In Review -- April 2 Meeting

PROGRAM SCRIPT


ROTARY CLUB OF EDINA
THURSDAY, April 2, 2020

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Edina. I’m your host, Josh Sprague, proud President of the #1
Club in the Universe!
I’d like to extend a special welcome to all our club members, interested friends and
professionals tuning in to today’s broadcast, live from the ROTARY TV studios in Edina,
Minnesota.
These are historic times for our club. Because of the coronavirus epidemic, our regularly
scheduled Thursday meetings at Edina Country Club have been cancelled since March 16, and
will continue to be cancelled through April including April 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30. So, instead of
being together in person and face to face for our service and fellowship activities, we are
learning how to relate virtually, together, but afar, through technology like we’re using today.
This live streaming broadcast will be available in the next few days on YouTube in an edited,
recorded version and, as with the previous two weeks, we will send the video link out directly
to your email via ClubRunner. But I’d like to ask those of your tuning in today for your help, to
please reach out to other members who may need this meeting now more than ever, share
these video links, and let them know we’re still here, every week, every Thursday, just in a little
different format. You have no idea how your phone call may change someone’s day for the
better. And it’s an easy way to practice Service Above Self in the current socially isolated
society we find ourselves in.
Personally, I can tell you that I’m missing the connections I make with each one of you at our
in-person meetings every week, and I am looking forward to shaking your hands, and perhaps
even sharing a few hugs, as we get back to normal business later this spring. Until then,
please remember, I’m thinking about all of you, and I hope these meetings are giving you some
sense of normalcy as we tread through these very abnormal times together, as a club, as one
Rotary family.
INVOCATION
Today’s invocation comes again from fellow Rotary Club of Edina member Tom Cook, Father of
St. Stephen’s Church in Edina. Father Cook says:
• Let us turn our thoughts and prayers today to those who now exemplify Service above Self
• Those women and men who work tirelessly to provide medical care and support for the sick
and the suffering
• Those first responders, nurses, and doctors who put their lives on the line so that others have
a chance to be whole again
• Those policemen, firefighters, and peacekeepers who safeguard our communities when all is
not normal at all, and
• Those who lead and govern us in these times, that they may have wisdom, courage, and
stamina for the days ahead
• Let us turn our thoughts and prayers to those who teach out kids, even without a classroom
in which to gather
• Those parents who are holding the home together for the young
• Those who look after the daily needs of the elderly
• Those gracious friends who call, text, write, stream and reach out to others any way they can
just to say, Be well!
• Let us turn our thoughts and prayers to those who keep our groceries coming, our meals
cooking, our packages in the mail
• Those whose livelihoods are curtailed by layoffs, furloughs, and lack of work
• And all those who are lonely, despondent, and unsure of their futures.
• Finally, let us turn our thoughts and prayers to those whose who have died, and to those
families and friends grieving the loss of those they love.
• Grant comfort, healing, and peace to us all. May our fellowship as Rotarians strengthen our
resolve to care for each other, our communities, and people throughout this world, in this
time and in every time. Amen.
• Thank you so much Father Cook for your inspirational words and for providing us with these
very thoughtful remarks for our online meeting invocations. I appreciate your service to the
community and our club.
And now I’d like to ask Johnny Sprague to lead us in the pledge of allegiance and the 4-way
test. Johnny?
ANNOUNCEMENTS
ROTARY ZOOM HAPPY HOUR @ MEZZ (WED APR 1)
• Report how it went from Renee
• “Happy Hour was a blast. So good to connect with all the smiling faces”....Jennifer
Hendrickson. It WAS great to have our HH clan take time to connect and share stories
about how our families and businesses are being impacted during this very difficult time. We
also took time to laugh and share fun things we’ve learned and done to stay connected. It’s
been studied and researched that social and emotional engagement makes us happier. And
happiness helps restore our immune system. So time well spent. Thanks you friends and
members for attending this event You make me happier.” -Renee Harberts, Social Director
• Thanks Renee for leading the charge on the virtual happy hour, and for your 3 years of
service as our Social Director and Board Member, that’s two back to back terms on our
board and we appreciate your experience now more than ever in your leadership position.
SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE COMMUNITY:
• Remember the Edina Community Resource Page we talked about last week? Well
volunteer coordinator Nicole Gorman at the City of Edina (ngorman@edinamn.gov) is
making matches between organizations in need and local volunteers. This week, Nicole
recommenced some great organizations that are looking for your assistance, including the
following:
• Help at Your Door: https://helpatyourdoor.org/volunteer/ ; grocery package and grocery
deliveries based out of Cub Foods on 84th & Lyndale
• Help At Your Door, formerly known as Store to Door, was established in 1984 and for the past
36 years has enabled people to age confidently at home by providing food access,
companionship, and a helpful hand in the seven country area
• Since the pandemic began, grocery deliveries and service requests are up 25%, with over
300 new inquiries just in the last couple weeks alone.
• They are looking to fill 3 separate roles: Client Connectors (volunteers who call clients from
their homes to take grocery orders over the phone), Shoppers (volunteers who fill the grocery
orders at our partner grocery store), and Grocery Helpers (volunteers who help make the
grocery deliveries into client homes).
• Contact Carolyn Swenson, carolyn@HelpAtYourDoor.org
• Senior Community Services: https://seniorcommunity.org/become-a-volunteer/; seasonal
cleanups, raking, and mowing, and small repair projects
• Cat Beringer, c.beringer@SeniorCommunity.org ;

• Elder Friends Phone Companions: https://www.littlebrothersmn.org/phone-companions/
• Georgia Afton, volunteer@littlebrothersmn.org
• For donations: Edina Public Schools Meal Relief Program (Edina Education Fund & Edina
Give & Go)
• https://www.edinaedfund.org/s/meal-fund-covid-19
ROTARY HELPING HANDS
• Jean Morrison, jean@jeanmorrisonhr.com; Katy Campbell, katy.koch.campbell@gmail.com
• Katy has this to report:
• What a privilege it is to connect with Rotarians over an old-fashioned phone call. A small
cadre of us are doing so as part of the Rotary Club of Edina Helping Hands program Jean
Morrison has created. We are checking in to see how our members are doing during this
crisis.
• Not surprisingly, overall status is healthy and needs are being met —but sometimes in
surprising ways, we’ve learned. Neighbors are delivering home-cooked meals and organizing
dog walking for one Rotarian recovering from a hip replacement. “You’d think these people
were all Rotarians,” by their attitude of service, he remarked.
• Food is a common theme, not surprisingly. One Rotarian’s handyman offered to bring takeout
chicken noodle soup over when he came by to complete the spring yard cleanup. Another
Rotarian I spoke with hates to cook so has a new practice of driving 20 minutes each way to
favorite downtown restaurants to get preferred takeout.
• Of course, there is concern about declines in business. Some noted a loss of customers
already, while others are anticipating a peak summer season of business which now may
coincide with the peak of the virus in Minnesota.
• What gives me hope is people keeping a vision to thrive going forward. For one Rotarian, it’s
the prospect of getting back to his retirement activity of ballroom dancing with his wife,
waltzing and foxtrotting and East Coast Swing. Visualizing the dancing and socializing with
dancer friends “is keeping me going,” he said.
• “We’ll get through this,” said one Rotarian who served in World War II. He went on to muse
about the future of our educational system — how it may well be permanently changed by
online learning.
• A sense of humor is one coping mechanism Rotarians seem to have in abundance. “Do I
need any errands run? This is the call I’ve been waiting for all of my life!” Joked one.
• “I’d love it if you would deliver some groceries — to Phoenix!” Joked another retired Rotarian.
Golf is open in Arizona and beauty salons there are considered “essential businesses.” Go
figure. From the Rotary Helping Hands Desk - Katy Campbell reporting.
AND SO IN SUM AND AS A REMINDER:
• Helping Hands program is aimed at supporting senior and other Edina Rotarians by reaching
out, connecting and assisting with specific needs. This is a trying time for ALL of us, and a
helping hand would be welcomed by many. Let’s remember too the young professionals in
our club who may be taxed by layoffs, lack of child care, e-learning in the home, and other
difficult situations that can use a supportive call.
• So for all of our members out there, If you need a helping hand or would like to be a helping
hand, contact Jean Morrison at 612-804-2409 or jean@jeanmorrisonhr.com.
• Jean & Katy — just want to say thanks to both of you for your work, and to all of you out
there listening, pick up the phone, give each other a call.. it could make a big difference in
someone’s day!

R:
And now, it’s my pleasure to introduce today’s speaker, Ashok Dariwahl. Ashok is the owner of
YogaFit in Minneapolis, with 3 locations in Linden Hills, Loring Park, and Northeast, and 5 more
locations under development. YogaFit is actually a newer division of SNAP Fitness, with
a mission is to make yoga and fitness more accessible to the masses. Ashok’s business
background is in domestic and international retail. Prior to YogaFit, Ashok worked for Target
Corporation for 14 years in the new start up/entrepreneurial division. Prior to Target, Ashok
worked for UnitedHealth Group and Arthur Andersen’s retail division. Ashok and his wife have
three children and live in the Linden Hills Neighborhood of Minneapolis. Please help me
welcome to the ROTARY TV set Mr. Ashok Dhariwal.
QUESTIONS
• Tell us about your family.
• How did you get into this business? I know about making that transition from employee to
self-employed independent business owner .. how did this come about?
• How are you adapting to the new normal, in terms of the social distancing and stay at home
orders, this has been devastating to most retail and services operations, both large and
small?
• What are your plans for the future, once you emerge out of this crisis? Has the crisis made
you rethink your business plan or consider making permanent any of the innovations you’ve
come up with to weather the storm?
• Now it’s time for this week’s “Corona Quiz.” So are you ready?
1. True or false? Food items in supermarkets that have been touched by other shoppers are
likely a major source of coronavirus spread.
2. More than 1,000 Americans have died from coronavirus, with most deaths in the state of
California; New York; Washington; or Texas
3. The state seeing the fastest growth in new cases of coronavirus is:
California; New York; Washington; or Louisiana
4. Coronavirus has been detected in every state except:
Hawaii; Alaska; West Virginia; or Coronavirus has been detected in all 50 states plus D.C.
5. True or false? If you've had coronavirus, you likely become immune to getting it again, at
least for a while.
6. There are perhaps millions of viruses, but only 6,828 have been officially named, including
the cause of the current pandemic which is: MRSA; MERS; SARS COV-2; or COVID-19
7. This herbal cold remedy has been shown to shorten the course of coronavirus infection:
Echinacea; Oil of Oregano; Elderberry Extract; or No supplement has been shown to
prevent or treat the coronavirus
SPEAKER THANK YOU:
Rotary is global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders and problem solvers who see
a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change. From literacy and peace,
to water and health, we are always working to better our world, and we stay committed to the
end. In honor of your presentation today, we will make a donation to Rotary’s official disaster
relief partner, Shelter Box, which provides emergency shelter to families devastated by natural
disaster and conflict around the world. Thank you!
IN CLOSING
• Next week’s speaker will be Mick Sterling, local musician and founder of the 30 days
foundation, which helps Minnesota families and individuals in real life financial distress by
providing one time payments to landlords and other service providers
• And we have some awesome events tentatively planned for our May calendar I want to
highlight.
• First, on May 14th, we have rebooked Jon Kaufman, from H20 Open Doors, and he’lll be
flying in from California to talk about some of his recent projects with the SunSpring solar
and wind powered water purification system, including a recent installation at the Escuintla
National Hospital in Guatemala, where our friends Dr. Menendez and Dr. Posadas are working
through their own coronavirus epidemic in that country. Remember these little systems can
crank our 10,000 gallons of purified water a day!
• On May 27th, we will have our vocational offsite meeting at the Discovery Nexus Center at
the University of Minnesota, brought to you by University of Minnesota Alumni Board
Member and our own Mark Jessen.
• The Discovery Nexus is a tech incubator that brings University faculty, staff, and students
together with businesses, entrepreneurs, and economic development leaders to form new
collaborations, advance University innovations, and promote economic development.
• The 30,000-square-foot space houses several University units that all share an emphasis on
collaboration. Among these are the U of M Alumni Association, the U of M Foundation, the
Office for Technology Commercialization, the Office for University Economic Development,
Educational Technology Innovations, and the Technological Leadership Institute.
• Then to cap off a great May, on the evening of May 28th, we will be headed to the Walker Art
Center for private tours of the sculpture gardens and the permanent collection.
As we close today’s meeting, I’d like to share a quote from John Fitzgerald Kennedy, also
known affectionately as JFK, our 35th president of the United States.
President Kennedy said:
The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for
danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger, but recognize the
opportunity.
There is opportunity here, right now, for all of us. For our professions. For our club. For our
members. And for our humanitarian mission both locally and around the world.
As you go about your week, remember that that together, we see a world where people unite
and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in
ourselves, as Rotary pursues its mission to connect the world in meaningful ways.
Thank you again everyone for tuning in to this week’s broadcast of ROTARY TV. Be safe, be
well, and have a great week. Meeting adjourned!