BRAINERD ROTARY Theresa A. Goble  2010-2011 90th Brainerd Rotary President

It was an honor and a privilege for me to serve as Club President and guide our Rotary Club through the 2010/2011 Rotary Year.  I wish to thank all the club members for this wonderful life-changing experience.

BUILDING COMMUNITIES – BRIDGING CONTINENTS was the International Theme and we embraced that theme through our many projects and activities.

The team leadership for the year was:

President – Theresa Goble

President Elect – Rick zumBrunnen

President Nominee – Brad Person

Secretary – Dan Brown

Treasurer – Yvonne Leiser

Membership Director – Kevin Thesing

International Service Director – Buford Johnson

Community Service/Fundraising Director – Rod Rangen

Community Service/New Generations Director – John Landsburg

Public Relations Director – Debby Erickson

Club Service Director – Jody Drummond

Sgt-at-Arms – Ed Menk

Kevin Thesing was named Rotarian of the Year at the Change of Gavel event.

We amended the by-laws to establish the position of President-Nominee, which mirrors the District practices and allows for continuity of well-informed leadership.  We also established a new position of Club Trainer with Dave Johnson taking the helm and giving us once-a-month insights/training into Rotary and the responsibilities and privileges of being a Rotarian. 

We negotiated the purchase of a 37 acre plot of land with 1,300 feet of Mississippi River Frontage that was gifted to the City of Brainerd to be called the Brainerd Rotary Park.  Working with the City of Brainerd, a DNR Grant of $17,500 was applied for and approved, which covered one-half of the purchase price.  Brainerd Rotary supplied the remaining $17,500.  This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity will provide wonderful green space within the city limits for many years to come and provides connectivity to other trail endeavors.    This successful project earned John Forrest second place in the District as Outstanding Rotarian in Club Service.

We conducted a Positive Charge Campaign, a program that allowed community members, through black and white photos, to express what they love about the Brainerd Lakes area.   The ripple effect of this program was felt not only throughout this area, but throughout the District, and even on an international level with an article  printed in the January 2012 Rotarian Magazine.  Brainerd Rotary was also honored during the Best of Minnesota Community Pride Showcase at the MN State Fair.  Never has Brainerd Rotary had so much press with newspaper articles, billboards and picture displays in many businesses.

We joined with other service organizations in establishing community garden plots which had a waiting list even before the garden area was identified.

We joined with other service organizations in a cooperative effort of putting our service logos on the City of Brainerd Welcome Signs

In addition to all the above special projects for the year, we maintained all of our other successful programs of STRIVE, RYLA, Interact, the 4-Way Essay Contest, Camp Journey, and Salvation Army Bell Ringing.

Our major fundraising events of the year were the reverse raffle dinner, auction & wine tasting, and peach sales which enabled us, thru our local foundation, to support local youth and community projects, as well as our International Project of building and equipping the school in Haiti.

We often hear the term “family of rotary”.  Rotary is like a family in so many ways – in the ways we lift each other up, help each other grow, and accomplish things together that we never could alone. We had fun with all of our “family of rotary” events such as the Easter egg hunt, the pig races, Valentine Social, roadside pickup, reciting the 4 Way Test at the beginning of every meeting and singing R O T A R Y at the conclusion of every meeting.

We lost two very distinguished Rotarians to death this year.   Terri Monroe and Robert Weizenegger.  Our hearts were full when we remembered them in the Memorial Service at the Change of Gavel event.  Both had long and outstanding careers of service in Rotary, were honorary members of Brainerd Rotary and will be missed by all of us very much.

I was very fortunate to represent the club at the International Convention in New Orleans.  I was so proud to be a part of a group of dedicated, civic-minded, and talented individuals from all over the world who belong to an organization that teaches us how ordinary citizens from a small town can be world citizens and make a difference not only in their community but in the world.  I realized in talking to fellow Rotarians at the convention that, In my opinion, we are one of the top clubs in the WORLD!!

Respectfully submitted,

Theresa A. Goble

President 2010/2011

12/28/2011