Last Saturday, with story-telling, celebration, and ribbon-cutting, Rotarians started a new era at Camp Rotary with a new bridge. President-Elect Lacey Gallagher served as emcee for a ceremony that included the inimitable story-telling of Ken Munski, Todd Neighbor, and Cari Yturri; well-wishes from Camp Frances, Camp Runamucka, and others; comments from our fantastic partners in the United States Forest Service; and visions for the future from John Juras and Megan Connors.
Completing this project in such short order, losing only one camping season, was truly a monumental achievement worthy of celebration. On a blustery day in the middle of a pandemic, it was touching how many people made it a point to be there to celebrate. As Jan Gorman wrote in the guest book, "Good work. Dale would love it."
Thanks to Rotarians Kurt Baltrusch, Bill (and Carol) Bronson, Dave Cameron, Megan Connors, Mark Finnicum, Lacey Gallagher, Gregg (and Pat) Holt, Jim (and Lucretia) Humphrey, John Juras, Tim (and Nancy) McGonigal, Ken (and Cindy) Munski, Todd Neighbor (and Ed Sapp), and Cari (and Jim) Yturri for making a memorable moment a memory.
Next Week, Future Weeks in Rotary
At last week's meeting, your Rotary Club of Great Falls Board of Directors reached the reluctant decision that, with the spike of COVID-19 cases in Great Falls and throughout Montana, we will have virtual meetings through November. The board will re-convene in late November to re-assess the situation.
In the meantime, the board encourages Rotarians to increase their engagement in other aspects of Rotary. Are you on a committee? If not, respond to this email to express interest in joining a committee that appeals to you. Throughout this eBulletin are other opportunities to engage in Rotary projects and acts of kindness this month. We need you more than ever right now!
This week we will be hearing from Janet Duffy about Peace Place. Join us at noon on Zoom!
Service-above-Self Opportunities
Get re-engaged in service above self this month! This Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 1:30 p.m., the Great Falls Rotary Foundation tree-planting ceremony will be held at 2000 21st Ave. South, the site of 20 new NeighborWorks owner-built homes. (The best route to the site is to head south on 23rd Street, then turn right on 21st Ave. South and travel west for 3 blocks.)
NeighborWorks Great Falls has constructed nearly 150 owner-built homes, where 10 families work together to build their homes. No one moves in until all the homes are completed. Many thanks to Bob Holter, Tony DiLello and Dave Cameron for their contributions to the Great Falls Rotary Foundation to fund the trees at NeighborWorks and Habitat for Humanity homes.
World Polio Day awareness day is coming soon, and we will raise funds to END POLIO NOW by hosting our annual SHRED TO END POLIO event. Montana Business Archives has partnered with the Rotary Club of Great Falls to provide the event, Tuesday, October 27th, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. in the Meadow Lark Country Club parking lot. Costs: $10 per box for the first two boxes, $15 for boxes 3-5, and $20 for each additional box.
Everyone is invited to rid your clutter of old papers in a safe manner and make a difference in the world. Box up sensitive financial records and personal papers, bring them to the Country Club, pay a nominal fee and your items will be secured and safely shredded onsite. Don’t worry about stapled items but do remove anything in plastic; CDs containing sensitive information may also be shred. Help us to End Polio NOW! For more information call 406.788.8284.
Last Week at Rotary
Last week District Governor Sandy Carlson visited Great Falls as part of her statewide tour as governor. A donor recruitment account manager for Red Cross, Sandy has been a Rotarian in the Kalispell Daybreak Club for 18 years. She met our newest member, Jesse Mahugh, through their mutual involvement in Rotary there and confirmed what we already know: He's a keeper!
Sandy discussed our current Rotary International President's vision for this year with his Rotary Opens Opportunities theme and presented our club with a banner featuring the theme “pillars.” The first pillar is diversity. Sandy encouraged us to be open to new approaches. Times have changed, she observed, and we need to doing whatever we can to expand our reach, both in membership recruitment and in our meeting schedules and formats. The next pillar is engagement. What can we do to increase the engagement of current members? Last but not least, we can’t lose sight of our service projects. The main one, of course, is RI’s work to eradicate polio.
Sandy ended with a moving story of her “Why Rotary” moment. She joined Rotary with what she described as “sincere but selfish” motives. She had just gone through a divorce and needed something to occupy her time when she was away from her children. She quickly learned that Rotary was going to have a profound impact on her life when she traveled to Guatemala for an international service project. Her “Why Rotary” moment came when the adults in the community began to cry when they had running water for the first time. She encouraged our entire club to think about our “Rotary Why.”
Sounds like a great feature for the eBulletin ! Do you have a Rotary Why you’d like to share? Just reply to this email or contact Mary Moe (868- 9427) with your Rotary Why Moment.
Milestones
October has brought both quantity and quality in membership to Rotary Club of Great Falls. We salute these double-digit October Rotarians!
Beth McFadden - 26 years
Mike Wier - 14 years
Jeff Millhollin – 13 years
Kevin Eckhardt – 10 years
Sydney Blair – 10 years
Collectively, 73 years of service above self ... and that's just quantity. The quality goes even higher. Thanks, October Rotarians, for all you do!
Weekly Warmth
The end of summer and onset of fall have coincided with two of our members dealing with health challenges. Ryan Carroll continues his incredible battle with good grace, and Judge Holter has been hospitalized recently as well. Both would love to hear from members, so please consider dropping a quick line to:
