Olivia Girdeen, Retail Store Manager for the Ellsworth Creamery, gave our club an overview of the history, current status, products, and economic impact of the Creamery to the Ellsworth area. Rather than trying to abbreviate such a comprehensive presentation, a pdf of the Powerpoint is available below as a Download.
In terms of economic impact, here is a summary of one slide: the Ellsworth location employs 182 people, comprising 8% of total Village of Ellsworth employment. The business impacts 1233 jobs within Pierce County indirectly or influenced (about 10% of total jobs). Each added creamery job affects 3.75 other jobs. About 45% of employees live in Ellsworth, and wages paid to those employees total just over $4 million. The retail store gets 254,000 visits per year with over 120,000 retail transactions and an estimated economic retail impact in Pierce County of almost $12 million. The business remains a cooperative, owned collectively by hundreds of farm families. The raw material for the cheeses and, of course, cheese curds made in Ellsworth come from around 200 farms.
About the Speaker: Olivia Girdeen was born and raised in Ellsworth. She started working at the Ellsworth Creamery at 16, and she has worked her way up to her current position of Retail Store Manager. In December 2023 Olivia graduated from the University of Wisconsin River Falls with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
Jim Harsdorf has been part of a church mission trip that has been going to Ecuador for 16 years. He spoke to us about how the relationship with the Lote Tres community in rural Ecuador has evolved over that time, and how beneficial the consistent travel and contact have been. Ecuador has 17 million people, and it's located on west side of South America. Much of the country is mountainous, including the remote area where Lote Tres is located -- at an elevation of about 13,500 feet. Long after lowland areas were visited by Catholic missionaries, Swedish missions started in the 50’s going to the mountainous areas of Ecuador. The Swedes found that there was a great need for mission work in those areas.
River Falls Rotary club will host nine youth from eight countries from Friday, July 12 through Tuesday, July 16. The campers range in age from 15-17.
A way that our club can support and be involved with these campers is to help with meal prep. If any club members are able to organize lunches for Sunday and/or Monday, July 14 and 15 it would be very helpful. For details, contact Elaine - elaine.baumann1@gmail or 715-307-2694.
We would also like to have some snacks like granola bars or fruit snacks, and beverages (water or soft drinks) cookies or bars, chips – big bags or snack size, for the campers between meals. I have never met a 16 year old that was not hungry all the time. If you wish to donate food or beverage items, please bring them to our July 2 Rotary meeting.
And of course, if you wish to do so, monetary contributions will be gladly accepted. Make checks out to North Star Youth Exchange so the contributions are tax deductible.
Host families and club members are invited to join our campers for these activities:
Saturday, July 13 from 10 am to noon – rock and wall climbing at the Falcon Center – enter through the east end of the building. If you wish to climb, it is $10 per person , otherwise all are welcome to come and watch and meet our campers.
Saturday, July 13 at 7:00 - Fighting Fish baseball game – 1st National Bank Stadium - admission is free and again, it is a good time to get to know the campers.
Sunday, July 14 – 4 pm – There will be a picnic and pool party hosted by George and Katherine Ball – hot dogs, burgers and buns are provided and we ask that you bring a dish to pass (salad, side dish, dessert or beverages) The Ball's address is W1079 875th Ave., on the road past Belle Ame.
Tuesday, July 16 - Campers will be at our Rotary meeting for everyone to meet.
If you will be contributing food or beverages or attending the pot luck, please use the link below to fill in a form to help us plan.
As our last meeting of the 2023-24 Rotary year, we boarded a school bus at Meyer Middle School and were transported -- back in time for those of us who rode those big yellow buses back in our youth, and to the School District of River Falls' school forest for our brief tour. The bus took us down the 1/2 mile access road to the recently completed bus turnaround, and from there we walked a few steps to the south end of the meadow (in the process of being restored to native prairie). We heard about the amazing amount of volunteer work already done, the continuing plans for trails including some for those with limited mobility, and of course the prospect of a Rotary pavilion on the ground where we stood. The tour included a brief stop at the "Four Corners" to give an overview of how the Kinni River Land Trust Community Forest, the city-owned trails along the Kinni, and the School Forest form a continuous area of preserved land for all of us to enjoy. Click Read More for photos.
Service Opportunities Coming Up This Fall: Now that school is back and summer is over, our club looks forward to times when we can be people of action, putting service above self (how's that for stringing together Rotary principles?). What's coming, you ask: Rotary Readers, Highway Cleanup, Veteran's Park Cleanup, and then in October we will be collecting contributions for the annual holiday backpack program support. Details to come at meetings and in future Tidings.
Looking for Host Families for 2024-25: Elaine is seeking one more host family for our club's incoming exchange student, a 15-year-old girl from Spain. Requirements are pretty basic, rewards are extensive. Please click Read More below for the full announcement and details.
COMMUNITY EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Grow to Share Upcoming Programs: As part of the presentation, Tonya Schmitt invited us to these upcoming events:
-- Powered by Electricity (at UWRF North Hall) -- Saturday Sept. 28th, 10 AM - 12 Noon
-- Fall Fest (including equipment): Saturday October 19th 10 AM - 12 Noon
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