Club President Ron Auxier
District 6040 Governor Jodi Sundaram
Zones 30/31 Director Brian Hall
Rotary International President Francesco Arezzo
Club membership director Shelly Hulet welcome new members Greg Smith (sponsor Louie DeLeon) and David Bolander (sponsor Don Gladhart) at this week's meeting.
The Rotary Club of Saint Joseph assembled with a great crowd of about 34 this Wednesday, May 27 at the Albrecht Kemper Museum of Art.
Please note that next week's meeting on 6/3 is OFFSITE at Life Unlimited at 4420 S. 40th Street- not at the AKMA. Members will get to see the new Day Program and the District Grant project our club is finishing up this year. We have added garden beds and a gazebo for the day program participants. Bill is finishing up a bench and a sign and some garden tools to add in the next few days.
Spanky and Buckwheat's catered bone-in pork chops, green beans, boiled new potatoes, and garden salad.
Black Bowls donations for this quarter (4/1 to 6/30) go to Camp Geiger Scout camperships. These support Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA Scouts to attend summer camp, with campership awards reviewed by a committee based on financial need. Members can contribute on our Square site online or bring the cash to meetings.
Oakley Coleman is chairing our club's 2026-2027 District Grant project, and let the club know that he is working with the Pony Express Museum on getting a project worked out.
Meals on Wheels delivery assignments:
June 4 will be Ron Auxier with Susan Campbell and Will Woods with Brendon Clark.
Shoes for Orphan Souls Update (for 2026-2027 Campaign):
We have approximately 56 pairs of shoes so far. The campaign will run through April 2027. Can we top this year's total of 2,566 pairs?
The club public image committee met this week and reviewed some additional changes to be made to our club's website... is stjosephrotary.org ... https://stjosephrotary.org/... saintjosephrotary.org also takes you to the same page.
We have made and are working on continued content updates. You'll notice that some stories are now on the front page and the bulletins are loaded onto the site.
Club President-elect Bill McCammon held a meeting with the 2026-2027 board members in preparation for the new Rotary year that starts in July. We are working on expanding out all of our committees. If you have an interest in serving on any of these committees, please let Bill or the 2026-2027 club board officer chairing these committees know:
Membership (Josh Middendorf)
Rotary Foundation (Faith Parker)
Don Gladhart (local Foundation)
Sergeants-at Arms (Matt Porter and Janice Keith)
Community Service (Amy Spaeth)
Vocational Service (Mary Beth Revels)
Club Service/Programs (Nick Gertsema)
International Service (Ralph Schank)
Youth Services (Ryan Jones)
Public Image (Susan Campbell)
District Grant (Oakley Coleman)
Spaghetti Dinner/Vice President (Heather Weddle)
It was great to see the induction of 2 new members to the club this week. That should put our club's membership at 75. They are both looking forward to helping out with our service projects.
David Bolander is a circuit judge and knows Don Gladhart through their church, Brookdale Presbyterian. David is originally from Elwood and attended law school at UMKC.
Greg Smith is recently retired from American Electric, where he met Louie DeLeon. Greg is originally from St. Joseph, attending Central High School and MoWest.
Upcoming Key Rotary Dates:
Monday, 6/1: Anniversary Party award nominations due to Heather Shearin or Mary Beth Revels
Wednesday, 6/3: Rotary Club meeting OFFSITE at Life Unlimited (4420 S. 40th Street) at Noon
Wednesday, 6/10: Rotary Club meeting at Noon at the AKMA
Thursday, June 18: Rotary Club of Saint Joseph's 114th Anniversary Party at Parkway Distillery... With a Cheers Theme ... RSVP invites should have been received last Friday from Susan Campbell... if you didn't get one, please let her know ... RSVPs to be sent to Heather Weddle
Save the date... Friday, November 6: District 6040 Rotary Foundation Dinner at the Carriage Club in Kansas City... event chair is Saint Joseph Rotarian Shelly Hulet
The Annual Fund-SHARE exists to empower Rotary clubs and districts with implementing impactful district grants, global grants, and scholarships.
Participating in the Rotary Foundation board is an easy way to contribute as we close out the 2025-2026 Rotary year. Our club will match up to $144 per Rotary year for all members who contribute.
Or if you prefer to send a check, we can assist with the details of this. Please talk to Don or Erik if you have any questions.
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.
Here is the latest status of the Rotary Foundation Board. As of today, we have sold 166 of the 200 squares and have just 34 remaining.
1 Square is $50. 3 squares are $100. 7 squares are $200.
The pot is up to $5,200. 1/2 goes to the winner (drawn at the 6/18 Anniversary Party, need not be present to win) and the other 1/2 goes to the Rotary Foundation Annual Fund in the names of the purchasers.
Please let Erik know if you would like to purchase any squares or any additional squares. We can bill you or you can bring funds to Rotary.
Square Number
Purchaser- 1 for $50, 3 for $100, or 7 for $200
1
Ryan Dowell
2
Bill McCammon
3
Don Gladhart
4
Mary Beth Revels
5
Ryan Jones
6
Shelly Hulet
7
Shelly Hulet
8
Tim Curry
9
Jim Ingle
10
Ryan Swafford
11
Tim Curry
12
Ryan Jones
13
Erik McGuire
14
Dana Matt
15
Heather Shearin
16
Dana Matt
17
Dana Matt
18
Bill McCammon
19
Jim Ingle
20
Tim Curry
21
Tim Curry
22
Ryan Jones
23
Ryan Jones
24
Hod Symes
25
Tim Curry
26
Faith Parker
27
Shelly Hulet
28
Jim Ingle
29
Oakley Coleman
30
Hod Symes
31
Kirby Brooner
32
Kirby Brooner
33
Don Gladhart
34
Mary Beth Revels
35
Marci Bennett
36
Jodi Sundaram
37
Dianne Dewey
38
Hod Symes
39
Dianne Dewey
40
Dianne Dewey
41
Marci Bennett
42
Joan Brewer
43
David Bolander
44
Ryan Swafford
45
Mark Sundet
46
Skye Pournazari
47
Jim Ingle
48
Heather Weddle
49
Heather Weddle
50
Heather Weddle
51
Kirby Brooner
52
Oakley Coleman
53
Erik McGuire
54
Ryan Jones
55
Joan Hickman
56
Ryan Jones
57
Greg Smith
58
Faith Parker
59
Marci Bennett
60
Jim Ingle
61
Heather Shearin
62
Oakley Coleman
63
Susan Campbell
64
Louie DeLeon
65
Doug Schmitz
66
Julie Walker
67
Don Gladhart
68
Ryan Jones
69
Louie DeLeon
70
Ron Auxier
71
Ron Auxier
72
Julie Walker
73
Louie DeLeon
74
Susan Campbell
75
Janice Keith
76
Ron Auxier
77
Louie DeLeon
78
Julie Walker
79
Joan Brewer
80
Jim Ingle
81
Heather Shearin
82
Ryan Swafford
83
Hod Symes
84
Jim Ingle
85
Shelly Hulet
86
Doug Walter
87
Doug Schmitz
88
Doug Schmitz
89
Susan Campbell
90
Ryan Dowell
91
Amy Spaeth
92
Amy Spaeth
93
Marci Bennett
94
95
Erik McGuire
96
Ryan Jones
97
98
Heather Shearin
99
Jodi Sundaram
100
Skye Pournazari
101
Amy Spaeth
102
Hod Symes
103
Hod Symes
104
Hod Symes
105
Ryan Jones
106
Ryan Jones
107
Shelly Hulet
108
109
110
Matt Porter
111
Matt Porter
112
Matt Porter
113
Heather Shearin
114
Amy Spaeth
115
Jodi Sundaram
116
Hod Symes
117
Hod Symes
118
Hod Symes
119
Hod Symes
120
Hod Symes
121
Hod Symes
122
Hod Symes
123
Hod Symes
124
Hod Symes
125
Hod Symes
126
127
Shelly Hulet
128
Ryan Jones
129
130
Amy Spaeth
131
132
Erik McGuire
133
Erik McGuire
134
Erik McGuire
135
Ryan Jones
136
137
Bill McCammon
138
139
Amy Spaeth
140
Shelly Hulet
141
142
Ryan Dowell
143
Ryan Jones
144
145
Heather Shearin
146
147
Louie DeLeon
148
Louie DeLeon
149
Louie DeLeon
150
Janice Keith
151
Ryan Jones
152
Ryan Jones
153
154
Joan Brewer
155
156
Skye Pournazari
157
158
159
Mark Sundet
160
161
Ryan Jones
162
Ryan Jones
163
Heather Shearin
164
165
166
Bill McCammon
167
168
169
Mark Sundet
170
171
172
173
Ryan Dowell
174
175
Janice Keith
176
177
Faith Parker
178
179
180
Amy Spaeth
181
182
183
Bill McCammon
184
Bill McCammon
185
Bill McCammon
186
Louie DeLeon
187
Louie DeLeon
188
Louie DeLeon
189
Louie DeLeon
190
Louie DeLeon
191
Louie DeLeon
192
Louie DeLeon
193
194
195
196
197
Ryan Dowell
198
Ryan Dowell
199
Ryan Dowell
200
Mary Beth Revels
The following Rotarians shared Happy Bucks at last week's meeting:
Matt Porter's son graduated high school with straight A's and for an upcoming family vacation to Mexico
Greg Hatten for 47 years of marriage with his lovely wife
Amy Spaeth for finally being able to attend Rotary after a month as a professional high school golf fan
Janice Keith for a meaningful Memorial Day holiday
Susan Campbell for her mother-in-law's health challenges getting better
Ralph Schank for being delirious from several tick bites (you had to be there)
Don Gladhart for his new puppy creating some scheduling challenges
This Week's Program
Lanny Davis and Bob Long from the Coleman Hawkins Jazz Heritage Society presented this week's program.
The society started in 1998 with inspiration from an Alonzo Weston column in the News Press.
Jazz legend Coleman Hawkins is a St. Joseph native, and is known for his chord extensions and unique big sound with lots of vibrato. One of his most famous works is Body and Soul.
The annual Hawkfest concert is coming up on June 12 at Coleman Hawkins Park (near 7th and Felix). There will be some logistical challenges this year with the ongoing park renovations, but it is going to be a great, free, community concert.
There will be concessions (from Scouts BSA Troop 30G) and a beer tent (from the jazz society).
Highlights of the show include the high school jazz all-stars as well as an act from Kansas City.
