Rotary Club of Eau Claire

The Rotary Club of Eau Claire held our annual Changing of the Guard ceremony, a special time to reflect on the year behind us and look ahead to the year to come.

We recognized and thanked our outgoing President, Nancy Kerr, for her leadership, service, and dedication to our club throughout the past year.

We also had the honor of acknowledging Michael James Kloss , our current Rotary District 6250 Governor, who is proudly from our Eau Claire club.

We welcomed our incoming President, Paul Peterson, and enjoyed hearing some of his ideas and vision for the year ahead.

A very special congratulations goes to Jerry Reinecke, who was recognized with the prestigious Avenues of Service Award. This honor is given to a very limited number of Rotarians each year and is acknowledged by the Rotary International President.

We also recognized our Paul Harris donors and fellows, along with the past presidents of our club, whose service continues to shape the legacy and impact of Rotary in Eau Claire.

A special thank you to The Coffee Grounds owners and staff for delivering a delicious meal and excellent service for our event.

Thank you to everyone who continues to live out Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self. We are grateful for the leadership, generosity, and commitment that make our club strong.

Club President Nancy Kerr handed Nick Swartz his blue member badge at today’s club meeting, and Nick turned in his temporary red member badge. And then Nick gave his new member talk. What did we learn? That Nick likes to live in “western” places — western Michigan, western Colorado, western Wisconsin. That he likes the outdoors and attended Michigan State (no word on his football allegiance). And that he’s already done much good in the world and wants to do more.

Welcome, Nick! You are already modeling Rotary’s motto “Service Above Self.”

Last week we had a wonderful outside picnic with great fellowship and guests. The weather was perfect!

Char Gurney, our Scholarship Committee Chair, awarded our fifth and final scholarship to Claire Janiak from Memorial High School. She will be attending Winona State University and majoring in Marketing.

We continued with a behind the scenes tour of First Choice Recycling. Thank you to Sam and Scottie for telling us about First Choice Recycling and for the tour of their facilities. It was amazing seeing what all goes into recycling what we all drop off. The security taken in preserving and destruction of customer data was also incredible.

At our May 14 meeting, we welcomed 4 out of our 5 scholarship recipients,along with their guests, to join us. Thank you to Scholarship Chair Char Gurney for leading this annual endeavor, and for planning the program. It was such a pleasure to meet the students and listen to their heartfelt essays on what "Service Above Self" means to them. We honored the accomplishments of Maya Ridenour and Izzy Reichert from Regis, Lili Gagnon from Altoona, and Katelyn Anderson from Memorial High School. Claire Janiak, our 2nd recipient from Memorial, will be honored at a future meeting.

At Thursday’s Eau Claire Noon Rotary Club meeting, we welcomed Phillip Swiler, Executive Director of Chippewa Valley Habitat for Humanity. Phil shared his background, his passion for Habitat’s mission, and his vision for the organization moving forward.

Serving the Chippewa Valley for 36 years, Habitat for Humanity has built more than 50 homes across the region and hopes to increase that impact in the years ahead. Phil also highlighted the organization’s Homeowner Program and the important role of the ReStore, where community members can donate and shop for new and gently used home improvement items.

We appreciate Phil joining us and sharing the many ways our community can support Habitat’s mission through volunteering, donations, sponsorships, and shopping local at ReStore.

This week, members of the Rotary Club of Eau Claire shared their stories and experiences from Tri-Con for Rotary District 6250. A heartfelt thank you to the members from our club who attended and took the time to share what they learned and what inspired them.

The lasting message that stood out was simple but powerful: we all need to be kind. Through kindness, we build goodwill, strengthen friendships, and create a path toward peace in our communities and beyond.

Thank you to our very own Michael James Kloss for your work as Rotary District 6250 Governor and involvement with planning. As well as Patrick Thoney and Mary Jane Thomsen for they involvement in putting on and guiding attendees through a tremendous experience!

Thank you Michelle Von Ruden, Tashai J. Atkins , Steve Nick, Paul Peterson, and Karen Hebert for sharing your stories!

Want your own pocket U.S. Constitution? Then invite Phil Rechek from the Menard Center for Constitutional Studies at UW-Eau Claire to be a speaker at your Rotary Club meeting. Thank you, Phil. We like our new books, and we loved learning how the Menard Center is helping promote civil discourse and freedom of speech.

Today was a great reminder of what community looks like in action.

Members of the Rotary Club of Eau Claire and our Rotary friends were proud to take part in the City of Eau Claire Amazing Eau Claire Clean-Up, helping clean the trail from Boyd Park to Archery Park.

A core part of Rotary is focusing on our environment, protecting the spaces we share, and doing our part to clean them up. Today was a simple but meaningful way to live out “Service Above Self” while caring for the community we love.

A big thank you to everyone who showed up, grabbed a bag, and helped make Eau Claire a cleaner, more welcoming place for all.

Proud to serve alongside people who care deeply about this community.

A little bit of service, a few beverages, visiting Rotarians from central Florida, and a whole lotta Rotary fun.

We supported Girls on the Run with a check earlier this year, and engaged further with tutu-making for their fundraiser.