At 12:16 pm, Vice President Trixie Goldberg called the meeting to order at the Doubletree Hotel in the absence of President Jerry Faletti this week. Ed Coleman led the group in America the Beautiful as well as the Viking “Skol” chant after their fantastic pull from behind miracle over the Saints on Sunday! Doug Hartford provided the piano accompaniment for the enjoyment of the crowd. Carley Stuber led the inspirational minute in honoring Dr Martin Luther King Jr and our interconnections with the “Same Sun” and “life’s most persistent question is what are you doing for others”. Sherry Howe attempted to introduce guests and Rotarians from other clubs, but no introductions were needed. Heather Christopherson was the greeter and Linda Mulhern, the scribe for this meeting.
Trixie wanted to let everyone know that we are planning on renting a bus to Minneapolis for our joint club meeting on February 16th at a cost of $10.00 per person, pick-up and drop-off spots will be selected shortly, so please go on line to register. She also asked that everyone check the club directory to make sure all of your contact information is correct.
Our new member, Jonah Yang was introduced by Bob Cardinal. Jonah lives on the East Side and his wife is a kindergarten teacher at Jackson Elementary. His business is located in Bloomington. Please introduce yourself to Jonah in the upcoming weeks! Bob also noted that Jim Kosmo will be speaking next week at our next meeting and talking about his recently published book, Monsters in the Hallway.
Cindy Dupont of Visit St Paul introduced Adam Johnson, head of marketing for Visit St Paul. Adam gave us an overview of events in St Paul during the 2 weeks prior to the Super Bowl game in Minneapolis on February 4th.
The Xcel Center was the opening act for all volunteer members helping during the Super Bowl, we had 30,000 people volunteer to help and the number was whittled down to 10,000 people. “Opening Night” will be the big media day in St Paul, also at the Xcel Center prior to the game as an opportunity for players to interact with the media (and each other!). The Dave Matthews band will be playing the night before the game at the Xcel Center. Rivercentrerwill be the home of the Taste of the NFL on 2/3 which pairs chefs with NFL players from all of the NFL cities from around the country. We will also have over 5800 journalists attending the event and we will be showcasing St Paul. Visit St Paul has put together a visual guide for the reporters including the Winter Carnival events at Rice Park. The ice castle is currently being built and will be 7 stories high and includes over 5000 bricks of ice. It will open on January 25th. CHS Field will have the Securian super slide. CHS Field will also have a type of “ice fishing” for people not familiar with the activity. They can fish on top of a tank of fish, “the ice” will be made from plexiglass! They will also provide an opportunity to build snowmen and snow forts in the outfield. There will be an outdoor dinner at the Farmer’s Market with a number of restaurants showcasing their food. A Bold North market will be held at the Asian Market on February 3rd. The Como Conservatory will also showcase a “Super Bowl” flower show through March. For those people wanting to stay out late, bar hours will be extended until 4 am on February 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Information will be available for all visitors at the airport as well as hotels throughout the area. A media center has been set up at the Mall of America on the 2nd floor and Visit St Paul will be promoting our city on 1/29. It is recommended that people use the light rail or Uber to get around during the Super Bowl weekend due to the security near the stadium and the numbers coming into both St Paul and Minneapolis during the event. They also know that protesters will be allowed to protest on the morning of the Super Bowl, but that law enforcement is ready.
Vice President Trixie presented a certificate to Adam Johnson donating money to the Read for Me program in his name for speaking to the club. The meeting was concluded after stating the Rotary pledge at 1:00 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Linda Mulhern
Scribe