Next Meeting April 13, 2022 - President Nate R. called the next weekly meeting in person for April 13, 2022 at 7:30 a.m. at Eisenhower Community Center Board Room, Hopkins, Minnesota.
Please see President Nate R.'s upcoming email with the meeting location and mode. Ed.
New Pictures - Send to michaelcglover@comcast.net. Ed.
From the Members and Archives
Paul Harris award winner.
Student food packing service event in Wayzata.
Polar Plunge 2022.
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 - Chris Rosenlund
President Nate called the meeting to order at 7:32 am
Guests
Christina Newman and Maria ? from The Minnesota State Fair; a returning guest from the previous week (didn't catch the name - potential member).
Invocation
The Invocation was presented by Bob H.
What is Our Rotary International Motto? "Everyone?" Service Above Self
Did you know, in fact, at the 1st RI convention in 1910, there were TWO mottos adopted;
Service Above Self and One Profits Most Who Serves Best.
Service Above Self probably rolls off the tongue easier, but they are both official Rotary mottoes.
Either way, from the very beginning of Rotary, we are a Service Organization. Certainly, we Mtka Rotarians
enjoy our fun and friendship, but Service is our M.O., our Modus Operandi.
Service is Rotary's characteristic, it's how we roll. It is a long-established trait, it's in our DNA.
I like phrases, aphorisms, pithy little sayings that that quickly state what's on our mind, and in our hearts.
In terms of service and giving, you see them everywhere;
In songs; "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine"
In speeches; "Ask NOT what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
In scripture; "It is more blessed to give than to receive:"
In literature, from Mark Twain: "One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing, is what we do for others"
This 30+ year Rotary Club has always, and will continue, to take these words, and thoughts, to heart!
We don't sit back, we all pitch in, in our own unique and skilled ways. We throw rocks, in the pond, and the
ripples keep spreading. Service is contagious.
What strength we have in numbers, to make a difference as a group.
Consider what we, and 1.3 million other like-minded Rotarians have done, and will continue to accomplish.
In this regard to Service Above Self, one of my favorite sayings is quite simple. It made of up 10 2-letter words
And it is: IF IT IS TO BE, IT IS UP TO ME
Pledge
Everyone.
4-Way Test
Everyone.
International Theme
Everyone.
Rotary Minute
None this week!
Announcements
Nancy D. - The club will be sponsoring two students, Chloe Bushman and Jolie Trieste, at this weekend's Rotary Youth Leadership Awards event. Starts Friday, runs through Sunday. Nancy will be attending the Sunday festivities on behalf of the club
Alexa R. - The club sent out two press releases regarding the Polar Plunge and the donations to Ukranian Refugees. Please look for those in local print and social media
Jennifer S. - The Food Packing event at the Wayzata Community Church is this Saturday 12:30 - 2:30pm; Patty Synikin has secured a booth at the Hopkins Main Street Days event Saturday May 21, 9am-4pm; we'll be looking for volunteers to represent the club for Membership recruitment and to sell Hippy Feet socks as a fundraiser
Lenny N. - The Tour of Target Field fundraiser for Polio Plus on April 16 is nearly sold out; 47 registered, still room for 5-6 more. On target to raise up to $3000. More details regarding parking and directions will be coming out via email. Be sure to forward them to those attending that may not be on the email list.
Nate R. - read the Thank you letter from Empty Bowls
Chris Carr - The next Club Foundation Meeting is scheduled for 4/12 at 1pm. They have a small number of grant applications to review and a few thousand $$ left to distribute before the end of the Rotary Year.
Rotary Minute
Cathy C. - Cathy related the story of a small club in El Coli, Mexico with its large and multiple contributions in the community during a flood last July, providing food, clothing and other necessities for 100+ families displaced by the flooding
Another small club doing big things is the Grand Prairie, MN club, which combined with 3 other clubs and a Rotoract Club to create a "Tighty [Tidy? - Ed] Whitey Toss" event at a junior hockey game to gather donations of new, in the package underwear and socks for the homeless, which are the least donated items. Attendees at the game threw the donated items onto the ice after the first goal of the game and players picked them up. Huge success!
Paul Harris Award
Jennifer S. received the PH+1 pin.
Raffle
No Raffle today. Cathy forgot to buy a new roll of tickets. Pot carries over to next week
Happy Bucks
The kicker = Can't miss food or event at the State Fair
Bill S - Leaving for Peru with family tomorrow; Foot Long Hot dog
Jim Martin - Baseball Opening Day Optimism; Spring Break Road trip with kids visiting multiple Civil Rights Museums; Tom Thumb Donuts
Char M - Visited youngest sun in Kenosha; happy to see new apartment, cooked her breakfast and dinner; Foot Long Hot dog
Frank B - was at Lund's & Byerly's; saw Kyle Rudolf, ex-Viking and current NYG player; impressed with his community giving as a player, Walter Payton Award nominee for the Vikes; always makes a point of visiting the State Champion Boar in the swine barn
Cathy C - Golden Child is the new owner of the Gift Shop at Chanhassen Theater; kids always brought home a bag of apples from the fair
Chris Carr - State Fair junkie - always goes at least 3 days; Corn, egg rolls and deep fried pickles are favorites
Lenny - excited for the Target Field tour; has a real face to face networking event with 100+ attending; Pork Chop on a stick for Fair Food
Nate R - was treated like a Celeb at the St Gabriel's Fish Fry after mentioning Char's name; purchased a new Urban Assault Vehicle (motorhome); favorite Fair thing is to watch his kids on the rides
Mark Magney - just returned from 15 days of skiing though Colorado, Idaho and Montana; favorite Fair thing is the Beer Garden
Program
Christine Newman and Maria from the Minnesota State Fair Introduced by Mark Forsberg
Key points:
The first Territorial Fair was in 1854, meant as a place for farmers to gather to see agricultural items, equipment and techniques
The First MN State Fair was in 1859, near what is now DT Minneapolis; started by the MN Agricultural Society
The Fair moved to its present site in 1885, on land that was formerly the Ramsey County Poor Farm and originally conceived by Henry Fairchild
The fairgrounds was originally 210 acres; now 220.
Minnesota State Fair is owned and managed by the Minnesota Agricultural Society which is an independent quasi-state agency; they do not receive state funding and haven't since 1949
40% of total revenue comes from ticket sales; 20% comes from vendor licensing fees
A recent study shows that they Fair has a $208 million economic impact to the community with $77 million in wages and $9.9 million in tax revenue generated
There has been significant investments and expansion: North end renovation; Exhibit Center; $1m restroom improvement and updated lighting in the swine barn. Some work was paused by the Pandemic
The Fair has a tradition of competition with over 30,000 yearly entries in agriculture, horticulture and food arts
Vendors at the Fair: 300 Food Vendors and over 1000 product vendors
Other improvements include the West End Market and a new transit hub - 40% of visitors arrive via public transportation
The Fair had to come up with creative strategies to replace lost revenues from the Pandemic - no fair in 2020 and no operating income from non-fair facilities rentals for 18 months
The Fair had a goal to keep all FT staff - 75 EE's - during the pandemic so they didn't lose the talent and experience when operations started again
Organized 2 food parades in Aug and Fall of 2020; Crop Art Fair using state grown seeds art packets sold for competition; Summer kick off event in May 2021 with live music and food in a more relaxed atmosphere. Will be having that event again in 2022 - Memorial Weekend - $12.50 for 4-5 hours on the grounds
2022 Fair is on track for full operations; hiring has begun and performing artists announced
The Texas State Fair has the largest total attendance over 24 days; but MN has the highest daily average attendance in the country
Next Meeting
Wednesday, March 30, 2022.
Adjournment
$16 for Polio; $39 from Happy Bucks; $0 from Raffle
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