Rotary Club of Great Falls, Montana                

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Always, Always Service above Self

Last February a windstorm took half the roof off a trailer that Eaglemount had been using. Eaglemount tried to find some way to get rid of it, offering it “free for the hauling” or even to the fire department for training. There were no takers. Some volunteers "demo-ed" parts of the inside, but the project was just too big. So it sat. And sat. 
 
Kurt Baltrusch drove by it several times and, knowing that our club has been looking for projects, contacted Gaines McFadden to see if it could be repaired. Gaines said the best option would be to tear it down.  After getting the go-ahead from the Rotary Board and Deb at Eaglemount, Kurt got to work.
 
Kurt was hoping parts of the structure could be salvaged, but the consensus was that it was too far gone – especially after being exposed to the weather since February.  Because the insulation is still good, Klinefelter's Insulation is allowing Rotary to use its equipment in exchange for the insulation. Kurt got the machine last week and Sheila Rice, Art Taft, Gaines and a friend of Kurt's, Bob Scalese from East Glacier, got about half of the roof insulation out. The next day Art and Kurt came back to finish that part of the job.  

For the third consecutive year, the Rotary Club of Great Falls has made a donation to help cover the cost of trees for the families completing the Owner Built Homes program. Set to finish in just a few months, these new neighbors are turning houses into homes as they round the corner and start the final stretch of completing 10 homes together this year.

 

This week, nine Rotarians including Megan Connors, President of the Rotary Club of Great Falls, visited the Owner Built Homes site to plant the final tree in honor of their donation and dedication to these families and individuals. Megan expressed her interest in continuing this partnership, stating “The Rotary Club of Great Falls is thrilled with the continued success of something that might seem small but has a lasting impact for the hardworking owners of the Owner Built Homes program and NeighborWorks. This win-win provides our Club a way to beautify the community and help NeighborWorks make affordable homeownership possible for so many well-deserving citizens of Great Falls.”

Yes...we begged and....
everyone in Great Falls cleaned out their closets and brought their shredding!
 
We raised over $700 for Polio in just a few hours!  
 
Thank you Great Falls!
 
It was with much gratitude and good cheer that we celebrated the opening of the new US Forest Service bridge across Belt Creek!
 
A lot of hard work and donations went into making the new bridge a reality within 18 months of our original collaboration meetings.  
 
Thank you to John Juras and Ken Munski for donating many, many engineering consulting hours.  And thank you to David Peters from the US Forest Service for making this bridge a priority.  Also thank you to our generous donors:
 
Treacy Foundation
NorthWestern Energy
Owen and Gayle Robinson
Steel Etc.
3 Rivers Communication
Steve and Carla Schnider
Charlie and Christa Mears
Gary Moler
Jim and Dee Strauss
Today we brought our meeting outside and what a beautiful day to be on the Missouri River!  
Art Taft organized our river clean up that spanned from
Oddfellows Park to Elks Riverside Park with lunch in between.  
 
 

Can you believe it? We got it done! Our bridge is ready to ROLL - or more precisely, be rolled on.

 
More can and will be said. But for now, just think of where we were just a short time ago: our signature project threatened; the fix more than daunting. Yet we got it done.
 
 
There is a can-do spirit about our club that is not just contagious. It's empowering. We saw what needed to be done, we set our minds to it, and that meant it was gonna get done. This is a moment of celebration for all of us. But two Rotarians and one government agency in particular really got this done.
 
Our fantastic partnership with the United States Forest Service got it done, a relationship whose foundation was laid by Ken Munski's expertise, patience and charisma. Ken's contribution was matched by that of John Juras, who simply dogged this project day in and day out like it was cycling. And in a sense it is.
 
Congratulations, Rotarians. And thank you, thank you, Ken and John. This is one bridge that was not too far.
Check out the latest Service Above Self Project from our team who participated in the CommUNITY Cleanup at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2LsmkMILUU
Just another of the many ways our club members have reached out to help Great Falls this month!
 
Club Information
 

Welcome to Great Falls Rotary... 
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Great Falls

Service Above Self

We meet Tuesdays at 12:00 PM, and the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month at 5:30 PM.

Meadow Lark Country Club
300 Country Club Blvd
Great Falls, MT  59405
United States of America
 
 
 
Club Executives & Directors
President
President Elect
President-elect Nominee
Secretary
Treasurer
Immediate Past President
Public Relations
Bulletin Editor
Web Site Administrator
Camp Operations Director
Speaker Committee Chair
Great Falls Rotary Foundation Liaison
Director
Facebook Link
Speakers
Dr. Tiffany Hensley-McBain + Rebecca Brown
Apr 04, 2023
McLaughlin Research Institute
Ron Colwell - Calumet Montana
Apr 11, 2023
Renewables
Larry Mylnechuk
Apr 18, 2023
Dolittle History
Steve Herrig
Apr 25, 2023
New Parks and Rec Facility
Dr. Stephanie Erdman
May 02, 2023
GFC/MSU Updates
Cristoff Gaub
May 09, 2023
Great Falls Public Works Director
Supreme Court Justice Laurie McKinnon
May 16, 2023
National Judicial College and Montana Supreme Court information
Gracye Holzheimer
May 23, 2023
Polio
Changing of the Guard
Jun 27, 2023
Jeff Ewelt
Jul 11, 2023
Zoo Montana

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