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
Meeting called to order by President Ryan.
Guests
Lisa McDonald from the Excelsior Rotary.
Invocation
Invocation by Cathy P. - Value your moments, each one can be transformational. They are important whether they are exhilarating or anxious. We can learn or be changed by them even they seem small at the time. Participate in the process of your moments.
Pledge
Everyone.
4-Way Test
Everyone.
International Theme
Create Lasting Impact.
Paul Harris Awards
None this week.
Announcements
Beth Y. - on our upcoming work with STRIVE. We need volunteers to speak and mentor these junior and senior high school students. There will be an organizational session in our room on Wednesday Aug 26th after our regular meeting. We need at least 3 more mentors for the every 2-weeks sessions, and always need vocational talks. One special need would be a member, or recent, of the military to talk of that option. The roll-out meeting will be about October 8.
Bob H. - on the constant need for blood donations. Mike Cooper of the Excelsior Club will be here next week to promote their drive on Sept 9; the Minnetonka Club date is November 12. Mike has been very involved in planning larger blood drives; perhaps our 2 clubs, and greater Rotary, can begin making some headway in reducing the shortage of blood.
New Member Induction
None this week.
Rotary Minute
None this week.
Raffle
Mark Magney had the ticket, but not the Joker. The odds were low with a new deck. Play On!
Foundation Award Checks or Thank Yous
None today.
Happy Bucks
Glen J. - for some relief from the hot weather we’ve been having.
Bill S. - for some family time at the cabin, good food and drink, and relaxation.
Chris R. - for up close and photo-ops with the Stanley Cup. Also excited for some rare walk-off Twins wins lately, including a ‘backs to the wall” Grand Slam.
Program
Vocational for one of our new members, Jim Rice.
Jim was actually a previous Rotarian, in a most unusual place, Moscow Russia in 1995-96. He has been involved in world-wide health care organizing, in several types of work, which he refers to as “Seeking, Stumbling, and Summarizing”.
For 15 years, he helped establish hospitals and clinics in many countries. He also, and later, was into the financing and reform of health care in Latin America and Eastern Europe. His latest word evolved to leadership, and in increasing the role of women practitioners, mainly with Allina.
He concluded by saying it’s not easy around the world these days, with weather and food, and the reality of political violence and genocide. He has experienced how what he does, and what Rotary does, are closely aligned. The world needs Security, Financing, and Resilience, and Rotary is one huge way that these problems can be improved upon.
Now that he is more Minnesota based, he thought a return to Rotary was a nice fit, and we’re fortunate he chose our club. We’re glad you are with us, Jim
Club Service talk today, to dig into the status of our Links and Libation fundraiser, coming up very soon on Sept 10. Several members in the planning roles updated their committees work and HIGHLY encouraged the entire club to RAMP IT UP, with about 5 weeks to go.
Jerald reminded us that it’s our One Big Fundraiser, and our goal is $45,000 NET.
Chris R, on Sponsors; we are happily about $20,000 sponsored towards the goal, with commitments from Restwell Mattress, Hopkins Auto Body, Doran, Team Babka, Jewelry Works, Kingdom Legacy, and Ellingson Accounting. Keep asking for sponsors, just use the QR code on the brochure to register and pay. Chris is glad to help if they need any help.
Annika talked about the need to use social media, especially Facebook, and get the word out to your contacts. She’s been selling raffle tickets on-line, with payments coming in through Zelle.
Tracy, on baskets and silent auction items. We’re all responsible for sharing the load on baskets and to bring a bottle of wine or spirits to the meetings. Also, Hopkins Auto Body and Carpet 1 are available as a place to bring them. We need upwards of 100 items for the silent auction, whether items or experiences. Or just cash. Tracy will help buy the auction items.
We’re expanding the event this year to include families, friends and kids to attend, even if not golfing. More people, more bidders.
Bill tells us that we are VERY well supplied in the Libations category. Many, many ounces are in hand.
Jennifer is in charge of volunteers, and all are needed. Marching orders will be given out as we get closer to the date. It always takes the entire club’s involvement, from selling raffle tickets, to all the sale items, and especially signing up sponsors. As one member said, “You’re not selling a raffle ticket, you’re supporting local and worldwide needs”.
Adjournment
Bob H.
Member Submissions
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.
Healing Hearts Soirée
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.
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!
