If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.
Since March is National Women's History Month I thought it would be appropriate to publish a quick writeup on notable women Rotarians. I had no idea of the education I would receive.
As it turns out, there are very few notable women Rotarians because women were excluded from Rotary membership until 1989. And the decision to include women did not occur out of goodwill; resolutions to admit women had been circulated since 1950 and were consistently voted down. In 1978 Rotary International went so far as to terminate its association with a club in California that had admitted a woman member. It took a 1987 US Supreme Court ruling to open up American Rotary Clubs to women; Rotary International soon followed.
The first women District Governors were elected in 1995. The first woman elected to the Rotary International Board of Directors, Catherine Noyer-Riveau, began her term in 2008. Today there are over 200,000 women Rotarians worldwide and, I believe it is fair to say, women represent the most promising avenue for Rotary's growth and leadership. Bottom line: the history of women in Rotary is being written by us rightnow.
So with that, here is my (far too short) list of notable women Rotarians. Let's grow it:
Françoise Barré-Sinoussi: Isolated the AIDS virus at the Pasteur Institute (Rotary Club of La Rochelle-Aunis, France)
Dianne Feinstein: US Senator from California (Rotary Club of San Francisco CA)
Angela Merkel: Chancellor of Germany (Honorary Member: Rotary Club of Stralsund-Hansestadt, Berlin, Germany)
Lorraine H. Morton: Mayor of Evanston, Illinois 1993-2009 (Rotary Club of Evanston IL)
Catherine Noyer-Riveau: Gynecologist. First woman elected to the Rotary International Board of Directors (Rotary Club of Paris, France)
Donna Shalala: US Secretary of Health and Human Services (Rotary Club of Madison WI)
Kick-Start will provide eight volunteers to serve and clean up dinner at Easter Lutheran Church (by the Lake). Food will be prepared by others during an earlier shift (look here if you are interested in preparing the food, which is separate from Kick-Start's activity).
For details contact Denise Sjoberg or sign up on Clubrunner.
Save the date! The Open Door’s 9th annual Empty Bowls fundraiser will be held on Thursday, March 8 from 11am-2pm & 4:30pm-7:30pm at St. John Neumann Church in Eagan. During this event, guests choose a hand-crafted and hand-painted bowl, share a simple meal of soup and bread, place chances at the ART10 drawing, and make a donation to support The Open Door, your local food shelf serving families and individuals across Dakota County.
Monies raised will help stock the shelves with fresh and healthy foods.
Join us at Art Works Eagan, 3795 Pilot Knob Rd, on March 11 from 1pm-2:30pm to try a variety of salads, sides, main dishes, and treats celebrating Brazilian and Italian traditions. Proceeds from this buffet style meal will help fund travel for our foreign exchange students over Spring Breakin June.
When buying tickets, please select vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, or specify your dietary needs because we want YOU to be able to share a meal with the community.
This meal is brought to you by the 2017-2018 exchange students Isabelle França and Giovanni Arriciati with back-up by Rotary friends Ryan Murphy and Jerri Neddermeyer.
Meanwhile our friends at the Eagan High School Interact Club, mentored by Bill Wirsbinski, have big plans for the $500 contributed by Kick-Start Rotary, including assembling birthday bags for clients of The Open Door.
INSPIRATION AROUND EVERY CORNER JOIN US IN TORONTO 23-27 JUNE 2018
Rotary International looks forward to welcoming you to the 109th Rotary convention in Toronto. It will be an exciting event, where we’ll celebrate a year of successful service and look ahead to the future. Not only will you hear captivating speeches and attend lively breakout sessions, you’ll also get to explore the service of others in the House of Friendship while connecting with fellow Rotarians from around the world. Register today and take advantage of early registration savings!
