River Falls Rotarian and retired educator Dr. Carole Mottaz started the meeting with a review of both the 25-year history of the Renaissance Academy and some of the principles around its approach to education.  She noted that the Renaissance Academy is part of the River Falls School District, which is not always the case for charter schools.  In presenting the history, Carole talked about details involved in a charter from the US Department of Education.  Mottaz also talked about how the school started in its first location, how the program grew and moved over time, and how the RA is now located in a very basic, practical structure.  Head Teacher Peggy Skogen took us on a tour of the classrooms including the shop where students get hands-on experience with woodworking equipment.  Classes for science, language arts, and other parts of the RA curriculum occur in other parts of the facility.  At several points in the tour, Peggy pointed out student-built shelving that saved RA and the District significant money over commercially bought equivalents.

Judie Foster Babcock, River Falls Rotarian, promoter and leader of many community activities in River Falls, passed away on November 11th.  According to her husband David, Judie described herself as a "serial philanthropist", directing both funds and her time, energy, and enthusiasm to projects meaningful to her and important to our community.  On Saturday November 23rd at Bakken Young Funeral Services, there will be a visitation at 10 AM, and a memorial service at 11 AM to be followed by a light lunch.  Click READ MORE  to see Bakken Young's post.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT -- STATE OF THE CITY ON MARCH 4TH:  We won't have a regular meeting on that date because we're encouraging every Rotarian interested in an update about our city to attend.  The meeting is again at Tattersall at 7:30 AM.   If you want breakfast, you'll need to register and pay (note that there is no discount for us as Chamber members).  

 

5:01 Restaurant for February:  For those of you planning your Burger Battle ticket use strategy, the February venue for 5:01 will be Broz on Thursday February 20th.

 

A Reminder About 5:01:  What is 5:01, you might ask?  It's simply a social gathering once a month of Rotarians, spouses, and occasionally visiting friends or family at a River Falls restaurant for a couple of hours of conversation, food and drinks of choice, and an opportunity to get to know one another better.

 

Some Upcoming Events and Dates:
February 1st --Green Skills Sampler 9:30 AM - 3 PM at River Falls High School sponsored by multiple local org's.
February 6th -- Annual River Falls Chamber Awards Banquet.  As Chamber members we are invited to attend.

March 4th -- State of the City at Tattersall 7:30 AM (see above)
April 11th -- Pierce County Relay for Life
April 26th -- Earth Fest 2025 at the UWRF University Center
 

  Garth Christenson and Jim Lutiger presented an overview of the history, purpose, and functioning of the Hudson Daybreak Rotary's Endowment Fund.  The history starts in July 2000 with establishment of a fund at the St Croix Valley Foundation.  In 2003 it became the HDR Long Term Fund at SCVF, then in 2007 the HDR Finance Committee recommended creating an endowment fund, which happened in May 2008.  At that point the fund totaled about $45,000.  The endowment fund is one of four "buckets" of funds for the HDR club.  As an endowment fund, the principal cannot be tapped for giving.

 

Funding occurs through transfer from other sources including fundraisers, member donations, and others.  Over time the fund has grown to over $300,000 with about $150,000 in legacy pledges from members' estate plans.  Click READ MORE for more about the HDR fund and the speakers.

About the Presentation:  Crutches 4 Africa is a Rotary District 5960 grant project to collect, store, and distribute mobility devices (e.g., crutches, wheelchairs, walkers, etc.) to enable people in Africa who cannot afford a device to live a fuller life.  Lonny Stormo of Stillwater Sunrise Rotary described the project, and then we asked questions and discussed how our club might participate in this project.  Several good ideas were generated, and there was a positive reaction to the idea.  This project is unusual in that there is minimal financial commitment from the club while providing a lot of benefit to people in need.  The board will review the Stillwater Sunrise proposal at the November board meeting.  Member comments are encouraged.  Click READ MORE to read about the speaker.