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Tim H. provided our invocation. Our only guest, Tom Meinhover, our speaker's father, was introduced. President Katie acknowledged Cody O's upcoming birthday on June 22 and then went into announcements. There will be no noon meeting on Wednesday, June 9th, since the day before we are encouraging members to volunteer at the Habitat for Humanity build and, on the 10th, we have our Duck Derby. As to the Habitat build, even if you can't volunteer that day, there is an opportunity for you to sign up and financially support the lunch for those that can make it. Jamie L. told us about a conversation he had with the peach grower and our concern about the quality of last year's crop; she explained to him that there was a bad freeze at exactly the wrong time in the growing process last year, resulting in the loss of all the real good growth but that they did not experience the same problem this year. With respect to the Duck Derby, post time is at 5:00 p.m. Brian T. told us he still has 600 undistributed tickets, and we really have to get busy selling them so we can race all 1000 ducks on behalf of those who purchased them. Why would a duck who has not been purchased really make any effort to succeed? We need to encourage our entire flock, so get busy selling! In brags and fines, Buzz L. rightfully was proud of having turned in $1,400 in sold Duck Derby tickets, with a total of 200 ducks sold and more money coming in; he has also already sold a dozen lugs of peaches. Hal L. filled five punches on his Fine and Brag card for missing the social and last week's meeting. Keith O. was back from a Canadian fishing trip to a lake whose name belied its productivity (Keith said not that of a furniture salesman, however), as Poverty Lake saw them catch hundreds of fish. Kathy A. reported that she and Steve will be at a conference in Iowa this week but wanted to say how much a pleasure it was to work with Katie both during her first and now second term as president of the club. Katie responded that every president should be so lucky to have Kathy in the secretarial role. Wally C. was proud of two family members graduating in June, as well as his and Marci celebrating their 61st wedding anniversary in between the commencement ceremonies, with all family having the chance to get together. Buzz introduced our speaker, Ted Meinhover, who is with the U.S. State Department and spoke to us when we were meeting at the YMCA some eight years ago about his post to China. Ted is a University of Minnesota graduate (note to UND and NDSU graduates: the University of Minnesota is so prestigious its name begs to be spelled out). As a high school student, Ted attended Rotary Youth Leadership Award camp in Crookston and he recalled forming a crush on a girl from Thunder Bay; he did not indicate if being separated from her forced him into joining the French foreign legion, or in this case, our State Department. He did say, however, that RYLA was a very formative experience and helped build his foundation for confidence. He has now completed fifteen years in foreign service. Ted told us that he spent the last three years at the embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia. Indonesia is twelve time zones away and celebrated its 75th year of independence from the Netherlands in 2024. Ted described the country as a "young democracy," having overthrown its dictator 19 years ago, but stating that there are some signs the situation is wavering. It did just hold elections,however, which were described as "free and fair." It is the fourth most populous country in the world and one of the biggest importers of soybeans from our country. Strategically located, our military has to sail between Indonesian islands to access the South China Sea. In 2001, the country had to deal with terrorism by a faction of the Muslim religion and Ted said its efforts in that regard were very successful at the time. The eastern islands of Indonesia contain some of the most biodiverse regions in the world and prior administrations of the U.S. government have worked very closely with Indonesia on environmental issues. Indonesia's flag looks very much like the emblem for the U.S. State Department as it features a Garuda (a mythical bird that looks like an eagle), with open wings. Ted described the foreign service as the face of America with its number one priority to protect American citizens. If, for example, an American citizen is jailed in another country, foreign service staff will make a visit to talk about the governing law and the rights they have in the country. It also provides commercial services to assist U.S. businesses in foreign countries. Another one of the jobs of embassy staffers is to try to convince foreign governments that they should support U.S. policies. There are 170 U.S. embassies around the world, all located in capital cities. The current Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has directed foreign service staff to answer three questions in representing our country's interests: 1) does it make us safer; 2) does it make us stronger; and 3) does it make us more prosperous. Foreign service staff are charged with the responsibility of finding out what is going on in the country they are working -- you don't want to be the one who missed the handwriting on the wall a week before there is a revolution. As a result, a big part of the job is to find experts on different matters facing the country. Technology and, in particular, artificial intelligence, is changing the world so they have to adapt to and use it to gather all the necessary information succinctly. When he applied for a position 15 years ago, Ted had to take a written test, which was described as a very competitive situation. Every three years foreign service staff (workers in Washington D.C. are called the State Department's civil service and take in all the information gathered by the foreign service and boils it down to formulate policy) you can look at a list of job openings and, if interested, compete for a posting. One has to apply for an assignment, then interview for the position, and then the people in Washington D.C. and the country's embassy will talk to see if the person would be a good fit. Ted's job usually focuses on political affairs, communicating the official line from Washington D.C. His next assignment, for two years, will be to Myanmar. Ted concluded his remarks by telling us that living in places like China and Pakistan have really driven home the importance of being able to hold our government accountable. He said civic organizations like Rotary are absolutely essential to maintaining our system, comparing it to China where there is a disincentive to being engaged. It was a great program and we thank Buzz and Ted for bringing it to us! |
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