Upcoming Meetings
Rudy Yakym, US Congressman
Feb 17, 2025 12:00 PM
Please welcome US Congressman Rudy Yakym
Jason Lippert, President and CEO
Feb 24, 2025 12:00 PM
Lippert
Tim Tahara
Mar 03, 2025
Japanese Relocation Centers
Tom Kavanagh, Board President & CEO
Mar 10, 2025 12:00 PM
Northern Indiana Workforce Board
Cien Asoera, AAMS
Mar 17, 2025
US Securities and Exchange Commission
Mark Evans—Extension Educator-Plant & Soil Science
Mar 24, 2025 12:00 PM
Purdue Extension Elkhart County: Invasive species in our area
FIFTH MONDAY Fun Day! - - TBD
Mar 31, 2025 12:00 PM
TBD
Apr 07, 2025 12:00 PM
Chris Mahlmann, Founder
Apr 14, 2025 12:00 PM
GreatNews.Life
TBD
Apr 21, 2025 12:00 PM
Our Club Leadership
President
President Elect
Vice President (Elect)
Secretary
Treasurer
Rotary Foundation
Past President
Assistant Secretary
Executive Secretary
Board of Directors
Board of Directors
Board of Directors
Board of Directors
Board of Directors
Board of Directors
Board of Directors
Board of Directors
Membership Chair
Meetings and Club Activities
 
Today we welcomed Heart City Health CEO, Esleen Fultz, introduced by fellow Elkhart Rotarian Willie Brown.
 
Mission Statement: Heart City Health is a premier healthcare network providing access to high quality preventive and primary care for our community.
Vision Statement: Our community is healthier because of Heart City Health’s ability to provide access to high quality healthcare for all.
 
Wholehearted Healthcare: At Heart City Health we take a multifaceted approach to healthcare that allows us to provide superior care, across multiple disciplines, to treat the whole person. Our services include family medicine, dentistry, behavioral health, and a full-service pharmacy, all under one roof. We’ll even guide you through the insurance process so you can rest assured that you have the coverage you need. We employ licensed and certified professionals who are compassionate and provide high-quality care. With support staff to guide you through your healthcare experience, Heart City Health ensures you feel supported, cared for, and at home.
 
Affordable Healthcare in Elkhart County: Established in 1993, Heart City Health is a 501(c)(3) non-profit Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) providing affordable, high quality medical, dental, and behavioral health care to residents of Elkhart County. This health center is a Health Center Program grantee under 42 U.S.C. 254b, and a deemed Public Health Service employee under 42 U.S.C. 233 (g)-(n). This health center receives HHS funding and has Federal Public Health Service (PHS) deemed status with respect to certain health or health-related claims, including medical malpractice claims, for itself and its covered individuals.
 
Our Policies: Heart City Health may take positions on or advocate with regard to public policy issues pertinent to its mission, consistent with the requirements of applicable Federal and state law. However, Heart City Health conducts all of its activities in an entirely nonpartisan manner. Heart City Health may acknowledge the elected officials who support us, but we do not endorse, support, or oppose candidates for public office, nor do we intervene in an election on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate of a political party.
 
Heart City Health believes that all healthcare must be built on a foundation of diversity, equality, and inclusion. As they strive to keep with that belief, they mirror that in their medical treatment, financial policies and in staffing of employees and volunteers and nominations of Board of Directors. HCH also refers to this belief system as they develop community partners and collaborative relationships. At Heart City Health, we’re not all the same. This has become one of our greatest strengths over the years of working with our community. We value and trust each other, and we leverage our understanding of our differences in who we are, what we experience in our lives and how we think as people and cultures. Because we provide healthcare to the entire human family, we believe in never excluding anyone for any reason. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, status as a veteran, and basis of disability or any other federal, state, or local protected class.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
On Monday, February 3 our club welcomed special guest Marie Blunt and we learned a new area of study: Pharalogy - - a term coined by John Purdy in the 1840s to describe the study of lighthouses and signal lights, their construction and illumination. With the help of several volunteers from our club, Marie opened up her presentation setting the stage with some terminology and parts of the lighthouse, as described by Dave Dygert, Jim Rieckhoff, Garrick Lankford, and Stu Barb. Marie's presentation covered some basic history of lighthouses around the world, ownership and management of lighthouses across federal, state, local, and private organizations, how you can experience lighthouses, and took questions from the audience. 
 

 
Marie Blunt is a retired not-for-profit executive director and became passionate about lighthouses when she was inspired by a book about lighthouses that had a checklist of lighthouses to visit - - she and her husband have visited MORE THAN 500 lighthouses around the world. Marie is a member of a United States Lighthouse Society's speakers bureau and presents frequently around the region, spreading her joy of lighthouses and efforts to conserve them, with others. In addition to her Master of Ministry degree from Bethel College, she is the author of The Lighthouse Primer, an archery instructor at a local summer camp, a published paper crafter, a St Joseph North Pier Lighthouse docent, and a clarinetist. She is a certified instructor for several nationally recognized curricula, including the Question-Persuade-Refer (QPR) Suicide Prevention Program and the AARP Smart Driver Course.
 
 
 
 
Monday's meeting was a nice get together despite the frigid temperatures and snow, as well as falling on the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday. We were a little light on attendance for the aforementioned reasons, but a great meeting, nonetheless. President Andrew welcomed club members and guests, donning his support for Notre Dame in the evening's CFP Championship Game against The Ohio State University.
 
 
Eric Amt provided today's thoughtful message to get our meeting started, reading a few excerpts from recently departed President Jimmy Carter's farewell address to the nation on January 14, 1981, his words still poignant in our present time:
"Today, as people have become ever more doubtful of the ability of the Government to deal with our problems, we are increasingly drawn to single-issue groups and special interest organizations to ensure that whatever else happens, our own personal views and our own private interests are protected. This is a disturbing factor in American political life. It tends to distort our purposes, because the national interest is not always the sum of all our single or special interests. We are all Americans together, and we must not forget that the common good is our common interest and our individual responsibility."
 
Today's scheduled presenter had to cancel, so in lieu of that presentation, Eric Garton and Howard Edwards spoke about the importance of DACdb.com, our club's new database, replacing Clubrunner officially in the new Rotary year beginning January 1. Eric shared DACdb.com images on the screen and scrolled through a few tabs while Howard showed the software's mobile app: IGNITE. If you have not logged in or would like help in doing so, for either the web-based version DACdb.com or the mobile app IGNITE, please reach out to Howard or Eric. Our goal is to get everyone who wishes to use the technology by the end of June.
 
On Monday, January 6, our first meeting of the New Year, we welcomed fellow Elkhart Rotarian and Tolson Center for Community Excellence Executive Director Breanna Allen, Ed.D. Breanna shared an update of the center shortly after their one year anniversary and their plans for Phase 2 of the Center's construction plans to better serve the community.
 
The Tolson Center for Community Excellence's mission empowers lives through inclusive learning, recreation, and cultural exchange, opening doors to bright futures.
Their Vision is to be a centerpiece for an enlivened South Central Elkhart, a premier destination for neighbors near and far, and a pathway to equity and opportunity for all.
 
In their first year, the Center recruited over 4000 members and has kept a host of demographic data to help advise their programming. Over half of Tolson's members are African American, 14% are Hispanic, and 19% are caucasion. The percentage of female to male is very close, 51% and 49% respectively.
 
Breanna provided a short history. The Tolson Center for Community Excellence grew out of the Booker T. Washington Center, a community center run by Herbert and Ruth Tolson, located in the former Benham West “village” as many residents called it from 1929-1950. It consistently served the African American community newly arriving in Elkhart. At that time, most of Elkhart was racially segregated through official and unofficial means, including discriminatory lending and housing practices. Under the premise of “urban renewal”, the city demolished the area, destroying the community center, homes, businesses and other community staples, and dispersing the residents. In the early 1990s residents living around the Tolson Center revamped an old car wash and made it into a place for their kids to have recreational, educational, and life formation experiences. Despite the area being socially destabilized and economically distressed, Benham West and its residents abound with innovation, creativity, and community dedication. In 2020, Tolson was named a new independent 501 (c )3 as Tolson Center for Community Excellence which is becoming known in the community. As a new entity, we’re poised to recreate that positive experience for the next generations of youth, and expand programming to serve a wide range of ages. For a complete history visit a timeline on their website here.
 
 
Tolson has 17 staff members, growing from Breanna who was hired first as their executive director. Phase 2 plans include sports fields adjacent the new Center and fundraising has begun. To become more involved you can become a member, sign up for programs, or volunteer! Visit their website at https://www.tolson.org/ for complete details.
 
We were joined by another special guest, Declan Millslagle, who shared a life update after completing his first semester at Purdue. Declan was the most recent recipient of our club's Scholarship Program. The club was happy to learn that Declan had become involved with Purdue's Rotaract Club. Rotaract clubs bring together people ages 18 and older to exchange ideas with leaders in the community, develop leadership and professional skills, and have fun through service. In communities worldwide, Rotary and Rotaract members work side by side to take action through service. Declan is enjoying his Beginning Engineering classes and is leaning toward majoring in Computer Programming. We look forward to hearing more updates as Declan continues his progress at school.
 
Congratulations and thanks to Mick Faloon who earned a Paul Harris Fellow +2 recognition for his continuing contributions to the Rotary Foundation. Here's Mick being presented with his pin from our Foundation Chair Howard Edwards. To continue working toward your Paul Harris Fellow recognition, make a donation to the Rotary Foundation (or setup recurring monthly gifts). Find more information about how your support makes a difference here
 
 
Today we welcome Bill Firstenberger, Executive Director at Ruthmere Campus, who shared exciting news and progress of the Beardsley Discovery Center, currently under construction on Main Street immediately north of Havilah Beardsley House. 
 
The Beardsley Discovery Center project has surfaced at just the right time to fulfill the needs of our community and ripen the fruits of Ruthmere Campus as they celebrate 50 years of museum service. The Beardsley Discovery Center will Improve Visitor Experience and Increase Ruthmere Campus' Capacity. It will significantly improve visitor hospitality at Ruthmere Campus in a number of meaningful ways:
  • The ease of access from parking to point of entry is shortened
  • Greeting will now occur with a real person at the BDC info desk
  • Increased number of parking spots and improved traffic flow
  • Expanded gift shop space where guests can browse as they wait for tours
  • Visitor orientation message will improve dramatically 
  • Immediate proximity to greatly increase the tours and usage of the Havilah Beardsley House
The project also increases Ruthmere Campus' capacity, including: 
  • Greatly increased ADA compliant space
  • Main gathering space will be used for a variety of flexible purposes: field trips, visitor orientation, special programs, catered events
  • Proximity to the Havilah Beardsley House will allow for the possibility of more large event use for both indoor and outdoor activities
  • Project includes improvements to an off-site storage facility
To learn more about the project and progress or to make a donation to the Beardsley Discovery Center, visit their website.
 
Bill projected the target completion date for the project: Mid-summer 2025
 
 

We Inducted THREE NEW CLUB MEMBERS today!
Please welcome to the club, pictured left to right with President Andrew Harman: Nancy Miller, Patti Velluci, and Major Tim Nauta.
We're grateful for your enthusiasm to engage with our community and be active members of the Elkhart Rotary Club!
 
 
In additional member news, we're sad to report the resignation of longtime Rotarian—celebrating 60 YEARS on December 1—Shannon 'Shan' White. Shan is the club's unofficial historian, making great efforts to share the history of our club and impact within the community. While sad to lose Shan as a regular member, we're thrilled to announce that the Board of Directors bestowed HONORARY MEMBERSHIP to Shan this past Friday. Shan is welcome at our club anytime, we look forward to seeing Shan at meetings in the future.
 
Today we also welcomed a guest and prospective member Nick Knight, recommended by South Bend Rotary Club President Amber Pulford. Nick is with Everwise out of the South Bend Corporate Office but spends a great deal of time on business in Elkhart and is seeking to engage further with our community.
Thanks to everyone who cast a ballot whether online or in person at the meeting to fill a board member vacancy beginning July 1, 2025. Congratulation to Rob LaRoy, who'll join the board at that time! The ballot count also approved recommended changes to our Bylaws by the Board of Directors in November.
Tony Warning announced the new advertising placemats are in place on our dining tables! Thanks to all who placed ads, the money supports our Elkhart High School Interact Club and their annual service trip to Costa Rica. Thanks to all who participated! Want to learn more or participate next year?... Contact Tony Warning!