Thursday, April 30, 2026

House Salad

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches (Served with Red Onions and Cole Slaw)

Hot Chips and Pickles

Doors Open 11:30AM

At

 

 

Shaye Moris’ passion for charitable work stemmed from parents who taught her the value of helping others. She joined Second Harvest in 1998 and has dedicated her career to ensuring equitable and dignified access to food for families, children and seniors throughout the Northland.

 

 

Shaye has served on numerous boards, including the Northland Foundation, University of WI-Superior Foundation, Feeding Wisconsin, and Hunger Solutions Minnesota. When not at work, she enjoys traveling with her husband, Mike, and two children, Mason and Olivia. She also enjoys running, writing, and the outdoors. 

 

 

2302 Commonwealth Avenue

Duluth, MN 55808

 May 13, 2026, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

 

We have an opportunity to help fight hunger in our area! Our Rotary Club has partnered with Second Harvest Northland to assist them in their mission to create a hunger-free Northland at their new facility in West Duluth. For more information about Second Harvest Northland, visit Second Harvest Northland  Or Contact: Daniel Maki

 

 

May 7, 2026, at 5:00 PM

Kitchi Gammi Club
831 East Superior St

 

Break out the bold hats, seersucker suits, and Southern charm—it's time for the most exciting night in philanthropy! Join Rotary Club 25 for an unforgettable evening inspired by the pageantry and thrill of the Kentucky Derby. Sip classic mint juleps, enjoy delicious fare, and place your winning bids in our live and silent auctions, all while cheering on great causes that make our community stronger.

It's high stakes, high style, and heartfelt giving—so pick your winner, dress to impress, and let the good times race!

 

 

 

Email Christa Scheider cscheider@northshore.bank. So far, we have:

• Bentleyville Sweatshirts and VIP Santa passes

• Day sail from Lake Superior Tall Ships

• Chocolate Lovers basket

• Gardening Basket

• Fine Scotch basket

• Coach Purse set

 

 

In the Great Hall, President Zach Walters smiled and opened the meeting. We recited the Pledge of Allegiance and the Rotary 4-Way Test.

 

President Zach Walters welcomes everyone to the meeting.

 

Rotarians stand before saying the Pledge of Allegiance

 

Past President Branden Robinson delivered the Reflection. “Take a moment to look at your hands,” he said, and we did. “Consider the work they have done. Consider all they have made possible.” He continued, “The human hand is one of the defining gifts of our species, an instrument of nearly limitless potential and power.” Such a powerful tool must be wielded with care, he noted. He promised that today’s speaker would describe a program dedicated to equipping human hands to create good for themselves and others. You were not alone if you marveled that this Rotarian may be cut from the same cloth as Walt Whitman.

 

“The same hand may deliver a triumphant pat on the back—or a devastating blow to the face,” observed Past President Branden Robinson.

 

In a single frame, our guests Brad Jenson, Mark Leutgeb, Jim Pratt, Kelly Robison, and Suzy Grutoski.

 

President Zach Walters welcomed our guests: Jill Kepper, today’s speaker; Mark Leutgeb of Skyline Rotary; Brad Jenson, President of Harbortown Rotary; Judy Sage, wife of Allen Anway; Jim Pratt of the Lyon’s Club; Kelly Robison, CenterWell Home Health, guest of Natalie Junk; and Suzy Grutkoski of Edward Jones, guest of Angel Saczko.

 

Natalie Junk celebrates being a new employee of Centerwell Home Health!

 

Jay Ott narrowly finished a major “honey do” project just before a houseful of guests arrived!

 

Past President Sandy Hoff took a leap from a Swiss mountain peak . . .

. . . with President Elect Dan Maki, and then they paraglided!

 

Natalie Junk, beaming, was the first to self-report. She has a new job at CenterWell Home Health. She brought her boss today as her guest. Jay Ott, now retired, carried out a complete remodel of the main floor bathroom in two weeks’ time, finishing just hours before 47 guests arrived for a baby shower. Together in Switzerland, Sandy Hoff and Dan Maki leaped off a 3,000-foot cliff and paraglided for 10-15 minutes, carried over astonishing landscapes.

Jim Pratt invites Rotarians to feast at the Lions Club annual Pancake Breakfast on May 7 at the DECC.

 

Jim Pratt of the Lions Club invited everyone to attend the 67^th Pancake Breakfast on Thursday, May 7. The Lions will reserve breakfast tables for Rotarians, as they did last year. Come at 7:00am and fill up your plate with pancakes, toppings, sausage, and your mug with coffee, juice, or milk. Gluten-free available. DECC Pioneer Hall, 7am-7pm. $9 in advance, $12 event day. FREE PARKING! (Tickets https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/2026-lions-pancake-day)

 

 

Past President Michelle Buria receives a Paul Harris Award for her generous donations to the Rotary International Foundation.

 

Past President Michelle Buria was awarded a 4-sapphire Paul Harris Award, in recognition of her generous support of the Rotary International Foundation. “It’s easy. I just have a monthly automatic donation to the Rotary International Foundation, and it adds up. I urge you all to do it,” she said with a smile. (Here’s how: https://my.rotary.org/en/donate )

Mark Leutgeb and Brad Jenson promote the Inter-Club Council, which cultivates a dynamic collaboration among Twin Ports Clubs.

 

Brad Jenson, President of Harbortown Rotary, and Mark Leutgeb of Skyline Rotary highlighted the Inter-Club Council of the five Twin Ports Rotary Clubs. Communication, cooperation, shared service activities, fellowship at one another’s events, and a plan to train all incoming Club presidents to learn how to use ClubRunner—that’s its purpose. It started in January and is held the first Monday of each month, 4:00-5:00pm, at the Kitchi Gammi Club in the McGifford Room. Presidents, Presidents Elect, and Assistant District Governors gather monthly to so that our five Clubs can collaborate and thrive—together.

Chair of the Day Bob Reichert introduces today’s speaker from Duluth HRA.

 

Jill Keppers envisioned an ingenious housing idea—then she made it happen.

 

Bob Reichert, Chair of the Day, introduced today’s speaker, Jill Keppers, Executive Director of the Duluth Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA), a government program. A guest last fall, she returned to tell us about her favorite brainchild, the Community Construction Program.

 

Jill had observed that Duluth is a tough housing market. Homes sell quickly (7 days on average), sellers tend to receive what they ask for, more than 50% of the housing stock is 50 years old or older, and there is a shortage of contractors. So, Jill collaborated with her mayor-appointed, City Council-approved board and with Community Action Duluth (who in turn partnered with Lake Superior College) to help make a difference. Her audacious aim: create a program to train people facing barriers to employment—generally ages 18-30—to enter the construction trades, pay them while they learn contracting skills rehabilitating blighted homes, then put the newly rehabbed homes on the market to sell for affordable home ownership.

 

Jill knew it was generally less expensive to rehab an older home than to build new, and Duluth had plenty of older homes. She also saw the potential in students, some of whom had histories of incarceration, drug abuse, housing instability, and more. 

 

House 1. The first cohort of students was assembled. HRA purchased an older house and hired a licensed contractor to oversee the work of the students. A life skills coach—someone who had himself overcome tough obstacles such as addiction—was hired to be on-site. The contractor helped students learn how to apply what they were learning in class; the life skills coach made sure students were learning the importance of solving day-to-day challenges they were not always equipped to tackle: finding transportation to and from work, sorting out child care, getting a GED, and overall how to be successful employees.

 

Lessons learned. The first project had too many students, paid too much for labor (students are paid approximately $17/hour for work), and the cost of materials varied wildly, so the project was considerably over budget. But the concept was sound. Over approximately seven months, they had taught a group of students a powerful set of contracting skills and had rehabbed a blighted property.

 

House 2. They brought in a smaller cohort of students (6-8) and did better managing costs. 

 

House 3. The project was still over budget, but they were getting closer to an effective model.

 

They have since rehabbed six houses, a seventh house is nearly complete, and the current cohort is just starting on an eighth home. The program starts a new cohort of students every 6-12 months.

 

Results? Of the 40 students:
• 25 have successfully completed the program with a carpentry certificate
• 2 have become licensed contractors (and 2 more are in process)
• 9 earned their driver’s licenses
• 7 received GEDs
• 1 finished their high school diploma
• 18 are employed in the construction trades
• More are seeking union apprenticeship programs or other certifications, such as welding or HVAC.
• 6 rehabbed houses were put on the market and have been successfully sold for affordable home ownership. Number 7 should be on the market this fall.

 

Ron, from the first cohort, now owns his own home, and he runs his own contracting business. Cheyenne, from the second cohort, is the licensed contractor who oversees the students and is an excellent instructor. Through learning new skills, she developed new confidence.

 

Cost? The annual cost of the program to the Duluth HRA is approximately $170,000-$200,000. (1) Duluth HRA provides $50,000 annually to Community Action Duluth for administrative costs; Community Action Duluth obtains the rest for the administrative costs by applying for other grants. (2) Duluth HRA also provides funding for the house purchase, student labor, professional labor (such as electricians and plumbers), and materials for the rehab of the houses. They budget a loss of approximately $60,000 per house, given it is a training program.

 

ROI? Since data on return on investment related to savings from public assistance was outdated, Jill worked with the UMD Bureau of Business & Economic Research to determine what the return on investment is for the taxpayer. Their conclusion: for a 30-year-old single parent with a newborn in St. Louis County, MN, this career training saves taxpayers $606,365 over the course of the person’s working lifetime, eliminating the cost of childcare, Medicaid, housing, SNAP, and MFIP.  If, as is hoped, the cycle of poverty is broken (the next generation is not dependent on government benefits), an additional $750,000 of taxpayer dollars are saved for that one child over their lifetime. This is the result if just one person is lifted out of poverty. 

 

The 50/50 winner this week was Jerry Thoreson, pocketing $71.