"In the Rotary plan, business is an important part of life, but it is not the all of life." - Paul Harris
District 6040 Governor Amy Chinnery-Valmassei
Zones 30/31 Director Brian Hall
Rotary International President Olayinka Hakeem Babalola
Have you seen the beautiful landscaping at the old Sister's Hospital Park at 10th and Powell that Rotarian Tim Curry has kept up?
Rotarian Todd Meierhoffer sent an update about the plans for a Celebration of Life for Hod Symes this afternoon:
"I spoke to Hod’s son this morning. He is going to coordinate with his mom and brother to find out when they will be back in town. They are going to have some type of gathering. I just don’t know what it looks like and I don’t have a timeline for you at this point; however, it is now on the families mind and they are very apperceive of club 32 wanting to pay respects to the family.
Please share with the club and I will keep you in loop as I continue to receive information.
One of these days a Wednesday will be open for me to attend a meeting.
Thanks,
Todd"
The Rotary Club of Saint Joseph met today at the beautiful Albrecht Kemper Museum of Art. We had around 26 people at the meeting. Our program speaker, Shelbie Wigington, was the only guest.
This is the 2nd of 2 times that we will run the names of prospective members Aaron Stutterheim of Creal Clark and Seifert Architects (Don Gladhart) and Honi Brown of the News Press (Skye Pournazari) in the bulletin prior to induction.
Spanky and Buckwheat's catered garden salad, rolls and garlic bread, chicken breasts, and spaghetti with sauce and meatballs. Not bad.
Black Bowls donations for this quarter go to the Buchanan County Extension youth 4H shooting sports programs. Members can contribute on our Square site online or bring the cash to meetings. The Square site may also be used to pay Sergeants fines or Happy Bucks with a credit or debit card if you are short on cash at meetings.
The Fun Committee reported that last Friday's social at Riverwood Winery was a fun time, with around 16 in attendance.
Heather Weddle shared a save the date for the club's Holiday party- details TBA- at Castlebridge Event Center on Thursday, December 17.
Meals on Wheels delivery assignments:
October 22 will be Shelly Hulet with Brendon Clark and Heather Shearin (solo) - we think.
October 29 will be Ralph Schank with Nick Gertsema and Heather Shearin (solo).
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. They will meet with Amy Spaeth and Erik McGuire soon to plan some campaign and promotion details. The club's goal is 1,500 pairs. Members are encouraged to bring shoes to Rotary meetings as they find good deals. Walmart has some sales from time to time that are worth checking out.
Are you interested in being a part of the new District 6040 committee focused on the Rotary Area of Focus of Protecting the Environment? If so, please reach out to President Bill McCammon and he can get you the contact info for the committee chair.
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... guests to include the Interact Club Officers from St. Joseph Christian School
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 4 tables of 10... should be fun! There is 1 open spot if anyone else or their partner would like to attend.
Thursday, December 17... Rotary Club of Saint Joseph Holiday Party at Castlebridge Event Center
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/.
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. Please let Faith know through email at fsrobinson1996@gmail.com or bring funds to Rotary on 10/28 if you'd like tickets:
1 ticket for $5
3 tickets for $10
7 tickets for $20
Proceeds will be split between the winner and the PolioPlus fund and drawn at the 10/28 meeting.
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 or 2 or 3 or 10! All purchases go as an Annual Fund donation in the name of the purchaser.
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...
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 some Happy Bucks as well as some difficult trivia:
Greg Hatten for maybe getting the Steamboat Arabia museum to move to St. Joseph and for this Saturday's Speedliner Day at River Bluff Brewing from 11-4
Tim Curry a $10 spot for some choices that led him to not attending the Rotary social last Friday
Nick Gertsema $10 for the Steamboat Arabia news
Erik McGuire for Henry the dog doing better after a trip on Friday to the emergency vet in Mission, KS
Bill McCammon for a pheasant hunting trip next week in South Dakota
Matt Porter for now having the Meierhoffer geese at his place
Ryan Jones for a fun Rotary social at the winery
Program Speaker:
Shelbie Wigington
Missouri Small Business Development Center
Shelbie has been with the new Missouri Small Business Development Center (SBDC) since about January of 2026.
Their office is located in Popplewell Hall at MoWest.
The services offered to the community and the campus include:
workshops
assistance in applying for Small Business Administration Loans
assistance in buying and selling businesses
research into accounting tips and tricks to include for nonprofits
A Small Business Summit is being held at MoWest on 10/28
