The Rotary Club of Edina welcomed members of the Edina Morningside Rotary Club to the joint meeting Thursday, April 5. The program speaker was Eric Perkins, sports director at KARE-11.
The Community Service—Local Funding Committee gave out two checks for this year's local grants. Edina Give and Go and Inner City Christian Ministries were both on hand to speak briefly about their organization and accept the grant checks.
Two Interact Club of Edina members, Aarathi Garimella and Rania Kalaaji, were each given an honorary Paul Harris Fellow for their hard work for the Interact Club.
Two Interact Club of Edina members, Aarathi Garimella and Rania Kalaaji, were each given an honorary Paul Harris Fellow for their hard work for the Interact Club.
Click on the link below for more about the meeting...
Something happens in my life...
The membership of both of our clubs made an enthusiastic showing for our spring combo meeting of the Edina Noon and Morningside Rotary Clubs. Tom Gump modeled the new Rotary hockey jersey for the Zone 28–29 party at Rotary Convention in Toronto, and yes, with or without Gump on the name plate these jerseys are still available. If you’d like to get one, CLICK HERE
Our snowbirds are beginning to return home. Sam Cote was present lending a guiding hand to the front desk effort and yours truly received a call from our John MacLennan indicating he had returned from the warm desert of California and that he was glad to be home for the warm days and popping tulips of our Minnesota spring.
Presentations of dollars were made to two very worthy organizations. Edina Give and Go received monies to continue chipping away at financial barriers to participate for Edina High school kids who’s families are struggling financially. Ann Schulze and Maggie McCracken graciously received the grant check and explained their charter to those present.
A check was also presented to Inner City Christian Ministries (ICCM). It is good that Pastor Chris De Laurentis, David Yarcho and Don Long attended our little gathering to help receive the support. I don’t remember the amount of our gift but our check must have been 3 feet long—I’m sure it took all of them to bring it back to the office. I really liked Chris’s words about what keeps him going, paraphrasing, “A result of their changed lives—is that something happens in my life [too].”
Very well said—that is a lot about what keeps me engaged in Rotary. I’m lifted, something happens in my life, when I hear how our Rotary efforts are lifting others with new opportunities. These stories especially inspire me because I know that in some small way my support to and participation in Rotary is helping to make these stories happen. Our efforts have special power because we are founded on our Four Way Test and all of this is done in a community that brings us together—the community of our Edina Club membership, our Morningside club, our Interact club, our District and beyond...this lifts me up.
Highlighting this infectious inspiration, I’d be remiss not to mention The Rotary Foundation. As I mentioned in the presentation of the Paul Harris Fellow certificates to Aarathi Garimella and Rania Kalaaji (members of the Interact Club of Edina), The Rotary Foundation is the gas that funds a lot of what our Rotary does here at home and around the world. The key to your part of this is not the dollar amount of your gift, but that you participate at some level, "Every Rotarian Every Year," whatever is right for you. If you’ve already pitched in for this year—thank you. If you’ve yet to give for this Rotary year’s campaign, the time is now. CLICK HERE
Remember, we stand on the shoulders of a very strong membership going back to when our Edina Club began in 1957. I remember John Diracles’ big smile, his ever present button and his illustrated introductions of the person that was going to introduce the speaker. I remember Burt Cohen’s animated Barkers. Burt didn’t even need to attend the meeting to create a fetching Barker. Burt’s weekly tract kept us all on tenterhooks about what wisdom would come next.
A couple weeks back we were reminded again of the power of mentorship. Our Arthur Rouner’s mentorship encouraged Joe Cavanaugh and his Youth Frontiers organization. Joe and his team partner with schools to build positive school communities where students thrive socially, emotionally and academically, and their list of clients is spreading nation wide.
You might not be aware, but our own Burt Cohen is still an active presence in the Minneapolis journalism scene. Burt continues to frequent the downtown headquarters of Mpls St. Paul Magazine, the monthly that he founded. The current editors acquiesce and his wisdom is occasionally available under the mast head “The Cohen Report.” I was particularly impressed with his recent witty piece about King Himmel of Latvia’s Soppurschlecht Bowlivid and other stuff about the Super Bowl that you won’t read anywhere else. CLICK HERE
Fortune shines on us because daily tidbits of Burt’s wisdom are still available in his daily tweets (CLICK HERE). A news piece about Burt’s great perspective on life and these tweets can be found HERE. I encourage all of us to lobby the editors MSP Magazine for more of Burt’s words in the months to come.
Oh yes, and we had a speaker too. Eric Perkins, KARE-11’s sports guy extraordinaire, really is a lot of fun. Honest and real, he presented engaging highlights of his career and wisdom. We all need remember to check out Eric’s Pinky Swear Foundation and put their June 23 Mess Fest Event in Lakeville on our calendars.
