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 at 7:30.
Guests
James’ wife, Sara. Megan from Chops Music. Ben Maxwell. Our speaker Anne with the U of M.
Invocation
Invocation by Mike G; He is happy to be re-reading great books with uplifting thoughts, this particular, paragraph, abbreviated, from John Steinbeck’s, Travels with Charlie:
“A trip, and a life, is entirely different from all other journeys. It has personality and uniqueness. Plans and safeguards are fruitless. After years of life, we find that we do not take a trip, a trip takes us. Schedules and reservations dash themselves on unplanned events. Once recognized, we relax and go along with it. In this, a journey is like a marriage; the certain way to be wrong is to think you can control it”
Pledge
Everyone.
4-Way Test
Everyone.
International Theme
Create Lasting Impact.
Paul Harris Awards
None this week.
Announcements
Mike G. on the Fundraiser. It’s only 3 weeks away. The next Planning Meeting is on Tuesday, Aug 25th at 6:00 PM at Hopkins Auto Body. There will be a Hole-in-One contest this year, with thanks to Ron and Mary for sponsoring it.
Also, for Chris R, be sure to get your golfer’s (or other guests) names to Chris for easy check-in.
Beth Y. - We’re getting more active with STRIVE. Excelsior is the parent club, but a meeting on Wednesday, Aug 26th at 8:30 right after our meeting for those who have, or want to, volunteer for this year-long project. We roll out early in October. Please attend, at least to learn more.
Alexa R. - We will have a Sunset Nature Center clean-up on Thursday, Aug 27th from 1:00-4:00. Contact Alexa for location and details.
Ron U. and Mary T. - Mentoring re-starts about Oct with the Forest Hills elementary EP school. Also a year-long program. You have very good control of scheduling and what grade you’d like. Contact Joel Knorr at 952-975-8600 or Joel_Knorr@edenprairie.k12.mn.us for more info.
Jen S. - look for the Fundraiser volunteer sign-up email; many slots are filling up nicely, but let’s make it 100%.
Sara E. - there will be a tour of the Burwell House at Mtka Mills on Tuesday, Sept 29at 4:30. Also, keep responding to the speaker surveys each week.
New Member Induction
None this week.
Rotary Minute
None this week.
Raffle
Our long-time member Rick Ellingson, (and more sightings lately) had the ticket, but no chicken dinner. Good to see you Rick, the more often the better.
Foundation Award Checks or Thank Yous
Megan thanked us for another $1000 donation for their steel drum music school and performances. It really helps their annual expenses. They help keep kids responsible and resilient. Their camps are successful, and often 140 or more kids on stage. Most are under 18 years old, and from many backgrounds and schools. Many go on to something greater.
Darrin, the head of music, put on a performance today.
Happy Bucks
With Dale F. - he starts us off with a quote from Allan Greenspan, that we are often subject “irrational exuberance”. (Unexplained Happiness). To Wit, Lenny remains an exuberant Twins fan, despite the ups and downs (more ups lately) and we’re in the hunt for a Wild Card spot.
James W. - for Mark Magney’s efforts with Rotary Exchange. In fact, Constanza (Connie) arrives to the airport today, and James and Sara will be her first host family.
Terry S. - for his and spouse 63rd wedding anniversary. Congratulations! On your way to forever!
Phil H. - met with his daughter and grandson (in, or from?) Denver. Hiking and time in Minnesota.
Annika M. - in contrast to Terry’s 63rd anniversary, they are celebrating their FIRST. Both are great.
Andy L. - He moved his daughter to UNC Wilmington for college. Very hot and humid, and only 1 cockroach seen. He’ll be bike riding with Free Bikes for Kids soon.
Terry J. - for her birthday, for Up North with friends at a cabin.
Rebecca S. - to Michigan with recent friends she’s met along the way.
Shauna K. - for working on 2 cases with the MN Supreme Court. Also, time at the Apostle Islands
Beth Y. - reminding us to watch her music group, Rosie Daze, at the State Fair on 8/29 and 8/30, They will have 3 30-minute sets at 12:30, 1:30 and 2:30 each of those days at the West End Stage.
Lenny N. - for a great Twins game day with his wife Terry, and Mark and Becky Forsland.
Mark F. - also happy for receiving his 7th Paul Harris award. And also, Mark on Zoom, for the excellent work Lenny did in easy Twins access and great seats.
Program
Anne (last name?) from the U of M Master Hennepin Gardeners Program. There was a wealth of detail today about this long-standing and growing program. The U is divided into the College, and many other efforts like this in the Extension Program.
The list of programs is huge; 4H, food preservation, natural resources, research, volunteers, the Landscape Arboretum, demonstration gardens.
The Leadership team organizes MG’s in 70 0f 84 Minnesota counties. There are 3950 volunteers in the state and over 1000 in Hennepin alone. 200 new ones just this year. What is the Master Gardener Program? It helps dispels rumors and old traditions from true data research on what really works, and the changes that are constant. People in all the sites learn from each other. More recently, the various world cultures are introducing brand new seeds and foods.
The list goes on; public education at the State Fair, speakers, even in other languages, classes for people with challenges, school yard gardens, Farmer’s Markets in the summer, donations to food shelves, (over 14,000 pounds per year), rehabilitating lost and unused gardens, rain gardens, healing gardens, plant sales.
In the big and long-term picture, climate, pollination, plant biodiversity, clean and ample water are helping areas far beyond Minnesota. Volunteers give 50 hours on the ground and take 25 hours of education every year. What an effort right at home to teach people how to grow food properly, and knowledge of our environment.
Thank you, Anne, for representing all this volunteer work, and how wide-ranging is the University of Minnesota’s work.
Adjournment
Submitted by Bob Hersman.
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!
