DISTRICT 5960 CELEBRATES JOE KOVARIK’S:
DG INSTALLATION WITH LOOK AT HISTORY
Joe, who always stands ramrod straight, panics if one of the silver strands on his head is out of place, and never leaves home without scripting three potential elevator conversations nearly collapsed when he was unable to find the ruby PDG pin for Judy Freund in the zippered pockets of his black leather briefcase. With nearly 400 eyeballs fixed on his uncharacteristic disorder Joe staggered from the podium still digging in the briefcase while the show continued. Suddenly, with extreme joy he leaped up holding the tiny gold box in the air shouting “I found it,” and the universe returned to order.
In response to Joe’s request, everyone wore vests to symbolize “inVESTment” in Rotary, and there were some very interesting interpretations including items pulled from the Goodwill box, leather, florescent orange highway crew garb, fishing gear, and a Swedish folk vest. Joe’s brother Dave traveled from Chicago and added to the upbeat tempo of the evening by presenting Joe with a colorful hunting vest emblazoned with the Rotary emblem and “Rotarian at Work.”
Jerry Meigs, a Saint Paul PP (1981-82) and RI director, conveyed official greetings and compliments to DG Kovarik from Rotary International. Then he said to new District Governor Elect Kovarik, “Please stand and hold up that magnificent black pen you received tonight…higher…higher. Wave it like the powerful instrument that it is because you are going to write Rotary history in the coming year,”
“A written document is the foundation for lasting change,” Meigs said. “Joe, with that powerful pen you will lay down the agenda, timeline and goals for the coming Rotary year. You will draft critical documents that will live into the future. You will wave your magnificent pen to reverse the negative membership trend and write the plan to expand foundation giving. You will spread the Rotary message of “Service Above Self” to all the cities and towns in District 5960. And, you will use that pen to sign checks to improve the lives of thousands of people throughout the world.”
Meigs then ask, “Everyone who is a club or district officer, a board member or project leader, please stand and hold your pens high in the air. Joe cannot write history alone. HE NEEDS YOU. Now, all Rotarians…please stand. No leader stands alone.” To all friends and family of Rotarians he said, “Your presence tells me that Rotary is indeed a family affair. We cannot succeed without your understanding, support and contributions.”
In keeping with the history theme, Saint Paul Rotarian Jim Kosmo noted that while Paul Harris was the founder of Rotary in 1905, it was Arch Klumph who provided many key ideas. Klumph, president of the Rotary Club of Cleveland, Ohio in 1912 and president of the International Association of Rotary Clubs in 1916-17, came up with the idea of the Rotary Foundation. He also suggested the position of District Governor as an RI officer.
The first districts were defined in 1915 with a total of 186 clubs in 19 districts. Saint Paul was part of District 9 covering Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Of the original 19 districts, 4 were outside the United States. In about 1920 district 9 dropped the Upper Peninsula and added North Dakota. Over the years we were #117, #174 and in 1957-58 became District 595 covering the lower two thirds of Minnesota and part of western Wisconsin.
In 1977-78 Roseville Rotarian Roland Wilsey was district governor. Thanks to his organizational skills the number of clubs grew rapidly. Suddenly, there were 76 clubs with 4,633 members. The district was split forming our current districts 5950 and 5960 and Ed Frederick of Waseca was the first 5960 DG in 1982.
Today, Rotary International has 533 districts worldwide with more than 34,000 clubs in 200 plus countries. Rotary welcomed women to join in 1987 and the first female district governor in 5960 was Cathy Smith of the Fridley/Columbia Heights club in 2003-04.
Joe is the 99th district governor for this area and the 32nd district governor of District 5960. He is the 13th Saint Paul Rotarian to serve as district governor.
DG Kovarik outlined his plans for the coming year and the Saint Paul Club 10 Choral, under the able guidance of Jerry Faletti, belted out a customized version of “I Don’t Know Much About History.” Singer Sam Cooke may have winced in his grave, but the crowd joined in with rhythmic clapping and roaring vocal.
Shelly Rucks, a Saint Paul Rotary director, drew special praise for organizing the entire meeting, supervising the script and somehow keeping the program to a precise time schedule. As a staff member with the Historical Society Shelly arranged for Rotarians to visit the special traveling exhibit of original documents including the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights and two identical versions of the Minnesota Constitution—one as approved by Republicans and one by the Democrats, some things never change.
Jim Kosmo, Scribe