Next Week at Rotary

Next week our featured presenter will be Lincoln Elementary School principal Jon Konen, who will tell us about the state of education in Great Falls. Join us at noon at the country club!

Because of Valentine's Day, there will be no evening Rotary on February 14.

Rotary Activities This Week

The Rotary Foundation Board will meet this Tuesday immediately following our noon meeting.

The monthly Rotary Board meeting will be this Tuesday at 5:30 at the country club. All members are welcome to attend.

We'll have our Rotary social this week at Jeremiah Johnson Brewing Company. Join the evening Rotarians in a social beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 13, with the tour/social running from 6:00 - 7:00.

This week's button number (on the back of your Rotary pin) is #167. Contact Todd if you're the lucky winner.

Applications Available for Peace Center Fellowships

The Rotary 2020 Peace Fellowship Application is now available for Rotarians worldwide.

Through academic training, practice, and global networking opportunities, the Rotary Peace Centers program develops the fellows into experienced and effective catalysts for peace. The fellowships cover tuition and fees, room and board, round-trip transportation, and all internship and field-study expenses.

In just over a decade, the Rotary Peace Centers have trained more than 1,200 fellows. Many of them now serve as leaders at international organizations or have started their own foundations.

Each year, The Rotary Foundation awards up to 50 fellowships for master’s degrees and 50 for certificate studies at premier universities.

Master’s degree programs: Accepted candidates study peace and development issues with research-informed teaching and a diverse student body. The program lasts 15 to 24 months and includes a 2-3 month field study, which participants design themselves.

Professional development certificate program: Experienced leaders gain practical tools for promoting peace and international development during an intensive, 3- month program, which includes 3 weeks of field study and peer learning opportunities with a diverse group.

More than 1,000 peace fellowship alumni are working in over 100 countries. Peace fellowship candidates must meet these requirements:

· Proficiency in English; a second language is strongly recommended

· Demonstrated commitment to international understanding and peace

· Excellent leadership skills

· Master’s degree applicants: minimum three years of related full-time work or volunteer experience, bachelor’s degree

· Certificate applicants: minimum five years of related full-time work or volunteer experience

For more information, visit https://www.rotary.org/en/our-programs/peace-fellowships

Last Week at Noon Rotary

Last week fellow Rotarian Mary Moe presented the results of her research on the woman suffrage movement in Montana. Last fall she was asked to prepare an account of the Montana story for a law review and she thought the members of Rotary would find it interesting.

It took Montana 25 years after statehood to give women the vote. Suffrage was deliberately excluded from the 1889 Montana constitution, and the requirement for amending the constitution was a 2/3 vote in both houses of the legislature to present it to the people and a simple majority of voters in that election.

Some extraordinary Montana women began pushing for suffrage in the 1890s, among them Montana's first female doctor, Maria Dean, and Montana's first female lawyer, Ella Knowles Haskill. Nicknamed "the Portia of the People," Ella was extremely intelligent and an impressive orator, but her pitch for suffrage from the floor of the legislature was not enough to win the 2/3 majority needed to present the issue to the people of Montana.

The first decade of the 1900s has been described as "the doldrums" for the suffrage movement. Distracted by scandal, the amalgamation of the copper interests, and other economic issues, the legislature was not interested in taking on the suffrage issue. However, two important changes that would eventually lead to suffrage occurred. The homesteading population in Montana was increasing steadily and that population recognized the important role that women played in agriculture and in their communities. Women's clubs also became popular at that time and women were enjoying the new horizons of working with other women on community issues.

By 1911, the time was right for woman suffrage in Montana. Wyoming, Idaho, and Washington all allowed women to vote. Montana women were much more likely to be college-educated and active in community matters. The temperance movement, primarily involving women, was extremely active. These forces combined under the leadership of Jeannette Rankin and Mary Long Alderson to convince the 1913 legislature to submit the vote to the people. The men of Montana granted women the vote on Nov. 2, 2014.

Milestones

Lots of birthdays to celebrate this week!

Glenn Lambert - Feb. 9 (today)
Bill Salina - Feb. 10
Carol Lindseth - Feb. 13
Kevin Langkiet - Feb. 15

Best wishes to you all for the best year ever.

Weekly Wisdom on Groundhog's Day