--DISTRICT GOVERNOR VISIT NEXT WEEK:  District Governor Glenn Bowers is making the rounds of D5960 clubs, and he'll be at our August 12th meeting to provide an update and outlook on our Rotary district.

 

--Rotary Promo at Falls Theater:  If you are our local gem of a movie house, pay attention to the advertisements before the feature.  You can also see it on the River Falls Rotary Facebook page.

 

--August Calendar:  Click READ MORE  to see the August's calendar.

 

--Club Assembly on August 26th:  How's this for a contradiction?  We have added a meeting, but for very good reason.  The board has reviewed two requests for capital campaign donations:  one by Our Neighbors' Place and one by the River Falls Public Library.  Given that the board recommends substantial financial commitments to both organizations, we want to have all interested and available members hear the board's recommendation and provide comments and their input.  George will also present plans for a club visionining session in October.

A determined group of Rotarians braved -- OK, tolerated -- the cold but much-needed rain to hear about and tour the high school's farm plot.  Morgan Matheson, one of this year's FFA leaders at RFHS, told us about how the various parts of the mini-farm work.  There is a shared garden area, berry bushes, a small apple orchard, bees, an area planted in corn and soybeans to raise revenue, and more.  One of the points Morgan emphasized, with help from the several FFA alumni who were there with us, is that most if not all ideas for the farm come from the students.  The alum's happily pointed out how FFA at RFHS has grown, and Ryan Pechacek as the FFA faculty advisor provided his perspective.  Morgan demonstrated both her knowledge and enthusiasm for what she and others do and learn "out on the farm", and several of us there share the opinion that a re-visit in the fall -- and in better weather -- will be well worthwhile.

Brooks Ostendorf and Erica Ellefson updated us on how the City has assessed the impact of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), strategized a plan for addressing the damage, and planned for the urban forest’s recovery from the pandemic.  Urban Forestry in River Falls manages around 8000 trees, not including open spaces.  The need to remove diseased trees and replant new trees is an ongoing major project that has accelerated due to the EAB pandemic.  Brooks and Erica showed us trunk segments, with the damage from larvae, and the slides (See the PDF in Download Files below)  show more details of the damage and symptoms.  Click READ MORE to read more and DOWNLOAD FILES to see a pdf of the slides.

 

 

ONP Executive Director Shelly Smith  and Brian Manion provided an overview of the agency's capital campaign project - Every Need, Every Neighbor.  Shelly reviewed the 5 major ONP programs, and she described how the needs have grown to the point that the current building is not adequate.  Brian showed us an architect's plan for the new building, which will be built on the site of the current building at 122 W Johnson St.  A new building will improve many of ONP's day-to-day services, with more and better showers, improved laundry facilities, and offices where one-on-one meetings can happen.  The two answered our questions, and they noted that maintaining services during the construction period will be a major challenge that they are working on already.

 

About the Speakers:  Executive Director Shelly Smith of ONP requires no introduction to our club.  If you don't know her and know about what she does for our community, then you haven't been paying attention!  Brian Manion is Vice President of WESTconsin Credit Union River Falls and Prescott locations and serves on Our Neighbors' Place board as Vice President and Capital Campaign Committee Chair.