Cogwheel 08-27-25 (Aug. 25, 2025)

Member of the Week

Patty Radoc

Name, Classification, years in rotary? I am a speech/language pathologist and Rehab Manager at Courage Kenny Rehab Institute. I have worked here for more than 25 years. I’ve been a Rotarian for 10 years.
Why did you join/what keeps you in Rotary? I joined Rotary to be more engaged in the community where I work. I stay in Rotary as I value the relationships I’ve formed and also believe in the “Service above self” commitment of Rotary.

Family, important people in your life? I have been married to Erwin Radoc for almost 28 years. We have 2 kids, Ana, 23 who lives in Chicago, and Henry, 20 who is a junior at NDSU studying music education. We also have a 7-year-old small mutt dog with a big personality.

Favorite Rotary project, memory, or thing you are proud of? I am proud that I was president in 2020-2021. I kept us going on Zoom meetings and also completed virtual visioning as well.
Fun Fact you want us to know? I love to bike, spend time at my cabin with family, read (and listen to) books, and travel. I’m going on my first organized bike trip this Fall to Savannah Georgia.

Last Meeting

Posted on Aug. 28, 2025

Mike Polehna Stillwater City Council

Mike shared updates on what is happening downtown, North and South of town, the new Lakeview Hospital, the new road going behind Century Power and an update on the new Lake Elmo Blvd.

Senitizo Update

Scott Mercer received an update from Senitizo.

We are thrilled to announce the opening of a new maternity ward! Even more excited are the thousands of women this new maternity will serve - women who up until now were unable to deliver their babies in a safe and hygienic clinic.

As the construction was being completed and equipment being brought in, we were greeted by women singing and dancing as they walked by the new maternity ward. They know that this project will save some of their lives. Unfortunately, all of them know friends and family members who have been victims of the extremely high maternal mortality rate that persists in places in CAR without maternal health care.

This new maternity is situated about 10 miles south of our first rural clinic in a town called Mbata, which is about a four hour drive from the capital city, Bangui. Opening this maternity became a priority for us when we realized that many women from Mbata and the surrounding villages were coming to our first rural clinic for prenatal consultations but then delivering at home in unsanitary and unsafe conditions. The reason for this was simple - when these women went into labor, there was no way for them to get to our clinic besides walking ten miles on foot!

This maternity will serve a population of about 15,000 people and will be even more frequented than our first maternity. During the night of the grand opening, we had five women deliver - with all women and babies leaving happy and healthy!

Our expert midwife trainer, Lucienne, will continue doing on-the-job training and mentoring for the midwife staff every Tuesday and Thursday. We'll have more information (and photos!) on that support in a future newsletter.

This project was funded by the Baker Family Charitable Trust in memory of one of our early and most ardent supporters, Linda Baker. It was an honor for the organization to get to dedicate this project to an incredible woman who spent her life in service of others and making an impact across the globe. We will continue her great legacy of helping those in need by making sure women in this town and the surrounding villages have access to life-saving maternal health services from this point forward.

Dates to remember

MEETING DATE: August 28th, September 4th, September 11th, September 18th, September 25th

Save the Date

Sign-up sheets at the meetings.

Highway Clean-Up

October 2nd 4:30pm

Meet at the south parking lot at the Washington County Fairgrounds

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E49A5AA2CA1FCCF8-57884828-highway

Service Activities

SERVICE ACTIVITY:

THANK YOU to Patty, Sharon, Tom, Lois, Katie, Amanda, Bev, Clare and Sam (Clare’s son) for packing 40 backpacks for United Way’s Stuff the Bus campaign. They helped ensure that local kids would have all that they need to succeed on the first day of school. Service above self in action!

Relay For Life

We were proud to sponsor this years Relay for Life. Thank you to Clare and Molly for coming out to man our table. Thank you Lois and Amanda for participating in the Relay.

2025 Hank Sampson Memorial Award

Hank Sampson Award Winner