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Transition Dinner Highlights
We had a wonderful transition dinner at the Air & Space Museum celebrating our outgoing president Scott Van Dam and welcoming this years president Jennifer Rollins. Our own Jeff Kingsbury did a fabulous job as emcee. We also honored the Rotarian of the Year, Cathy Quinlivan, and gave a special thank you to Janet Kahler for her 10 years of service as club secretary.
Enjoy these pictures of the event.
 
Honor Flags at BH National Cemetery May 29th
Rushmore Rotarians were joined by other organizations, family and friends through the Military Honor Flags USA to place flags on all of the graves at Black Hills National Cemetery to remember and honor the members of the armed services on Memorial weekend.  We were honored to have Carmen's husband Gary Hansen play taps as the last flags were placed (https://business.facebook.com/rushmorerotary/videos/741235183696337/). 
To all of the Veterans in our Club -- Thank you for your service!
    
Trip to School of St. Jude Tanzania
Many members of Rushmore Rotary were part of the larger group of 37 people from District 5610 that had the pleasure of traveling to Tanzania in May 2022.  The purpose of the trip was to visit the School of St Jude and attend the graduation ceremony for many of the students we sponsor.  But the trip and the school were so much more! The School of St Jude is unique in many aspects.  It started in 2002 with a vision of a young Australian Gemma with only three students. Today, with much help from many Rotary clubs, districts, and supportive individuals it has a student body of 1800.  This is school is one of a kind in East Africa and arguably all of Africa.  Their mission is to end poverty through education, and it is working!  Those of us who visited observed this firsthand.  For example, of the approximately 900 graduates, they have positively affected their families and friends.  But, also during their community service year after graduation, many teach at public schools.  Graduates raised the academic level of the 80,000 public school children to whom they taught.  See article published in the RC Journal for more details on School of St. Jude.  A huge thank you to Pat Sutliff for organizing this trip.
 
The second part of the Tanzania trip was a safari.  Our group was privileged (and a bit lucky) to have observed all the big game in their natural environment.  Some species are rare to see (cheetahs), some really rare to see (leopards), some nearly extinct (rhinoceros), some really smelly (hippopotamus), some gracefully tall (giraffe), and some are just really cool (lion, elephants).  Despite the big seven, there were countless other animals, birds, and plants of amazing beauty.  The spectacular trip was only eclipsed by the marvelous group of Rotarians with whom we travelled!!
Rapid City High School Students of Distinction
Rushmore Rotary recently awarded Rapid City High School students with the 2nd Semester 2021-2022 Students of Distinction Awards.   These students are nominated by teachers and staff. The students for 2nd Semester 2021-2022 include: Richard (12th); Nathaniel (11th); Karlee (10th) and Emily (9th). US History Teacher Jacob Rigge thanked Rotary for the program and commented that the learners who even just get nominated receive a massive boost of confidence and an injection of positivity into their school experience.  Pictured with the students are Cathy Quinlivan and Michael Steve (Rotary) and Sean Binder (RCHS).
 
Storybook Island Update submitted by Tiffany Gikling
Storybook IslandThank you to those who visited the Park on Opening Day 5/28 as it was beautiful and we appreciate the support. We were able to open the park with 41 new & updated pieces / sets out of the 43 we had projected. We had Laura Armstrong announce May 28th as Storybook Island Day in a proclamation from Rapid City Mayor, Steve Allender. In addition, Margaret Gunderson was there to cut our ribbon for the opening ceremony as she did back in 1959 when her father Merle Gunderson opened the park. 
 
We had our biggest opening since 1959 recorded on Saturday with 5,569 people visiting the park and received roughly $12,000 in donation. Current figures for the year in comparison against 2021 include:  January 1st -  May 28th in 2021 - park brought in $102,607.97; January 1st - May 28th in 2022- park has brought in $231, 836.47
 
We have a Match donation running through the summer of up to $50,000.00 for our new Winnie the Pooh tree-set. An upcoming fundraising event will be on 6/25 for Adult Fun Night. The funds for this event will be placed towards the Winnie the Pooh project. If you would like to volunteer at the event please reach out to myself or Amy Hansen. Overall we are so excited for all of the great things happening at the park and encourage you to spend some time there to see the changes for yourself.  Thank you for all the continued support. 
Community Action Volunteers
WE ARE PEOPLE OF ACTION.  Several Rotarians participated in Highway 16 Cleanup and Feeding SD this month! Thank you to Dave Dolan and Todd Hyronimus for organizing our Community Action Committee volunteer opportunities.  We cleaned up several miles of highway for  Pennington County's Adopt a Highway Program.   We packed over 5,000 lbs of food for the backpack program for Feeding SD.  
 
       
Member Shout Out
 
Congratulations to George Twitero who recently received a Paul Harris +7 (Major Donor) and Carmen Hansen on her Paul Harris +3. The Paul Harris Fellow program recognizes individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. 

Congratulation to David Dolan who was inducted to the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame and received the Dwight T. Keith Award (2022).  The Dwight T. Keith Award is the highest national award that the NHSACA bestows on an individual. It is given to recognize and honor a person who has made an outstanding contribution to high school interscholastic athletics and the coaching profession. David coached a total of 87 seasons including: football for 32 years; basketball 17 years; Track and Field 38 years with 18 years as a head high school coach. Dave's girls' track teams won 2 state titles, 3 runners-ups and 3 third places while his boys' teams placed runner-up 5 times and third twice. His teams also secured 1 combined state track and field title.  Service to high school athletics has been the hallmark of Coach Dolan's career along with his passion for basketball officiating.  
 
The Rotary Foundation
Every day, Rotary members respond to challenges big and small, emerging and ongoing. And when members like you participate through service or with a donation to our Foundation, we make an even bigger impact.
 
Please donate online or send your contribution by mail to The Rotary Foundation’s Annual Fund-SHARE or one of our Annual Fund's areas of focus. Your gift will support projects like these and make Doing Good in the World possible.
 
 
Rotary's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Code of Conduct

What we say and how we behave matter. Although free expression is important, we must take responsibility for how our words and actions may affect others. The RI Board has approved a new DEI Code of Conduct to help Rotary members create and maintain an environment that is collaborative, positive, and healthy for everyone. Simply put, the DEI Code of Conduct asks you to:

  • Use respectful language
  • Be supportive
  • Foster a welcoming and inclusive environment
  • Celebrate diversity
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