Events

Jennifer Gaines, founder of JCS Sober Living, operates two sober homes in the Minneapolis area. A survivor of sex trafficking herself, Jenny is passionate about having safe homes for women to transition to.  Knowing that addiction and prostitution go hand in hand and having personal experience with not being able to talk about prostitution in treatment without judgement, Jenny became motivated to open a sober home. She is a graduate of Breaking Free, a St. Paul based non-profit that works with survivors of sex trafficking and their children.  Jenny was also employed at Breaking Free for eight years and spent five years as a HUD Certified Housing Advocate in their housing program. During her time at Breaking Free, Jenny also facilitated support groups, executed public speaking and presentations for fund raising to increase awareness of sex trafficking and was involved in other supportive and administrative services related to housing (which is the number one barrier to women leaving trafficking.)  JCS and Breaking Free have an ongoing, supportive relationship and Jenny connects women to Breaking Free and also receives referrals from Breaking Free.  Jenny is a Member of MASH and partners with three outpatient treatment providers.  

Our speaker this week is Shane Sheets.  He is currently the Director of the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office. Under his leadership, the MMEO  manages morgue operations, investigative operations, administrative support staff, and forensic pathologists and provides services for 29 counties.  He works closely with death investigators and law enforcement to facilitate operations management. He also spearheads marketing and advertising of services to optimize demand generation. In addition, he communicates with stakeholders and officials to ensure the organization’s investigative and forensic support structure is driving outcomes in adherence to all criteria.

Shane has some amazing stories and is a wealth of "unique" knowledge! Thank you Chris Husom for inviting Mr. Sheets to speak.

See you at Rotary!  If it's Wednesday, it's Rotary!

Surprise notice coming!

Our speaker this week will be Craig Lachowitz, AVID advisor at Buffalo High School.  AVID, which stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a nationwide, nonprofit college readiness system. AVID's guiding principle is as follows: Hold students accountable to the highest standards, provide academic and social support, and they will rise to the challenge.  Students are empowered through AVID's focus on the growth of critical academic skills and behaviors.  Student growth in the areas of WICOR (writing, inquiry, collaboration, organization and reading) serve as a foundation for student success with rigorous coursework.

Craig is also a Social Studies teacher as well as the High School Football Coach.  

If it's Wednesday, it's Rotary!!  See you at Rotary!

David Kelly, Buffalo Community Planning and Economic Development Director, will be our Rotary speaker this week.  Mr. Kelly is a strategic and accomplished planning professional with four years of project implementation, data modeling, and program management experience, seeking opportunities in affordable housing and community/economic development.  He joined the City of Buffalo's planning department last summer and will give us an update on what's going on in Buffalo and where is economic development headed.

If it's Wedneday, it's Rotary!!  See you at Rotary!

Carole McNaughton-Commers is the Program Coordinator for AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP serving Sherburne and Wright Counties. Carole is a licensed Community Education Director who has focused her career on making connections within and across communities and sectors. Her work experiences include leadership in preK-12 and higher education, municipalities, and several small businesses with a focus on citizen involvement, personal growth, and developing healthy communities. She is familiar with this area after serving 18 years as Community Education Manager for the Elk River Area School District and through decades of family ties. Her role with RSVP will take her throughout Wright County, connecting individuals as volunteers to meet community needs. The Greater St. Cloud RSVP program has been serving Benton, Sherburne and Stearns counties since 1973. Carole will discuss RSVP and its new, federal AmeriCorps expansion grant to serve Wright County.

Our speaker this week will be Lee Kelly, County Administrator for Wright County.

Thank you Mona for lining up this week's speaker.

Lori Blaukat is the new Safe Communities of Wright Communities executive director. She just started on 2/14 and has worked as the Drug Free Communities Coordinator for the past year so is very familiar with Wright County. Lori bring her passion and excitement to this role and we are excited to have her at the head of the coalition wholes goal is to  make roads in Wright County safer.

https://www.safecomm.org/

Join your fellow Rotarians in a general assembly meeting this week. You important input is needed to explore the club's current strengths and challenges.  We will generate ideas together that will focus our activities and charity for the community.

Our speaker this week is Jessica Slater, forensic analyst for the Midwest Regional Crime Lab. She is a Forensic Scientist II and works in their Biology Laboratory.  She is coming up on her three year anniversary of working at Midwest Regional Forensic Lab. Jessica has a bachelors degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry and a Masters degree in Forensic Science with emphases in DNA analysis, Forensic Chemistry, and CSI.

Thank you Chris Husom for inviting Jessica.  

If it's Wednesday, it's Rotary!!  See you at Rotary!

RYLA students Caleb Hultmann and MacKenzie Christensen will report on their Camp RYLA experience.  

This week we welcome Lori Blaukat, the new director of Wright County's drug awareness and education initiative.  The Wright County, Minnesota MEADA (Mentorship, Education and Drug Awareness ~ formerly Methamphetamine, Education, and Drug Awareness) Coalition was formed in 2004 when community and county partners joined forces to help address the local methamphetamine epidemic. As stricter regulations were placed on products needed to produce methamphetamine and law enforcement cracked down on meth labs, the Coalition’s focus broadened to include awareness of other substances and also increased focus on mentoring programs for youth.

Award-winning investigative reporter. Newly-minted entrepreneur. 2022-2023 Initiator Fellow in central Minnesota. Graduate of ILT Academy. Graduate of the Google News Initiative Startups Boot Camp. 2021 journalism fellow at MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative. Lover of solutions journalism, obits, profiles and creative nonfiction. Lifelong learner.

Thank you Rob Stark for inviting Nora!

Join your fellow Rotarians for a picnic before the Rotary sponsored concert in the park!