At the Podium Last Week: November 4, 2015

Host Nate Lilleodden & Speaker Terry Kerber

Nate Lilleodden hosted a great meeting last week. Tim Westermeyer provided the invocation. Mark Lauffenburger made the following announcements:

1. It's time to sign up to donate to the Annual Holiday Party; all members are asked to donate an auction item or cash ($75+please).

2. Heidi Nelson has made a bittersweet decision to leave Wayzata for a City Administrator position in Maple Grove. She will be missed! While Heidi will be active in Rotary in Maple Grove, this leaves our Incoming President position for 2016-17. Mark requests assistance from members!

Nate Lilleodden provided a brief vocational before introducing speaker Terry Kerber. We learned that Nate is Managing Partner at CPA firm Copeland, Buhl & Company. As many of the founding members of the firm have retired recently, Nate and his cohort are finding themselves the second generation of leaders at Copeland, Buhl.

Terry Kerber, speaker, authored the book "Major Taylor: The Inspiring Story of a Black Cyclist and the Men Who Helped Him Achieve Worldwide Fame". Terry Kerber happened upon the untold story of one of America's finest athletes and instantly decided the inspiring story needed to be told. The resulting biography features turn-of-the-century velodrome racing phenomenon Major (Marshall) Taylor, an athlete ahead of his time who surmounted unbelievable hurdles on his way to achieving greatness which is no longer broadly remembered.

Born in 1878, Marshall Taylor was the lucky recipient of a bicycle from the the man who employed his father. Marshall fell in love with the bicycle, then quickly learned trick riding skills and developed lightning speed. Velodrome racing was one of America's premier sports at the time, and while racing promoters recognized Marshall's talent, he was unable to gain his racing license because of his black skin color. Marshall was aided by a trainer who helped him leave Indianapolis for the more tolerant state of Massachusetts. Once there, Marshall quickly rose to the top of the sport, becoming a spiritual and athletic idol and commanding huge fees based on his enormous drawing power. Kerber tells the unlikely story of Taylor, his convictions and the prejudices he faced, and the powerful stream of men who championed Taylor's talent and made possible his almost-forgotten ascent to the pinnacle of worldwide fame. Thank you!