REMINDER

Meeting, Thursday Feb. 27th Stevies Cafe - 7:00 AM

We had our February Social event, coordinated by Mark and Cathy Berger last Tuesday at Adventures restaurant. About 8 members and their spouses enjoyed a nice evening out.

Last week we also had a great meeting with Jeff French, Barron Co. Administrator. He had a brief update on the state of our County Finances (really good) but also some great information on things that are happening with updates and improvements at the Barron County Incinerator located in Almena. Really good presentation! Thank you Ken P.!

The club voted to add approximately $180 to the raffle winnings so we can give $400 to each food bank in our county. The move was made by Trudy and seconded by Ana. Unanimous support. The food banks (or as many as are able) will attend our meeting this week (Feb 27th). We will get some updates on what is happening in their area and hand out the checks. This is hosted by Clare.

Reminder that we want people to really work hard to get a speaker for their week or coordinate a social activity. If you cannot find one be sure to let the club know. We have resources!

OTHER BUSINESS:

We are still looking for a new Treasurer starting in July 2025. Kathy will be retiring and won't have the same technology availability. If you are interested please let her or any board member know now - you can get a LOT of training in ahead of time.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:

Ruby's Pantry - Next date is Sat. March 15, 2025 - please put it on your calendar.
St. Vincent DePaul - Paul's Pantry: Cooking meal on Monday, March 31 Please put it on your calendar - we will set up shifts as it gets closer. Thank you Monika for coordinating.

UPCOMING PROGRAMS:

Reminder we have changed back to meeting each week. Please work hard to get a speaker. Let us know if you cannot find one. Also, Social Activity Planners for the month will be listed immediately after each month.

February

Feb. 27 - Meeting - Clare J. hosts - Food Banks attending to receive their donations.

March Social Activity Planners - Trudy K and Jeremy M

Mar. 4 - Board Meeting

Mar. 6 - Meeting - Business Meeting reviewing Board discussions

Mar. 13 - Meeting - Andrew hosts

Mar. 20 - Meeting - Don hosts - possible Marshfield representative on the merger...may have to go in to Apr. or May depending on their schedule. Stay Tuned.

Mar. 27 - Meeting - Tyler K. hosts

April Social Activity Planners - Kathy R. and Jason S.

Apr. 1 - Board Meeting

Apr. 3 - Meeting - Business Meeting

Apr. 10 - Meeting - Dean hosts

Apr. 17 - Meeting - Jim hosts

Apr. 24 - Meeting - Ana T.S. hosts

Aug. 7th - District Governor elect Glenn Bowers visit.

Please be sure to let me know as soon as you have a program set up so it can be added to our schedule. If you do NOT have a program, please let us know that as well so we can either get a program or some other focus for those attending. If you need a zoom link please let Trudy/Joe E. know that as well. Thanks!

Announcements:

From the district: We are excited to announce our District’s Shark Tank for Rotary Foundation grant opportunities is back!

What the heck are we talking about? A few years ago, we came up with an idea to have a “Shark Tank” for Rotary Grants (either District or Global), and it was a great success! We had clubs bring projects forward, and clubs participated as “sharks “who committed funding to their projects. Since it went so well, we are starting it up again this year! We are inviting clubs that haven’t sponsored a grant in at least three years to bring proposals for 2025-26 forward. We are going to take the top 3 or 4 grant ideas and invite them to present in this breakout to our group of “sharks”. We will conduct Shark Tank on May 7^th via Zoom…which will allow people from throughout the District to see how these projects will impact people positively!

Who are the sharks? They are going to be representatives from clubs in our district who are active in grants and have a history of partnering with clubs to help fund their grants (that’s where YOUR CLUB comes in!). It will be their job to not only ask questions and give feedback but will be able to commit funds to the grants right then and there! Then, on top of the funds from your club and the others, you’ll be able to get a grant match from The Rotary Foundation!

To help bring this to life, an example: Let’s say a club came up with a need in their community that they’d like to address, and the total cost was $5,000 but the club only has $1,000 to contribute. Our Shark Tank is a perfect opportunity for them to present the idea to other clubs that could partner with them! After the clubs present at the Shark Tank, your club as a shark will determine how you want to commit funds to these grant proposals. If clubs were willing to give another $2,000, that would make $3,000 total…and you’d be able to get a grant match from TRF for around $2,000 for the full $5,000!

So…what are your next steps?

Have a discussion within your club (at committee or board level?) to determine if you want to participate.
Reach out to District Grants Team Leader Jim Hunt (jim.hunt.d5960@gmail.com) to acknowledge your desire to participate, along with the person from your club that will be the shark, and how much your club would be willing to contribute to these grant proposals. THE DEADLINE FOR ENTRY IS APRIL 11^th**

I hope you’re as excited as we are about this great opportunity. You’ll be able to provide great feedback to clubs on their grants, and make them excited about participating in a Foundation grant…helping create new energy in the club!

For more questions, please reach out to Margie Horning (Margie.horning@comcast.net) or Jim Hunt (jim.hunt.d5960@gmail.com )

Respectfully Submitted by:

Trudy Kroeger

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