NB Rotarians hear from Habitat director on need for lot

Posted 4/11/01

NB Rotarians hear from Habitat director on need for lot

By Robert Walz

Charley Williamson, the new executive director of East Central Habitat for Humanity spoke to our club last week about Habitat for Humanity. They are looking for a lot in North Branch to build a house on. They have a family for the house. East Central Habitat is building around two houses per year in East Central Minnesota. This would be the first one in North Branch.

Besides the lot, Habitat is looking for volunteers to assist in the building, providing food to the volunteer workers, and/or providing building supplies and money.

Habitatís goal is to produce a house in the $60,000 range. No experience is needed in the building trades. There is a critical shortage of affordable housing. Habitat assists working families that cannot afford conventional housing. The recipient families are required to do volunteer work, participate in mentoring and other activities to help them maintain their new home. It is a very meaningful project for all.

April 27 Luau at AmericInn

Our Second Anniversary Celebration will be a luau on Friday evening, April 27, at the AmericInn in North Branch. The cost will be $25 (or $40 for couple). The evening will feature Hawaiian food, drinks, and entertainment, including Hawaiian band and hula dancer.

Potluck for Japanese

There will be a potluck next Monday for the Japanese Group Study Exchange. It will take place at 6 p.m. at the AmericInn. There will be no noon luncheon meeting that day.

We would like to see 100 percent attendance at this event. Spouses and children are welcome. It is a potluck and representatives of surrounding Rotary Clubs have been invited as well. Please RSVP to Jack Juve and signup for the potluck. Our club members should bring hot dishes or casseroles, enough to feed your family and eight to 10 others. Other clubs have been asked to bring appetizers and desserts. The Club will furnish beverages and eating utensils.

The Japanese will give a presentation about their country. Also included in the evening will be a dedication of a Peace Pole as a ìsymbol of our communityís commitment to peaceîand in honor of the Japanese visit. The Peace Pole was created in Japan following WWII as a symbol of reconciliation and peace.

When meeting the Japanese, one should bow and greet them with the expression ìkon-nichi waî or ìkon-ban wa.î Our guests: Hideki Yago, 63m, Physician, Team Leader; Koko Tasaki, 28f, City Manager /Education; Naomi Terayama, 33f, Psychiatric Nurse; Shitsuko Ishikawa, 29f, Library Manager; Shunsuke Muto, 28m, Graphics Designer.

District Convention

President Bill, President-elect Candy and Past-president Bob attended this yearís District Rotary Convention in Rochester. The keynote speaker was the Honorable Rozanne Ridgway, a noted foreign policy leader. RI Representative Marie Williams of the Rotary Club of Kittery, Maine spoke to us about the importance of Rotary and congratulated our district on its many accomplishments. The highlights of the convention, however were meeting the Japanese and East African Group Study Exchange Teams and the Rotary Youth Exchange students. They sang for us in the concluding program.

We also participated in home hosting. The evening began at a rather large home of a Rochester Rotarian. The home easily accommodated over 300 convention participants. We speculated that the annual property tax on that home could be close to the price of an average home in North Branch. From there we were transported to several homes for a dinner - it started to feel like a progressive dinner. One of the homes was on the national register of historic homes. The food and the china and silver used were equally elegant. The dinner concluded with desserts at another large home of an East Indian couple - both were doctors. The desserts included cheesecake and several East Indian desserts.

You left pumped up about Rotary, knowing that it really makes a difference in our communities and throughout the world.

It is official. Our first Rotary Student Exchange will be from Finland, a 17 year old girl and member of the Finish National Golf Team. She will arrive at the end of August. Weíre looking for three to four host families for her. She plays five instruments and speaks four languages. She is allergic to dogs and has asthma.