The Northwest Alliance is a multi-year collaboration between Allina Health and HealthPartners that is a learning lab for Accountable Care Organizations. It serves more than 300,000 people who receive care at five Allina Health clinics, four HealthPartners clinics, Mercy Hospital and its affiliated specialists in the northwest suburbs of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area.Since it was launched in 2010, the Northwest Alliance has implemented or expanded more than 50 initiatives. From prevention to end-of-life, services benefit patients in inpatient, outpatient and community-based settings. Patrick Lytle is Director of the Northwest Alliance and will speak to Coon Rapids Rotary about this initiative and its impact on the community.
Twin Cities Gateway pitching the north metro’s growing role in hospitality and sports tourism
Al Stauffacher, Sports Marketing Director for Twin Cities Gateway speaks to Coon Rapids Rotary on October 30, 2017.
According to Al Stauffacher, Sports Marketing Director for Twin Cities Gateway, it all about "heads in beds", the industry expression for measuring hotel occupancy and by extension the associated dollars that come with those travelers. Twin Cities Gateway is a hospitality and marketing consortium for 9 cities in the north metro, including Anoka, Blaine, Coon Rapids, Fridley, Ham Lake, Lino Lakes, Mounds View, New Brighton and Shoreview. The group relies on local lodging taxes to support it's mission of promoting the region as a destination for tourism. There are a total of 23 hotels and motels in the region that make up the network of lodging establishments and Coon Rapids has the largest share of rooms. And these days, sports tourism is big business. In fact, it is the #1 form of tourism in the travel and leisure industry.
What exactly is sports tourism? It is a type of tourism that focuses on sports and recreation. In the north metro area, much of the attention has been focused on the National Sports Center in Blaine, which is the world's largest amateur sports facility, attracting 4 million visitors every year. However, there are other sports and recreation assets in the region that attract people too. Among the facilities are a 150 ball fields, 16 indoor ice rinks, 10 golf courses, 19 sand volley ball courts, 8 indoor pickleball courts and many other recreational opportunities - not the least of which includes Bunker Hills Regional Park and the Mississippi River. Locally, Coon Rapids continues to have some of the most sought-after venues, including Coon Rapids Ice Center (home to the Blue Ox); Sand Creek Sports Complex; the athletic facilities at the Anoka-Ramsey Community College; the Soccer Complex and the legendary Bunker Hills Golf Course.
The Twin Cities Gateway continues to attract major sporting events, including the USA Cup soccer tournament; the 3M Championship; the Schwann Cup high school hockey tournament; and some lesser-known, but equally impressive events such as tUSA Olympic Curling, USA Rugby and the USA Ultimate Frisbee Championship. We don't often think of these events as economic drivers, but they are and Twin Cities Gateway is doing its part to promote the sports tourism opportunities in our area.
Thanks to Al Stauffacher for his presentation and to Matt Stemwedel for arranging the program.
Speaking of Programs
By the way, we need help on programs. Matt is digging into his Rolodex for many of these programs - it's time for the rest of us to step up and help out. Reach out and offer not just ideas, but your time to make a few calls. Talk with Matt about open dates. Thanks!
Guests Last Week
Special thanks to Marv Sorvala (Roseville Rotary Club) and Dan O’Connell, partner in the firm of Tuft, Lach, Jerabek, & O’Connell, PLLC (guest of Letty Van Ert) for attending our meeting as guests this past week. It was great to have new friends "in the house" and at the table. By the way, that's a little nudge for the rest of us to take that risk and invite someone else to Rotary. Sure, we're always looking for new members. However, expanding our network, meeting new people and telling our Rotary story - without any agenda, other than friendship - is good too. Give it a try.
Community Events
In the past couple of weeks, various members of our club and the organizations they work for and support, held events. The Emma B. Howe YMCA (Margie Rask) held its fundraiser last month and this past week Mediation Services for Anoka County (Carol Markham-Cousins and Kelli Gustafson) held their fundraiser. Border State Bank (Erik Hegg) had an open house last week too. We hope the events were successful and that there was a Rotary presence in one form or another. This is part of what we do as Rotarians - serving the community and supporting each other.
It’s never too late to take a moment and say "Thanks"
Joseph F. Ambrose (1896-1988); World War I Veteran
This coming Saturday, November 11th is Veteran's Day. It marks the 98th annual commemoration of what started as Armistice Day and today is known as Veteran's Day. On this occasion, it is easy to overlook the significance of the day - to view it as just another holiday - time off from work or school, a time to do something else. We focus on everyday things and forget about the reason to recognize our veterans. And, we often forget something more important, to seek out a veteran and say "Thanks". So, let's do something different this year. But how did it start?
After 4 years of bloody conflict, the Allies and Germany signed The Armistice in 1918. While peace talks had been underway for several months, the final document was signed in the early morning hours of November 11th to take effect later that day at 11 AM local time. It ended formal hostilities on the European Western Front, at the 11th hour, of the 11th day of the 11th month. Known at the time as the Great War, it was the hope of many to be the War to End all Wars. Sadly, that turned out not to be the case. The human toll was immense: 39 million lives lost, wounded or missing-in-action, on all sides of the conflict, military and civilian combined.
The U.S. had entered the war effort, albeit reluctantly, in April 1917 and by the time of the peace accord 18 months later, more than 4 million men and women had been sent to Europe; 116,516 of them never returned home. At the same time, the largest public health crisis (influenza pandemic) struck the planet, sickening 500 million people worldwide and killing nearly as many as the Great War. A weary country was trying to cope, recover and make sense of it all.
One year after the Armistice was signed (98 years ago this week), President Woodrow Wilson marked the occasion with a proclamation to the nation, which read in part:
To us in America the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with - solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service, and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of nations.
In 1926, Congress passed a resolution declaring the date a national observance. By 1938, Armistice Day became a national holiday and in 1954 Congress changed the name to Veteran’s Day. It is a day to recognize all military veterans, including those who died in service to the country, those who survived and/or are still alive today. According to the U.S. Census Bureau there are 18.8 million veterans (2015 figures). Of this number, 9.3 million are older than age 65, while 1.6 million are under age 35. As you might recall from a Rotary program earlier this year, there are 22,000 veterans living in Anoka County.
Thanking a veteran is something many of us have probably thought about, but never done. Too much work...too awkward....too hard to find the right words. Regrettably, I fall into that camp. My grandfathers both served: One a 28 year-old German immigrant fought in World War I (wounded in action in France, awarded a Purple Heart); and another who served in World II. Unfortunately, both died before I was born. My dad served in the U.S. Army (101st Airborne, Screaming Eagles) in Korea, setting foot in the country the same day the "conflict" officially ended in 1953. I know the outlines of their stories, but never got the chance or took the time to say “Thanks”. This Saturday, November 11th, I plan to call my dad (Len, age 85 and still going strong) and say what's long overdue.
On Monday at Rotary, let’s take a moment during our meeting to acknowledge the veterans in our midst. In the meantime, see if you can do the same for a veteran in your life. And to those of you...in our club who are veterans: "Thanks" from all of us - it's never too late to say it.
