District 6040 Governor Amy Chinnery-Valmassei
Zones 30/31 Director Brian Hall
Rotary International President Olayinka Hakeem Babalola
The Rotary Club of Saint Joseph met with a solid summer crowd of about 27 members and 1 guest today, Wednesday, July 15 at the beautiful Albrecht Kemper Museum of Art. The meeting was presided over by club President Bill McCammon.
Spanky and Buckwheat's catering brought a spread of garden salad, baby carrots in a bath of something, baked potatoes with sides of shredded cheese or a liquid of some kind, and meatloaf. There was ample food.
The membership held a vote and it was unanimous that Ryan Jones is now officially the club's President-elect (to serve as President in 2026-2027).
Black Bowls donations for this quarter (7/1 through 9/30) go to the St. Joseph Safety and Health Council. The Safety Council puts on educational programs to promote safe driving and other initiatives to help create a safer community. Members can contribute on our Square site online or bring the cash to meetings. Sergeant Janice will arrange to have the QR codes available for those who want to pay online for the Black Bowls or Sergeant fines at meetings.
Meals on Wheels delivery assignments:
July 16 will be Amy Spaeth with Heather Weddle and Alan Van Zandt (solo)...
July 23 will be Ralph Schank (with anyone?) and Tyler Compton with Don Gladhart.
Shoes for Orphan Souls Update (for 2026-2027 Campaign):
Our club has through next May to gather shoes for the 26th year of Shoes for Orphan Souls. If we collect just a few pairs each week, we can have a great year again. There have been some good deals at the St. Joseph Walmarts lately, so please keep your eyes out and pick some up if you can.
The club's website is https://stjosephrotary.org/... It's looking great! Check it out if you haven't visited in a while. Nice public image for the club.
Club Public Image Chair Susan Campbell is also working on some new club shirts for the members, and new club banners and other rebranding to accurately reflect the new club name.
Upcoming Key Rotary Dates:
Thursday, July 16: July Rotary club social at Il Lazzarone from about 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. (or perhaps a bit later).. a great time to bring a guest to learn more about Rotary... and/or bring your partner
Wednesday, July 22... Rotary Club of Saint Joseph meeting at the AKMA... program speaker is Brett Esley from the St. Joseph Sports Commission
Wednesday, July 29... Rotary Club of Saint Joseph meeting at the AKMA... program speaker is Tom Brand presenting on his life as an author and his books
Wednesday, August 5... Rotary Club of Saint Joseph meeting at the AKMA... program speaker is Lisa Nyrose presenting on the new Robidoux House Hotel and Conference Center and the new Mid-Continent Exp Center
Wednesday, August 12... Rotary Club of Saint Joseph meeting at the AKMA... program speaker is David Sandy presenting about the Magic Museum (maybe some tricks up his sleeve?)
Wednesday, September 15... Rotary Club of Saint Joseph meeting at the AKMA... program speaker is District 6040 Governor Amy Chinnery-Valmassei making her official visit to our club
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 ... we will have a chance for any members and their partners to attend
The Rotary Foundation drives the funding for our club's district grant projects and global grants sponsored both by our club and other clubs, as well as 2 global grant scholarships this year. The Kansas City Club and District 6040 are sponsoring a health days program in Malawi with a budget of $100,000 (we are seeking some funds from other districts to make our budget, in addition to $25,000 from District 6040 District Designated Funds). This will make a big impact on the people of Malawi.
Please remember that our club matches $144/Rotary year in member contributions, and members may donate online, bring a check to Rotary, mail a contribution directly (please be sure to include your member ID and our club and district numbers) or elect to be billed.
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.
Sergeant at Arms Janice Keith had some help today from the other Sergeant Matt Porter.
Matt collected Happy Bucks from:
Himself for being back after a rotator cuff surgery
Louie DeLeon $20 for getting to speak later in the meeting
Micah Carter for an upcoming and exciting trip to North Dakota
Ryan Jones for being at Rotary and being alive
Ron Auxier for his grandson Mack and his college experiences
Shelly Hulet for being excited about the 11/6 Rotary Foundation Dinner at the Carriage Club (and help from our club to include the Fun Committee ladies, Marci, and Erik)... we work to make sure there is a seat for anyone and their partner from the club who wants to attend...
Sergeant Janice also levied fines on everyone who hasn't had rotator cuff surgery before.
Program Speaker: Rotarian Louie DeLeon
Louie shared his journey with books at today's meeting.
Some of his favorite books are about history, notably Roman history, but also Pancho Villa, JFK, the American War of the Rebellion, and learning about Russian Emperors.
Louie did confess that it was hard to make it through The Wealth of Nations, so he opted for the audiobook on that one.
It was cool for Louie's son Chris to be on hand for the program. Louie is an engaging speaker and clearly passionate about the subject of history.
