Rotary 13 members and invited guests gathered on the top floor of the Crowne Plaza Hotel at 1301 Wyandotte Street with select individuals participating remotely via Zoom and Facebook Live. President Jared Campbell brought the assembly to order at 12:15pm with a tap of the bell. The group stood for the Pledge of Allegiance, and David McCaughey’s invocation reflected on the events of 9/11, with the message that we should think more like we did on 9/12, as we drew strength from others. Tom Woolwine then led the monthly birthday song for those club members born in September.
President Jared yielded the floor to Rotary International President Nominee Larry Lunsford of the KC Plaza Club. After a banner exchange, RIPN Larry expressed gratitude to be at today’s meeting and explained that his presidential term will begin in the 2027-28 year, after serving 12-month periods as president nominee and as president elect. He shared that when 9/11 happened, he was district governor of our area. He and the other districts in Missouri used the disaster to collect support for the New York Rotary Foundation; in two weeks, they had gathered a little over $100K. He still fondly recalls hand-delivering the payment to the amazement of the New York Rotarians, who didn’t expect a smaller state a time zone away to offer much support.
Mandy Sheldon announced two guests in the group: past district governor Stephanie Myers and Molly Porter, the spouse of our own Jim Porter.
Club anniversaries this week included: Bill Popplewell (46 years); Wade Freeman (4 years); Patrick Donnelly (15 years); Eric Bubb (15 years); Kim Beatty (7 years); Barbara Dolci (18 years); Kara Bennett (16 years); and Martha Voight (16 years).
Sally Bibb came forward at 12:26 on behalf of the KC Rotary Club Foundation to recognize Jim and Molly Porter as legacy society members of the foundation. Jim joined Rotary Club 13 in 1974 and served as club president in the 1992-93 year, and as district governor in the 1995-96 year. His career with Foster and Porter had Jim in steady contact with Northwestern Mutual Life company; Molly’s work in ministry and as the household organizer brought them great happiness. Jim and Molly have been married for over 50 years, and their bequest in support of the Rotary Youth Camp will, in the words of many, change people’s lives.
President Jared recapped the social event at Minor Park on 9/7 and then called for the Perfect Attendance Raffle. Past President Tony Andresen claimed the prize after the wheel spun. Happy bucks this meeting gave attendees the chance to trumpet their good news. Members rose to speak about paw paw trees, wine fest volunteers, children choosing to study music, judging a pageant, and visiting siblings for a 70th wedding anniversary—all things worthy of joy!
At 12:27pm, Kristy Bayer introduced guest speaker Lori Thomas. As director of volunteer operations for KC2026, Ms. Thomas leads recruitment, training, and management of the volunteer corps working in support of the World Cup games in Kansas City. Prior to her current role, she spent 10 years as commissioner of the Heart of America Athletic Conference and 16 years with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. She volunteers her own time with the International University Sports Federation. Ms. Thomas is a Kansas City native and once held membership in the Olathe Rotary Club.
She started her presentation with a quiz on World Cup knowledge, including number of teams participating, game host cities, country with the most wins, and the location of Kansas City’s fan fest in 2026. Club members quickly shared that 48 teams would visit 16 cities across Canada-USA-Mexico, that Brazil has the most trophies, and that fan fest would be in the gathering space by Liberty Memorial. She noted Dallas is the next closest participating city to KC, and our central location is appealing to teams that must fly to matches. Kansas City will host 4 of the international teams, with the announcement coming on December 5th about which nations will set stakes here.
Ms. Thomas showed a short video about KC 2026 and the need for upwards of 6,000 volunteers. She is working with service clubs like Rotary and local colleges and universities to find participants. All demographics are wanted in the volunteer pool—there is a role for most everyone. To participate, one must apply, sit for screening conversations, and undergo a background check. Volunteers are expected to commit to 8 shifts at a minimum. While the tournament itself spans 38 days, the work performed will begin well in advance of next June. The countdown clock shows about 270 days to go until the first match.
Questions and group discussion began around 12:55pm. Queries included where to sign up (via QR code or STARTINGLINEUP), deadlines to participate (end of the month), competing commitments in June and July (volunteers have some choice about their availability), and the screening process (one should expect both background checks and aptitude questions).
President Jared thanked Ms. Thomas and announced next week’s meeting speaker (Tim Scott of Musical Theater Heritage) and other fall events. Upcoming Club 13 activities include:
- 13 September, Independence Uncorked Wine Fest
- 25 September, 4th Thursday Social Meeting
- 7 October, Bolte Beer & Brat Bash
In lieu of a quotation, President Jared shared an act of kindness: “Create bookmarks in the form of encouraging notes and leave them around the local library!”
At 1:01pm, the 4-Way Test closed the session, followed by the bell.
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