Pledge

 

 

Bill’s Vocation:

 

3^rd vocational. Born March 18, 1952. 69 years old. Never knows how he is going to feel when he gets out of bed! Told stories of his dad who was 100% Norwegian and a Republican and his mom who was 100% Irish and a Democrat which made for some interesting times in their home. He has two brothers, Tim and John. Bill is in business with his brother John. He grew up in Edina (Every Day I Need Attention)…he went to 3 different elementary schools because he was on a boarder line. Went to Edina High School. Went to college (managed to get out of going to Vietnam). 1972-threw all kinds of parties with his street gang. He has lifelong friends from his street gang. 25 of his buddies are going fishing for fishing opener. In 1976 he got his Bachelors in Administration. Out of college he painted houses, moved furniture, and did other types of work. He ended up getting into the furniture business and starting a company with his brother. For 49 years he has run CFS Commercial Services. He has had highs and lows with this business. He is not sure when he will retire but 80% of the time, he loves his job. First date March 17, 1974 with his wife. Funny fact, he dated his wife’s twin sister first! They have been married 37 years. He lives in Minnetonka and has had all kinds of pets and also had some kids along the way. Told us about his son who is in Afghanistan and his other son who just bought a house in Firestone. He is a phlebotomist and is going back to school to be a nurse. Daughter Annika. Ivy is their new golden retriever. They have a cabin way up north on the boarder of Canada. He loves to kayak, fish, hike, hunt, nap, travel, bible study, rotary, indulge in cocktails, walk.

 

Questions for Bill:

 

Char: Bill, what keeps you involved in rotary? Bill: Likes the members and service projects and the quality of people.

 

Lenny: What is the background on the cake eater? Bill: Proud to be a cake eater. They can have their cake and eat it too.

 

Chris: What road used to be highway 100? Bill: It used to be Normandale Blvd.

 

Sam: What do you see coming up for office furniture with how things are going? Bill: Some clients are going back to the cubes, they have been putting up screens lately, they do not really know but a lot of offices are starting to get people back in. It is going to be a tough couple years for this industry though.

 

Mark Magney: Explain to the group what the Caseathon that the 1^st Gang Group put on. Bill: We had a huge house and to get through the door you had to have a case of beer. Noon arrived and you had to drink as many beers as you could before the bus picked everyone up to go to the game.

 

Ron U. : Hwy 100 when it used to be a dirt road had a statue that said it was illegal to tie your horses there.

Dr. Bob: Highway 100 and Highway 7 were the first cloverleaf roads ever made.

 

Dr. Bob’s Vocation:

 

Bob has been in the club for a long time. His story started in Hopkins. 3 generations go back in this area. Shared stories of his dad. He wrote a book about his family and was able to do research back quite a way. He said our lives don’t have a beginning or an end. We are determined and influenced by those in our past. His father’s parents came from Bohemia. His mother’s grandparents were Czech and German. His mother and father lived next door to each other growing up. Bob was born in 1950. Middle of 5, born in the middle of the century. Hopkins in the 50’s was so fun. Lots of kids. Went to Saint Joseph’s. His parents, him and his kids all went there. Went to Benilde High School. Went to St John’s for college and studied pre-med and then went to the U. He was drawn to optometry. That career hit health care and gave independence and gave him a life purpose. Went to Oregon to study optometry. He used to drive from MN to Oregon. H got to meet all kinds of people and had many wonderful adventures. Every time he drove to and from there, he always took a different route. He moved back because he liked a woman named Vicki who he met at the eye clinic. They lived near each other when they were younger. He eventually married her. They have 2 boys and 2 girls.

 

He has many wonderful memories of optometry. He has done over 200k exams over the years. He learned so much about life from his career. Happy memories and sad ones. Many lifelong friendships were formed. Low vision is something he did that stood out. He started helping people with Macular Degeneration. He trained and did consulting on this practice and did conferences all over. He also was a professor teaching it for a while. It was something new he discovered. He was Optometrist of the Year in 1983. He also stumbled onto sports vision. Started with Vikings, then it was the Twins and U of M. His favorite player was Joe Mauer. In 2017 he transferred the business to the younger doctors. He still works a few days a week but pretty much is retired now. The clinic is still in good hands. He shows up there often to cause trouble. He loves golf even though he is not great at it. He wants to be available for whatever comes along. He wants to be there whenever his family and friends need him. He has gotten to travel a lot. Only has two states left to see. He loves being home and being with family because that is what is important. He has had a wonderful life and loves that the family roots are intertwined. He said to tell untold stories to your family so they can pass your story along.