Events

DRC Sponsor: Jim Morrow

Decorah Rotarian and past District 5970 Governor Ward Budweg and his spouse, Decorah Rotarian Jacky Budweg, traveled to Taiwan in June in conjunction with the annual Rotary International Convention being hosted in Taipei. As part of that journey, they represented our club and district in the End Polio Now Taiwan Cycling Tour. Ward and Jacky will reflect on and share their many amazing adventures and experiences while traveling in Taiwan.

The End Polio Now Taiwan Cycling Tour started from Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan and finished at the Taipei Music Center. The tour spaned seven days and six nights along the scenic east coast, visiting some of the most beautiful sites of Taiwan. Participants raised funds and awareness to help Rotary's End Polio Now campaign.

The 2026 Rotary International Convention took place in Taipei from 13-17 June. It was hosted at the Taipei - Farglory Dome and the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, with over 38,000 attendees from 140 countries and regions.

Most Decorah Rotarians know Ward and Jacky in a variety of contexts. In addition to their Rotary leadership roles, their yard and driveway were an annually recurring construction zone for the Rotary Nordic Fest float. They are co-authors of the 2020 book The World at 10 MPH. The book provides a fascinating look at their global, 1,106 day, 33,523-mile joint bicycle journey across six continents from 2007-2010.

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**Please complete your meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcement, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advance to all members by email. 

DRC Sponsor: Don Holmertz

Distinguished fellow Decorah Rotarian Dr. Liang Chee Wee will be presenting his reflections on the experiences that have shaped him during his 43-year journey in America as an immigrant.

Dr. Wee has extensive community college leadership experience, having served as President of Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) from 2011 to 2022. He also recently concluded nearly two years of service as Interim Chancellor of Eastern Iowa Community Colleges and six months as Interim President of Des Moines Area Community College. His distinguished career includes significant experience in strategic planning, workforce development, student support, legislative engagement, organizational culture, and community partnerships.

During his tenure at NICC, Dr. Wee led a successful capital campaign totaling $10 million and a $39 million bond levy. He earned recognition as Iowa's Outstanding Chief Administrator by the Iowa Association of Community College Trustees in 2013. He was named the Chairman’s Institutional Leadership Award recipient by the International Economic Development Council in 2016 and received the Crescent Community Health Center Advocacy Award in 2022. Most recently, in 2025, he received the Larry Ebbers Honorary Trustee Award from Community Colleges for Iowa and was honored as an Honorary Lifetime Leadership Iowa Alumni Society Member by the Association of Business and Industry.

Dr. Wee holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Arizona's Karl Eller Graduate School of Management, along with an MBA and undergraduate degree with distinction in Management Information Systems from the same institution.

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 **Please complete your meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcement, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advance to all members by email. 

DRC Sponsor: Don Holmertz

Endurance sport puts people on the same start line, regardless of where they come from or what they believe. In this talk, Carson Christen shares what 14 years of coaching, racing, and living abroad taught him about people, from a Rotary youth club in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to a German language classroom filled with students from around the world, to the streets of Taichung, Taiwan, where he was the tall, blonde outsider who was welcomed like a neighbor. Along the way, he'll share how, in more than 33 countries, people were far more curious about his life than about his passport.

Carson's introduction to Rotary began long before he was old enough to join. He spent many lunch hours at Mabe's Pizza with his grandfather, Elliott Christen, a longtime Rotary International member, and later joined the Young Rotary Club at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids. After swimming at Luther College and earning a Master's degree in Exercise Physiology at the University of Northern Iowa, he began a career in endurance sport that took him from Boulder, Colorado, to Germany and Taiwan. He is a professional endurance coach whose athletes include an Olympic cyclist from the 2016 Rio Games, multiple National Champions, and World Championship qualfiers. He now lives in Muskego, Wisconsin, with his wife, Katie, and their son, Noah.

Today, Carson is a dad and the lessons he picked up abroad--to show up curious, treat people fairly, and build friendships across every line--are the ones he hopes to pass on to Noah, just as his grandfather and family have passed to him. Join us to hear how a shared love of sport can build the kind of understanding Rotary was founded on, and how a few slices of pizza with Grandpa set some of it in motion.

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**Please complete your meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcement, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advance to all members by email. 

DRC Sponsor: Don Holmertz

Decorah Rotarian Jeff Tomlinson will be presenting information to our members on background, recent activities, and accomplishments of the Rotary Foundation.

The Rotary Foundation is a non-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs. It is supported solely by voluntary contributions.

The foundation was established in 1917 by Rotary International's sixth president, Arch C. Klumph, as an endowment fund for Rotary "to do good in the world." It has grown from an initial contribution of $26.50 to more than $1 billion in assets. It has one of the largest and most prestigious international fellowship programs in the world.

The Rotary Foundation transforms members' gifts into projects that change lives both close to home and around the world. As the charitable arm of Rotary, our club taps into a global network of Rotarians who invest their time, money, and expertise into shared priorities such as eradicating polio and promoting peace. Foundation grants empower Rotarians to approach challenges such as poverty, illiteracy, and malnutrition with sustainable solutions that leave a lasting impact.

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**Please complete your meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcement, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advance to all members by email. 

DRC Sponsor: Shannon Duncan

Chris Lindell serves as chair of Rotary District 5970’s District International Service Committee (DISC), a team of experienced Rotarians who help clubs expand and strengthen their international service. The DISC connects clubs with Rotary resources, expertise, potential partners and other clubs while encouraging greater collaboration throughout the district. Chris will provide an overview of the state of international service in District 5970 and highlight the many ways clubs and individual Rotarians can make global connections—from youth and cultural exchanges to international projects and Global Grants.

Expanding Rotary international service opportunities not only extends Rotary’s impact around the world, but also gives members more ways to become meaningfully engaged. Strong international connections can help clubs attract new members, retain existing members and provide the kinds of experiences that make Rotary membership rewarding.

A second-generation Rotarian, Chris has been a Rotarian for 38 years and has belonged to four Rotary clubs, including four years with the Rotary Club of Auckland, New Zealand. He is a past president of Cedar Rapids West Rotary and has held numerous club and district leadership positions, including serving as the District Global and Peace Scholarship Chair.

Chris is a native of Le Mars, Iowa, and married his high school sweetheart. They have two adult children. Following careers in jewelry, utilities, banking and engineering, Chris fully retired in 2024. He is an avid bicyclist and musician—and a self-described computer geek.

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**Please complete your meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcement, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advance to all members by email.