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Please join us on December 20th for the final meeting of 2021 and ring in the holidays with fellow Rotarians. The annual holiday party will feature holiday musical numbers by the Sioux Falls Chamber Music Collective string quartet. Rotarians and their significant others are invited to attend. Lunch will be served at 11:30 am. A plated lunch will be served to all who RSVP and is complimentary for Downtown Rotarians and their significant other.
RSVP is required. Please RSVP using this link: Rotary Holiday Celebration RSVP
November is our annual membership drive month. We’ve set a goal of recruiting 60 members from July 2021 through June 2022, and we’ve made it 25% of the way through so far this year. However, we need your help to get us there, so we’re putting a special emphasis on Rotary International's initiative of "Each One, Bring One" this month. All applications submitted in the month of November will have the $100 joining fee waived upon acceptance.
Rotarians enjoyed lunch at the Sanford International Golf Tournament on Tuesday, September 14th. Tournament Director Josh Brewster, major winner and former Sioux Falls golf pro Rich Beem and two-time US Open Champion and host of the Sanford International, Andy North spoke to the club.
Rotarian Glenn Jorgenson passed away on Friday, July 23, 2021 at the age of 91. Glenn was a member of Downtown Sioux Falls Rotary for 32 years. He founded the River Park alcohol and drug treatment programs and worked tirelessly to help those afflicted and change society's perception of addiction. His full obituary can be found here.
Congratulations to the 2020-21 Ritz Rotarian of the Year Joel Dykstra! Joel epitomizes the Rotary motto of Service Above Self. He led the club as president, helped establish the Centennial Fund, led the club’s sponsorship of the Arc of Dreams, has mentored many leaders in the community and served in numerous other capacities throughout the community including as a representative in the SD legislature. We couldn’t be more pleased to announce Joel Dykstra as Ritz Rotarian of the Year!
We are deeply saddened to share that Monsignor James Doyle has passed away. He was a member of Rotary for more than 40 years and will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.Thanks to the efforts of our Rotarians to invite prospective members to our club, we have already added 50 new members this Rotary year! 23 applications were submitted in the one week! Keep extending the invitation for others to become part of this impactful organization. It's a great time to be a Downtown Rotarian.
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.
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!
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.
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