Next Meeting July 22, 2026- President Ryan R. called the next weekly meeting in person and Zoom at The Marsh, 15000 Minnetonka Blvd, Minnetonka, MN.
New Pictures - Send to michaelcglover@comcast.net. [Ed.]
****** See Education, Social and Service Activities Below *****
From the Members and Archives
IMPORTANT UPDATE to Upcoming Events Below
Important - Check with meeting leaders to confirm date, time and location information for all events below.
Happy Bucks and Polio Pitcher Donations
Please send your Happy Buck and Polio Pitcher donations to Mac H. as follows:
Mac Hardin
Minnetonka Rotary Club
12926 Rutledge Circle
Minnetonka, MN 55305
Rotary International Foundation
Please send your end of year donations to Chris Rosenlund as follows:
Chris Rosenlund
8672 Meadowvale Drive Eden Prairie, MN 55347
Meeting Minutes
President Ryan Rydell called the meeting to order at 7:31.
Guests
Lisa McDonald from the Excelsior Rotary.
Invocation
Scott Brink gave the invocation with the focus on the level of gratitude created by the Minnetonka Rotary and its members.
Pledge
Everyone.
4-Way Test
Everyone.
International Theme
Create Lasting Impact.
Paul Harris Awards
Chris awarded a Paul Harris plus 6 to Lenny Newman.
Announcements
Nancy D. - announcement of a walking tour of the Collins nature are at 1:00 PM this coming Saturday.
Mike G. - update on continuing activity of the Golf committee. Also several opportunities to fill back packs at Resource West on 8/15, 8/21 and 8/22.
Pete G. – event in Hopkins for kids to work sculpting clay.
Bob H. - indicating there will be a special event held at the Hopkins Center for the Arts regarding the birthday of the 203’d birthday of Harley H. Hopkins the founder of Hopkins.
Ron U. - presented the Rotarian of the year of 2026 to Mike Glover.
Chris C. - gave an update on the sponsors for the Golf event and indicated that Hopkins Collision One will be one of the sponsors and Doran has agreed to sponsor the food for the event.
Ryan R. - thanked Lenny Newman for joining the Foundation Board, and indicated that there is one more position open if anyone is interested.
New Member Induction
None this week.
Rotary Minute
None this week.
Raffle
Jennifer St, Clair had the winning ticket for the raffle, but did not draw the jocker.
Foundation Award Checks or Thank Yous
None today.
Happy Bucks
Rebecca S. – She was at the Regional Council of Mayor’s on Monday and Eden Prairie mentioned that the volunteers from Rotary at their elementary schools what a bright spot in what is happening. Secondly last week Minnetonka received an award from the League of Minnesota Cities for the deployment and procedures for the drone project.
Annika M. – spent a week with her husband and girl friends at the cabin and had a great time.
Bob H. – Thanks for the help with the Strive program and wanted to thank Lenny for helping get some great seats at the Twins Game.
Glen J. – Got an applause from indicating he would not be here next week due to the fact that he is taking his 10 family members on an Alaska Cruise.
Jim M. – Just came back from a two-week trip to Ireland, France and England. His daughter Abby got a job at the Spanish emersion school she attended. His son Jack is an actor and just did a film and at the Roosevelt Island Film Festival in New York and was awarded the best actor.
Jennifer S. - Wanted to also complement Mike Glover for work assisting the Hopkins School Education Foundation and all of the other great volunteer work he has done.
Mike G. – Wanted to thank Ron and Jennifer for their kind comments and he just got back from a trip with his daughter hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Lenny N. – Gave an update on the standings of his favorite team, the Minnesota Twins, including being tied for a wild card spot.
Florian N. – Via zoom, she indicated she had a hip replacement and had a significant recovery period ahead.
Frank B. – Comment on how great the MN Lynx team was and Cheryl Reaves is now is the most winning women’s basketball coach in the country.
Ryan R. – Just came back from a great fishing trip in Canada.
Program
Nancy Davis vocational:
Nancy indicated she was going to deviate from the typical power point presentation used in a vocational, and indicated that we all wear different hats in our lives and she will be using three hat’s to cover her career.
Her first hat was a white nurses had. From her days in high school as a candy stripper she has always been interested in being a nurse. In 1972 she received a BA in nursing from Gustavus. Her first job was at Hennepin County Medical Center when they had a conglomeration of buildings in downtown Minneapolis. Learned a lot about the seamy side of life.
Four years later the family moved to Rochester, and I worked for Mayo Clinic in the oncology department. She worked there for five years, in in 1982 the family moved to Maryland. She worked at hospital in the urology floor. Several years later they moved to Florida worked in oncology for a while, which she did not especially like, so looked for a job in the newspaper and saw a opening for a cardiology research coordinator. She had no real idea what that job was, but decided to reply, and got the job. She spent four years working in that area. Her boss at the time suggested that she should look at going back to school. And at her suggestion she did and got her masters degree in 1998.
Then took a job with a private cardiology firm in Florida. In 2007, she decided to again go back to school and worked on her Doctorate in Nursing Practice, and about half-way through the program change her major to Public Health. In 2011 they moved back to Minnesota and took a position at University of Minnesota Health at Southdale. At one point one of the doctors asked why she was not working in the area of electrophysiology. He took her under his wing and she worked for about two years in that area. In 2015 she decided to retire from work.
Which lead to hat # 2, a bicycle helmet. When she turned 50 she decided to buy a bike and start biking. She was invited by a friend to do a bike trip in Orogen. Since then she has biked across Orogen 5 times, Iowa 9 times, Minnesota 9 times Virginia 12 times also in Florida, Nebraska, California, France, Italy, Costa Rica, Croatia and Canada.
Her third hat was her Rotary hat. She has been involved in Rotary since 2014. Was President of the Minnetonka Rotary in 2018 and 2019. Was on the District Global grant committee for several years. Took a Rotary trip to Honduras twice. She also went to India on a World Polio trip. She has gone tin India, Vietnam and Egypt as well as the World Rotary conference in Atlanta and Toronto. She decided to make Rotary her “charity of choice”, and has been very pleased with the difference Rotary makes in people’s lives.
***
Beth Young and Scott Brink gave a presentation on the Strive Program that is being done in cooperation with the Excelsior and Edina Rotary clubs and the need for mentors or speakers.
Adjournment
Terry S.
Member Submissions
From Nancy D:
The walk through Cullen Nature Preserve is scheduled for Saturday, July 18, at 1:00 PM. It will be led by Jerrold Gershone who recently spoke to our club. A final signup sheet with meeting details will be circulated on July 15.
For now, please mark your calendar.
For questions, contact Nancy Davis at nancydavisrn@hotmail.com
***********************
From Mark Marlin and the Grief Club:
Dear Friend,
Every day, children, teens, young adults, and their caregivers are learning how to carry the weight of grief while finding their way forward.
At The Grief Club of Minnesota, we witness their courage as they share their stories, support one another, and rediscover hope. As we reach more grieving kids and families, our community continues to come together in meaningful ways to surround them with care and support.
Because of the generosity of those who believe in our mission, all services are provided by skilled licensed counselors at no cost to the families we serve, helping remove barriers to high quality mental health care.
In this edition of The Club Connection, we’re sharing what’s coming up, including our summer grief camp, school staff trainings, upcoming golf event, community gatherings, and ways to get involved.
Whether you are a grieving family, community partner, supporter, or sponsor, we invite you to be part of the healing.
Pizza With A Purpose
The pizza truck is coming to our parking lot! Join us for a relaxed evening of fresh, wood fired pizza, games, connection, and community. Grief Club families are invited to bring loved ones, community members are welcome to join us, and learn more about how we support grieving kids and families.
In response to growing requests from school communities, The Grief Club of Minnesota will offer two trainings designed to help school staff strengthen their ability to support grieving students. Led by founders Cara Mearns-Thompson and Sarah Kroenke, who bring more than 50 years of combined experience, the sessions will share practical strategies for responding to student grief and fostering supportive school environments.
Mark your calendar for an inspiring evening celebrating hope, connection, and the power of community, all in support of vital grief resources for children and families. We will be accepting sponsorships along with live and silent auction donations to help make this meaningful event possible.
All are invited to an evening of reflection, love, and light as we gather to remember family and friends who have gone before us and honor those who have supported us along our grief journey.
The evening will feature a dedication program, outdoor tree lighting, music, mingling, warm beverages, sweet treats, and cookie decorating.
We are grateful to be a trusted resource for providers and partners throughout the state who support families navigating grief.
There are many ways to receive support and to offer it to others. Whether you attend an event, become a sponsor, share our mission, or make a gift, you help ensure that no one has to navigate grief alone.
Thank you for being part of a community that shows up with compassion when it matters most!
With hope, Sarah Kroenke Executive Director, Co-Founder, and Grief Counselor The Grief Club of Minnesota
From Alexa R. -
From Frank B. -
Frank, I wanted to follow up and say THANK YOU for the opportunity to present this morning. Shannon and I had a great time and we really appreciated the engaging questions afterwards. We can tell you have a thoughtful and passionate group which is what is needed to drive community impact! You inspired us to check out our own communities' local Rotary chapters.
I wanted to follow up with a few resources from our presentation today since members were requesting more information and we didn't have our business cards on hand. If you are open to it, do you mind sharing the following resources with your members so that they can reach out with their follow ups? A few members that we spoke to afterwards are so well connected in relevant statewide organizations, we would love to connect and get further information!
