Reminder - Due to the present public health concerns and Governor Walz Executive Orders regarding social distancing, President Stacey Q. cancelled our Wednesday morning weekly meetings until further notice. Ed.
March 27, 2020 - President Stacey Q. and the Board met via teleconference. She directed that The Spoke continue "publishing." Ed.
Continuing the Spoke -For the near future, in the absence of reporting on weekly meetings, The Spoke will instead feature weekly member submitted notes, comments, thoughts, pictures, ideas and other items focused on Rotary ideals, members activities and community issues. This includes Happy Bucks (put your dollar in jar to contribute when we meet again soon), announcements, Rotary Minute and other meeting like thoughts. Please share what you can by sending them to The Spoke editor by email at michaelcglover@comcast.net. You can share anonymously if you like. Let the editor know.
"It's more important to be useful than to be important." Joe Soucheray.
Ed.
From the Archives
Christine L. and Chris R.
Mark Magney and Scott J.
Regina R. and a baby.
From the Archives
Little Rundquists
Lenny N.
Darlyne E. and Pete G.
IMPORTANT UPDATE to Upcoming Events Below
Important - Check with meeting leaders to confirm date, time and location information for all events below.
The Minnetonka Rotary Foundation meeting scheduled for April 2 has been moved to an online format. The club calendar on our website has been edited to reflect this change. Board members have been given the online login information. Unfortunately, we will not be able to easily accommodate club members who would like to attend as observers. The minutes of all MRF meetings are posted under Club Documents on the club website.
Volunteering - Jennifer S.
There are still opportunities available to engage with our community of nonprofits from a distance.
Below are several links related to the groups we support on a regular basis.
It has come to our attention that residents of Dow Towers, a 76-unit government subsidized apartment building for low income/disabled/elderly citizens at 22 5th Avenue South, Hopkins, are in dire need of toilet paper, paper towels, hand sanitizer, hand soap, and cleaning products (dish soap, cleaning soap, sponges, bleach wipes, gloves) due to the corona virus pandemic. These residents have low income with most living on SS benefits alone. Many are imnuno-compromised or disabled and most are elderly. Some receive food delivery from our partner ICA twice monthly and some receive SNAP ("food stamps") which can extend purchasing power but cannot be used to purchase non-food items. Most have very limited transportation options which are further compromised by the need for social distancing. Due to toilet paper hoarding, the small packages that they can normally afford to purchase are no longer on the shelves. Kayle Dietrich, the ROSS Director at Dow, and Cindy Moy, a former Minnetonka Rotarian who is on the Hopkins Corona Virus Response Team, have asked for our help. The request was reviewed at our Board meeting March 27. No official action was taken but if you would like to contribute any of the above mentioned items, I will be parked in the Eisenhower Community Center parking lot Wednesday mornings starting April 1 from 7:30-8:30 AM. You can toss the items in my car and I will deliver them to Dow. If you prefer to make a financial contribution, I will go shopping on your behalf. Cindy is a Target employee and offered her discount to make your dollars go farther. Nancy Davis (352-870-0717)
Minnesota Governor Walz - Emergency Executive Order 20-20 Directing Minnesotan to Stay at Home - Ed.
Here is a link to what Governor Walz ordered on March 25, 2020 regarding allowed and not allowed activities:
Relevant to our club, please note section (bb) on page 9 related to "Charitable and social services organizations."
Happy Bucks
Ann W. - 1. After having our house on the market these past two weeks, 30 showings, we signed a purchase agreement. We close on May 5. Our new home won’t be finished till Oct. 2 I called Nancy Davis to see if she was looking for a temporary roommate, she said no, but knew of a condo that was ready to be rented in her building. 3. Jon and I went and looked at the condo and signed the lease this morning. We are no longer homeless! 4. Our family is healthy!
Bonny W. - Typically my independent 26-year-old daughter connects with us just here and there, and usually by text. But now she’s using the phone to check on us – and regularly! (On the sad news front, she’s unemployed now.)
Frank B. - I bought a new Honda Insight from Hopkins Honda last Saturday (the salesperson and I kept our distance), and I gave my 10-year old Insight (which is still quite reliable) to a nurse friend of mine who badly needed a more reliable car. She’s working full time at an assisted living place in St. Paul. A good happy buck. Hopkins Honda is still very much servicing cars, and their sales force is working on how to do its job most effectively in the coming weeks.
Mark Magney. - One sad buck…. We brought Pau to the airport on Sunday (3/22) to send him home to Spain. Rotary Youth Exchange received a notice from the US State Department to send all exchange students home as soon as possible. He was arguably safer staying with us, however I know his biological parents are happy to see him at home. We spoke to Pau and his father on Monday and he made it home safely (24 hours of flying and layovers). If anyone would like to send him an email you can use: pauv2011@gmail.com
Lenny N. - 1) My entire family is healthy, thankfully, specifically my wife Terry, our daughter Jennifer, her husband Derek, and their two children Alivia and Eric, our son Evan and his significant other Bailey.
Bill S. - Three Happy Bucks: 1. Today my daughter Annika is 25. 2. Our company is still open till Monday and as of now everyone is health. 3. For the pleasure of knowing Pau, so sorry he had to go back to Spain early. Great person!!!
Bob H. - For me, I’m doubly housebound with a sprained ankle, which maybe got me home from AZ earlier and more safely. Airline really came through. In the few times I’m out, I’m grateful that there seems an extra minute to actually greet and talk to people, from the 10 ft distance of course. Will we still hug, even shake hands one day? I hope so. And if we’re apart now, I’m grateful to see my grandson on FaceTime every day.
