BRAINERD ROTARY Dave Johnson  2006-2007 86th Brainerd Rotary President

 “Lead The Way” was the theme or 2006-2007 Rotary International and that is what the Brainerd Noon Club did.  Once again Brainerd Noon was named “best in District” at the District Convention.  This was a very sound year for the club with membership gaining slightly from 128 to 129.  Traditional programs were continued with new avenues of service being explored.

The leadership team for the year consisted of:

Rick Bricker              International Service
Dan Hegstad             Community Service and Fundraising
Bob Musielewicz       Community Service Youth
Jill Carlson-Ferrie       Public Relations
Brad Person              Club Service
Peter Nelson             Membership
Mary Scott                Treasurer
Terri Monroe              Secretary
Linda Hanson            Vice President
Paula Persons           Past President

 My term came somewhat unexpectedly and therefore I had not spent the usual amount of time going through the orientation of serving in various board positions. This problem was mitigated by extraordinary support by the board and particularly Paula and Terri.  Without their help things might have gone much differently.  Rick Bricker was also extremely active in multiple projects and positions and as a result Rick was named “Rotarian of the Year” and was nominated for that distinction at the district level.

Our Exchange Student for the year was Matild from France.  We also hosted the district Exchange Orientation in the fall as we had in the past. 22 exchange students came to Brainerd and were hosted for the weekend by our club members.

We lost two very distinguished Rotarians during the year.  Harry Nysather and Marv Campbell.  Both had long and outstanding careers of service in Rotary and both men served as examples to our club and will be missed very much.

The District Conference was held at Cragun's this year.  Our club along with 8 other clubs in the district co-hosted the event.  The conference was well attended and the content of the conference was said to be the best in years by many attending.

Hanspeter Borgwarth (Past district Governor) was honored at the Winnipeg Goodwill Convention for 40 years of attendance along with wife Gisela.

The Reverse Raffle once again netted over $18,000 for the local foundation.  In addition thousands of dollars were raised for cancer, the local foundation, Camp Journey, Bethany Good Samaritan Homes, work in Haiti, and literacy through various club activities.

In addition to all of the work, the club also took time to have fun and enjoy the fellowship that has been the hallmark of Rotary.  Dragon Boat Racing, Fishing Trip on Mille Lacs, the Tom and Jerry Party, Caroling, the Ditch Pickup, and all of the other events that this club has been able to enjoy made this a very busy and enjoyable Rotary year. 

New projects in the initial stages were, an expanded Literacy Program that will involve all of the schools in District 181 and a new international project exploration in Haiti.

12/30/2009