Ben Durbin offered our invocation while Keith Olson was our song leader. Lori Larson called on our Student Guests from M State to introduce themselves: Lindsey Dierks, daughter of Rob and Loralee; Brittney LaPoint, daughter of Kurt and Coreen; and Erika Bullis, daughter of John and Lori. John MacFarlane began the introduction of clergy guests, with Doug Dent, Karen Anderson and Ed Morgan from Federated Church, present and past; Lori Larson introduced John Juhl from Stavanger Lutheran Church. On behalf of his table Wally Cole acknowledged Rotarian Ben Durbin from Augustana Lutheran Church, while Buzz Lundeen hosted Wes Gabel from Grace United Methodist Church.
There was a brief update on the just concluded rose sale, with all but three Rotarians having turned in their money by the end of the meeting; a full report next week. Ben Durbin passed around a sign-up sheet for Salvation Army bell ringing -- more on that later. We then headed into brags and fines, with Laurel Nelson happy that their business hired one of our student guests, Erika Bullis, as well as her twin brother, and noting they were great to have on staff. Mitzi Moe contributed from a couple weeks ago and for having to leave early; Mark Bring also had to leave early but before doing so apologized for missing the meeting with the District Governor and bragged about his son who plays on the Peewee A hockey team that traveled to Moorhead last week and beat their team. Steve Andrews bragged that he had visited his wife's new school in Manhattan (where the tuition is $29,000 a year, set to go to $32,000 next year) and the principal told him that Menghui was the most effective teacher she had ever seen. Hal Leland thanked this writer for his contributions to Rotary and also wanted to extend his greetings to Erika Bullis, who received the Hal Leland Family Scholarship.
Pete Wasberg then gave a thorough introduction of our speaker for the day, new Rotarian Brad Hoganson, also new President of Hillcrest Lutheran Academy. Brad graduated from Hillcrest in 1984 and worked at it in the 80's, 90's and the first decade of this century. He went on to accept calls to churches in Marysville, Washington, and Succasunna, New Jersey. Brad grew up in New Jersey and admitted he was a child who struggled in school. After his principal suggested a second year as a junior in high school might be a possibility Brad decided a change was needed and he recalled how he and his dad drove to Fergus Falls, with his father dropping him off at the front steps of Hillcrest with the admonition "I'll see you at Christmas." Through the students and teachers at the school, God became a part of Brad's life. He realized his calling while at the school when a speaker quoted a passage from Isaiah 6, "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" v. 8. Brad mentioned that while he was serving his home church in New Jersey he was a Rotarian and also complemented Nelson Auto on its wonderful staff and facility after visiting it the day before. He said there are three places that have been instrumental in his life: the church he grew up in, a camp in Pennsylvania, and Hillcrest. Before turning the program over to Wayne Stender, Brad told us that Hillcrest has been around for over 100 years and annually attracts students from 14 different countries.
Wayne is the Director of Recruiting, Marketing and Enrollment at Hillcrest and is a former Rotary Four Way Essay Test contest winner. Hillcrest's mission is to equip students for a life of eternal significance, building their minds (intellect), heart (wants) and stomach (cravings and virtues). The school's roots actually go back 112 years. Hillcrest was recently ranked in the top 30 Christian boarding schools in the nation, out of a total of 150 to 200 schools, with the survey examining how each school integrates faith and education into their program. Over 90% of last year's students planned on going onto a four year college/university, with their average ACT score a 25.1; Minnesota ranks in the top ten in the country in ACT scores and the statewide average last year was 21 or 22. Hillcrest brings in about 80 new students every year, with 30 of those students coming from Bergen, Norway. One of their coaches, Hannah (Draxten) Olson was recently told by a student, "I've never been in a place where so many people care about me in one location." The loyalty of their past students was clearly evident when Wayne related that every year about 10 to 20 Norwegian students take their February break in Norway to come back and visit the school. Hillcrest's core values are to build their students' faith, develop their intellect and strengthen their character. It emphasizes the three "C's", in one's approach and beliefs, those being Consistent with reality, Coherent, and Complete. Noting that Hillcrest sees faith as an essential element in equipping students and that they want students to have a trust and confidence in their faith, Wayne concluded by quoting Benjamin Rush, who in 1798 wrote, "The only foundation for a useful education in republic is to be laid in Religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments."