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Rotary 2015-2016 Year: Be a Gift to the World

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Please congratulate our new 2015-2016 Williston Rotary Board of Directors!

  • President: Thomas Rolfstad
  • President Elect: Patrick Hatlestad
  • Past President: Mark Schneider
  • Foundation Chair: Ken Callahan
  • Treasurer: Brock Romine
  • Secretary: Mitzi Bestall
  • Sergeant-at-Arms: Melissa Moulton
  • Communication Director: Anna Denton
  • Event Chair: John Biggs

Thank you to our outgoing board members Landon Fuhrman (Secretary), Joan Mainwaring (Sergeant-at-Arms), and Serena Christianson (Past President).

We are also excited to announce that Mark Schneider will now be our area's Assistant Governor.  He will be the District Governor's direct contact and voice for Area 1: Williston, Watford City, Dickinson, and Bowman (all ND).

Find out more on why the Rotary Year starts every July 1 here.

Leadership Camp Applications Being Accepted!

Rotary International District 5580 is looking for outstanding young leaders and potential leaders between the ages of 16 and 18 from area high schools to apply for Camp RYLA. Participants of Camp RYLA are typically about to enter their junior or senior year in high school when they attend. We are seeking TWO students to represent the Williston region with a good academic record and involvement in school activities (athletics, fine arts, student government, etc.) as well as in non-school-related activities and work experience. Outstanding student leaders will be chosen from applicants for a week of leadership training at Camp RYLA. 

If you are a student, parent, or educator interested in RYLA, please find the application here and submit to Mark Schneider at Lightowler Johnson Associates (LJA) or Serena Christianson at Select Ford of Williston by May 1. 

http://www.district5580ryla.org/

 

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Rotary International District 5580 is looking for outstanding young leaders and potential leaders between the ages of 16 and 18 from area high schools to apply for Camp RYLA. Participants of Camp RYLA are typically about to enter their junior or senior year in high school when they attend. We are seeking TWO students to represent the Williston region with a good academic record and involvement in school activities (athletics, fine arts, student government, etc.) as well as in non-school-related activities and work experience. Outstanding student leaders will be chosen from applicants for a week of leadership training at Camp RYLA. 

If you are a student, parent, or educator interested in RYLA, please find the application here and submit to Mark Schneider at Lightowler Johnson Associates (LJA) or Serena Christianson at Select Ford of Williston by May 1. 

http://www.district5580ryla.org/

 

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Sweetheart Luncheon 2015

In the spirit of fellowship, we will be holding our annual Rotary Sweetheart Luncheon on Monday, February 16 at 12pm.  Be sure to RSVP with President Mark as soon as possible to help with planning.

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Now Meeting On Thursdays, Too!

To better serve our members' needs and varying schedules, we are now holding two meetings a week.  We are still meeting Mondays at The Williston at noon and are also meeting at the MainStay Suites (on 26th Street East) on Thursdays at 5:30pm.  If you can't make it to a Monday noon meeting, join us on Thursdays at 5:30pm in the cozy and comfortable MainStay Suites' lounge. 

 

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To better serve our members' needs and varying schedules, we are now holding two meetings a week.  We are still meeting Mondays at The Williston at noon and are also meeting at the MainStay Suites (on 26th Street East) on Thursdays at 5:30pm.  If you can't make it to a Monday noon meeting, join us on Thursdays at 5:30pm in the cozy and comfortable MainStay Suites' lounge. 

 

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2014 Annual Auction Coming Up Soon!

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Online auction bidding information can be found here: http://www.biddingowl.com/willistonrotaryclub

District Governor Kaminski Visits Williston

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2014-2015 District Governor Tim Kaminski Visited the Williston Rotary Club on July 20-21.  
He and the board visited about the club's projects and endeavors over a BBQ picnic, made on the club's own Rotary grill.  

Williston Rotary Board 2014-2015

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President: Mark Schneider
President-Elect: Tom Rolfstad
Past-President: Serena Christianson
Foundation Chair: Ken Callahan 
Secretary: Landon Fuhrman
Treasurer: Brock Romine
Seargent at Arms: Joan Mainwaring
Public Relations: Esther Peres
Events Chair: John Biggs

 

Williston Band Day Parade 2014

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The Williston Rotary Club participated in the 2014 Band Day parade, which is a legendary event held in our community.  Big thanks to everyone who participated and helped organize this event.  We are so proud to be a part of this community and give back to Williston! 

Successful Weekend at District 5580 Conference

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A BIG CONGRATULATIONS goes out to our club, who won the following awards at the Rotary District 5580 conference May 8-10 in Fargo, ND:

  • First Place: Best News Bulletin for a club 31-60 Members
  • Second Place: Community Service Award for a club 31-60 Members
  • Second Place: Best Website

Here we have Tom Rolfstad (President-Elect for 2015-2016), 2013-2014 DG Dave Smette, and Mark Schneider (President-Elect for 2014-2015) pausing during all the festivities.

We're On the News!


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KX News of Minot recently did a story on our Rose Sale for Administrative Professionals' Day. Check out the video for it here:

http://www.kxnet.com/story/25426208/rotary-club-appreciation-roses

Clean Up Williston!
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District 5580 Rotary Convention Registration is Open!

Contact

 

This year's Rotary District 5580 Convention will be May 8-10 in Fargo, ND (same weekend as the Fargo Marathon, in case you wanted to hit two birds with one stone *wink wink*).  

Mark Schneider will be reserving a block of rooms for our club at Motel 6 since it will be much cheaper.  The convention will be at the Holiday Inn on 13th Avenue, in case you wanted to stay there directly (Motel 6 is across the interstate).  Please let him know if you intend on using those rooms.  Once we have our list of attendees, we'll discussing transportation options to help save costs there, too.

Information and registration information can be found at www.Fargo2014.com.



 

Contact

 

This year's Rotary District 5580 Convention will be May 8-10 in Fargo, ND (same weekend as the Fargo Marathon, in case you wanted to hit two birds with one stone *wink wink*).  

Mark Schneider will be reserving a block of rooms for our club at Motel 6 since it will be much cheaper.  The convention will be at the Holiday Inn on 13th Avenue, in case you wanted to stay there directly (Motel 6 is across the interstate).  Please let him know if you intend on using those rooms.  Once we have our list of attendees, we'll discussing transportation options to help save costs there, too.

Information and registration information can be found at www.Fargo2014.com.

 



 

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Order Roses for Your Employees

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SPECIAL! Order 20 dozen, get 1 dozen free!

Order roses here: https://squareup.com/market/williston-rotary-club



 

 

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SPECIAL! Order 20 dozen, get 1 dozen free!

Order roses here: https://squareup.com/market/williston-rotary-club



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Williston Rotary Partners with Salvation Army
Great news! Here are the total amounts raised from when we rang the bells for the Salvation Army this December: 
  • Monday, December 16, 2013=$2162.58 (Cashwise East door brought in $1096.26 and Cashwise West door brought in $1066.32)
  • Monday, December 23, 2013=$583.22 (Cashwise East door brought in $346.08 and Cashwise West door brought in $237.14)
Thank you to everyone who helped out.  Way to Engage Rotary and Change Lives! 

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Event Coordinator John Biggs (L) and Past-President Ken Callahan (R) stand with Salvation Army Captain Joshua Stansbury during one of our bell-ringing opportunities. 

Great news! Here are the total amounts raised from when we rang the bells for the Salvation Army this December: 
  • Monday, December 16, 2013=$2162.58 (Cashwise East door brought in $1096.26 and Cashwise West door brought in $1066.32)
  • Monday, December 23, 2013=$583.22 (Cashwise East door brought in $346.08 and Cashwise West door brought in $237.14)
Thank you to everyone who helped out.  Way to Engage Rotary and Change Lives! 

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Event Coordinator John Biggs (L) and Past-President Ken Callahan (R) stand with Salvation Army Captain Joshua Stansbury during one of our bell-ringing opportunities. 

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Four-Way Essay Contest is Open!
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Williston Rotary Club at Spring Lake Park

Looking for a fun way to kick-start your weekend? Come check out the beautiful holiday lights display at Spring Lake Park. We will be manning the entrance booth on December 13 and 30!  Rotarians: if you want to help participate in this event, contact John Biggs at jbiggs@lja-1.com.

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2013 Rotary Auction for Action Underway!
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We are excited to announce that we have added an ONLINE auction component to this year's auction!  You can bid on the items RIGHT NOW by following this link: http://www.biddingOwl.com/WillistonRotaryClub


Thank you for helping us reach our goal of raising $12,000 for the community!


The items up for bid this year include various gift certificates from local businesses, weekend stays at numerous hotels in Williston, sports memorabilia, meals from local restaurants, a photography session, and much more! This is a great way to not only give back to Williston but also buy gifts for your loved ones, clients, customers, or even yourself!

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We are excited to announce that we have added an ONLINE auction component to this year's auction!  You can bid on the items RIGHT NOW by following this link: http://www.biddingOwl.com/WillistonRotaryClub


Thank you for helping us reach our goal of raising $12,000 for the community!


The items up for bid this year include various gift certificates from local businesses, weekend stays at numerous hotels in Williston, sports memorabilia, meals from local restaurants, a photography session, and much more! This is a great way to not only give back to Williston but also buy gifts for your loved ones, clients, customers, or even yourself!

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Giving away dictionaries for all students
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A learning tool

 

Sebastian Munoz looks through his new dictionary Tuesday morning in Shannon Muessman’s third-grade class at Rickard Elementary.  

See more on this article from the Williston Herald by clicking here.


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A learning tool

 

Sebastian Munoz looks through his new dictionary Tuesday morning in Shannon Muessman’s third-grade class at Rickard Elementary.  


Giving away dictionaries for all students

In the back of The Dictionary Project’s newest edition is the longest printed word — all 1,909 letters of it.

Fortunately for the Williston students receiving dictionaries through the project and the Williston Rotary Club, they won’t have to be looking that word up very often.

State Rep. Gary Sukut (R-Williston), a Rotarian, presented Shannon Muessman’s third-grade class with its own dictionaries as part of the club’s participation in the The Dictionary Project.

“Enjoy your books and learn a lot,” Sukut told the class. “They can help you in all your subjects.”

Before departing, the representative gave the class a tour of dictionaries, which feature not only words but sections on sign language, U.S. history and more.

In the digital age, the dictionary still isn’t easily replaced in classrooms. Sukut had the students look up the word “student’’ and “zebra” for a test run of the books, teaching them how the books are setup and how some words are accompanied with different definitions.

“This means a lot to us,” Muessman told Sukut while accepting  her own copy. “We do use these dictionaries a lot.”

The Dictionary Project was started in 1995 under the premise of assisting all students in becoming good writers and active readers by providing them with their own personal dictionary to use at school and home.

Third grade was the chosen time because many educators see that age period as the time when students choose to read on their own.

Since 1995, more than 18 million dictionaries have been handed out to children around the U.S.

The program has been adopted by numerous service organizations around the country, including the Rotary, Kiwanis, Elks Loges and Lions Clubs.

“Take these books with you,” Sukut told the class while highlighting the mission. “They’ll follow you through school, through high school and even through college.”

Credit: Jerry Burnes, Williston Herald, November 13, 2013

To see the original article, click here.

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District Governor and Assistant District Governor Visits Williston
ImageWe were so blessed to have both our District Governor Dave Smette and the Assistant District Governor Lynn Brackel visit our Club and not only motivate us, but revitalize our reasons for being active Rotarians!
Annual BBQ Held August 26

Each year, the Williston Rotary Club hosts a BBQ picnic to not only spend time with one another, but also to meet each other’s families and significant individuals in their lives.  This year, we celebrated on August 26 at the Keel Boat in Spring Lake Park.

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Each year, the Williston Rotary Club hosts a BBQ picnic to not only spend time with one another, but also to meet each other’s families and significant individuals in their lives.  This year, we celebrated on August 26 at the Keel Boat in Spring Lake Park.

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June-August 2013 Club Newsletter Available!

Curious to what the Williston Rotary Club has been up to the past few months?  The June-August 2013 newsletter is now available! You can find it on the top left-hand side OR bottom right side of the homepage under "Downloads".  Some featured stories include: installation of 2013-2014 Rotary Board, honoring our very own with the Rotarian of the Year Award, helping our community by cleaning up the ditches, hearing from the our 2013 RYLArian, and more!

2013-2014 Rotary Board Installed

 

2013-2014 Rotary Board
On July 1, the 2013-2014 Williston Rotary Club board was installed. From L-R: Back: John Biggs - Events Chair; Rob Osborn - Treasurer; Ken Callahan - Past-President; Nick Hacker - Secretary; Mark Schneider - President-Elect Front: Joan Mainwaring - Sargent at Arms; Serena Christianson - President; Mitzi Bestall - Communications Chair

Click to read more on how they plan on implementing the 2013-2014 Rotary International theme of "Engage Rotary. Change Lives."


2013-2014 Williston ND Rotary Board
On July 1, the 2013-2014 Williston Rotary Club board was installed. From L-R: Back: John Biggs - Events Chair; Rob Osborn - Treasurer; Ken Callahan - Past-President; Nick Hacker - Secretary; Mark Schneider - President-Elect Front: Joan Mainwaring - Sargent at Arms; Serena Christianson - President; Mitzi Bestall - Communications Chair

 

WILLISTON, ND – In most places, the New Year is celebrated on January 1.  For Rotary International, the New Year begins on July 1.  Williston’s Rotary Club rang in the New Year by installing its new board of directors and unveiling the organization’s new theme of “Engage Rotary. Change Lives.”

 

It was a time for reflection and celebration, as the Williston Rotary Club accomplished many of its goals during the 2012-2013 Rotary year. “The Williston Rotary Club received the highest award a club can receive, ‘The Presidential Citation Award for 2012-13.’ This was achieved from dedication and hard work as a group and no one individual more than another. I’m honored to be a part of such a great organization,” stated Ken Callahan, 2012-2013 Williston Rotary Club President.  Throughout the year, the club focused on the international organization’s theme of “Peace Through Service” through a number of service projects, including the installment of a multi-language peace pole in September 2013.  Local Rotarians focused on bringing peace to anyone they encountered, something that was especially needed in Williston’s unique situation of handling exponential growth in a short amount of time.

Not only did the club celebrate a year of success, it also installed a new board of directors. “We have a new and vibrant board and everyone has committed to stay on and help grow our club. The club is in great hands for the future. We’ve had some great leaders recently, with Nick Johnson, Vangie Parker, and this year’s president Serena Christianson. Hold on to your hat, she’s going to take us to a new level with the theme of ‘Engaging Rotary and Changing Lives.’ I’m looking forward to another great year for the Williston Rotary Club,” Callahan added.  The 2013-2014 Williston Rotary Club Board of Directors includes:

  • President: Serena Christianson
  • President-Elect: Mark Schneider
  • Past-President: Ken Callahan
  • Secretary: Nick Hacker
  • Treasurer: Rob Osborn
  • Sargent at Arms: Joan Mainwaring
  • Public Relations: Mitzi Bestall
  • Events Chair: John Biggs

For the 2013-2014 year, Rotary International’s theme is “Engage Rotary. Change Lives.”  “I couldn’t think of a better theme that is more reflective of what’s happening in our community and world today,” commented the 2013-2014 Williston Rotary Club President, Serena Christianson.  “Over the past few years, our community has gone through many changes, and I feel that the dust is finally settling from that time as people are steadily getting into their new and modified routines, adjusting to the ever-changing world around them.”  Christianson added that the community of Williston is in a new phase: “Now we as a club and community are able to shift and truly engage in what’s happening, connecting with one another to truly change our lives in the present and those lives in the future.” 

The club plans on implementing time-honored traditions, such as the Rotary Auction for Action in December and the Rotary Rose Sale in the spring for Administrative Professionals’ Day in April, but also embarking on some new projects revealed throughout the year.  Other continuing projects include participating in the city-wide clean up at least three times a year, volunteering at Banquet West, sponsoring a coloring book contest, donating dictionaries to local third grade classrooms, and much more.

Christianson explained that her three goals for this year as Club President are increased communication among the club and community, honoring traditions and making new ones, and having fun with one another.  “I couldn’t ask for a better board to work with.  Each one of them are dependable, talented, professional, but also have great senses of humor.  We have an ambitious agenda for this year, none of which could be accomplished without having some fun along the way,” Christianson added.  “We have had many conversations about how we can better engage within our club and also in our community, really utilizing social media to communicate and connect with others. There are some new and exciting projects on the horizon for our club.” 

Rotary International is a service organization committed to “Service Above Self.”  With over 1.2 million members worldwide, Rotary International is a worldwide network dedicated to service to others, promoting integrity, and advancing world understanding, goodwill, and peace through fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.  Most of Rotary’s service tends to fall within one of the following six areas of focus: peace and conflict prevention/resolution, disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy, and economic and community development.  The Williston Rotary Club meets every Monday at 12:00pm at The Williston Restaurant.  For more information, you can contact any local Rotarian, go to WillistonRotaryClub.org or “like” them on Facebook for club updates.

 

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Rotary Grill!

One of the best features about Rotary International is the emphasis on fellowship, and what better way to do that then through food?  Our club purchased a portable grill, which now is decorated with the Rotary wheel on every side.  Talk about the Rotary wheel in motion!

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Miss ND 2013
ImageMiss ND 2013 becomes honorary member of Rotary.
Miss ND 2012
ImageMiss ND 2012
Miss ND 2012 joins us for lunch upon the completion of a very successful year for her.
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Rotary Coloring Contest
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Administrative Professionals' Day
To help celebrate Administrative Professionals' Day the Williston Rotary Club is selling roses at a discounted rate.
Christmas Shop and Help People in the Williston Community This Sunday

Join the Williston Rotary Club for the 33rd Annual Auction for Auction Sunday December 2, 2012 at 1pm.

How it works??

Check out the list of items available for the auction by checking the list on our website, Shopper, or Williston Herald.  All items will be sold on Sunday so bid high and bid often and help the Williston Rotary Club help more people in our community.

 

There are items for all types of people in this years Auction for Action.  Gift certificates, tools, hair products, dog food, apparel and much more.

Check out KUMV-TV on channel 8 or channel 5 on cable this Sunday December 2, 2012 1pm.

How do I get an item?

Call 701-572-0113 and place your bid.  Items are available for you to bid on.  Highest bidder wins and all items are picked up at American State Bank and Trust in downtown Williston.

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Board Meets with DG and ADG
2012ThemeLogoRI District Governor, Don Cavalier, his spouse Mary, and Assistant District Governor, Lynn Brackel from Bowman, met with the Rotary Board Sunday evening. DG Cavalier addressed the Monday noon meeting and spoke of Rotary's initiative for Peace, the importance of continuing the fight against polio, and the value of acquiring, integrating and retaining new members.
Serena Celebrates Birthday
President-Elect, Serena Christianson, joined the Rotary Board, District Governor Don Cavalier and his wife, Mary for supper at Don Pedro's. At the end of the meal, Serena was serenaded to the birthday song in Spanish and English. Also joining the board for supper was Assistant District Governor Brickel.
Scholarships and Passing the Gavel Featured in Williston Herald
Newspaper photo

Three photos and associated press releases were featured in Sunday, July 29th edition of the Williston Herald
Miss North Dakota 2012
On June 11th Rosemary Sauvageau came to visit the Williston Rotary.
After sharing her platform and goals for her tenure as Ms. North
Dakota with the rotary club she played "Hot Honey Rag", her talent
piece at the Ms. North Dakota Pageant, and song from a musical that
she is writing.

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