This Week's Rotary Scuttlebutt 01.31.24 (Jan. 28, 2024)

Morning Meeting:

Ansel Schimpff

Executive Director, COGGS

Join us this Wednesday morning at 7:30am in the Great Hall - Kitchi Gammi Club (831 E. Superior St, Duluth, MN 55802) as we hear from Ansel Schimpff, Executive Director of COGGS.

The Cyclists of Gitchee Gumee Shores (COGGS) is a leading non-profit mountain bike advocacy organization in the Duluth/Superior Twin Ports Area of Minnesota and Wisconsin. COGGS was established in 1994 as a nonprofit 501-c3 organization and is committed to sustainable trail development, equitable trail access across the Twin Ports, and to developing a welcoming outdoor recreational culture by promoting opportunities, education, programming, partnerships, and healthy outdoor fun.

This trail network was recognized by IMBA as a Gold Level Ride Center, one of only six on the planet. A lot of people, and a lot of hard work, helped us get here. Our trails are multi-use, free and open to everyone to use.

10 miles paved, and 16 miles gravel accessible trail
100+ miles of bike-optimized single-track trail

After 10 years of moving from one mountain bike destination to another, Ansel Schimpff and his family settled down in Duluth. Ansel has built trails professionally and as a volunteer all over the county and is excited to share that experience with the community. When not building trails, he can be found chasing his kids around Hartley or wrenching at a local bike shop. Ansel has also played a key role in the Bike Duluth Festival and its planning committee.

Ansel Schimpff is an experienced Assistant Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the sports industry. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) focused in Marketing from Western State College.

Learn more about the program here!

Prospective New Members

The board has approved Jenni Viken for membership in the Harbortown Rotary Club. Jenni would have the classification of “Business Broker.” She works at Meritus Group Business Brokerage. This is the second of two publications of her proposed membership. Her membership is proposed by Scott Soderberg.

If you have any concern about this candidate, please contact Brad Jenson at 218-349-7566 or brad.jenson@raymondjames.com.

February Hands-On!

SAVE THE DATE for Wednesday, February 7 from 5:30pm - 7:30pm for our Second Harvest Food Bank night!

We will pack food boxes for those who are in need.

Please RSVP to Chloe Strand (chloestrand90@gmail.com | 218.340.2531).

Junior Rotarians welcome!

SECOND HARVEST NORTHERN LAKES FOOD BANK
4503 Airpark Boulevard, Duluth, MN 55811

District 5580 Cross Currents

Stories

JANUARY IS VOCATIONAL SERVICE MONTH

PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGE

R. Gordon R. McInally

President 2023-24

(Presidential message retrieved from: https://my.rotary.org/en/news-media/office-president/presidential-message)

January 2024

In difficult times like these, it’s impossible to avoid feeling heartbroken over the devastation and loss of life caused by war and destruction.

Rotary always stands against harming and displacing civilian populations and using armed aggression instead of pursuing peaceful solutions. We advocate for the observance and respect of international law. We believe in strong action to defend and promote peace, even in the darkest of times.

Read the entire Cross Currents HERE

Rotarian Birthdays

Happy Birthday Rotarians!

What to Write in a Birthday Card - Unique Happy Birthday Wishes

Happy birthday to our Harbortown Rotarians celebrating this February!

Jim Wheeler - March 9

Greg Goldman - March 11

Kevin Anderson - March 30

Have a birthday this month but don't see it here? Make sure to update your information in Club Runner so we can recognize you!

Happy Rotary Anniversary!

Happy Rotary March Anniversaries to our following members!

We so greatly appreciate your commitment to service.

Craig Carlson (40 Years)

Duane Holm (36 Years)

Kerry Leider (29 Years)

Jinell Abernethy (20 Years)

Jeremy Jeannette (19 Years)

Shawn Clairmont (8 Years)

Dan Holm (7 Years)

Brad Irwin (2 Years)

Lexi Lanigan (2 Years)

Lauren Farden (1 Year)

Sophie Hillmeyer (1 Year)

Share Your Rotary Pics!

Do you have Harbortown Rotary pictures to share!?

Use the Google Photos link below to share them with us, so we can spread the word about how awesome our members are and the impact we're making on our community!

Share your photos HERE with Google Photos!

Upcoming Program Duties

If you have an upcoming program duty (please check the upcoming duty roster), please be sure to secure a speaker and provide notice to Chloe Strand (Chloe.Strand@hdcmn.org) as soon as that speaker is confirmed. If you are unable to confirm a speaker, please contact Rick Oase (rickoase@yahoo.com) or Stephanie Judd (sljudd@gmail.com) for help, consider other program ideas like a Ted Talk, presenting yourself on a relevant topic or your business, or creating some excitement for a community organization you are passionate about. It is your program, so think about what is interesting and engaging to you and share it with others!

If for some reason you are unable to switch duties with another member or you have simply exhausted all efforts to find a speaker, please notify Rick or Stephanie no later than 3 business days before the meeting (the Friday before the meeting your program is scheduled).

Harbortown Rotary has a Windows 11 laptop at the Kitchi Gammi Club for weekly Harbortown meetings. 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.

Thank you for your help and thank you to all who are working hard to find engaging content for our upcoming sessions!

Upcoming Program Duties:

04.03 - Jim Boileau

04.10 - Gabe Walsh, CEO of Lake Superior Area Realtors Association

04.17 - Jordon Eunison-Chisti

04.24 - Chester Bowl Hands-On

Harbortown News

For news, announcements, event promotion, social media, media releases, and more, please contact Charity Johnson (csjohnson@starbasemn.org / 218.788.7288) and Chloe Strand (chloestrand90@gmail.com / 218.340.2531).

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. Chloe and Charity will use this information to create more dynamic and engaging content to share with potential club members and on social media!

It is our goal to continue to share the good work that Harbortown Rotary is doing in our community, so your help and support is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Harbortown Rotary 2023