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Morning Meeting on 7/1/26 
Stephanie Irwin, Photography
 

Join us Wednesday morning at 7:30am in the Great Hall - Kitchi Gammi Club (831 E Superior St., Duluth, MN 55802) as we hear from Stephanie Irwin and the art of photography.

 

Stephanie Irwin is a gastroenterologist at Tamarack Health in Ashland, WI, with undergraduate degrees in English Literature and Biology.  She is a hobbyist landscape and maritime photographer based in Duluth and will be presenting on the art of photography this coming Wednesday.  She will share photos of her seasonal landscape photography, delve into tips and tricks for shooting sunrise photography as well as the aurora, and answer any questions you may have about photography.  There will also be maritime trivia and prizes given out throughout her presentation.  Stephanie's photography is frequently featured on Destination Duluth.  Her work has been selected as cover photo three times to date for North Star Port Magazine, and she's been featured in Lake Superior Magazine as well.  Her work was selected for display for a 1 year exhibit in Duluth City Hall (2025-2026) as well as for a 1 month exhibit at Split Rock Lighthouse.  She also has her work currently on display at Falling Rocks Cafe in Grand Marais, Michigan.  Please join us for a fun morning of photography taken along the north shore.  
 
When Stephanie is not out with her camera or busy at work, she enjoys spending time with her husband, family, and 2 golden retrievers; long distance running,  boating, fishing, tennis, baking, and cooking.  
 
 
Stories
New Membership Posting
The Harbortown Rotary Board of Directors has approved the corporate membership application of Dan McGaffey for Brightwater Health. McGaffey works as the Chief Human Resources Officer at Brightwater Health (formerly the Human Development Center or HDC). If you have any concerns regarding this proposal, please reach out to Harbortown President Dan Holm. This is the second posting of two. 
 

 
Harbortown Hikers
A few pictures from our recent hike.  Join us on the next one!
 

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Raffle Winners
Thank you to everyone's for your help and participation in the 2026 Cash Raffle. Below are this year's winners! We sold 370/500 tickets for total Revenue of $37,900. With prize money paid out, we raised over $17,000 for our club. Please return any remaining tickets you have in your possession (sold or unsold) asap. We need to have all the tickets on hand for audit purposes. 
 
Congratulations to our 2026 Winners!
 
$10,000
  • Jim King
$2,500
  • Deb Laskowski
$1 ,000
  • Jeff Olson
$500
  • Jeff Freier
  • Jessica Leonzal
  • David Fulda
  • Ryan Erspamer
  • Marty Schubitzke
  • Scott Miller
  • Bill Punyko
  • Craig Carlson
  • Chris Trapp
  • Greg Goldman
  • Rick Oase
  • Steph Jago
  • Nichole Carter
Thanks again for your generous support of Harbortown Rotary!
YIR,
Bob MacLean, Fundraising Chair
 
 
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2026 Harbortown Rotary Charitable Foundation Golf Classic Fundraiser
On behalf of the Harbortown Rotary Charitable Foundation board, I want to take this opportunity to thank each of you that took the opportunity to join us July 6th at Ridgeview Country Club for our annual Golf fundraiser to benefit the Robert Hermans Scholarship Fund and the Donald Holm Founders Fund.
 
And to those that were not able to be join us, we thank you as well for your support of your Foundation!
 
Your continuing support of those funds and the Foundation is so greatly appreciated.  Thanks, again!
 
YIR,
Scott Fisher
HTRCF Board
a golf ball sitting on top of a green field

 
Thank you, Jan Fournier!
Thank you Jan Fournier!
 
We would like to thank Jan Fournier for her years of service and dedication in her role with Harbortown Rotary Club Administration.  We'd also like to bid her a heartfelt farewell as she begins her well-earned retirement.  Jan's reliable and professional work kept our meetings, projects, and events running smoothly, and we are so grateful for her steadfast service which exemplifies the Rotary ideal of "Service Above Self."
 
Jan, we are grateful for your commitment and friendship.  We wish you many years of happiness, relaxation, and well-deserved adventures ahead.   
-Harbortown Rotary Members, Past & Present
 

 
 
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 4 Presidents, 1 family
As Dan Holm is about to step into his role as Harbortown Rotary President for the 26-27 year, let's take a moment to acknowledge all the leaders in the Holm family.  Thank you Donald, Duane, Max, & Dan for keeping the family tradition going, providing Harbortown Rotary with solid leadership.
 
From left to right: Dan, Donald, Duane, & Max Holm

 
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VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITES at STARBASE!
Hello from STARBASE!🚀
 
There are some exciting volunteer opportunities coming up this summer at STARBASE!
 
First and foremost, thank you for your continued support of our program—we truly couldn't do it without amazing volunteers like you!
 
One of the most impactful parts of the STARBASE experience is connecting students with adults who use problem-solving, creativity, and real-world skills in their everyday lives.
Whether you work in science, technology, engineering, math, the military, environmental fields, or a completely different career path, your experiences can inspire students and help them see new possibilities for their futures.
 
This summer, we'd love to have you join us! Take a break from the office, spend some time in the sunshine, and have some fun with our campers.
You can help launch rockets as a Rocket Launch Volunteer, assist with Registration or Lunch Buddies during Summer Explorers Camps, or support students in our Code Quest Camps.
 
Attached you'll find two volunteer sign-up links:
 
Each link includes additional information about the program, volunteer roles, and what you can expect during your time with us.
 
If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please don't hesitate to reach out. We'd love to have you be part of another exciting summer at STARBASE!
 
Thank you so much - Happy Summer🌞
 

Becca “Eclipse” Grumdahl :  218-788-7283

www.starbasemn.org


 

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5 Cases of Coffee Remaining!
Harbortown Blend Coffee!
 
THANK YOU to those who sold, purchased, and picked up your coffee! 
We are down to about 5-6 unsold cases at London Road Rental  (2 cases of whole bean and 7 cases of ground).
If you would like to buy another case, please stop in to pick it up during regular business hours at London Road Rental. 
Cost is $150.00/case of 10 bags ($15.00/bag). 
You can either bring your payment to Rotary for Jan or let Jan know and she will send you an invoice.
 
Thanks for your support and drink more coffee!
 
 


 
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Rotarian Birthdays

Happy Birthday to our Harbortown Rotarians celebrating this September!

Stephanie Jago - September 7
Bob Hansen - September 18
Chuck Jacobs  - September 24
If we've missed you, please reach out and let us know!

 
Happy Rotary Anniversary!
 
Happy Rotary September Anniversaries to our following members!
We so greatly appreciate your commitment to service.
 
 
Pat Finney  (23 years!)
 
 
 

 
Upcoming Program Duties
September 00
  • Greeter - X
  • Greeter - X
  • Fellowship - X
  • Invocation - X

 
Upcoming Program Speakers
If you have the upcoming program duty (check the duty roster here), please be sure to secure a speaker and provide notice to Chloe Strand (chloestrand90@gmail.com) as soon as your speaker is confirmed. If you are unable to confirm a speaker, please contact Lauren Farden (lauren.farden@edwardjones.com) for help. If you have a different assigned program duty and cannot make it to the meeting, please find a replacement. 
 
Harbortown Rotary has a Windows 11 laptop. Presenters may bring a USB drive with the PowerPoint presentation (or whatever is wanted to be shown on the projector while speaking). Please share this information with your program's presenter. 
 
Upcoming Program Speakers:
  • Sept. 9th - Dr. Jose Velasquez, Executive Director, Mano a Mano Bolivia
  • Sept. 16th - Cory Thiesse & Korey Dropkin, Olympic Curling
  • Sept. 23rd - Guest of Michelle Schubitske
  • Sept. 30th - Guest of Chris Dahlberg
  • Oct. 7th - Guest of Jim Wheeler
     
     
Harbortown News
There will be some changes to the Club Service role starting 7/1/26.  There will now be a Club Service Committee: Chloe Strand, Brad Jenson, & Steph Jago.
 
JULY 1 - SEPT. 30, 2026 - Scuttlebutt
For news, announcements, event promotion, social media, media releases, please contact Chloe Strand | cstrand@allete.com | 218.340.2541
 
OCT. 1 - JUNE 30, 2027 - Scuttlebutt
For news, announcements, event promotion, social media, media releases, please contact Stephanie Jago | sjago@charter.net | 218.343.1833
 
HARBORTOWN HEALTHY & OTHER SOCIAL FUNCTIONS
Please contact Brad Jenson | bradleyjenson1956@gmail.com | 218.349.7566
 
For Scuttlebutt: If you are hosting the program speaker, please copy Chloe on the speaker's name, organization, and email.  If you are the chair of a Harbortown Committee, please update Chloe on relevant information regarding grants and awards, meetings or news.  Your information will be used to create more dynamic and engaging content to share with potential club members and on social media! 
 
Do you have Harbortown Rotary pictures to share!? Share your photos HERE with Google Photos so we can spread the word about how awesome our members are and the impact we're making on our community!

 
Harbortown Rotary 2026-2027