ELY - The Rotary Club of Ely held its 5,000th meeting last week in Whiteside Park . This was its first in-person meeting in nearly three months, due to public health concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
“All of the rules Gov. Walz has in place for social gatherings were followed,” said President Todd Heiman.
During the meeting, members celebrated the “passing of the gavel” from current president, Jeff Sundell, to Heiman, and Heiman discussed plans for the club for the 2021 fiscal year.
Founded in 1921, the Rotary Club of Ely will celebrate its 100th anniversary in May, 2021.
Rotary International is a worldwide network of service clubs who provide sanitation and drinking water to the developing world and are working to eliminate polio around the world.
“An active and engaged club, the Ely Rotary has funded benches, tables, and waste bins at the Veterans Memorial, Trezona Trail, Whiteside Park, and the new Pocket Park on Chapman Street,” Heiman noted.
The club also sponsors the Ely Area Food Shelf Penny Jar Project in local businesses, which has raised more than $8,000. This fiscal year, Ely Rotary has donated more than $10,000 to other local projects.
Ely Rotary currently has 44 members who represent a broad spectrum of the Ely community. “Once traditionally a male organization, today’s Ely Rotary Club membership is more than half female,” he said. Our club is seeking new members of all ages and stages in life.”
For more information, call Heiman at 218-235-1561 or email him at trheiman1@gmail.com.