Next Meeting July 29, 2026- President Elect Scott Nagel 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.
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
Scott Nagel was filling in for Ryan Rydell who is fishing in Canada called the meeting to order at 7:30.
Guests
Sorge & Liz Murer (Liz is Jennifer St. Clair’s older sister), Vick Benehi, and Ben from Hopkins Rotary.
Invocation
Mac Harden filled in for Bill Sorteberg and gave the invocation.
Pledge
Everyone.
4-Way Test
Everyone.
International Theme
Create Lasting Impact.
Paul Harris Awards
None this week.
Announcements
Mike G. update on the Golf Event on 9/10/26, and encouraged the club members to respond to the requests that will be coming forward to assist in making the fundraiser a success. Also he sent out a sign-up sheet for opportunities to fill back packs at Resource West on 8/15, 8/21 and 8/22.
Jerald S. e indicated that he would be passing out the raffle tickets with a minimum of two books for each club member. Be sure to sell as many books as possible, and be sure to return the stubs for full books sold or unsold as you sell them along with the funds from the tickets. He only wants full books until right before the event when he would take partial books, including any unsold tickets. If you sell tickets via Venmo please right the Venmo number on the back of the stub. Current sponsors are Restwell Mattress Factory, Dale Feste Automotive, Hopkins Auto Body, and Doran.
Chris Rosenlund indicated number one money maker is the raffle and the second is sponsorships. He has included a form for sponsorships on the web site, so be sure to download them and ask companies you know if they would be willing to be a sponsor.
Mark Marlin announced that the Summerfest event raised $6,015, which was above average from previous years.
New Member Induction
None this week.
Rotary Minute
None this week.
Raffle
There is $108 in the carryover from the raffle. Sorge Murer a guest had the ticket that was drawn, but did not draw the Joker.
Foundation Award Checks or Thank Yous
None today.
Happy Bucks
Bill S. – One happy buck for Mac filling in for the invocation and the second for being gone next week, but Pete will fill in for the food cooking.
Frank B. – Happy to be able to listen to all or the happy comments during Happy Bucks.
Tracy R. – helped on the pottery event for the kids organized by Pete, and it just turned out great.
Jerald S. – Had the privilege of being Rotarian of the Year and wanted to that everyone in the club for all the work they do.
Jim Martin – His father is 94 years old and still living with his 95 your old mother in the house he grew up in, and is obsessed with keeping active, so he had him over to his house and he cleaned the garage and pulled weeds in the garden.
Bob H. – He had is son and two grandkids in town and had a great time. The second is a public service announcement. A few days ago he was driving through an intersection, and out of the corner of his eye he saw a semi-truck moving and ended up running the red light, and he was able to stop just a couple of feet before the truck went in front of him, so everyone please pay close attention to what is going on around you when you are driving.
Liz Murer (Guest, & Jennifer’s sister) – She attended a Minnetonka Rotary meeting years ago and worked with Jennifer on a Byerly’s cart moving event and just loved doing it, so she joined a Rotary Club in Springfield, Ill and eventually was president and her husband
Jennifer S. – Feel’s Liz is the best sister in the world.
Pete G. – We were at the Raspberry Festival with a bunch of small children working in clay. He tried his best to corrupt them, but they appeared to have a great time, and we were asked to do it again at next year’s Raspberry Festival.
Lenny N. – This coming Friday he and his wife will be traveling to Chicago to visit his mom and dad and his sister.
Ron U. – Glad to be here and wanted to supplement Bob’s comment on safe driving. There are quite a number of seniors in Florida that when they back out of the garage turn on their left signal light since they know that they will use it sometime during the day.
Cathy C. – Her grandson that works for NASA is in town for a wedding, she commented that the go to more weddings than she thinks is possible.
Frank B. – So fun to hear everyone’s stories.
Program
AI presented by James Walton:
Key takeaways from presentation:
AI has taken a significant trajectory in its rollout. It has reached approximately half of the US population in just 3 years. About a quarter of population is using it on a daily basis. It is being incorporated into most software applications.
The current leader is ChatGPT, but there are others that are catching up or my be more useful in certain applications. James had a strong preference for using CLAUD.
AI can be a great time saver and beneficial use but does need some oversight and controls to keep it safe. There are other bad actors that may use AI for improper or illegal uses, so we all need to keep vigilant.
AI is a huge data base trained on a “Large Language Mode” that continues to evolve itself with new and expanding language. This large language model is not fact checked for accuracy, so AI includes data that is inaccurate and can lead to false results.
AI is not necessarily aware of recent events with out some prompting to explore that information. There is a prevailing approach called “human in the loop”, which essentially means that a human should monitor the outcome to avoid false or misleading results. You could always verify, confirm and then move forward. It is also important on how you ask the question and what parameters you give AI to use.
James suggested using a “Project definition” model where you clearly layout what the question or problem you are trying to address and what limits you put on the source and type of information AI uses to get to an end result. AI can help you develop that project definition, but you always need to modify that to meet your objectives.
Why is AI essential free or at a low cost. AI firms are essentially spending $2 for every $1 of revenue. James response was that it is a lost leader to both get people hooked on using AI as well as allowing AI to access a lot of information from you. Essentially you are the current product of AI, and it will eventually cost significantly more to use in the future.
There will be obvious future uses of AI to scam people, one of the current ones that concern James if voice cloning. It AI get’s ahold of as little as 3 minutes of your voice it can effectively clone someone’s voice, and use that voice to scam another person. He strongly recommends that if you get a call from someone you know that requests that you immediately help them by sending money, giving them your credit card excreta you tell the person you are going to hang up and call them directly to verify that it is truly them, of develop a code word that only your family knows that you can ask them if you get such a call.
Free vs paid for AI. If you are using a free version, there is essentially no privacy. Everything you say to the AI service will basically go into their database. If you use a paid version there is somewhat more privacy and ability to place guard rails on how the information can be used. The paid version also give you more options to build a “Project Memory Instructions” of the description of what you need with some guidance and limitations that give you a better end result.
Scott thanked James for the presentation and presented him with the typical items including the highly coveted Rotary Pen
Adjournment
Scott N. indicated we raised $19 for Polio and $69 from the raffle and adjourned the meeting at 8:30 AM
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.
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!
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