Welcome!
Paul Perez is a member of the Rotary Club of Prior Lake. He joined in April of 2003 and was Club President in the 2013‐2014 Rotary year. Paul ascended into leadership roles through Prior Lake Rotary’s Lakefront Music Fest, the Club’s largest fundraiser for their 501c3 foundation. After successfully heading up the Transportation committee, Paul went on to be one of the event co-chairs. The event went through numerous changes and had great success including a net profit of just shy of a quarter million dollars in 2013. Paul continued to be involved in the event as a member of the steering committee and the talent committee.
As President, the Club had unparalleled success under Paul’s watch. The Club achieved top honors within its District in per capita giving to the The Rotary Foundation and giving to PolioPlus and Fast for Hope. Further, the Club added 16 members that year, and ended up at a net 11‐member gain. Through Paul’s urging, the Club added the Youth Service committee and reintroduced the idea of starting an Interact Club at the high school, which was accomplished the following year.
Paul’s additional involvement at the Club level has included Community Service co‐director, Youth Exchange counselor, and Public Image co‐director. On a District level, Paul served on the Board of Directors as the large club representative for three years. He helped on the District Public Image committee in 2014‐2015 and presented at the Public Image breakout sessions at the District Conference. Paul has been a member of the District PolioPlus committee, and created the District PolioPlus Facebook page to increase the awareness of the eradication efforts.
He was part of the planning committee for the 2016 joint District Conference, and the 2017 District Conference planning committee as one of the chairs. Paul attended the Rotary International conferences in Lisbon, Portugal in 2013, and Atlanta, Georgia in 2017, and attended the Zone 28 and 29 Emerging Leaders training in Cleveland in 2016. Not the only person passionate about Rotary in his household, Paul’s wife Susan joined the Club in 2013. Her involvement has grown to include Prior Lake High School Interact Club mentor, and Youth Exchange Country Officer in‐training. She has also been heavily involved in the Youth Service and Foundation committees.
Paul and Susan have two children, Anthony and Anna. Both have been around Rotary all their lives, including being charter members of the Prior Lake High School Interact Club. Anthony was an outbound exchange student to Germany during his gap year. The rest of the family took the opportunity to host their first Exchange Student that year, an experience that was more than they had ever hoped for.
Paul has worked for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community for the last 23 years, where he is currently the Property Services Director with a staff of over 100 employees. His responsibilities include maintaining the grounds, parking garages, and parking lots at both Mystic Lake Casino Hotel and Little Six Casino, and overseeing both fleet maintenance for the entire property and the 7‐day onsite laundry and dry-cleaning operations.
Paul grew up in St. Paul and graduated from Mankato State University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science in Management and Marketing. He also wrestled for the Mavericks during his 5 years at MSU. Paul’s other volunteer experience includes over 10 years on the Prior Lake Wrestling Club Board, and an appointment as a Planning Commissioner for the City of Prior Lake for 10 years. Paul enjoys trips to the family’s cabin in Northern Minnesota, pheasant hunting trips to South Dakota, fishing anytime, watching amateur wrestling, and listening to music.