THIS WEEK:
Thursday
November 30, 2023
IN PERSON & ZOOM
For Those Attending in Person
Salad Buffet
(Zoom Meeting Opens at 11:45)
(Link Sent Thursday Morning)
At
Holiday Inn Downtown
Dave Schaeffer
Chester Park is one of Duluth’s greatest treasures. A forested, hilly oasis in the Central Hillside neighborhood, the park has provided a safe and welcoming environment for generations of Minnesotans in which to enjoy the great outdoors. The Chester Bowl Improvement Club (Chester Bowl) began in 1980 and was established as a State of Minnesota non-profit 501(c)(3) in 1982 to support programming for the thousands of users of the City of Duluth managed Chester Bowl Park. In 2008, Chester Bowl took over daily operations of Chester Bowl Park when the City was no longer able to commit financial resources to programming in the park. The City is responsible for maintenance of the grounds and facilities, all programming staff are employed by Chester Bowl.
Highlights from Last Week’s Meeting
By Darlene Anderson
Following the year's long tradition for Thanksgiving week, the Rotary Club of Duluth met with the Kiwanis Club of Duluth on Wednesday at the Holiday Inn. The room quickly filled with members of both clubs as they were joined by members of the Duluth Fire Department and the Duluth Police Department. Before the meeting began there were cameras set up in several places as both WDIO and Northern News Now crews were conducting interviews of some of today's guests from the Duluth Police and Fire Departments.
Kiwanis President Josh Soderholm
Kiwanis President Josh Soderholm called the meeting to order and warmly welcomed everyone gathered. After a brief invocation, Josh asked everyone to join him in singing the fourth verse of America the Beautiful. The Kiwanis members then sang their traditional Welcome Song followed by an Invocation by President Josh.
Joining us today were the officers of the East High School Key Club: Matthew Ring (President), Azalea Steffes (VP), Ola Okoro (Treasurer), Sonya Skar (Publicist) and Clare Murray (Community Outreach). Thank you for all you do in our community.
This is the time of the year for the Salvation Army Food Drive with both clubs coming together for the 30the year. Please look for further information on how you can participate in this effort.
Rotary Club President Gary Melander recognized Dan Dock for the work that he does organizing the Thanksgiving dinner for youth at Life House. The buffet was served by Rotarians and there were even leftovers for the youth to enjoy later. Thank you to Rotarians, Gary Schneider and The Women's Club for cooking the food and Super One for supplying much of the food. The next event that Dan Dock is coordinating is the “Decorate the Tree Party” at the Boys and Girls Club on Tuesday, November 28. Thank you, Dan and Rotarians for your “Service Above Self”.
And speaking of “Service Above Self”, the Kiwanis Club honored two men who exemplify this as they presented awards to the “Firefighter of the year” and “Police Officer of the Year”.
Duluth Fire Chief Shawn Krizaj shared that the “Firefighter of the Year” is nominated by his peers. The award was presented to Josh Bade who assists with training others, is an instructor at Lake Superior College, serves on the Task Force 2 response team, helps maintain special equipment used by the fire department and does not seek praise or credit for his efforts. He just serves. Thank you, Josh Bade, for your outstanding service to our community.
Josh Bade “Firefighter of the Year”
(L to R) Duluth Fire Chief Shawn Krizaj, Josh Bade “Firefighter of the Year”, Kiwanis President Josh Soderholm
Duluth Police Chief Mike Ceynowa noted that the “Police Officer of the Year” award is also nominated and selected by his peers. The award was presented to Jim Forsyth who is known by many as “Motorhead”. He has taken the kid's fishing program from fishing on the pier to 300 kids fishing in a boat, converted a Duluth Stride bus to one that can be taken to neighborhood events, and promotes the Blue Santa program where officers take kids shopping and provide dollars for meals for families in need. He also works on issues in high call volume areas of the city. Thank you, Jim Forsyth, as you serve in so many ways in our community.
“Police Officer of the Year” Jim Forsyth
Thankfulness: Rotary- Life House Thanksgiving Dinner
By Dan Dock
Rotarians from Club 25 Rotary and the Skyline Rotary Clubs put on a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner for the youths at Life House. They went through a buffet served by the Rotarians. Many took a dinner “to go.”
The statements of thankfulness from these homeless youths were touching.
Thank you to all that helped with this great event: Jim Schwartz, Mark Leutgeb- Skyline Rotary, Patra Sevastiades, Nancy Erickson, Dan Maki, Karen Dock, Dan Dock, Elizabeth Simonson, Barb Schwartz, Tom Meyers-Skyline Rotary, Greg Kaake-Skyline Rotary, Joe Dusek-Skyline Rotary, Jim Curtis-Skyline Rotary, Past President Dean Casperson, Jerry Pelofske, Robin Pestalozzi, Vinod Gupta, Past President Michelle Buria, Deb Almirral-Skyline Rotary, Geiger Yount, Holly Mirau, Sheryl Homan, Jenna Roningen—Interior Design
Thanks to Gary Schneider and The Women’s Club for cooking the food and Super One for supplying the food.
