Rotary Club celebrates 80 years of giving to New Prague
New Prague’s Rotary Club celebrated its 80th anniversary Thursday evening, April 17, at the New Prague Golf Club with guests and members. From left are New Prague Mayor Duane Jirik, Rotary Club member Shannon Brusseau, Rotary Club President Nathan Brusseau, featured speaker R.T. Rybak and Rotary Club member Jim Terwedo. Rybak holds a picture of New Prague’s brahna that was presented to him. (Patrick Fisher photo)
R.T. Rybak was club’s featured speaker
New Prague’s Rotary Club marked its 80th anniversary Thursday, April 17, with a dinner and guests and featured speaker R.T. Rybak, former mayor of Minneapolis and whose family has roots in New Prague.
More than 30 people attended the event at the New Prague Golf Club. Among those attending were current and former members of the local Rotary Club, plus guests Rotary District Governor Ed Boeve and Mankato Rotary President Duane Olenius, whose club sponsored and mentored the New Prague club 80 years ago.
New Prague Rotary Club members Jim Terwedo and Shannon Brusseau, were emcees for the evening. Terwedo introduced Rybak, noting how Rybak’s ancestor started a store at the corner of S Central Avenue and E Main Street that still has his family’s name on it. Terwedo said Rybak’s grandfather and uncles had businesses in New Prague. Rybak is currently president and CEO of the Minneapolis Foundation, which works to create strong, vibrant communities.
Rybak said when his great-great-grandfather moved to New Prague that it was a community of interdependence, where the community members “really needed each other.” It was a contrast from recent events with the worldwide pandemic where people were isolated in their homes, he said, adding it caused the connective tissue of social groups to fray. Rybak said when he was a reporter for the Star Tribune, he saw how people being connected through social groups or faith communities were important. His work with the Minneapolis Foundation has been about connecting people with like-minded issues. An example he used was how to get people together who want to help get young people started in traditional trade work. (Work such as plumbing, painting, house building and others.) He said people could accent on the positive. “
If each of us were to think what can I do and how each of us can help, things would be better,” Rybak said.
Finding ways to connect with others and doing positive work was a theme through the night.
New Prague Rotary Club President Nathan Brusseau said the club was founded in 1945, when World War II had ended. He noted during the club’s existence, there has been such...
To see more on this story pick up the April 24, 2025 print edition of The New Prague Times.
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