It is with great sadness we note the passing of Rotarian Tom Kelley. Tom was the CEO of Gage Brothers Concrete. He was an active community member in Brandon and Sioux Falls and will be greatly missed. Please click here for his full obituary.
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We are pleased to announce that our club has earned a Rotary Citation! The award letter stated, "Your club has earned the Rotary Citation, the most significant award a Rotary club can achieve, for 2019-20. During a year that was challenging for many Rotarians around the world, your club demonstrated a commitment to achieve its goals, which ultimately helps strengthen Rotary and shape our future." We have much to celebrate!
Downtown Sioux Falls Rotary Club will continue to meet in person. All of the programs will also be live streamed to YouTube and Facebook if you are unable or not comfortable attending in person.
Please watch the event information for further details and locations.
We're back meeting in person at the Washington Pavilion with South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as our guest. Rotarian Jack Marsh will facilitate the conversation with the Governor. We will begin promptly at noon. Please arrive early to allow time for check-in and seating. All Downtown Sioux Falls Rotary Club programs are open only to Rotarians and their guests.All Rotarians and their guests will be asked to register for the event. Instructions on how to register were emailed and texted to Rotarians. Boxed Lunches will be available for purchase following the event for $8.95.
All programs are recorded and streamed live on Facebook & YouTube. Local media are invited to attend to record the session.
If you do not feel comfortable attending an in-person meeting, we will continue to stream our meetings live on Facebook & YouTube so you can watch them from your home or office. Attendance is optional.
If you do not feel well, or have been exposed to Covid, we ask that you stay home and join us through the live Facebook or YouTube stream.
For additional details regarding the re-gathering plan, please review the email that was sent to all Rotarians on August 20.
Please Note: An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present. COVID-19 is an extremely contagious disease that can lead to severe illness and death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, senior citizens and guests with underlying medical conditions are especially vulnerable
Rotary International is one of the premier service organizations in the world. The Rotary Club of Downtown Sioux Falls is among the largest 40 clubs in the world.
Alex Ramírez was honored at the Annual General Meeting as the Ritz Rotarian of the Year. The recipient should exhibit the award principles: "Emanates integrity, decency, and humility; is a servant leader; guides with dedication, outstanding leadership and tremendous motivation." Alex's nominators said, "Greetings fellow Rotarians: Rotary’s global ad campaign slogan "People of Action" brings to mind the many fellow Rotarians around the world and in our own Rotary Club of Downtown Sioux Falls who embody this phrase. Alex is an outstanding member of the Sioux Falls community who is highly committed to service and humble is his approach to giving. As members of Rotary Club of Downtown Sioux Falls, we see Alex volunteering each week as a person of action in the front of the ballroom each meeting running the audio-visual equipment that broadcasts our meetings across the Internet. Some Downtown Rotarians who see Alex’s immense regularity in this service might wonder if he performs this role as a contract, but he, in fact, voluntarily commits two hours each week in service to our club, and has done so for more than two years. He also graciously brings in his own equipment to supplement the club’s technology, helps fellow Rotarians engage with our guest speakers by passing the microphone during Q &A and serves on the Board of Directors of Rotary Club of Downtown Sioux Falls. Alex’s extensive service to the Sioux Falls community extends far beyond his role with the Rotary Club of Downtown Sioux Falls. Alex serves as treasurer and a member of the Executive Board of the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce; a member of the Board of Trustees for Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center; a member of the Sioux Empire United Way Board of Directors; a servant on the American Cancer Society Board of Directors; a commissioner on the city human relations committee; and a member on the city’s affordable housing committee. Alex founded his own nonprofit organization, Pulso Hispano, dedicated to informing the Hispanic community. His TV Show, Al Dia, is dedicated to furthering that mission. Alex lives his life in a way that honors his faith, family and his community. Alex and his wife, Andrea, chose to move with their two boys to Sioux Falls, and he regularly demonstrates his love of the community through his service. It is clear why Alex is a Rotarian. He is a person of action and a man who serves with enthusiasm. He has embraced Sioux Falls and Rotary Club of Downtown Sioux Falls and would be a fitting and honorable recipient of the Lawrence “Larry” Ritz award. Congratulations Alex!Our own Michelle Lavallee was recently recognized as one of nine “Rotarians of Distinction” for District 5610, which encompasses nearly 1,800 Rotarians in a four-state region.
Ina Winter, 2019-2020 Governor for Rotary District 5610 and a member of the Hot Springs, SD Rotary Club, recently announced the recognition. Lavallee, was selected for this honor because of a level of service to the organization and to the community of Sioux Falls that was so outstanding that it deserved special recognition.
"These Rotarians make me proud to be a Rotarian,” said Winter. “Rotary is an organization with lots of heart for caring, and many hands to do good in the world. Our District 5610 Rotarians of Distinction exemplify exquisitely our motto, 'Service Above Self'."
As members of a service organization, all Rotarians contribute to the betterment of their communities and practice the organization’s motto of “service above self”. However, Lavallee’s contributions were at such a high level that they were recognized by leadership of the District.
“Michelle has long been a leader in our city, our state and now in the lives of our most vulnerable children. We are grateful for her Rotary leadership over the years,” said Jessie Schmidt, 2019-2020 President of the Downtown Sioux Falls Rotary Club.
Rotary District 5610 Assistant Governor Shelli Masek nominated Lavallee for this recognition and included this text in her nomination:
“Michelle Lavallee was president of the Downtown Sioux Falls club in 2016-2017. She was part of the team responsible for a three-year undertaking redesigning the club's committee and leadership structure. She offers her talents to her club as moderator for candidate forums and for large club planning meetings. Notable accomplishments as president include:
- Expanded criteria for membership classification to include Thought Leader
- Increased female and ethnic membership
- Supported Harmony South Dakota, Sioux Empire Network of Care and Arc of Dreams
- Increased brand visibility with Facebook Live Streaming, new branding materials and refreshed website
Michelle also lent her talents to district leadership when she assisted in the formulation of a district-wide membership survey for the purpose of directing the district into the future.
In 2018 Michelle was asked to join the gubernatorial ticket as the candidate for lieutenant governor. She put aside her life-long political affiliation and joined the campaign. This is a true example of service above self.
Most recently, Michelle was named Chief Executive Officer of Children's Home Society, the first woman to serve in this position in the 127-year history of the organization.
Michelle truly embodies the heart of Rotary in everything she does. She practices the highest ethical standards in her public and private life and is truly a Rotarian of Distinction.”
Congratulations Michelle on this wonderful recognition!
Beginning Monday, April 6th, we will offer online-only programming until we are able to meet in-person again. We know there are many topics that are of upmost interest as everyone navigates this pandemic. We will be hosting timely conversations with leaders to help keep you informed and connected. The club leadership has made the decision to cancel in-person meetings through May, but hopes that you'll find value in these online programs. As always, you can tune in LIVE and participate in the chat and pose questions, or you'll be able to view the recorded Facebook video afterward. Hopefully, you can join the conversation and connect with fellow Rotarians.
We are continually monitoring the situation and will make decisions regarding future events as needed.
Thank you for your understanding as we work to keep our Rotarians safe. We hope to greet you in-person at Rotary again very soon.
On January 27th, Mayor Paul TenHaken announced a new mentoring initiative to a over-capacity crowd at the Washington Pavilion Belbas Theater. Nearly 350 business and non-profit leaders were in attendance. The Sioux 52 Mentoring Initiative seeks to unify Sioux Falls area non-profit, business, and faith communities in order to create a universal, significant and long-lasting commitment to mentoring in our city. The goal is to recruit 5,200 mentors by 2026 and for the City of Sioux Falls to become known as the City of Mentoring. Mentoring in our community truly makes a difference and changes lives for the better. Sioux 52 is a collaboration between the City of Sioux Falls, Helpline Center, the Rotary Club of Downtown Sioux Falls, Lawrence & Schiller as well as business leaders and mentoring organizations in the Sioux Falls region. For more information to to become a mentor or business visit Sioux52.org.
In January, we received the results of our RFP with the Augustana Research Institute (ARI). The report in its entirety is available for download using this link: Rotary Mentoring Report. ARI 's Principal Investigator, Dr. Suzanne Smith, and her team created an extremely well executed report allowing us to put our club's next steps together. Here is an Executive Summary of the information.
Jeff Hazard, CEO and principal of Koch Hazard Architects passed away on Friday, August 30th. Jeff was a member of Downtown Rotary for 30 years.
He was remembered in lovely tributes by the Argus Leader and by Jodi Schwan on SiouxFalls.Biz. Please see each of the tributes below.
Downtown Rotary hosted two of the 2019 South Dakota Hall of Fame inductees for a panel discussion on Monday, July 29th. Fellow Rotarian Dick Brown and Clyde Fredrickson participated in a panel moderated by Past President Michelle Lavallee. Not surprisingly, many members of the Hall are also members of Downtown Rotary and many of them were on hand to welcome these new inductees.
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Rod Carlson was honored at the Annual General Meeting as the Ritz Rotarian of the Year. The recipient should exhibit the award principles: "Emanates integrity, decency, and humility; is a servant leader; guides with dedication, outstanding leadership and tremendous motivation." Mr. Carlson's nominators said, "Rod has been a positive force for Sioux Falls as a resident since 1973. He is married (49 years) and together have raised 3 children and 8 grandchildren. Rod served our nation with his commitment to the US Air Force (1967-71) and was awarded Bronze Star with Valor (Vietnam). In the business community, Rod worked 31 years at Midcontinent Communications/Sioux Falls Cable. In his tenure, he displayed his leadership for 25 years as a GM of Operations and 6 years in a Vice President role for Government Affairs and Community Relations. His assertiveness, professionalism and charisma were successfully channeled for lobbying efforts in South Dakota, Minnesota and North Dakota. Rod also worked as Vice President Business Development at First Premier Bank and was Sanford Health Director of Public Relations from 2007 - 2014. Rod's calm demeanor, sense of humor and tenacity to do what right continue to open doors for him and he continues to stay busy as the current Director Public Relations/Marketing at Active Generations. Staying busy has never been a problem for Rod. He has been active in the Sioux Falls community for 45 years through numerous organizations. This impressive resume is why I nominate Rod Carlson as Rotarian of the year. Rod exemplifies the Four Way Test: being true and fair, building goodwill and friendships and benefiting the community." Congratulations Rod! During the past couple of months, we have completed eight focus groups plus an online survey. Forty-one percent of our club participated in a focus group or survey. We also heard from experts on each topic to help us choose our One Relevant It, a long-term project that Downtown Rotary will be known for. We thank you for all your engagement and especially your thoughtful comments.
Many of you mentioned that you felt both projects – cleaning up the Big Sioux and mentoring – were worthy and deserving of our attentions. The final vote had 153 of 296 members voting and the tally was 59% choosing mentoring and 41% selecting the Big Sioux.
So the official One Relevant It will indeed be mentoring, the details of which will be worked out beginning at the first planning session in July. Who will we partner with? How many groups already mentor? We want to offer mentoring for multiple populations so we need to do this research. Kids, recently released offenders, start-up businesses, etc. are all on the table. Please let us know if you are willing and interested in helping to establish our approach.
Many of you may know that mentoring is a great fit in Mayor TenHaken’s One Sioux Falls. We have also spoken with the Mayor about his plans for the Big Sioux. He feels this is definitely a long-term play and requires state officials, and other agency involvement. That said, there were such passionate comments about Rotary involvement with clean water, we feel we should form an ad hoc committee to at least study the issue and gain more information. If anyone would like to be a part of this, please let us know.
So while this year may be spent in planning rather than doing, we think the outcomes will be well worth our efforts. Jessie Schmidt, our incoming President on July 1, 2019 will spearhead the planning process. Then in 2020, under Jason Herrboldt’s leadership, we will begin to execute the plan.
