thought for the Week - HaeKyung Nielsen

Program: Becca Erickson - “Equipping Single Mothers to Emerge as Confident Women and Caring Moms”

Rebecca(Becca) Erickson, Co-founder and Executive Director of Emerge Mothers Academy, is a former Target Executive, parenting-mentor, wife and mother of three. Becca is passionate about effective parenting, co-parenting and single parenting. Through her own journey she has seen the value of completing an education and committing to personal growth, even as a single mother.

Emerge Mothers Academy offers parent support services to mothers in partnership with other local service sites [Hope Academy, Banyan Community, Open Door, NLFS First Care] . Becca will tell us how Emerge Mothers Academy works with moms to help change patterns of generational poverty, encourage positive parenting, personal growth, emotional maturity and financial independence.

A Fun Time Was Had By All!

Thanks to Chip Groth for organizing a wonderful Past President’s gathering! The tour of the James J. Hill House was terrific, followed by a delicious lunch at Moscow on the Hill. Of course, all of this was to thank Anthony for his leadership last year. Jean Fox took some great photos - enjoy!

October 20 Meeting Reminder

Sergeant At Arms: Barb Devlin

Thought for the Week: Jean Fox

Program: Club Assembly

JOINT FOUNDATION FUND DRIVE CONTINUES

At its June meeting, the Richfield Rotary Foundation (RRF) Board decided to undertake a fund drive for the benefit of both the RRF and The Rotary Foundation (TRF).

The last joint fund drive was conducted in the spring of 2015, with contributions extending through the 2015-2016 program year. This fund drive is intended to extend and build upon contributions made in 2015-2016.

The Rotary International website highlights the importance of contributions to TRF, including Polio Plus:

The Rotary Foundation transforms your gifts into projects that change lives both close to home and around the world. As the charitable arm of Rotary, we tap into a global network of Rotarians who invest their time, money, and expertise into our priorities, such as eradicating polio and promoting peace. Foundation grants empower Rotarians to approach challenges such as poverty, illiteracy, and malnutrition with sustainable solutions that leave a lasting impact.

While TRF’s reach is broad in scope. our own Richfield Rotary Foundation (RRF) supports charitable projects and activities of the Richfield Rotary Club, which has been serving our local community for the past 65 years. A gift to the Richfield Rotary Foundation will help our club continue its legacy of service to the Richfield community.

As noted in an e-mail from President Chip Groth, members are encouraged to complete and return the attached pledge form to either Chip or RRF President Lynne Alexander at your earliest convenience. Questions may be directed to either Lynne or Chip.

Richfield Rotary's New Digs!

Richfield Rotary is now meeting in the 2nd floor Conference Room of

RICHFIELD / BLOOMINGTON HONDA, 501 W. 77th Street in Richfield

To get there: From Lyndale Avenue, drive east on 77th Street Park. Park on the east side of the building, enter the building through the service entrance, go through the glass doors on the right, and take the elevators or stairway to the second floor. Once you’re on the second floor, walk past the restrooms, take a right, and the conference room is the last door on the left, just before the opening into the auto showroom. (If you wander around long enough, you’ll find it!!)

Breakfast Buffet: For just $10, you'll enjoy a delicious breakfast buffet prepared by Beautiful Day Catering.

Come and Join Us!!

District 5950/5960 Joint Conference a Success!

Jean Fox and Barb Devlin represented Richfield Rotary at this year’s District Conference.

The keynote speakers and breakout sessions were excellent, thanks to the fact that Districts 5950 and 5960 were both sharing in the cost.

The keynote luncheon speaker was author, leadership speaker, and wilderness guide Chris Heeter, who used some of her favorite sled dogs to highlight some important lessons about leadership and teamwork:

Need to try different approaches with different people
Everybody has gifts. We just need to look for them.
It’s not enough to show what you know; first, you need to show that you care.

Mary Beth Growney Selene, a Rotary International Director from 2013-2015, served as the official RI Representative at the Conference. Mary Beth also facilitated excellent breakout sessions on attracting and engaging membership, and designing local and international projects that last.

In addition to formal meetings, conference attendees also visited the “Hall of Friendship” to learn about other Rotary Clubs’ projects and activities, and helped with the “Service in a Day” project, to assemble feminine hygiene kits to benefit girls around the world. The goal was to assemble 450 hygiene kits, but over double that number were completed by the end of the day!

The District Conference is a great way to learn more about Rotary, get new ideas, and meet some great Rotarians from other clubs. Make a commitment to attend next year!!

ROTARIANS AND STUDENTS ATTEND AREA 3 ETHICS LUNCHEON

Posted by Jean Fox

Richfield High School Principal Latanya Daniels brought 12 High School Juniors and Seniors to the annual District 3 Ethics Luncheon held at Edina Country club. Students enjoyed a delicious lunch and important conversation with Rotarians and listened to a powerful presentation by Dave Irvin who talked about what happens when good people make bad decisions.

Dave Irvin had a privileged upbringing and as an adult was a father of 4, coached a youth hockey team and held an executive position. On a dare, one day he tried cocaine, and gradually became dependent. Because he could afford it, he started buying cocaine for himself and friends in larger quantities. He thought he was just being efficient and helpful to his buddies and never realized he had moved into the classification of dealing. He was finally caught when he was set up by a friend who had been recently arrested for cocaine use.

When he was arrested he immediately thought "what will I tell my family, what will I tell my work colleagues, and well now I can finally quit." Rather than fight the arrest conviction he decided to take full responsibility for his actions and ended up serving a year and a day in a federal prison in Duluth. He remembers the officer telling him after the arrest that "you may not believe it now but this will be good for you"

The loss of dignity and respect was devastating but he is now rebuilding his life, renewing friendships whenever possible, gainfully employed (although not at his former executive position) and is seeking to make amends.

April 9 District Assembly Highlights

Barb and John Devlin attended the April 9 District Assembly, led by incoming District Governor Mark Hegstrom of the Edina Morningside Rotary Club.

Mark’s used a stool to encapsulate his key messages. Mark reminded us, “Each of the support legs to make our clubs successful, vibrant, and to better serve humanity.”

Some highlights of Mark’s remarks:

“A club in motion has emotion. Vibrant clubs are active; they do things.”

“Vibrant clubs have fun while engaging in service.”

“Clubs can convey vibrancy through publications, websites and Facebook pages that include pictures of members doing things and having fun.”

The break-out sessions included a grant-writing session led by (L to R) Don Stiles, Todd Bollig and Irene Kelly, attended by Barb Devlin. John attended sessions on visioning and engaging members.

The May 12-13 District Conference will provide another opportunity for members to learn more about and contribute to Rotary.

A Fun Time Was Had By All!

Thanks to Chip Groth from Richfield Rotary and Mark Mellon from Bloomington Daymakers for organizing an enjoyable joint Happy Hour on January 12. The manager even gave us a private room! (A good indication that we were having a good time is that our server closed the door to prevent our conversation and laughter from disturbing the other restaurant patrons!)

Hopefully, we'll schedule other joint events in the future!

New Member Applications Received

Emily Einwalter (left), lives in Richfield, and has attended both morning and evening meetings of Richfield Rotary.

Alyssa Swanson (right), Director of the Richfield Historical Society, has been attending the Richfield Rotary evening CORE group, and has submitted her application for membership in Richfield Rotary. Alyssa has previously served as a presenter at morning Richfield Rotary meetings. In her membership application, Alyssa wrote, “I am not involved in any community organizations and looking for one that fits my ideals and passions,” which include parks and the environment. Regarding the CORE group, Alyssa adds, “I love the idea of a young adults coming together to help better the community. Many cities struggle with youth involvement; however I believe this to be a great group to spark interest with the Richfield community.”

Richfield Rotary Foundation Audit Completed

At the request of outgoing Treasurer Jay Clark, Barbara Devlin conducted a financial audit of the Richfield Rotary Foundation from August 2010 to September 2015. A copy of the audit report has been shared with current and past club presidents, and incoming Richfield Rotary Foundation Treasurer Chip Groth. Other club members may receive a copy upon request to Barbara Devlin.

Thank you to Jay Clark for his five years of diligent service as Foundation treasurer!

August 25 Meeting Reminder

Sergeant At Arms: Steve Jedlund

Thought for the Week: Jay Clark

Program: David Feinwachs and Diane Peterson - “HMO Fraud in Minnesota”

The primary presenter will be David Feinwachs, a health care attorney, advocate and expert on our state’s public policy regarding health care. He will be joined by Diane Peterson, a high school classmate of Steve Larson’s who also is a health care advocate. They will discuss the Five Billion dollars annually of taxpayer dollars that are unaccounted for in Minnesota’s HMO system. This will be a great meeting to invite visitors to as this is a topic that affects all of us!

Richfield Rotary Represented at One Rotary Summit

Thanks to Chip Groth, Pat Dale, Barb Devlin and Jean Fox for representing Richfield Rotary at the One Rotary Summit, held on September 15, 2017.

District Governor Bob Halagan set the stage for the summit, which focused on ways to grow our membership, particularly among women which are under-represented in many Rotary clubs. The DG’s goal is for District 5950 membership to reflect the proportion of women in the State as a whole (50.3%). Halagan noted, “This goal can be reached by adding 1000 female members as a District, which equates to 5 per club.”

Halagan observed, "By adding and diversifying our membership, Rotary can grow the Foundation, add energy and ideas for new projects, and strengthen our public image,” all goals of Rotary International.

The opening session was followed by facilitated small-group discussions focused on processes and structures to increase membership and participation. While specific suggestions varied, key themes that emerged included:

Be inclusive.
Be intentional.
Be flexible.
Be welcoming.
Share great ideas.

District 5950 will prepare a detailed summary of the ideas generated, which will be share with each club.

E-Spokester Schedule for October

Barb and John Devlin will be out of town from September 30 - October 26. A big thanks to Denny Fox, who will do one e-Spokester before he and Jean leave for vacation on October 10, and Chip Groth, who will do the remaining e-Spokesters until my return. (Chip is being trained in by helping with this issue of the e-Spokester!)

Richfield Rotary Foundation Board Elections Held

Posted by Lynne Alexander, RFF Board President

The following people were elected to the Richfield Rotary Foundation last week at our club meeting. This re-establishes the 3 classes of members as per our by-laws so that we have a rolling membership. These elections should be held at the end of June each Rotary year.

DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS

CLASS ends June 30, 2016

David Melcher

Pam Serdar

CLASS ends June 30 2017

Lynne Alexander, President

Steve Larson

CLASS ends June 30 2018

Jay Clark

Marlene Evenson

PAST PRESIDENT ends June 30 2016

John Devlin

EX OFFICIO

Current President Anthony Bradford

President Elect Chip Groth

President Elect Elect Pam Serdat

Treasurer Chip Groth

Associate Treasurer Laura Briggs

Chair of The Rotary Foundation Steve Jedlund

Celebrating Rotary Attendance and Participation

Posted by Secretary John Devlin

Richfield Rotary Club recognizes every member who is willing and able to attend regularly. Participation in club projects and outside Rotary meetings and activities count as make-ups for missing regular meetings. Over the last seven weeks we have five members with perfect attendance: President Anthony , Chip G, Barb D, John D and Jean F! Close behind are David B, Pam S, David M and Tommy T with only one missed meeting.

Our weekly meetings and activities are essential to everyone and each one of us has an important role to perform. Thanks for being here. Be sure to let club secretary John Devlin also know when you attend other clubs and participate in club projects .

Summer is a busy time for all of us; even so we are averaging 68% attendance. WOW!

October 1 Meeting Highlights

Happy Dollars

Steve Jedlund sent greetings from former Richfield Rotarian Brad Rinsem who he visited recently in Boca Raton.

Mayor Debbie Goetell invited us all to attend the Richfield Foundation Wine and Cheese gathering on October 8. Tickets are available at Richfield Liquor Stores. For more information please check out

http://www.eventbrite.com/e/richfield-foundation-autumn-wine-cheese-gathering-tickets-18088689758?aff=es2

Lynne Alexander is celebrating the end of her lawsuit where her company prevailed. She announced "the money is in the bank"

Pam Serdar invited everyone to check out the new Little Free Library in the Richfield United Methodist Church parking lot. It looks like a little Noah's Ark.

Jean Fox was excited to be going on her annual hiking club retreat near Hayward Wisconsin.

Paul Harris Society Awards

Holly Callen (District Paul Harris Society Chair) presented Paul Harris Society Membership pins to Lynne Alexander and Jean Fox. The Paul Harris Fellow designation is given to individual Rotarians who have committed to give $1000 or more to the Rotary Foundation each year as long as they are able to do so.

Program - Lung Cancer Awareness

Curt Anderson, Tricia Wilkinson, and Molly Flaig From A Breath of Hope Lung Foundation presented our program on Lung Cancer Awareness. Both Curt and Tricia are lung cancer survivors.

Some of the biggest challenges in the fight against lung cancer are unfair research funding, lack of awareness and societal blame.

Lung cancer claims more lives than any other cancer (16% survival rate) including breast, colon and pancreatic cancers combined, yet research for a cure is funded by as much as 20 times less that other cancers. More than half of those diagnosed each year are nonsmokers yet the general public believes that only smokers die of lung cancer and they somehow "deserve" their suffering and are blamed for their poor choices. This societal belief creates ignorance which leads to missed symptoms, late diagnoses and attitudes that hurt families. Because of this stigma, most lung cancer cases are found in stages III-IV creating a very low survival rate.

The major causes of lung cancer are smoking, radon which is present in 2 out of 5 homes in Minnesota, exposure to second hand smoke, exposure to asbestos, family history and pollution. Symptoms to talk to your doctor about are fatigue, persistent cough, shortness of breath, chest/shoulder pain, loss of appetite, or coughing up phlegm/mucous/blood. If these symptoms are present ask about a low dose CT which is sometimes not covered by insurance but only costs around $125 if you must pay for it yourself.

Prevention includes not smoking, talking to your Doctor about any of the symptoms above, and lowering your own risk factors. Rotarians who attended the meeting were offered free radon testing kits.

The Breath of Hope Foundation, which was founded in 2008 by patients, families and their nurse, works to end the stigma, to achieve fairness in Federal Funding, increase insurance coverage to include low dose CT's and an eventual cure. They believe that every life is worth fighting for!

Pictured (L to R) are Curt Anderson, Tricia Wilkinson, and Molly Flaig

Richfield and Bloomington Clubs Conduct Joint Visioning Session

On Thursday, August 20, District Visioning Team leaders Gayle Noakes (left) and Russ Michaletz facilitated a joint visioning session that included 5 representatives each from Bloomington Daymakers and Richfield Rotary Clubs and the President of the Bloomington Noon Rotary Club. President Anthony Bradford, John and Barb Devlin, Jean Fox, and President-Elect Chip Groth represented the Richfield Rotary Club. District Governor Tim Murphy also attended.

Club Similarities and Differences

Representatives of each club shared highlights regarding club membership; priorities; community, international, and vocational service activities; and fund-raising.

Similarities noted among clubs included a focus on youth (especially teens); active member engagement in projects (“sweat equity”); international project focused on India; all have membership and fund-raising as priorities.

Differences include Richfield’s efforts to reflect the community’s diverse demographics in membership recruitment, service priorities, and club activities. Differences in club size also create differences in communication and fund-raising strategies and results.

Areas of Consensus

Following small group discussion and sharing, the whole group identified the following areas of consensus:

No merger of clubs at this time
Pursue opportunities for collaboration among clubs such as periodic joint service projects and meetings. JSchedule periodic multi-club social / networking events A representative of Bloomington Daymakers will convene
Expand cross-club communications to increase awareness of make-up, networking and service opportunities across clubs.

Small group reporters included Barb Devlin (far left), Mark (center) and Jason (right) from the Bloomington Daymakers Club.

Next Steps

Club presidents will ask their respective club service chairs (David Butler and/or Marlene Evenson for Richfield Rotary) to discuss possible collaborative service projects.
Jean Fox volunteered to meet other club representatives to plan some joint meetings.
Mark from the Daymakers Club will convene the club social chairs to plan one or more joint club social / networking events.

Special thanks to Daymakers President Stephanie Smith for making the meeting arrangements, to Gayle Noakes and Russ Michaletz for facilitating, and to District Governor Tim Murphy for his attendance and support.

Getting to Know the Bloomington Daymakers

Bloomington Daymakers President Stephanie Smith and Richfield Rotary President Anthony Bradford are planning opportunities for members from both cubs to interact and get to know one another.

To get things started, Anthony is seeking 3-5 members to attend the Daymakers meeting on Friday, August 14, 7:29 AM at the Bloomington Hilton, 3900 American Blvd. West. Volunteers to date include Jean Fox, Steve Larson and Pam Serdar. Let Anthony Bradford know if you would like to attend as well.

Those attending should be willing to give a mini-classification talk of up to 6 minutes that includes 1-2 minutes about each of the following topics:

yourself / background
Your profession and / or major volunteer work
What attracted you to Rotary and why you stay active

Visual aids are encouraged. As an example, Stephanie’s role as a Mom is represented by car keys for driving around her son Caleb; her work in sports medicine is represented by a stethoscope, and her commitment to Rotary is signified by an End polio pin.

REMINDER - NO MEETING NOVEMBER 22

RICHFIELD ROTARY GARAGE SALE A SUCCESS!

Thanks to good weather, lots of sale items, and a steady stream of customers,

our first club garage sale since the 1970’s was

a great success, yielding just shy of $2000. The money raised will fully fund the Dictionary Project in 2015-2016, and any remaining funds can be used to support other club projects and activities that benefit youth.

Special thanks to all the Rotarians and partners who made donations and helped out with garage sale preparations and / or the sale itself:

Lynne Alexander

Anthony Bradford and Chris Gaukel

David and Mary Martha Butler

Pat Dale

Barb and John Devlin

Marlene Evenson

Jean and Denny Fox

Steve and Susie Jedlund

Pam Serdar

INFORMATION AND EVENTS OF INTEREST

Nari Gunjan Fund-Raiser

Sandhya Gupta invites Rotary members to attend the annual fundraiser for Nari Gunjan community, scheduled for Tuesday July 14, 6-9 pm at Indian Zayka Restaurant, 1260 Town Centre Drive, Eagan 55123. The cost is $75 per person.

Click here for more details and to register.

Transition to ClubRunner Website is Complete

Denny Fox has completed the transition of our club website to the ClubRunner platform, which you can now log into at http://www.richfieldrotary.org. If you still want to refer to the old site, visit http://wwwold.richfieldrotary.org. Click here to access first time log-in instructions for club members.

Combined Foundation Pledge Drive Concluding April 2

Posted by John Devlin and Steve Jedlund

Thanks to all club members who have contributed or pledged to the Rotary International Foundation (TRF) and Richfield Rotary Foundation (RRF) as part of the combined pledge campaign. To date during the 2014-2015 program year, $5600 has been pledged or contributed to TRF and $3500 to RRF, not including contributions toward the Richfield band shell and the Darlene Day Meyer Memorial Fund.

Steve Jedlund hopes to wrap up the pledge drive this week. If you have not completed your pledge, please turn it in this week so we can include your pledge in the total. A copy of Steve's letter and pledge form are attached.

RICHFIELD ROTARY - 65 YEARS STRONG!

Even as we mourn the loss of Gertrude Ulrich, we join in celebration of a life well lived. With her devotion family, interest in and support for literature and learning, and life-long engagement in civic affairs and politics, Gertrude lived out Rotary's motto, "Service Above Self."

Copy of
ClubRunner Website is Up and Running

Our club website and newsletter has shifted to the ClubRunner platform, which is used by District 5950 and most other clubs in the district. Here is a link to our new site. If you have not done so already, please take time to log in and set your personal password. There is a "Member Login" link in the upper right hand corner. If you click on that, then click on "New and existing users: retrieve login and/or reset password", you will get instructions on how to get yourself logged in so you can view the private parts of the new site. As before, member contact details are not shown to the general public.

Review your profile Once you have logged in, please take time to review and make any necessary updates /corrections to your profile.

Feel free to contact Denny Fox if you have any questions or suggestions.

Thought for the Week - Who Said It?

Posted by Lynne Alexander on Dec 08, 2014

An optimist is the human personification of spring.

Quote of the Week - Who Said It?

Posted by Lynne Alexander on Dec 08, 2014

We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world.

Mark Your Calendars!

Posted by Lynne Alexander on Dec 08, 2014

Here you can post little tidbits of information, reminders, or anything else!

Security and Integrity of Your Data

Posted by Lynne Alexander

ClubRunner secures all your private information using the latest security technologies. Hosted in a world class data centre with redundant power, Internet backbones and 24/7 security and monitoring, you can rest assured that your club data is safe and protected. Your members' contact information is secured behind unique logins and passwords. Access to information is also restricted, for example, a member can only view the list of members, but can modify his or her own personal information.

Data on the server is protected by TCP/IP filtering, firewall and anti-virus software that protect against any unauthorized intrusion. Backups of data are made daily and stored off-site.

Integrated eBulletin for Easier Communication

Posted by Lynne Alexander

ClubRunner makes it easy to publish your weekly Club eBulletin, and send to all members and friends of the club, by incorporating home page stories and events with the push of a button.

Welcome to our new website!

Posted by Lynne Alexander

Welcome to our Rotary Club!

RIhomepage

October 1, 2020 Meeting Reminder

August 20, 2020 Meeting Reminder

11:30 AM – 12:45 PM - – Richfield Bandshell

Plans Announced for Upcoming Meetings

August 6, 2020 Meeting Highlights

July 16, 2020 Meeting Highlights

OUTDOOR MEETING SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 6, 2020!

June 18, 2020 Meeting Highlights

Membership Application Received

Richfield Rotary Awards Cameron Scholarships

Together We’re Helping our Neighbors

Food Drive a Smashing Success!

Dictionary and Book Deliveries Nearly Complete!

Wanted: Encouraging Cards and Artwork for Confined Elders

Spanish-English Dictionaries and Books Delivered to Schools

Referrals Requested for New Rotary e-Club

Richfield Rotary Meetings to Go Virtual

Announcing Two Membership Applications

Club Membership - Tracking Our Progress

Richfield Rotary Relaunch Continues!

If you live, work, and / or do business in the Richfield area and would like to support the Richfield Community, please attend one of the Richfield Rotary Relaunch Informational meetings scheduled for:

February 27, 11:45 AM – 12:45 PM at Local Roots, 817 E. 66th Street, Richfield MN 55423 (Come a few minutes early if you want to order lunch.)

Applications Invited for Rotary Peace Scholarships

Special Message on Rotary Foundation from DG Russ Michaletz

Virtual Meeting Reminder

Welcome, Thought for the Week, Introduction of Guests and Announcements

Induction of New Members - Linay McCrady and Cassandra Nickell

Program: District Governor Russ Michaletz – “Rotary 101”

Some Zoom Basics

To Join the Zoom Meeting

Meeting Highlights

Program: Amy Markle, Recreation Services Director for the City of Richfield

Richfield Rotary Relaunch Continues! Help Needed From Club Members!

A Message of Peace

Pizza Luce Fundraising and Fun!

Area 3 Rotary Clubs Honor Veterans

Announcing Applicants for Membership

Nari Gunjan Benefit a Success

Q1 Meeting and Activity Schedule

Club Meeting Schedule

Club Service Activities

Relaunch Information Meetings

Formal Relaunch and Installation of New Members – Tuesday, September 24, 5:30 – 7:00 PM (Location TBD)

Bandshell Opening Recognizes Current and Former Rotarians

Richfield Rotary Relaunch Underway

LFL Build Day a Success!

Mid-Term Assembly Offers Insights and Ideas

Congratulations to Chris and Denise!!

Little Free Library Project Generating Interest

Latino Three Kings Celebration a Success

Highlights - April 18, 2019 Vocational Ethics Day

Heart of Dance Volunteering Brings Smiles!

November 29 Meeting Highlights

December Service Project - Heart of Dance Event

Saturday, December 8, 2018

DoubleTree by Hilton Bloomington - Minneapolis South7800 Normandale BlvdMinneapolis, MN 55439

November 29 AM Meeting Reminder

Richfield Rotary Seeking Community Input

Tommy Thompson Update

Sunday, september 15, 1-5 pm

November 8, 2018 Meeting Highlights

Thought for the Week, Happy Dollars and Announcements

Program: Barb Devlin - “Unraveling the Mysteries of ClubRunner”

November 8, 2018 Meeting Reminder

Reminder: November 8, 2018 Morning Meeting, 7:15 - 8:30 AM, Richfield / Bloomington Honda 2nd floor Boardroom

Thought for the Week: Jay Clark

Greeter and Happy Dollars: Jean Fox

Program: Barb Devlin, "Unraveling the Mysteries of ClubRunner!"

Saint Paul Saints Game a Hit!

Hail to the Chief! Kirsten Nelson Elected Club President for 2018-2019

Mid-Term Assembly Attendance Sets Record

"People of Action: Join the Campaign"

“The Opioid Epidemic: Time to Act”

Highlights - Annual Veterans Day Luncheon

Important Tips from ClubRunner

Clubrunner Tips - Richfield Rotary’s Web and Newsletter Platform

Gaining Member Access; Editing Your Own Member Profile

How to Avoid Blocking e-Spokester

Possible Program Presenter

New Member Induction

February 27, 11:45 AM – 12:45 PM at Local Roots, 817 E. 66^th Street, Richfield MN 55423 (Come a few minutes early if you want to order lunch.)

DoubleTree by Hilton Bloomington - Minneapolis South
7800 Normandale Blvd
Minneapolis, MN 55439