Park at the Radisson, the parking ramp, or street parking where available
Allow for time to go through buffet line!
April 2 - TBA
This Week: Lisa Mellon and Carla Swerman,
Abreast in a Boat
Both presenters are breast cancer survivors who dragon boat paddle with the La Crosse Mississippi Sisters. Competing throughout the Midwest and internationally, this team offers hope to all who have been impacted by cancer. Each paddle stroke proves that life after cancer can be active, purposeful, and rewarding. At the same time, each paddler feels alive, empowered, and loved. Today’s presentation will help you better understand these life-affirming outcomes.
Carla Swerman: My breast cancer story started in 2002, when, at age 40, an inflamed lymph node proved to be cancerous. After a double mastectomy (my choice), chemo, radiation, and reconstruction, I resumed my active lifestyle. I even became a stronger runner as well as a yoga addict. When the Big Blue Dragon Boat Festival started in La Crosse in 2013, I captained two teams from Root Down Yoga Studio. But, the very next year, I was in the Mississippi Sisters’ boat and wouldn’t dream of abandoning it. Nothing equals the thrill of paddling in sync and at “full throttle” with 19 other resilient women. Nothing compares to hearing words of encouragement or laughter when practicing on the Black River. Nothing can diminish my admiration for these caring women who have a surprising zest for life. We truly are “better together”!
Lisa Mellen: I am a daughter, a sister, and an aunt with little to no genetic history of breast cancer. Yet, I am a 13-year survivor. On March 6, 2012, I heard the words, “You have breast cancer.” After my surgery, chemotherapy, and reconstruction, I received a letter inviting me to be a part of a dragon boat team. I didn’t even know what dragon boating was! Nor was I comfortable with swimming. Yet, I soon found myself in a dragon boat on the Mississippi River, something I never would have imagined. From the start, I have treasured the “sisterhood” I found. Whether working out, practicing, racing, fund raising, or just “laying low,” I feel valued and empowered by the other women – my “Sisters”!
Next Week: ReNew the Block,
Habitat for Humanity
We will be sharing updates on the ReNew project located on Avon Street and Logan Middle School. We’ll share what’s been completed, what’s coming next, and how this project has benefited students, homeowners, and the Northside community. We’ll also give a quick look at our next project in the Washburn Gardens neighborhood. We will also discuss a Rotary team volunteer day on Saturday, April 11, and encourage Rotary Club of La Crosse members to sign up as part of an all-area Rotary volunteer effort.
Speakers: Amy Smith, Sustainability Director; Stefanie Kline, Sustainability Coordinator, Habit for Humanity of the Greater La Crosse Region
Vegetarian meals are plated and available through Sue with a ticket when you check in.
The buffet is Gluten Free except for the buttermilk biscuit.
Coffee, ice tea, and water available at a beverage station inside the room.
Guests are ALWAYS welcome! RSVP in advance to Niki Pohnlby the end of day Monday for the meal on Thursday.
Rotary Video Link
On Saturday morning, May 9, we’ll be holding a Visioning event in order to develop a new strategic plan to replace the current 2021-2026 strategic plan. The goal is for approximately 25-30 members to attend a 3.5-4 hour session in order to put together a vision with goals for the next three years. This is a great opportunity for new and long-standing members, members who are happy/satisfied and those who see shortcomings and remedies, and for anyone who would like to play an active role in making our club even stronger, better, more fun, and more welcoming. Please reach out Niki Pohnl or Richard Strauss if this is of interest to you. We are look at an approximate 9am-12:30pm time frame. The site is still to be determined; lunch will be served. Thanks very much.
Rotary Video Link
CLICK HERE for a link to the new YouTube video we showed at Rotary last week encompassing Paul Harris and all the Rotary stands for.
We had a great time volunteering for the Egg Roll Fundraiser last Friday. Thank you all for helping to make this a success! For more pictures - CLICK HERE! If you have pictures to add, send them to Niki Pohnl!
“Our meetings are dull, dull, dull! Our club never does anything interesting! And why are you and I the only two members left?”
These are common complaints. Okay, they’re not exactly common. But your Rotary Club is probably looking for ways to grow, or ways to make your meetings more engaging, or ways to make your club more active and more visible.
What better way is there than to share ideas and learn from other clubs? And what better time and place than TriCon 2026? The heart of TriCon is ideas, ideas, ideas!
Past attendees have called TriCon “inspiring,” “energizing,” "transforming," and “simply amazing.” And that is no exaggeration.
Built around Rotary’s 2026 theme, Unite for Good, this year’s conference will show you how to increase Rotary’s impact at your club, in your community, and worldwide. TriCon 2026 will offer practical learning and a celebration of all that Rotary and Rotarians can do and can be to build a better world. And as a bonus, it offers a chance bring the family and enjoy the Kalahari’s waterpark.
NOW is the time to register and book your room at Kalahari. Click the link on the bottom of this email to register.
FOUNDATION MINUTE: MARCH 23, 2026
Welcome to Week FOUR of RI’s Month of W.A.S.H
The report this week is from Etelka Lehoczky on the activities of Rotarians in improving sanitation in schools located in underdeveloped parts of the world. According to Lehoczky’s report, members of the Rotaract club visited schools which faced water shortages and relied on contaminated water, resulting in high levels of diarrhea, dysentery, and other illnesses. There were no modern toilets, and girls didn’t have private spaces for menstrual hygiene. The lack of water affected every aspect of the students’ lives. The wide-ranging impact of water access is highlighted on the United Nations’ World Water Day, observed on 22 March. “Water bankruptcy is becoming a driver of fragility, displacement, and conflict,”
Tshilidzi Marwala, undersecretary-general of the UN, said in January. “Managing [water] fairly — ensuring that vulnerable communities are protected and that unavoidable losses are shared equitably — is now central to maintaining peace, stability, and social cohesion,” Marwala said. More than 2 billion people around the globe lack clean, safe drinking water. Helping people gain access to clean water and sanitation is a top priority for Rotary, which includes the issue among its seven main causes. With a US$57,000 Global Grant from The Rotary Foundation, members of the Rotaract clubs of Kumasi and Obuasi in Ghana brought clean water and sanitation facilities to eight schools in the Ashanti region. Their project installed around 80 microflush toilets and 10 urinals, constructed changing rooms for girls, and drilled borehole wells at two schools. Ghanaian Rotary and Rotaract clubs and Rotaract clubs in Turkey and the U.S. supported the initiative. It benefited more than 6,000 people.
