District 6040 Governor Amy Chinnery-Valmassei
Zones 30/31 Director Brian Hall
Rotary International President Olayinka Hakeem Babalola
The current exhibit at the Albrecht Kemper Museum of Art is striking. The works of Michael McCaffrey from the University of Kansas are featured.
Please keep Rotarian Susan Campbell in your thoughts and prayers. Her father recently passed away.
The Rotary Club of Saint Joseph met today at the beautiful Albrecht Kemper Museum of Art. We had a fair crowd ofaround 26 people at the meeting. Guests included Jolene Dempster of the Convention and Visitors Bureau (Ryan Dowell) and program speaker Frank Till.
Also on hand was prospective member Aaron Stutterheim of Creal Clark and Seifert Architects (Don Gladhart). Honi Brown of the News Press has also been proposed for membership (Skye Pournazari). Both Aaron and Honi have been approved by the club's board. This is the first of 2 times that we'll run their names in the bulletin prior to an induction, most likely on 10/28.
Spanky and Buckwheat's catered garden salad, potato salad, rolls, as well as ham and roast pork.
Black Bowls donations for this quarter go to the Buchanan County Extension youth 4H programs, for example the shooting sports program. Members can contribute on our Square site online or bring the cash to meetings.
President Bill shared that the club board voted last week to change up the new member "Red Badge" program, effective immediately. New members will now get a red badge for 2 months, before being presented with a blue badge. This will allow the new members to get oriented and get some attention, but not require any specific actions on their part. This is a change from past practices, which required new members to complete one of a few different tasks to earn a blue badge.
The club board is also working on approval of new club bylaws, which have been shared with the board out of the bylaws committee. The plan is to have a board vote at the next board meeting. The club membership will then have a chance to review the proposed bylaws and vote sometime around early December.
Meals on Wheels delivery assignments:
October 15 will be Tim Curry with LeeAnn Smiley and Ron Auxier with Susan Campbell.
October 22 will be Shelly Hulet with Tammy Rivera and Brendon Clark with ____ (somebody switched with Will Woods).
Shoes for Orphan Souls Update (for 2026-2027 Campaign):
Joan Brewer and Skye Pournazari are the chairs for our 26th Anniversary Campaign of Shoes for Orphan Souls. The club's goal is 1,500 pairs. Members are encouraged to bring shoes to Rotary meetings as they find good deals.
October Rotary Social is this Friday, 10/16 at the Riverwood Winery from 4:30 to about 6:30 p.m. The address is 22200 MO Hwy 45, Rushville, MO (just a few miles N of Iatan). Should be a fun time!
Are you interested in a travel opportunity to Argentina as part of a Rotary Friendship Exchange? The plan is for the trip to be February 23 - March 8 with a projected cost of $2,500 per person. If interested, please reach out to District 6040 Friendship Exchange Chair Ben Martin at brmbj3@gmail.com.
Wednesday, October 21... Rotary Club of Saint Joseph meeting at the Albrecht Kemper... program presented by Shelbie Wigington from the Missouri Small Business Development Council
Wednesday, October 28... Rotary Club of Saint Joseph World Polio Day (actual day is 10/24) trivia and celebration event at our regular Noon meeting at the Albrecht Kemper
Wednesday, November 4... Rotary Club of Saint Joseph meeting at the Albrecht Kemper... program presented by the 39/94 podcast
Friday, November 6: District 6040 Rotary Foundation Dinner at the Carriage Club in Kansas City... the club has several folks staying the night at the Hampton Inn on the Plaza... should be fun! Shelly reports that we have 2 spots open if anyone would like to attend.
The Rotary Foundation drives the community and international service of Rotary, from the club level, district level, and international level.
Funds raised provide local grants, global grants, scholarships, help with the campaign to eradicate polio, assist in disasters, and more.
Members can contribute in many ways... one of these is by signing up for recurring monthly or quarterly donations (can be for as low as $10/month) through Rotary Direct at https://my.rotary.org/.
World Polio Day is coming up on October 24
Our club's Rotary Foundation Chair, Faith Parker, has a sign-up sheet going for a 50/50 raffle that is being run through our 10/28 meeting:
1 ticket for $5
3 tickets for $10
7 tickets for $20
Proceeds will be split between the winner and the PolioPlus fund.
The club also encourages members to join the PolioPlus Society (commitment of $100 per year to PolioPlus until polio is eradicated) and/or to make contributions to PolioPlus. To contribute online, please visit the club's Raise for Rotary page at https://raise.rotary.org/en-GB/project/let-s-end-polio-65fab944c?tab=overview. PolioPlus donations count towards Paul Harris Fellow points levels.
Rotary Foundation Dinner on 11/6 at the Carriage Club
Please support the Golden Ticket Raffles by purchasing a ticket!
Once at the site, simply select which ticket (Sports Package or Arts Package) you'd like to purchase and how many tickets you'd like. No login is required to complete the purchase.
The Golden Tickets and community sponsorships are open to Rotarians, non-Rotarians, spouses, members of the community, anybody...
Golden Ticket Raffles Flyer:
Sports Package value is approximately $2,000!
Arts Package value is approximately $1,500!
Shelly also shared that our club is putting together a silent auction basket for the dinner, and we are in search of local St. Joseph experiences or gift cards. Do you know a business or have connections to assist with us putting together a sweet St. Joseph package? Like a gift card?
Hod was born in March of 1933 in Littleton, New Hampshire, but his parents and family home were in Vermont, so we’ll go ahead and accede to his demands to call him a Vermonter. Hod attended 1 school building from grades K-12, before attempting to enter the Naval Academy and West Point, but being denied due to failing the physical. Instead, he settled on an obscure, little known school named Dartmouth and earned his degree.
Powell Park sits at the intersection of 10th and Powell at the site of the former Sisters Hospital. Led by Rotarian Tim Curry, the Rotary Club of Saint Joseph has breathed new life into this neighborhood park.
The final results are in for the 2026 Purple Pinkie Polio Eradication Fundraiser, and I am thrilled to share that together we raised $1,200,788 for Rotary's End Polio Now campaign.
Every dollar will support the fight to eradicate polio worldwide. Thanks to the dedication of Rotary members, partners, and supporters, we are now down to just two endemic countries. The finish line is in sight.
Over a dozen Rotarians from Argentina arrived in Kansas City for the FIFA World Cup as part of a friendship exchange program through the international organization.
Rotary families from KC metro clubs are opening their homes as part of this program
The travelers were greeted by their host families at Kansas City International Airport, where the reunion was anything but a meeting of strangers, despite many coming face to face for the first time.
The Rotary Club of Saint Joseph's 2025-2026 District Grant project has been to install an accessible outdoor area for the new Day Program at Life Unlimited's St. Joseph location.
The Sergeants-at-arms collected a few Happy Bucks today, as well as an impossibly hard round of trivia questions for each of the tables:
Don Gladhart for he and Karen's 52nd Anniversary
Tim Curry for the and Susie's 52nd Anniversary
Program Speaker:
Frank Till
St. Joseph Safety and Health Council
Frank has served as the Executive Director of the Safety Council for about 3 years. Prior to this, he served as a St. Joseph police officer and the Police Chief of Country Club Village.
Some of the programs and events of the Safety and Health Council (there are many) include:
Safety Town
Safety Acres
Driver's Ed
Adult Driver's Ed
Adult Safety Town (fundraiser/fun event)
OSHA Training
Certified child car seat installation
DUI Offender education
Golf Tournament fundraiser at Fairview
They are a United Way Partner Agency and also rely on private donations to operate. The staff is small, around 3 or so, and they sure stay busy.
