Reminder - Due to the present public health concerns and Governor Walz's many Executive Orders regarding physical distancing, our in-person Wednesday morning weekly meetings are moved to Zoom until further notice. Ed.
Member Submissions - See the end of The Spoke.
Next Meeting March 3, 2021 - President Chris Carr called the next weekly meeting by Zoom video for March 3, 2021 at 7:30 a.m. Ed.
Please see Chris Carr's upcoming email with the dial in / login instructions and links. Ed.
New Pictures - Send to michaelcglover@comcast.net . Ed.
From the Members and Archives
From the ....
.... archives, Books for....
Africa .... 2007.
IMPORTANT UPDATE to Upcoming Events Below
Important - Check with meeting leaders to confirm date, time and location information for all 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 - Jerald Stiele
7:30 a.m. Called to order by Chris Carr.
Guests
Speaker – Amanda Lagrange – CEO of Tech Dump.
Invocation
By Bonnie W.
Pledge
Lead by Christine L
4-Way Test
Chris R.
Rotary Minute
Cathy C. Talked about next year’s Rotary Theme “Serve To Change Lives”. In the 2021-2022 Rotary year we will be adding another “special day of service” and will be focusing on diversity, equality, and inclusion. There is a goal to increase membership 1.3 million by 7/1/2022!
From Cathy C. -
I would like to share another message from our incoming RI President, Shekhar Mehta’s speech for 2021-22 at the International Assembly 2/1.
I shared his very personal Theme, Serve to Change Lives, and how Rotary kindled the spark of looking beyond himself to embrace humanity, and he asked clubs to add another special Day of Service.
His other focus is on diversity. Mehta wants members to focus their efforts on empowering girls and ensuring their access to education, resources, services, and opportunities so that future generations of women leaders will have the tools they need to succeed. Mehta asks members to use Rotary’s belief that diversity, equity, and inclusion are in all we do as a compass to guide this work.
He said there are many issues that girls face in different parts of the world, and we as leaders must ensure that we try and mitigate the disadvantage of the girl that they may have more.
Also, to be able to do more through service, Rotary needs to increase membership Mehta said. Membership has hovered around 1.2 M for the past two decades. He challenged the incoming governors to be catalysts in their districts to help increase membership to 1.3 million by July 1, 2022. Mehta’s Each One, Bring One initiative asks every member to bring one person to join Rotary within the next 17 months.
Increasing membership while also continuing our commitment to eradicating polio, fighting COVID-19, and serving our communities is an ambitious goal. And that should excite you, Mehta said.
“Rotarians love challenges”.
Announcements
Alexa R. - Reminder of the Happy Hour for Empty Bowls on March 2nd from 4:30pm - 5:30pm Register here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WB77HPQ Also she reminded us to take the surveys she sent out.
Ron U. - Thanks for the support for Roaring Through Winter so far! Register here for the upcoming shows: https://portal.clubrunner.ca/3776
Dale F - Empty Bowls is next week – keep up the donations coming!
Bill S. – I Fly is March 3rd – full, but can still join for viewing and refreshments after.
Lenny N. - Great job with Polio contributions – keep them coming.
Nancy D. - We are making progress in getting a van for ICA.
Alexa R. - Milestone Birthday for Cathy C! We all sang!!
Happy Bucks
Mac H. - $40! For his COVID-19 shot and 37 years of marriage!
Bill S. - $5 in honor of a special birthday in the club!
Char M. - $5 for 5 decades of Cathy! And $5 for getting through family birthday month and hopefully back to normal credit card bills.
Bob H. - Thankful for Tony and Feste Automotive for efficient diagnostics and replacement of car battery!
Cathy C. - Happy to have the same Birthday as Rotary!
Dale F. - Happy $20 for Jennifer S. and the success of the Hopkins Education Foundation Fundraiser!
Chris C. - Had a great time skiing with friends and daughter – best conditions ever!
Program
Amanda Lagrange, CEO of Tech Dump
“Tech Dump is an industry leader in electronics recycling. One of the largest collectors of e-waste in the state of Minnesota, our Twin Cities-based organization has processed more than 35 million pounds of electronic waste—all while adhering to the highest standards of data security.”
“In addition to our proven track record of providing seamless electronics recycling services for businesses and organizations of all sizes, we are also a social enterprise that provides jobs and training for persons facing barriers to employment. We believe that everything and every person has value.”
For more information on Tech Dump see their website:
Why: 2021 marks the 23rd anniversary for Hopkins/Minnetonka community Empty Bowls event – an event that has often been tagged as “the great community get together.” While they tried to creatively find a way to come together in person, unfortunately, for safety reasons this is just not possible. One thing, however, remains the same – the needs of the community persist and we can still come together, virtually, to help meet those needs. All donors are welcome to stop by ICA Food Shelf to choose a piece of community-created art and a coupon for a free cup of soup from one of our favorite local restaurants and a free loaf of bread from Breadsmith. - We are going to be creating this ART!
Cost: $20 for adults & $10 for kids (includes art supplies and drinks) - After the bills are paid we will make a great donation to Empty Bowls!
2. From Patti S. and Ron U. - Fundraising - Entertainment Package
Tickets: All links can be found right on the club’s website: https://portal.clubrunner.ca/3776. You just have to scroll down a bit and hit the “read more” button. All the link are then displayed.
Stevie Ray’s Improv Comedy Show
February 11, 2021 | 7-8 pm
A whole hour of interactive family fun and laughter.
Spend an hour with Certified Meditation and Mindfulness teacher, Betsy Weiner as she guides you to bring more peacefulness, calm, and relaxation to your life.
All levels welcome and no prior experience necessary.
3. From Nancy D. - Minnetonka Rotary Foundation meeting February 2, 2021 - Community updates from ICA, Resource West, and Relate Counseling
MRF had an opportunity to hear from Dan Narr, Executive Director of ICA Food Shelf, Tarrah Palm, Executive Director of Resources West, and Becky McNattin of Relate Counseling during our monthly meeting. The information they shared was sobering but also presents a challenge to us.
From Dan Narr: ICA has ample food supplies and is doing another mass food distribution on Feb 20. They have great volunteer support. They are ordering more food from Great Harvest and other suppliers as food rescue using volunteers is much more challenging in these times. Rent and utility assistance requests are up 800%. ICA receives assistance from Hennepin County and the City of Minnetonka but the City of Hopkins has no further funds. Clients are looking for employment assistance and there is a FT employment counselor on staff. Any job leads would be greatly appreciated.
From Tarrah Palm: The pandemic crisis and its fallout highlights problems that were already present. RW is helping families new to the system navigate options including unemployment insurance. Government safety nets are not enough to meet the need. Families will take years to get back to their “normal.” Academic support for students is crucial. Helping families stay in stabile housing is critical.
From Beck McNattin: Relate Counseling had planned for an increase in services prior to the pandemic. Since schools are meeting virtually, teachers are less able to see the needs of students and referring for help. They have expanded their program to 6 school districts (was 3) and are using more interns to meet needs. They are working to help families access health insurance but no one is turned away for lack of funds. All therapies are delivered virtually – office, home, or front seat of a car.
Following these presentations, MRF voted to create a $6000 challenge grant for Empty Bowls. This annual event benefits both ICA and Resource West and they can jointly decide how best to use the funds. We will address issues raised by Relate Counseling at our March 16 meeting.
Club Information
Minnetonka Rotary Club
The Club for Building Responsible Youth
We meet Wednesdays at 7:15 AM
Eisenhower Community Center
1001 Highway 7 in Room 233
( above portico entrance )
Hopkins,
MN 55305 United States of America
