Northfield Rotary Club

The 2008 Jesse James Bike Tour brochure (PDF) is now available. See Northfield Rotary’s JJBT web site for all the details.

On Saturday, Jan. 26, the club is hosting the ‘To China & Back’ fundraiser featuring Gao Hong and the Chinese Dance Theater.

Club members Tom Durkin and Rick Estenson are leading the team to put this on. At today’s club lunch, Rick emphasized that a Chinese food dinner will be served at the event, so come hungry.

See this Dec. 5 Northfield News article on the event. The poster (PDF) includes this info:

The Northfield Rotary Club and the Northfield Public Schools Community Services Division are proud to present a Chinese New Year Celebration featuring Ms. Gao Hong, world renowned Pipa Soloist.

January 26, 2008 - Northfield Middle School Auditorium - Doors Open at 6:00 pm

Reserved Seating - Advance Tickets: $20 Adult, $15 Student At the Door: $25

Proceeds to Benefit Northfield Rotary Club International Youth Exchange. Tickets available through the Northfield Public Schools Community Services Division - 1651 Jefferson Parkway. Please call 507-664-3649 for details and more information.

Here’s a YouTube video of Gao Hong speaking and performing.

Here’s the press release from Robert Bierman (507-645-5848 or bierman1@frontiernet.net) on this year’s Turkey Day Run:

Northfield Rotary to sponsor 7th annual Turkey Day Run

Before you sit down to that big holiday dinner, before you flip on the TV for the big game, pull out your running shoes and join your neighbors in a different kind of Thanksgiving tradition. The annual Northfield Rotary Turkey Day Run is a 5K fun run/walk the whole family can enjoy. It starts at 9 a.m. at the Northfield Golf Club, with a route that winds through the neighborhood. There will be a time clock displayed at the finish, but this is a fun run, so there will be no official times. Awards will be given to the top male and female finisher.

All registered entrants will be eligible for raffle prizes presented at the finish of the race. The entry fee is $12 through Nov. 16, and $15 through race day. The first 250 entrants will receive long-sleeve t-shirts.  Race day registration begins at 8 a.m. (PDF registration form here.)

Proceeds from the race go to support Rotary programs. This year there will be a special contribution to Rotary International’s Global Polio Eradication Initiative. In the 1980s, 1,000 children were infected by the disease every day in 125 countries. Today, polio cases have declined by 99 percent, with fewer than two thousand cases reported in 2006. Two billion children have been immunized, five million have been spared disability, and over 250,000 deaths from polio have been prevented. Rotary has been a major force behind the polio fight, and many companies and organizations in Northfield are supporting the effort sponsoring the race and providing prizes.

• Northfield Rotary Turkey Day 5K Fun Run/Walk
• 9 a.m. Thanksgiving Day, registration opens at 8 a.m.
• Northfield Golf Club
• $12 before Nov. 16, $15 through race day
• First 250 entrants receive a long-sleeve T-shirt
• Prizes for top male and female runners
• All entrants eligible for prize drawings at end of race

See the 90+ photos in the album from the 2004 Turkey Day Run or this slideshow: