We direct our efforts to enhance our local and global impact. Our most successful and sustainable projects and activities tend to fall within the following areas:
Work has begun on the Nashikhaso-Khamoto Community Water Project in Mbale Uganda. Thank you to Stillwater Sunrise Rotary Club, Rotary District 5960, and the Rotary Club of Mbale for your grant support with this project. Please Follow along on the project through photos - Click Here
Two years ago, when Roseville Rotarian Aanne Atomssa went the Salaale Zone to inaugurate a water well the elders told her about the lack of electricity in the area.
Aanne worked with her club, Roseville Rotary, and along with donations from Stillwater Sunrise, North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale, Lakeville, and Prior Lake Rotary Clubs, plus a Rotary District 5960 matching grant. Aanne was able to return this past November to the village with a solution.
Aanne distributed solar light bulb/lanterns for two hundred twenty-five farmers/ per household for four villages in Salaale Zone Garbaguurachaa. The project will provide lights for the community who are not able to get electric light and reside in a rural part of Ethiopia. The light will help their school children to get enough study time for their schoolwork.
In addition to the Solar Lights Aanne distributed over 600 Days for Girls feminine hygiene kits to the community schools in Ethiopia.
Roseville Rotarians enjoyed fellowship and fun at their Holiday Party this past Monday night at the Pool & Yacht Club. Thank you to Gayland Bender for the wonderful photos. Click Here to view the album!
This past Friday, December 3, Roseville Rotarians "Rang the Bell" at Lunds and Byerly's for the Salvation Army 2021 Red Kettle Campaign. The money raised will be used locally to help many people within the community with basic needs. " Examples include the food pantry and financial assistance with utilities and rent.
Monday, September 13, 2021, Roseville Rotary Club Speaker Michael Hartoonian expresses his philosophy about the tensions that naturally occur in a democracy and how we as citizens must deal with them to be a successful democracy.
Taste of Rosefest, originally scheduled for Sept. 14, will be postponed to June 2022 due to the struggling restaurant industry, safety concerns, and to preserve the quality of our premier community event. Our restaurants have supported Roseville Rotary’s annual fundraising event, Taste of Rosefest, for the last 13 years, and we want to support them through this challenging time by purchasing restaurant gift certificates to auction off online at a later date. We are grateful for the support received from our partners, sponsors, and the community. Those who have purchased tickets will be refunded. Thank you to our loyal attendees over the years. We will be back better than ever for Taste of Rosefest in 2022. Until then, please remember to support our local restaurants. #SupportOurRestaurants#TasteofRosefest
Roseville Rotary MN invites you to #TasteofRosefest on Sept. 14! This popular community gathering at Roseville’s Central Park Arboretum offers food and beverage sampling featuring local restaurants, plus live music and a silent auction – all for a great cause! Advance tickets for this 21+ event are $40 in advance at tasteofrosefest.org
Jenny Hedal introduced the speaker for the day, the Superintendent of Roseville Schools, Dr.Aldo Sicoli.
Aldo’s reporting covered two basic topics,
1. Roseville’s response to COVID-19
2. The progress with the building program from the recent levy.
Due to the COVID-19, they have initiated distance learning, in school learning, blended learning programs all in accordance with the recommendations of the health authorities.
There are two break points they pay particular attention to: Covid infections of 30/10,000 which bring a few restrictions and Covid infections of 50/10,000 which requires remote learning only. Within these programs and the limitations there are a whole array of options available to students and teachers.
Simultaneously with this change in the learning programs are Child Care being provided, Meals being prepared and delivered and special ed considerations.
Regarding the construction progress, it is well underway with most of the project being completed or nearly completed. Most of the remaining work is on the Fairview location where
it turned out to be more expensive to repair the facility than to build it all from scratch. Thus, they are building from scratch and that will likely be completed next year some time.
After this Aldo answered an array of questions.
Next week the presentation will be by District Governor Ed Marek and will be Virtual Only.
President Deb Nygaard called the meeting to order at 12:15 and led the flag pledge. Following Maggie Mau’s inspirational invocation about her brother-in-law Roger, Deb provided a historical snapshot of Rotation Day at Arthur’s Senior Care. Jan Vanderwall virtually presented an “Above and Beyond” pin to Jenny Hedal, then there was time for Happy Dollars. Lynne Megan donated $20 for the legislative success of a financial relief package for businesses like TSE.
Deb announced that it is Tony’s last day working at the hotel as he accepted a different job.
Jan Vanderwall announced it will be made public August 18 that Roseville schools will be starting with full time distance learning.
Ted Johnson indicated the former president of the Nakivale club has been nominated for the Rotary Peace Scholarship.
Mary Jo Maguire reminded everyone that Ramsey County is providing free COVID-19 testing on weekends in August at the Washington Magnet School and Aldrich Arena. More information is on the website. It was also brought up that Mary Jo was re-elected in the primary – congrats Mary Jo!
Stepping Up for Our Community 3-mile Virtual Run/Walk Benefiting Our Neighbors in Need Your daily exercise can help a good cause, too! Register your 3-mile run/walk to help the Suburban Ramsey Emergency Coalition raise money to support our neighbors in need from the COVID-19 pandemic effects.
This is an active, friendly, diverse group and we would love to have you visit us at any Monday club meeting. We look forward to an exciting year of Rotary fellowship and service. Come be a part of it! Call the Rotary Office for further information at 651/636-9054.
Jenny Hedal, President, 2021-2022 The Rotary Club of Roseville
Office located in the Rosedale Towers 1700 West Hwy 36, Ste 820 Roseville MN 55113 651/636-9054 kathy.hughitt@rotary5960.org
The meeting was called to order at 10:00 AM Pacific Time, (12:00 Central Time), by President Dave Kray. Dave read the Pledge of Allegiance and the 4 Way Test while we all followed along on Zoom!
Terry Gilberstadt gave the Invocation based on her experience in AZ.
Happy Dollars:
Ted Johnson: In District 9211, Africa+, DG Xavier honored the Rotaract Club in Nakivale, which is sponsored by Roseville Rotary. Paul Mashaho the past president of the Nakivale Club was awarded a Peace Fellowship from Rotary to study at Makerere University in Kampala! Congratulations Paul Mashaho! I can see this club changing lives daily in the Refugee Camp at Nakivale! Ted, that should be at least a $3.00 announcement!
Mary Jo McGuire was thankful for the peaceful protesters and for the “Roseville in Bloom” roses, 18 of them, that are being painted at the fairgrounds.
Ed Studniski is thankful that his relatives have gotten a place in Eagle Crest and will be moving here from Detroit Lakes. We will likely be seeing a new face in Rotary!
Rick Goodmanson also likes the “Roseville in Bloom” project and corrected the number 18 to the number 19 as his “Rose” was being painted off site. Rick has donated the transportation for all the roses from the Fairgrounds to their ultimate destinations. This is a big deal as each of the “roses” is 6.5 ft high and weighs about 700 pounds! I asked Rick about this later and he said, “There are 19 of them and Goodmanson delivered them to the state fair for painters to paint. This week we’ll bring them back to Tivoli Too for glazing. Then in 2 weeks we’re delivering to the 19 businesses who are sponsoring them. They will be on display from July 1st to September 30th around ROSEVILLE.
Lonnie Stormo talked about the Rotary Foundation and encouraged us to help our district attain the goal of $400K for this fiscal year which ends June 30. If you can and have not, please make a donation on line at “Rotary.org” or if you have and can afford to make an additional contribution, the foundation would appreciate that also.
The Suburban Ramsey County Covid-19 project, https://www.suburbanramseycoalition.org/, has raised about $50K and is active in providing for those with food insecurity and those in need of housing. They are grateful for all the donations to their project.
Grants Awarded:
$5,000 to Community Support Center for financial assistance to families in the communities of New Brighton, Mounds View, North Oaks, Shoreview, and Arden Hills affected by COVID-19 crisis to help prevent them from being evicted from their homes. Financial aid comes with meeting with participants to work on financial goals and referral to other community resources.
$5,000 to Keystone Community Services for both emergency food and crisis housing assistance. Food purchases will be used current Foodmobile distributions and two new Foodmobile distribution sites in the Roseville area. Housing crisis support funds will help Roseville area families stay in their home or gain access to affordable housing.
$5,000 to Neighborhood House for emergency housing assistance to families in the Roseville area and Mounds View school district communities affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Funds will be used to help families stay current with rent in order to avoid eviction and alleviate housing cost burden going forward.
Fundraising milestone:
Our fundraising moved past $50,000 this past week largely due to over $11,000 coming from the Falcon Height/Lauderdale Lions and all of its 43 members. This combined donation from the Club and members was done over time by a well-organized matching donation process.
Isolation Gown Sewing Volunteer Project:
This week, the first round of 50 isolation gowns were completed by 14 people who sew. We will deliver them to Ramsey Care Center on Monday morning. Thank you to those 14 sewers, 7 drivers, Meredith Stockford who did cutting and most of all, my wife, Diane, who has been coordinating all the details of making the prototype gown, purchasing fabric and material and working with the care center, sewers and drivers. It involved at least 400 volunteer hours by the sewers alone and countless more for all the other steps. Now, on the round 2, pending availability of the fabric and materials.
Deb Nygaard introduced the speaker for the day, Dr. Mark Thomas who is a PhD Professor of Neuroscience. Dr. Thomas let us know he is working on addiction research and more specifically, how the brain is involved in addiction. He has been doing this for the past 20 years with the U of MN.
To gain more knowledge about this subject he is working with mice, as their brains are structured much the same as the human brain and there should be a positive transfer from the data they compile to the human condition. They are studying the areas of the brain and how those areas respond to addiction and how that affects the motivation and activities of the mice.
There is a concept of “Reward Circuitry” in the brain. When certain areas are stimulated the mice see that as a pleasant thing and they come back for more. The chemical involved is dopamine and has been described as the “pleasure neuro chemical.” Research indicates that this could more accurately be described as the “do it again neuro chemical.” This dopamine is produced by the body in the presence of food. The dopamine is also produced in the presence of amphetamine. The amount of dopamine produced from amphetamine stimulus is roughly about 10 times the amount produced from the food source and thus we have a real problem with the addiction to the amphetamine and other opioids.
There is a huge impact of drug addiction as they are about 24 million addicts! To correct this we have currently tried to limit the supply side of the transactions. One of the questions is, “Should we be trying to limit the demand side of this?” Opioids are wonderful for pain relief, however they are also wonderful in helping people becoming addicted to them! To help reverse that quality of opioids, Dr. Thomas is also working with ways to help condition the brain so that it does not become addicted to those chemicals. Hopefully he will be able to find a way to limit the “do it again neuro chemical” and the effect it has on the brain.
Where to next? Maybe addiction to gaming or studying the effect marijuana has on the brain.
Thank you, Dr. Thomas, for an excellent explanation of the work you are doing and how it will hopefully have a positive effect on our society.
June 12, 2020 @ 9am Friday Feature - WW2, PFC Riley - A special presentation from Mounds Park Academy junior, Salmah Elmasry and Upper School teacher, Katie Murr, to hear the moving World War 2 story of PFC Riley from Minnesota.
Roseville Rotary welcomed Packy Mader as a guest speaker this week. Packy spoke to the club about his new book, "More Minnesota Gold", The new book includes Minnesota's only 5-time Olympian, world record holders in running and swimming, and how these remarkable athletes "give back" to their sport, school, and community.
David Yorks is a life-long resident of Lake Minnetonka and a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a History degree and a Masters Degree in American History. He has a fifty-five year interest in the presidency of John F. Kennedy.
Our “Be the Inspiration” recipient today was Brad Kirscher!
Our speaker today were fellow Rotarians, Bruce Morland (Northfield Rotary Club) and DG Elect, Ed Marek (Saint Paul Sunrise Rotary Club). They did a wonderful presentation and discussion of the Better Angels principals. If this sounds familiar, it should, our club sponsored one of the district wide training sites in the fall of 2018. Our presentation was based on the 4 Way test – the #1 item – Is it the truth? That brought up a whole group of thoughtful points about how hard it is to decipher the “truth” in our 24/7 News and social media landscape presently. Many of these messages are trying to pull us apart and promote discord and political tribalism. We tend to focus on differences rather than common ground. This has been happening since 1999 that we seem to be isolated in our own echo chamber instead of focusing on dignity, understanding and mutual respect.
Better Angels sponsors Meet Up Groups to discuss and work to solve the divide, it all starts wit us personally. There is a need for more civics in schools to promote the education of young people on how compromise can work effectively in a democracy. There is a Problem Solvers Caucus in congress currently made up of those from both sides of the isle. Better Angels has had National Conventions and is gaining traction as an important vehicle to help solve our nation’s big problem. Interestingly this problem broadcasts out into many areas of discrimination and stifles other’s freedom and opportunities by closing off any interest in other opinions or other’s needs.
Rotary has a great way to work with problems and look at the need and the way we can work together to solve the problem, not by choosing sides. Rotary is depolarizing in our way of solving human needs, couldn’t our way of thinking help a lot of our elected folks?
We need a level playing field and to get rid of labeling others, which can vilify the other side. Alliances with both Red and Blue dedicated to asking questions and listening to the other side respectfully are key. In closing we all need to remember to understand, engage and look for common ground.
After the presentation a lively round of questions and there were continued discussions among our members.
Thank you, Bruce and Ed, for opening the year with such a great presentation that stimulated a lot of discussion and thank you all for being in the family of Rotarians. Today’s presentation was a good reminder to me how important it is that we support each other and continue to “Be the Inspiration”.
Next week we will have an update from the Roseville Chief of Police to report on how the Human Trafficking prevention measures we have supported with several other agencies are working in Roseville.
The meeting was called to order by President David Kray.
Jan Vanderwall gave the Invocation on behalf of Julie Wearn.
Joan Kallenberg introduced the Visitors and Guests
David Kray entertained us with his “Joke for the Day”
The “Above and Beyond Pin" was passed from Lynne Megan to Jim Ostlund
Katie Noyed, granddaughter of Dale and Nancy Noyed, was announced as a past Youth Exchange Student to Denmark
Michael Spellman from the Arden Hills/Shoreview Club announced their Global Grant application to support the WASH program. He thanked our club for partnering with them in supporting this project.
The board looked at the results of the survey taken and decided to move our meeting location back to the Old “Roseville Radisson" which is now the “Double Tree by Hilton” . Our first meeting back at DoubleTree by Hilton will be on Monday, January 6, 2020.
Ted Johnson told a joke…What the names of the guys looking out the window all the time? Curt and Rod…
Maggie Mau, one of our current “Above and Beyond” award winners presented her pin to Mary Nienaber.
Kathy Hughitt introduced visitors and guests. Today’s guests were Don Craighead and Ron Hughes.
General club announcements and business followed:
We started out with Happy Dollars. We had numerous happy Rotarians on this sunny day.
Rotation Day is Monday, November 25th. If you are interested in signing up please let Kathy know before Thursday, November 21st.
Hyon Kim is looking for volunteers for her Sheridan Story project. If you are interested in helping out please see Hyon.
The Holiday Party is Monday, December 2nd. If you are interested in attending please see Kathy. (R.S.V.P. by Monday, November 25)
With announcements completed David Kray introduced Deb Nygaard. Deb then led us in a kitchen packing project for Bridging where we packed over 100 containers filled with kitchen supplies.
With the project completed and no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
The meeting was called to order by President David Kray at 12:15PM.
The invocation was by Ed Studniski.
The Greeter and Flag Pledge leader was Dale Noyed and Luke Ferden.
Dale Noyed announced the Guests and Visitors:
Dale Noyed and Lynn Scott introduced the visitors they brought
Paul Abdula, Judith Beardsley, Nate Ranghart and Past District Governor Bill Rust, White Bear Lake Rotary.
The Joke for the day was: “What store sells only Bagels and Donuts?” Answer: Whole Foods This one got a good response from the audience!
Lynn Scott, Maggie Mau
Lynn Scott passed along the Inspiration award to Maggie Mau. Lynn was inspired by Maggie’s work with the silent auction at the taste, her commitment, her values and the fact that daily she is steady and strong. Congratulations Maggie!!
Brad announced the Mentorship meeting at Summit Brewery in St. Paul on Wed, Nov 13th at 6:30 PM. This meeting is for mentors and mentees. If you are either or both, you are invited.
Maggie Mau announced that we as a club are working on Cleaning kits for Bridging She is seeking donations of “Bonus items” which are better defined as Microfiber Cloths, sponges and rags, Mini Whisk Brooms and dustpans, Covered Plastic “shoebox containers” and garbage bags both kitchen and bath sized containers. More information on Bridging.
David Kray, Annie Meehan
David Kray introduced the speaker for the day Annie Meehan. Annie is an enthusiastic and well prepared speaker. She is also an author of multiple books e.g. “From good to Great” “Be the Exception.” She knows that we are not all brave and good looking so she suggested that we take a photo of ourselves looking up at our face from out chest. That photos sets a low expectation of being beautiful and then we can improve from there! It is important to “Care about yourself.” This includes your Emotional, Physical, Mental, Relationship, Financial and Spiritual health. Pick the one you want to improve and work on it daily in small steps. Do this for about 30 days and you will see a change. If you need help with this or need someone to hold you accountable to this process, ask for help and talk about it.
Next she moved on to her acronym, “CANES” which gives her the ways you can care for yourself:
One of Rotary's areas of service is Vocation Service. As a Rotarian, how can you put these ideals into action? Consider these suggestions:
Talk about your profession in your club, and take time to learn about fellow members’ occupations.
Use your skills and expertise to serve a community.
Practice your profession with integrity, and inspire others to behave ethically through your words and actions.
Help young people achieve their career goals.
Guide and encourage others in their professional development.
These last two items are the reason for this email. District 5960 is looking to do just that for our Rotaractors, Rotex (former Youth Exchange students), and Young Rotarians (<35). We plan to have meet-up events throughout the year to bring mentors and mentees together through vocational and other interests.
Shawn Berry, District Public Image Team, and all-around Tech Master, created the Upper Midwest Rotary website, and then added a page for this mentoring program. We are asking any Rotarians interested in being a mentor to opt in by creating a profile. See the link below. The confidential information will be used to pair you with potential mentees at these upcoming events. The events are just one opportunity to get involved. There are other, more informal ways to mentor such as going out for lunch or coffee.
“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.” Winston Churchill
David McNally is is an international business speaker, author, and thought leader. He is the CEO of Transform Corporation, a business consulting company focused on developing purposeful leaders, inspired organizations, and iconic brands.
For over forty years McNally has inspired millions of people with his presentations, his films, and his best selling books. He has been elected to the National Speakers Hall of Fame and is recognized as one of the world's top business speakers.
David McNally is the Cullen Distinguished Professor of History and Business at the University of Houston (UH) and Director of the Center for the Study of Capitalism. David came to UH after teaching political economy at York University Toronto for over thirty years.
As a high school student, David McNally joined the movement against the Vietnam War; on entering university, he organized a campus chapter of the Committee to Free Angela Davis—early steps in a lifetime of activism in global justice, anti-racist, and socialist movements. Along the way, he earned a Ph.D. in Social and Political Thought in 1983 and was hired as Professor of Political Science at York University, Toronto, before joining the Department of History at the University of Houston in 2018.
Cost: Visiting Rotarians/Guests - Cost: $20 per person, pay at meeting. Cost includes lunch and meeting. CLICK HERE for registration.
Eureka Recycling is always excited to collaborate with the City of Roseville and the Roseville Rotary Club to work towards zero waste at the annual Taste of Rosefest. This was our fifth year working together, and we are proud to have maintained our shared vision of zero waste.
Damon Shoholm has been with the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation in its Wilder Center for Communities for over a decade and currently serves as Director of the James P. Shannon Leadership Institute. The Shannon Institute provides established leaders the opportunity to gain clarity around values, purpose and those things that matter most to them in order that they might align them with the contributions they make to our community or their work.
Additionally, Damon provides consultancy services in facilitation, community engagement, and leadership development to support organizations and individuals in being most connected and effective.
All of that said, Damon believes his real job description is that of supporting change makers among us in multiple ways and at multiple entry points in Community.
Tom Hubler is the president of Hubler For Business Families, Inc. He began his family business consulting practice in 1980 as one of few professionals addressing family-owned businesses in the United States. He integrates the notion of spirit in his work with family businesses, and assists family business clients with succession planning, leadership development, business planning, board development and wealth preparation planning.
His topic will be: The Soul of Family Business
This comprehensive presentation on the essence of family business and the importance of understanding family values and the creation of a family common vision to unite the family. The presentation also discusses the importance of having a family prayer for loving kindness, individual visions and Kything.
At 12:20 the meeting was called to order by President-elect designee Deb Nygaard.
Barb Memory
Barb invited Rotarians to join her this Sunday, March 31 at 3pm at Roseville Lutheran church for a free symphony concert.
The invocation was given by Mary Nienaber.
Lynn Scott introduced the visitors and guests including Ron Hughes from the Excelsior Rotary and Mary Vanderwert from the St. Paul Sunrise.
Mary Vanderwert let us know about the St. Paul Sunrise club’s community forum which will happen on May 2 at 7:30 AM at the Town and Country Club concerning climate change. This forum has had very high-level speakers and this year will include Paul Huttner, Chief Meteorologist for Minnesota Public Radio.
Lynn also reminded us that at the Taste of Rosefest we recycled 97% of all the waste that we generated there. At our regular Rotary meetings, the waste will be divided into three parts it will be trash, recycle or compost. Hopefully, we will become as environmentally friendly as possible with this process.
David and Deb, next club presidents, recently attended the NCPETS conference to prepare for their year as a Rotary Club President.
Looking forward, the next Board of Directors team still openings for a Public Image and Membership team lead. If you are interested in either, please contact David or Deb.
Barb Jacob will have two knees replaced this coming week. We wish her a speedy recovery.
Deb Nygaard, Marie Culhane
Our speaker for the day was introduced by President elect David Kray. She is Dr. Marie Culhane Who graduated from the University of Minnesota school of Veterinary Medicine and specializes in working with swine.
Doctor Culhane talked with us about One Health, an organization that deals with pigs, people and the planet and how the health of all three of those entities are connected. She talked about the different classifications of animals that fats care for. There are the food animals, that never sit on our couches, companion animals like our dogs and cats, and aquatic animals for example salmon farms and zoo animals.
Because she deals primarily with swine and is concerned about keeping pigs healthy, she is intimately involved with the flow of antibiotics through the animals to humans. Pigs, like people, need antibiotic’s from time to time to fight off diseases and one of the responsibilities of a swine producer is to make sure that those antibiotics are gone from the flesh of the animal prior to them being used as human food. These medications help deliver to us pork that is primarily disease-free. The pork is also well regulated by the FDA by inspecting to ensure that it is disease-free and antibiotic free at the time of slaughter. In the current swine operations routinely any people working with the swine are required to Shower In and Shower Out of the facility they are visiting. In addition to the showers they are also required to wear clothes supplied to them by the local pork producer to make sure they do not carry any kind of disease or bacteria into the swine facility.
Some of the primary antibiotics used in swine that are also used in humans are penicillin and tetracycline and some of their derivatives. Any antibiotics used in swine after a certain stage of their growth is required to be bought by prescription from a veterinarian in order to make sure that there is enough time between the addition of the antibiotic and the slaughter date to make sure it is gone from the meat of the animal.
If you happen to be preparing pork remember that it should be cooked to 145°F in order to help keep it safe. If you happen to be preparing some form of blended pork, then the temperature should be 165°F.
Due to the current pig genetics, pigs now are about 75% lean or better from many years ago.
If you happen to be looking for more information about pork the website Dr. Culhane recommended is “pork.org”
Ann Frisch, of the Rotary Club of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, USA: Frisch’s Civilian-Based Peace Process introduced the radical concept of “unarmed civilian protection” in war zones around the world. “Sustainable peace,” she said, “requires strong civilian engagement.”
Ann Frisch served as a trained, unarmed civilian protector (UCP) in Guatemala when Nonviolent Peaceforce sent a team to protect threatened women human rights defenders during the national elections in 2007. Currently she serves the organization as Senior Adviser. She is co-author and trainer for the first e-learning curriculum for Unarmed Civilian Protectors.
President Terry Gilberstadt called the meeting to order at 12:30 p.m. Maggie Mau greeted us, Mary Nienaber offered the invocation. Maggie Mau introduced guests. E-Rotarian Don Craighead, and Freja Rasmussen, Roseville Rotary’s Youth Exchange student.
General club announcements and business
Saturday, March 23 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Twin Cities Rotaract Club invites Roseville Rotary members to join them in a service project to help pack nutritious meals for people in developing nations at the Feed My Starving Children, Eagan location, 990 Lone Oak Rd #136, Eagan, MN 55121
Join Twin Cities Rotaract at their annual Spelling BEEr fundraiser at Summit Brewery in St. Paul on Wednesday, March 27th from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m.
David Gilberstadt announced that the scheduled “Second Shift” meeting for Wednesday, Feb 27th has been postponed. An announcement will be emailed out when it has been rescheduled.
Program
Arona Fay Roshal, Terry Gilberstadt
David Kray introduced today’s speaker, Arona Fay Roshal speaking on positive self-talk and how to form new behavior patterns and habits by using a script of positive self-talk to cope with day-to-day stresses.
For the most part, everyone already practices some form of self-talk. Either positive, negative or neutral (or commonly, all three). Self-talk is that running commentary in your mind that says the things you don’t necessarily say out loud. Meditators call it our “monkey mind”, leaping from topic to topic and incessantly chattering on.
We often don’t even realize that it is going on in the background, but self-talk can have a great influence on how we feel.
All of us experience a variety of feelings and thoughts, the positive ones help us feel good about what’s going on in our lives and the negative ones not so much. If you have developed a pattern of self-talk that is negative, Arona points out that like learning to play an instrument, you can improve your self-talk through practice.
Pay attention to what you are saying to yourself. Is it positive or negative? As an exercise write it down and make notes on what you think.
Challenge what you say to yourself. Is there evidence to support what you’re thinking? Ask what you might do to change the negative thoughts.
Proactively work to change your self-talk. On a daily basis list the thing you are most grateful for on that day; what you are most thankful for from the previous day; and then what you look forward to in the days to come.
Daily practice of positive self-talk can become a process that will allow you to discover the hidden optimism, hope or joy in any given situation.
The meeting was called to order by President Terry Gilberstadt
The greeter and Flag Pledge leader was Mary Nienaber
The invocation was by Ed Studniski
Joan Kallenberg introduced no visitors or guests.
Terry Gilberstadt, Hyon Kim, Gary Campbell
PDG Gary Campbell presented a check from the District to Roseville Rotary for their share of the Sheraton Story Project.
As the scribe for the day I drew the lucky straw as there is not much writing needed!
Today is the President’s round table.
There were three topics to be discussed by Club Members to help facilitate the future directions the members wanted the club to go. The leaders of the three groups were:
Deb Nygaard: Membership Retention
Julie Wearn: Next Big Idea
Brad Kirscher: Hands on Service
The group leaders kept track of the ideas on large pads on easels so the Board could use this input to guide the club into the next year more of direction. Members were issued tickets for their original ideas. The tickets were put in a hat and drawn out at random and those drawn got a prize for their efforts.
That being accomplished the meeting was adjourned.
Everyone was reminded to sign up for one of the four Vocation Day meeting sponsor locations on Monday, October 15th, Century College, Horton Holding, Bridging and Boy Scout Base Camp. No meeting at the Radisson Hotel that day.
The Good Witch, Sandy Campbell, from the Anoka club promoted the Anoka Rotary Raffle, their local club fund raising effort, with a drawing to be held on Thursday, October 11, 2018.
Join us Monday, July 16th as Fred Treiber, White Bear Lake Rotary Club, shares stories on The Clubhouse Network.
The Clubhouse Network is an international community of 100 Clubhouses located in 18 countries, providing youth with life-changing opportunities for 25 years.
Each Clubhouse provides a creative, safe, and free out-of-school learning environment where young people from underserved communities work with adult mentors to explore their own ideas, develop new skills, and build confidence in themselves through the use of technology.
At a Computer Clubhouse, young people work with adult mentors to:
•Get experience with high-end professional hardware and software
Join us next Monday, May 21st for Author Ames Sheldon.
Eleanor’s Wars won a NATIONAL book award, the Independent Book Publishers Association’s 2016 Benjamin Franklin Gold Medal Award for BEST NEW VOICE IN FICTION in Salt lake City on April 8, 2016.
On Friday, April 20, 2018, Rotarians from District 5960, which covers south east and east metro Minnesota and western Wisconsin, met at the District Conference of Clubs at Mystic Lake Center for the annual celebration.
This year, there was more excitement in the air. The District introduced an awards program that recognized clubs for various categories and based on the size of the club – Large, Medium, or Small.
Please join us Monday, March 19, for our speakers Maggie Mau and Diana Dalsin for an informative discussion and update on Bridging.
Bridging, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization serving the greater Twin Cities, provides donated furniture and household goods to families and individuals transitioning out of homelessness and poverty. Bridging gives hope – and for many – a leap toward financial stability for the first time. With locations in Roseville and Bloomington, Bridging is driven by volunteers and donations of basic home essential items from the community.
Since 1987, Bridging has served nearly 90,000 local Twin Cities households, and reduces landfill space by 10 million pounds each year.
Join Us! Next week Monday for our speaker Loraine Jensen
Presentation: Runic Inscriptions
What are runes? What does runic writing teach us about our Scandinavian ancestry? This presentation will provide an overview of the thousands of rune stones existing today, primarily in Scandinavia, but some in North America.
About the Speaker: Loraine Jensen is the President and founder of the American Association for Runic Studies (AARS), a nonprofit organization based in Roseville, MN, promoting scholarly research on runes and runic inscriptions in Europe and North America.
With all of the hype about the emerging drone industry, I'll share what are drones actually doing now and what can we expect in the future. Amazing things are happening everyday as individuals and companies discover the utility of drones in daily tasks. Farmers are monitoring plant health to increase yields, wind turbine blades are inspected for damage, utility companies are using drones for storm damage assessment, and the list goes on. The future holds even more promise and eventually we may even see delivery to our front door using drones.
Monique Hammond was a pharmacist at a major hospital when she lost her hearing in one ear due to loud noise at a church fund-raiser. Unable to hear sufficiently well to perform her job duties, she quit her job and now has a “new mission in life - helping others to avoid hearing loss.”
Monique describes hearing loss as a “silent epidemic” and “invisible” disability” that impacts about 1/5 of Americans. Hearing loss is significant because it impacts us socially, emotionally, professionally and financially. Hearing loss creates a sense of isolation, which can trigger depression and possibly dementia. Join us! to learn more.
Author, What Did You Say? An Unexpected Journey Into the World of Hearing Loss
This is a reminder that we have NO NOON meeting today, January 15, 2018, due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday. Our next meeting will be on Monday, January 22, 2018.
Reminder that there will be a Celebration of Life memorial tonight for Melanie Mogg.
A celebration of life is scheduled for Monday, January 15th, at The Woman's Club, 410 Oak Grove Street, Minneapolis, From 5 to 9 PM. Food and beverages are to be served as well as an ‘open mic'.
President Julie Wearn called the meeting to order at 12:30. The first order of business was to acknowledge the surprise greeters and old friends, Jingle Mahan and Jeanne Matlock. The second important piece of business was to sing Happy Birthday to Al Gerdin who was celebrating 90 years! Those in attendance were also lucky enough to enjoy a delicious birthday cake in Al’s honor. Next, Julie presented holiday gifts from the club to three Radisson servers (Tony, Max and Miguel) and thanked them for the great service they provide throughout the year.
Jingle Mahan, Jeanne Matlock
Jingle and Jeanne led the pledge of allegiance and four way test, and it was clear Jingle was a bit rusty as she started with the four way test. Dick Einan provided an invocation with words of wisdom from the book “Nice Bike.” Joan Kallenberg introduced the following visitors and guests:
Visitors Jeanne Matlock – Stillwater Sunrise John Risdahll – New Brighton / Mounds View Don Craighead – E-Club Jingle Mahan
Guests Ann Marie Forshay – member of the Roseville Optimist Club and guest of Loren Swanson Marcy Gerdin – daughter and guest of Al Gerdin
The “program” for the day was a round table brainstorming session where Rotarians rotated clockwise to six different tables and earned tickets for providing ideas. The tickets were entered into one of five boxes for a chance to win a prize. The topics at each table included 1) Taste of Rosefest (grow ticket sales), 2) Tell Us About You, 3) Membership (increasing), 4) Foundation Giving, 5) Retention, and 6) Next Big Project / Idea. The room was very energetic and there were many great ideas, some of which are going to be implemented immediately.
The New Brighton/Mounds View Rotary Club would like to invite the Roseville Rotary Club to join them at Risdall Marketing, 2685 Long Lake Rd Roseville, at noon on Tuesday, December 19 to enjoy a Christmas concert & sing along with Mr Jason Etten and the Irondale High School Choir. Join fellow Rotarians for excellent dinning and Christmas carols to get us in the mood for the holiday season.
Terry Gilberstadt introduced the speaker for the day: a local Author Roger Barr. He has written 9 novels and will be talking about his story, “Getting ready for Christmas”
12:30PM Meeting was called together by President Julie Wearn.
Invocation: By Ed Studniski
Introductions of visitors and guests: by greeter Lynne Megan
Happy Dollars: Several members donated a few dollars each to polio plus because of what they are happy for!
Kyle Haugen reminds us to fill out the District 5960 Survey!! It has come to you in your e-mail.
Deb Nygaard: January 7th from 1PM to 4PM will be workshops for making the feminine hygiene pads for young girls in 3rd world countries. It’s a nice social event as well as productive. (Click Here for More Information)
Terry Gilberstadt introduced the speaker today, Sam Stoffels of the Engineers without borders, (EWB). He is a structural engineer working on the SW light rail project.
Julie Wearn began the meeting a bit early After the Pledge and the 4-way test Ted Johnson gave the invocation about the Chicken project in Nakivale, Uganda.
Joan Kallenberg introduced visitors and Guests
Visitor: Don Craighead
Jim Ostlund introduced Dale Thomas (engineers without borders)
Happy Dollars were collected by Jerry Hromatka
Holiday meeting is next Monday at the Oval. Entertainment will be the Roseville High School Choir.
New President elect is David Kray! Thank you David for making that commitment.
Jan Vanderwall announced the end of the year for giving to the Rotary Foundation. As one of the award winning clubs for contributing to the Foundation, Thank you for all you have done and hopefully we can stay in that position. It’s not about the status for our club, but about all the good things that will be done for others with the money we contribute.
Roseville Schools Superintendent Aldo Sicoli passed out brochures on building bond facts and discussed the upcoming bond referendum of $144 million on Nov. 7 at the Roseville Rotary Club on Oct. 30. Early voting has started.
Program: Roseville Schools Superintendent Aldo Sicoli on the upcoming bond referendum
Greeter/pledge -- Terry Carlson
Invocation – Jerry Hromatka
Record reporter -- Pam O’Meara
During Happy Dollars, Pam O'Meara announced that her son, Brendan O'Meara, briefly a Roseville Rotarian until he changed jobs and joined another club, is currently running for Mounds View School Board.
President Julie Wearn called the meeting to order at 12:30 p.m.
We gathered for our regular Monday meeting and were greeted by Al Gerdin who also led us in reciting the flag pledge and four-way test. Ed Studniski offered the invocation. Today, we welcomed 5960 District Governor Kyle Haugen and his wife Carrie; past 5960 DG Jerry Meigs and Steve Dehler a guest of Mary Jo McGuire.
World Polio Day is 24 October 2017 - established by Rotary International over a decade ago to commemorate the birth of Jonas Salk. As of 2017, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative has reduced polio worldwide by more than 99%.
DG Kyle Haugen, Gayland Bender
DG Kyle Haugen, President Julie Wearn
Kyle Haugen assisted the club in recognizing Gayland Bender with a Major Donor award, Julie Wearn and Al Gerdin with Paul Harris Awards and Angela Eifert with a Benefactor Certificate.
Liz Ostrander, President Julie Wearn
Liz Ostrander and Scott Michaelis were inducted as new Roseville Rotary members by Julie Wearn.
Pledge of Allegiance led by Lori Pulkrabek who was also the greeter.
Joan Kallenberg introduced visitors and guests.
Happy Dollars were collected by Jan Vanderwall and Julie Wearn.
Visiting Rotarian Micheal Thomas, President Julie Wearn
Board meeting this afternoon (Oct 16th) at 4:30
PDG Jim Hunt let us know about the district grant project of the White Bear Lake Club in Costa Rica. It is to put a roof over The Rancho Quemado Community Center . It’s about a $35,000 project and he is within $1500 of completion and looking for cooperation.
Terry Gilberstadt introduced our speaker Christa Tiefenbacher-Hudson who is a native of Germany and here to talk about the status of what is happening in Germany.
October 2 – Rotation Day –The purpose of Rotation Day is to provide Rotarians an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the variety of vocational areas represented in our club and our community by visiting a diversity of venues and seeing their operations first-hand. Please see the attached signup sheets for a list of registered attendees for Rotation Day.
Hosts for Rotation Day:
1. Deb Nygaard Arthur’s Residential Care, 2437 Rice Street,
3. Angela Eifert - American Refugee Committee, 615 1st Ave NE, Ste 500, Minneapolis, Open– members are encouraged to car pool. (parking limited)
4. Melanie Mogg, Sands, Lee Anderson CPA firm. 5 east County Road B. Topic is "Tax Policy matters: Lessons from 40 years of experience" OPEN
Participation in Rotation Day is in lieu of the normal Monday Club meeting attendance. If you are able to host please contact Terry Carlson ,tjcarlson@hotmail.com.
Program: Dr. Greg Young and Linda Robertson, “Clean Cooking Stove Project”
Dr. Greg Young, Terry Gilberstadt, Linda Robertson
Working with the Guatemalan East Rotary, the Hudson Daybreak Rotary is partnering to support a program that seeks to improve the health of indigenous Guatemalans, empower local women and to protect the environment by participating in the funding and construction of clean cooking stoves.
Cooking with improperly vented cooking stoves not only consumes a large amount of wood fuel, but the smoke can cause serious sight and respiratory illnesses, headaches and eye irritation.
Terry Gilberstadt called the meeting to order at 12:30 p.m.
Today we gathered for our regular Monday meeting and were greeted by Carrie Sundberg who also led us in reciting the flag pledge and four-way test. Jerry Hromatka offered the invocation. There were no visitors or guests today.
General club announcements and business
October 2nd is Rotation Day – if you haven’t signed up yet please contact the office. If you have signed up, please go directly to your host business.
There will be no meeting Monday, October 9 – Happy Columbus Day!
Our next meeting at the Radisson will be on Monday October 16th when speaker Christa Tiefenbacher –Hudson will talk about Germany and the current political climate in the EU.
Prior to the official start of the meeting, Taste of Rosefest silent auction coordinator Luke Ferden auctioned off the remaining unclaimed items of this year’s auction. Thanks to all who bid!
The meeting was officially called to order at 12:20 (10 minutes early) by President Julie Wearn. The meeting was started early with a goal of ending at 1:05 so everyone could view the solar eclipse. Greeter Jan Vanderwall led the flag pledge and four-way test. Ted Johnson delivered the invocation and announced the club member Jim Foley is doing ok in intensive care after undergoing two brain surgeries. Ted also mentioned the Nakivale Rotaract Club is starting a new project to fight malaria.
Joan Kallenberg introduced one guest – Mike Banner, a friend of Gayland Bender, and one visitor – Tad Lunden who is the husband of GSE team member Carly Lunden.
Following introductions, Julie reminded everyone there is no noon meeting on August 28 as the State Fair meeting is that evening. If you plan to attend and have not contacted Kathy, please do so.
Gayland Bender (Team Lead Alternate), Mario Hernandez, Jon Huffmaster, Linsey Day, Carly Lunden, President Julie Wearn
The presenters for the meeting were four members of the Northern Australia and Timor Leste GSE team – Carly Lunden, Lindsey Day, Jon Huffmaster and Mario Hernandez. Carly was sponsored by the Roseville Rotary Club. The GSE team initially traveled 42 hours to Darwin, Australia then visited various cities in Queensland, Australia and Timor Leste over a one month period. The team members stayed with host families, spoke at local Rotary clubs, met with professionals in their field and visited landmarks among a host of other activities. A couple of their favorite facts from the trip: 1) they were asked about Trump multiple times per day and 2) Australians abbreviate every work possible and have fun sayings. Each team member discussed their takeaways and most memorable things from the trip. Some of which included seeing Kangaroos on a golf course, shopping at a Target similar to stores in the U.S. other than the items on the shelf, learning about the Aboriginal culture, scuba diving, white water kayaking, flying in a hot air balloon, viewing 20,000 year old rock art, celebrating Anzac days, riding in a Russian WWII plane performing aerial acrobatics and learning about SOLS 24/7 in Timor Leste. Jon explained Timor Leste has had independence for only 15 years and SOLS 24/7 is a great program to develop young adults into future leaders and entrepreneurs. Overall it sounded like the GSE team had a wonderful trip!
Following the meeting, club members evacuated the Radisson to view the solar eclipse only to see a cloudy sky. I guess we’ll have to wait until April 8, 2024.
Our speaker today was introduced by Terry Gilberstadt. Bill Blazer is senior vice president of public affairs and business development at the Minnesota Chamber. He is responsible for the chamber’s policy and political programs and directs Grow Minnesota and the Chamber’s statewide business retention and assistance program. His topic was the “Importance of Immigrants in the Workforce”.
Roseville Rotarians gathered for our regular Monday meeting and were greeted by Marv Sorvala. President, Julie Wearn called the meeting to order and Marv led the pledge. Ed Studniski was our Invocation leader and reminded us to appreciate each day. Special welcome to our new corporate members, Rosedale Center and Olson Thielen.
Announcements:
August 28, we will meet at the State Fair at 5:00 PM at the Horton Pavilions in Hefron Park.
September 11, we will meet at Autumn Grove Park meeting room located on Hamline and Lydia.
September 18, State Capital Tour and box lunch after the tour (no formal meeting that day).
October 2, Rotation Day – contact Kathy if you would like to volunteer your organization.
Many Happy Dollars abounded!
Good thoughts for Bob Rosene, a card was circulated.
Good thoughts for Jim Foley, Jim had surgery on Sunday night to remove blood from around his brain on both sides; he had surgery again this morning to remove blood just from the right side. The doctors are hoping to have it resolved. Jim will be in the hospital for about a week, but is not taking visitors. He hopes to be back at Rotary soon.
Julie Wearn called the meeting to order at 12:30 p.m. Hyon Kim greeted us and also led the flag pledge and four-way test. Mary Jo McGuire offered the invocation. Deb Nygaard introduced visitors and guests.
General club announcements and business
Join us at the State Fair – August 28, 2017 at 5:00 PM – no noon meeting. Sign up with Kathy
The YMCA garden needs volunteers to weed, water, help pick the harvest and teach visitors about the items planted. If you are interested contact Jennifer at jennifer.thomas@ymcamn.org
Erik Christenson, Deb Nygaard, Julie Wearn
Julie Wearn and Deb Nygaard Inducted Eric Christenson to membership in Roseville Rotary. If you have not already done so, please be sure to introduce yourself at upcoming meetings.
Roseville Rotarians gathered for our regular Monday meeting and were greeted by Ted Johnson. President Elect Terry Gilberstadt, called the meeting to order and Ted lead the pledge. Ted Johnson was our Invocation leader and reminded us of all the great Minnesota blessings we have. Visitors and guests were introduced by (who else?) Ted Johnson.
Announcements:
Special welcome to our new future corporate members – Rosedale Center and Olsen Thielen and Co, LTD!
Welcome to Dave Beal, retired business editor and columnist for St. Paul Pioneer Press and currently a freelance writer.
Join us at the State Fair – August 28, 2017 at 5:00 PM – no noon meeting. Sign up with Kathy – you even receive a State Fair ticket!
Kevin Keenan invited us to their club’s event ,Taste of Hops! on Friday August 18th, Click Here for more information.
Many Happy Dollars !!!
Next week come and hear about the Super Bowl in Minnesota in 2018!
Ted Johnson served as the Greeter and led the Pledge of Allegiance
Hyon Kim offered the invocation
Luke Ferden: introduced Visitors and Guests
Visiting Rotarian John Risdall, Prospective new members, Lia Dunnigan, Zach Deo, Sara Hirsch, Carrie Sundberg, George Krienke’s guest Linda Stassel, Hyon Kim’s guest Lynn Scott
Julie Wearn, Ted Johnson
Ted Johnson received a special Pin for 40 years of Perfect Attendance with Rotary!
Ted also Announced he was recruiting people to help with the “Y” garden.
Ted also talked of Sam Owori’s passing and the ceremonies that are in progress.
Brad: Wed Night is the TC Rotaract social event at 5:30PM at the Summit Brewery. Sign up online or call Kathy.
State Fair Meeting is coming up, sign up
September 18th is the Roseville Rotary Club at the State Capital
Marc Culver, Kari Collins, Julie Wearn
Kari Collins is the Community Development Director for the City Of Roseville. She is putting together a Comprehensive Plan for the next 20 years. It’s title is “2040 Comprehensive Plan Update”. Elements being considered are:
Visions and Goals
Community Context
Land Use
Transportation
Housing and Neighborhoods
Resilience
Economic Development
Environmental Protection
Parks, Open Space and Recreating Utilities
Implementation
Roseville expects Growth of 840 people between now and 2040.
The growth in the numbers of families will exceed the growth the number of people! This will be because of the smaller family size we are experiencing.
Marc Culver: Public Works Director
The big question is how to use transportation system to support the balance of the plan. What needs to be revamped, added to, anticipating traffic problems and connecting to other systems in the municipalities surrounding Roseville.
Kari and the Planners have utilized various methods of contacting and conversing with community members to get their input. Methods include Meetings, On line input, group presentations etc.
The plan will be submitted to adjoining communities and let them have it for 6 months. Then it will be submitted to the Met Council by December 31, 2018.
Marc says that they are working on compliance to the ADA code in all new projects and they are also inspecting existing plants for their compliance.
Don Salverda asked about the changes that came along with the new department heads. The basic answer was that the goals and objectives of the departments have defined the department changes. Some people have turned over, some new software has been implemented and they have flexibility to adapt as situations determine.
Kari is the go to person for questions about economic development.
Roseville borders 11 different municipalities in the TC. Pat Trudgeon challenged us to name them all. Can you?
Planning includes, plug-ins for electric cars, driverless cars. The answer that will determine much of the transportation of the future is the price of fuel in 2040 and they failed to tell us what gasoline would cost then!
As I stated in my previous message, funeral services details in Kampala for RI President-elect Sam Owori have been confirmed and can now be shared. Sam will be buried with state honors, as announced by the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni. Funeral services for Sam begin on Tuesday, 25 July, when he will be laid in state for a public viewing from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., immediately followed by a special parliament session in remembrance. On Wednesday, 26 July, there will be a eulogy service for all Rotarians to attend at Lugogo Indoor Stadium from 9:15 a.m. to 2 p.m. On Thursday, 27 July, the funeral service will begin at 9 a.m. at St. Paul Cathedral, Namirembre. RI Vice President Dean Rohrs will be attending as Rotary’s representative.
For those who are unable to attend, condolences may be addressed to Mrs. Norah Agnes Owori, c/o Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda (ICGU), Crusader House, Plot 3 Portal Avenue, Kampala, Uganda or via email to: sam.owori@rotary.org.
I hope that in this time of great sadness that we continue to remember and honor Sam for the kind, generous soul that he was.
Sincerely, Ian Riseley Rotary International President, 2017-18
The meeting was called to order at 12:25 by our new President Julie Wearn.
David Kray was the Greeter and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Melanie Mogg gave us a thoughtful invocation.
Ted Johnson Introduced visitors and guests to include Chris Pulchrabek from Health Partners, Erik Christensen Our most recent new member and Hugh Schilling from Rotary #9.
Jerry Hromatka announced that he is still working on the data from the Taste of Rosefest. He had 4 tickets to a Saints game and drew names out of a container which went to Jan Vanderwall. Then Jerry proceeded to collect Happy Dollars from several members who had good news to share.
Marny Farrell , Julie Wearn
Terry Gilberstadt introduced the speaker of the day, Marny Farrell who is the Rehab Director in the Health Partners Neuroscience Center in St. Paul. They work in conjunction with Regions Level 1 Trauma Center. The first revelation was the fact that the brain and spinal cord is plastic and can be rehabbed much more than previously believed.
They focus on 3 principles of Care, Rehab and Research. Their research is funded by several non-governmental parties. Their budget is about $10.5 Mil.
One of her primary challenges to patients is to not live your diagnosis. Think of yourself as a rehabbed individual and work toward that goal.
Dr. Hussein is their stroke specialist who has what she described as a huge amount of energy and passion for his work. As a result his patients report a 50% decrease in longevity in the treatment program. They also have clinics for Memory and Aging, ALS, Spinal Cord Injury and Parkinson’s. As a clinic they have been thinking big, creating big proposals and now have the challenge of continuing to deliver results approaching their big ideas.
There were some in the audience who could use some of these services in their families and asked questions about admittance to the neuroscience center. They do provide services to patients from fee for service patients to those covered by most insurance companies. As those questions expanded, I’m sure Marny will be helping those people get in touch with the right people to get their needs met.
Luke Ferden provided a pleasant greeting and led the Flag Pledge.
President-elect Terry Gilberstadt called the meeting to order at 12:30 p.m. Deb Nygaard offered the invocation. Terry Gilberstadt introduced visitors and guests.
Visting Rotarians/Guests
Visiting Rotarian Ron Hughes, Excelsior Rotary Club; Summer Rotary Youth Exchange students, Lia Tang and Nea Vasama; Mike Banner, guest of Gayland Bender; Barb Einan, guest of Dick Einan; Kora Bosivert, guest of Deb Nygaard; Vanshay Murdock, Videographer CTV North Suburbs; Carrie Sundberg and Sara Hirsch, Olsen Thielen CPA’s; and Erik Christenson from Spire Credit Union.
Inbound Summer Rotary Youth Exchange Student Nea Vasama presented Terry Gilberstadt with a club banner from her host Rotary Club in Piikkio Finland.
Ted Johnson presented President-elect Terry Gilberstadt a club banner from the Rotary Club of Kampala - Ssese Islands in Uganda.
Brad Kircher called the meeting to order at 12:30 p.m. and also led the flag pledge and four-way test. Dick Einan offered the invocation. Terry Gilberstadt introduced visitors and guests.
General club announcements and business
Due to the holiday, there will be no regular Club meeting on Monday July 3, 2017.
The next meeting is Monday July 10, 2017. Greg Krauska will speak about ShelterBox, an organization that assists disaster survivors during the critical period following a disaster but preceding reconstruction. ShelterBox supplies help survivors through the first few days, weeks and months as they rebuild their lives.
“WE DID IT AGAIN!” Jerry Hromatka reports that preliminary ticket counts show that more than 720 people attended the 10th Annual Taste od Rosefest event in spite of the mid-morning deluge. Ticket proceeds are still being counted—so a final tally won’t be available until the July 10th meeting.
Pat Trudgeon accepted a check in the amount of $1,200.00 on behalf of the City of Roseville for Rotary Woods.
Program
Today’s meeting marked the Club officer change of leadership. Brad Kirscher turned over the president’s gavel to Julie Wearn, Roseville Rotary Club President for 2017–18.
Speaking first, Brad recognized charter members, introduced key members and guests and thanked the 2016–17 board. Before reviewing the accomplishments of his time in office he remembered Roland Wilsey, Seth Eggessa and Herb Mischke, members who passed away during the last year.
Julie Wearn began her remarks thanking Brad for his leadership and presenting him with his Past-President’s pin and a gift from the Club that included induction into the Rotary Fellowship of Beer with a canary yellow shirt, de rigueur for Rotary Beer-Buddies and the 5:01 Happy Hour.
Julie then recapped the recent Rotary International Conference in Atlanta and discussed her intentions for the coming year.
President Julie Wearn adjourned the meeting at 1:25 p.m.
Roseville Rotarians gathered for our regular Monday meeting and were greeted by a friendly handshake by Dick Einan.
President Brad called the meeting to order. Dick lead the pledge; Rob Davidson was our Invocation leader. He did a remembrance of our wonderful member, Herb Mishke, who passed away last week. Joan Kallenberg introduced visitors and guests.
The meeting was called to order by President Brad Kirscher at 12:30PM.
Greg Carlson greeted attendees as they arrived and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Julie Wearn gave the invocation using John Woodend’s 7 things as a basis.
Joan Kallenberg announced that there were no guests or visitors.
Brad Kirscher, Ted Johnson
Ted Johnson reported on the progress in Nakivale Uganda with the Rotaract club there. They now have 43 members of which 18 are women. They have oodles of books in English and the common language of the camp is Swahili! They have 3 sponsoring Rotary Clubs, Roseville, Kampala and Barrara, the last two of which are in Uganda.
Loren Swanson mentioned the close affiliation we have with Books for Africa and the Article in the Star Tribune Monday that talked multiple times about the good things Books for Africa was doing.
Terry Gilberstadt is still seeking more items for the Auction at Taste of Rosefest. Contact Terry especially if you have a unique item to offer.
Deb Nygaard announced that Mark Herringshaw on 6/19/2017 will speak about the transfer of knowledge to our children/younger generation.
Ted Johnson is seeking volunteers to go to the “Y” to help with the garden we have been supporting there. Contact Jenn Thomas, Jennifer.Thomas@ymcamn.org at the YMCA if you can help. June Volunteer Schedule
Brad Kirscher, Todd Abramson
Julie Wearn introduced the speaker for the day, Todd Abramson who is the COO of the Minnesota United Football Club, (MNUFC Soccer).
Todd talked about the Logo created for the club and it’s significance, how team points are scored for team rankings, the cheering section situated behind one of the goals. The Cheering section for the MNUFC has already grown from 100 to about 2000.
Their new stadium is being built at the intersection of Snelling and I94 in St. Paul Midway area. He expects it to be the nicest in the country with about 80% of the fans covered by a roof. The partial roof will act as a megaphone so the noise level should be high during the games. It is all privately funded. It will have about 20,000 seats and between 12 and 24 Suites. There will be a club area behind some of the sections of seats for fans to congregate in. Local artists will be featured on some of the walls. There will be a nice “Green Area” outside the stadium for fan gatherings. The Architect is Populous who also designed the Target Center and be builder will be Mortenson who constructed the US Bank Stadium. They will have 17 – 18 games a year played here by the MNUFC and additionally they expect to see some U of M soccer, High School Soccer and maybe some hockey played here as well.
A couple of the owners, the Pohlad’s and Glen Taylor will be turning over the deed to the stadium to the City of St. Paul after it is built and in return they will get certain lease rights.
Thank you Todd for an insight to Major League Soccer in the Twin Cities.
Roseville Rotarians gathered for our regular Monday meeting and were greeted by a friendly handshake by Lynne Megan.
President Brad called the meeting to order. Lynne lead the pledge; Ted Johnson was our Invocation leader. Angela Eifert introduced visitors and guests.
Special Announcements
Community Garden @ the YMCA needs volunteers.
No meeting nest Monday – Happy Memorial Dayholiday.
Jan Vanderwall presented the history (briefly) of the Rotary Foundation which is 100 years’ young this year. A guy named Arch Klump had the foresight to donate $26.50 in 1917 to the Society for Crippled Children (Easter Seals) on behalf of the Rotary Clubs. Merely coincidence that we are fighting Polio around the world 100 years later. The power of Rotary is the Global Grants that are matched by other clubs and by the Rotary foundation. Our Rotary Foundation projects receive 95% of the money pledged. These generous people who support grants are a testament to Rotary being able to help thousands around the world through the Rotary Foundation. Click Hereto donate online.
We met Lia Tang. Our Short-Term Exchange student going to Finland in July and hosting a Finnish student here in August.
Ted Johnson reported on our new Rotoract Club being formed in Uganda at a refugee camp. Angela Eifert is working with Ted in conjunction with American Refugee Committee (ARC). There are 43 members and Ted and Angela will be traveling to Uganda soon.
Ted also reported on the Global Grant for the Sri Lanka Teacher exchange we are preparing to raise next year to support the program for the next 2-3 years.
Silent Auction items are needed for the Taste of Rosefest. Luke Ferden, Maureen Rehfuss or Terry Gilberstadt would be happy to receive your donations. Ladies of Rotary will be meeting at Precision Forms from 10:00-noon on Saturday, June 3, 2017, to assemble baskets. All ladies are welcome!
President Brad introduced out own Dauphine Dormans, our Rotary Youth Exchange student from Belgium. Dauphine explained her country and the several languages spoken there. When Dauphine arrived, she spoke very little English but seems to have mastered it very well in her year. Dauphine has lived with 3 different families and had interesting experience with each of them. The year program has conge by quickly and Dauphine’s only regret is that she had begun having so much fun this spring and meeting so many new wonderful friends this year that she hates to have the year over. Dauphine has graduated from High School equivalent and will attend University when she returns in the fall. She has a keen interest in sports and food. She was a cheer leader this year and thought this was a really fun and unique experience for her. How did she find American Schools? She thought they were much easier the Belgium ones and there was not nearly the homework here compared to Europe.
Dauphine, you have been a delight to host and thank you for a very interesting and well planned talk. Best wishes for your future and I know you will stay in touch with many of the American and International friends you made this year.
Sending this to my Past District Governor list – still have you in my database! A few friends of Jerry Showalter are also included, as people do ask me if I know how he is doing. I visited him a couple of weeks ago and just happened to catch a happy moment. The nurse told me he sings all the time, even in Spanish. He was very happy while I was there, although he didn’t know me. Even though his thoughts are scattered all over the place, his inner joy of happier times is still living within him and he smiles a lot. Such great memories we all have of “Mr. Rotary!”
Jerry Showalter is still at North Ridge Care Center on Boone Avenue in New Hope.
The meeting was called to order by Brad Kirscher at 12:30PM.
The Greeter was Pat Trudgeon and he also led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Ed Studniski gave the invocation about Purpose
Luke Ferden introduced visitors and Guests
Deb Nygaard brought 2 guests Deb Bland and Jay Benedict
Don Craighead brought a friend from the Salvation Army, Liz Gerads
Gary Campbell, a PDG from Anoka Rotary also attended our meeting
Julie Wearn announced the Leadership Award Banquet of the Gavel Club. (Registration link,http://gavel-club.org/leadership-recognition-awards/ )Don Craighead and Lynne Megan have both been nominated for this award. Congratulations! to both of you!
Terry Carlson announced her retirement party which will be at the Radisson on Thursday June 1st from 3:30PM to 6PM. R.S.V.P to Cathy Nielsen, cathy.nielsen@state.mn.us by May 18th to attend. We are all invited…YEA.
The Boy Scouts will be having an open house at their facility near Fort Snelling on Wednesday, May 16th from 11:15 to Noon to celebrate their new addition. It is a very nice facility they have and are adding to it. They have not only Boy Scout events there but also Corporate meetings, weddings, bar mitzvahs’ , bat mitzvahs’ school groups, leadership gatherings etc.
Jerry Hromatka announced that we now have a new partner in the Taste of Rosefest, MGM Liquor Warehouse. Good work Jerry and Crew! Don’t forget to sign up for your work duty for the Taste. We need “all on board.”
Ashley Tripp , Brad Kirscher
Julie Wearn introduced the speaker for the day, Ashley Tripp.
Ashley has a Masters degree in Social Work and works with Tasks Unlimited. Tasks is an organization working with people with some form of Mental Illness helping them to achieve a life with the full rights and responsibilities of adults in our society. To do this they work with an array of programs to include: Housing in Lodge models so they have others people to live with and relate to, mental health services, supporting employment.
They employ mental health professionals that help their patients deal with things like homelessness, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and borderline personality. With their wide range of services, their patients spend an average of 9 days out of 100 hospitalized where the average hospitalization time for those outside of this program is 73 days per 100 hospitalized! Maybe this type of organization should be part of our health care system?
In offering their long term support, because mental health does not go away, the employees they put in the workforce spend an average of 10 years on a job where comparable others average less than a year on the job!
How does the government fit into this? Not much! Basically they have employees who specialize in Benefit Management, helping their patients pick up what they can from other government programs. To give us an idea of the scope of this problem, there are about 93,000 people in MN with some form of severe mental illness. Of those about 300 are working with Tasks Unlimited.
Thank you Ashley, for a densely packed, high speed presentation that forced me to pay total attention to the talk so I would not miss anything that was said!
Please plan on joining Roseville Rotary Club next Monday, May 15th for our speaker Ashley Trepp, MSW, LICSW, Director of Mental Health Services
As the director of mental health services, Ashley oversees Tasks Unlimited’s targeted case management, adult rehabilitative mental health services, intensive residential treatment services, job training program and Fairweather Lodge and jobs programs. Ashley has a master’s degree in social work from the University Of Minnesota and has had her LICSW for the past 10 years. She is an active member of the Coalition for Community Living board of directors and currently serves as the Vice President of the Mental Health Providers Association of Minnesota board of directors
Monday, May 8, 2017, provided a grass roots glimpse at the international reach of Rotary. The GSE (Group Study Exchange) team visiting from Northern Australia spent the day. This group of five very interesting people from Northern Australia and East Timor included one Rotarian, the team leader, and four non-Rotarians from district 9550.
They presented a formal program at the noon meeting and were guests at an informal pizza party in the evening.
Minutes for Roseville Rotary Meeting Monday Noon, May 8, 2017
Al Gerdin provided a pleasant greeting and led the Pledge-Of-Allegiance-To-The-Flag.
President Brad Kirscher rang the bell at 12:31 to start the meeting and lead the Four-Way-Test reminder of our mission. Julie Wearn gave a brief very heart felt invocation asking God to help us find peace and friendship and Joan Kallenberg introduced one visiting Rotarian, Hugh Schilling and introductions of the GSE team members was left for the program. Happy Dollars was great fun and raised cash for Polio Plus.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Greg Carlson reported that the highway cleanup Saturday was a great success. Theplethora of yellow bags along the Snelling Avenue interchange provided visual proof of this report.
An International Development program is to be held in Nicaragua. Donations can be made to the Fast-For-Hope project.
Taste of Rosefest is asking for $30.00 donation from each Rotarian for the Wall Of Wine. The committee can purchase the wine at good prices and have an organized range of priced wines.
The 501 Club is considering a Saint Paul Saints game night. Are Rotary membersinterested? Contact Brad Kirscher,brad@kirscherlawfirm.com.
Membership chairman, Deb Nygaard, announced that she has two guests coming nextweek. She will bake a pie for anyone who brings more guests than she does.
PROGRAM
Yogish, Gracina Herculano, Laura Goldstone, Brad Kirscher, Inacia Santos, Anna Williams, Ainslie Corridon
The visiting GSE team from District 9550 introduced themselves and their interests with very organized speeches and great visuals. The team leader, Rotarian Ainslie Corridon started with a description of their district in Northern Australia. It is vast! A flight from Townsville at the eastern edge of the district to Darwin at the western edge is roughly equivalent to a flight from St. Paul to Los Angeles.
Also, included in the district is Timor-Leste (East Timor) which is the eastern half of Timor Island located about 500 miles northwest of Darwin. [Timor is a country of
1.9 million people that was independent of Indonesia founded in 2002] Following this introduction each member of the team spoke using one simple projected visual with their name and background and a second visual to describe their work.
Anna Williams: Interior Decorator in Townsville. She started a business doing homes and other small projects and has grown the practice to include much larger projects and buildings.
Yogish: Civil Engineer. Born and educated in India, worked in Ireland for three years then lost his job and moved to North Queensland about five years ago. He manages bridge and roadway design and construction.
Inacia Santos: Agricultural consultant. This is mountain country where coffee, the major is grown. Her work includes consulting on the growing, harvesting, selling, and transporting coffee.
Gracina Herculano: Director of an education project in Timor-Leste. She was raised in a small town in Timor-Leste that has no road and can only be reached by a three hour walk or horse ride.
Ainslie Corridon: Team Leader, is a member of the Darwin Sunrise Rotary Club. She is a Legal Professional that writes laws for the Northern Territory parliament. She recently finished her legal education and expect to become certified later this year.
They answered questions and exchanged club banners to end the program. One of the questions was "...how long have they been in Minnesota" and another was "... what has been their most interesting experience?" Answers were: "... we arrived two weeks ago" "...we enjoyed the Spam Museum in Austin and walking on water (frozen) at the Roseville arena. None of us have ever seen snow."
Notes for Pizza Party Monday Evening, May 8, 2017
Ted Johnson and Melanie Mogg hosted a refreshments and pizza gathering at Villa Park Condominiums Monday evening at five o'clock. This was a very informal affair. i.e.
no speeches. A number of Roseville Rotarians attended as well as the Australian GSE team. The food was terrific. Conversation encouraged by a glass of wine and some
munchies ranged from current movies to global politics. Topics that seemed to enter each conversation were geography and language. The team spoke "American English"
not "Australian". They said that northern Australian speech was quite different from southern Australian and they had learned some key items of American use of the English language.
After this long interesting day, the gathering broke up about eight o'clock.
Brad Kircher called the meeting to order at 12:30 p.m. Gayland Bender greeted us as we arrived and led the flag pledge. Julie Wearn offered the invocation. Ted Johnson introduced visitors and guests, Jack Gibbons from Stillwater Sunrise and Lynne Megan’s husband, Kevin.
General club announcements and business
Roseville Rotary is sponsoring the Nakivale Roteract Club in Uganda’s Nakivale refugee settlement. This effort is a first for Rotary. We are supporting work in a refugee settlement of more than 80,000 people, helping refugees survive conflict and crisis and rebuild lives of dignity.
It’s time for the Roseville Rotary Road Cleanup. It is a fun event and we need YOU to volunteer. We’ll gather at Grumpy’s parking lot at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday May 6, 2017. To join up, contact Greg Carlson, 651-485-3992, gwcarlson@hotmail.com.
Stamp out Hunger food collection drive is on May 13, 2017, volunteers needed. If you can help, please contact Kathy at the Rotary office.
Remember, the incoming Australia GSE Team arrives on the 7th of May.
On May 1 our speaker will be Neema Namadamu, a visionary game-changer. Come listen to her remarkable talk. The meeting will be open to Rotarians and guests in our District (registration is required for guests at this meeting). Contact Kathy or visit our website for more information.
Program
Julie Wearn introduced today’s speaker, Joshua Campbell, a believer in the use of visual arts and music in commercial messaging.
Josh Campbell is the founder and owner of Brilliant Fête, a theatrical entertainment organization that provides listener and audience engagement for nonprofit and for-profit corporations that want to get their messages heard. Really heard.
Brilliant Fête works with its clients to help make their key message presentations more informative, interesting and memorable by employing visual, theater arts, dance and music. The use of art provides perspective and empathy to the message. It allows the viewer to step back and see things through fresh eyes.
Josh has worked in theater and entertainment in New York City, Las Vegas, Chicago, and the Twin Cities. This experience has shown him that both people and companies connect through stories. Using this knowledge, Josh helps his clients infuse their messaging with art and performance to make their stories come alive.
Himself a performer, Josh has toured with national performance companies. In addition to his event work at Brilliant Fete, Josh works as a director and producer in the Minneapolis area on both regional and national plays, and musicals.
Join us Monday, April 24th for our Speaker Josh Campbell
Josh Campbell is the owner of Brilliant Fête, a theatrical entertainment company that provides art for meetings, events, conventions, and shows. He is also an independent theater artist nationally and locally- as a director, producer, writer, and actor, as well as an emcee and creative director.
Josh will also be presenting on Friday, April 28th at the Rotary District 5960 Conference at 10:45am. Breakout titled: "Discovering Your Rotary Story"
Roseville Rotarians gathered for our regular Monday meeting and were greeted by a friendly handshake by Ed Studniski.
President Brad called the meeting to order. Ed lead the pledge, Dick Einan was our Invocation leader. Joan Kallenberg introduced visitors and guests.
Special Announcements
Jan, Loren, Ted, Melanie, Herb, Mary, Ed
Sign up for the District Convention – there will be lots of fun and interesting people and speakers.(click here)
Special Thank You to Dr. George Krienke for sponsoring Health Day and to the great Medical Techs from Park Nicollet Clinic that were with us. Dr. Krienke has sponsored this event for over 27 years!
Jan Vanderwall presented Paul Harris awards to a great group of folks. Hearty congratulations to Ed, Mary, Terry C., Herb, Melanie, Ted, Loren and Donovan. These generous people are a testament to Rotary being able to help thousands around the world through the Rotary Foundation.
Brad Kirscher, Dr. Nyonbeor Boley
Dr. George Krienke introduced our Health Day speaker, our own member, Dr. Nyonbeor Boley an esteemed physician in cardiology. Dr. Boley's resume is very impressive. He was born in Liberia and was trained at Harvard as a physician in 1995 with an emphasis on cardiology. He practiced at Mass General and in Virginia. He is currently in the midst of setting up a non-profit to help with cardiology care in 3rd world countries where the need is very great. He gave us some interesting statistics:
Cardiology as we know if started around 1900
Over 2000 people per day die from heard attacks – more than strokes
Previously there were more men than women victim but currently there are more women than men affected.
The heart starts beating 14 days after implantation.
The 2 biggest risk factors for heart disease are smoking and weight.
Dr. Boyer’s sage advice to us to live a long healthy life was to follow:
5 servings of fruits / vegetables daily
10 miles of walking (more like 20,000 steps per day!)
8 hours of sleep each night
Thank you, Dr. Boyer, for a great talk and take away of some simple but hard goals to achieve each day for a long life! We are fortunate to have such a knowledgeable member in our group.
12:30PM Meeting was opened by Terry Gilberstadt, the Roseville Rotary Club President elect nominee (2018-19)
Invocation by Ed Studniski: Shallow Readers beget shallow thinkers. Then he encouraged us to read more to expand our horizons and be lifelong learners.
Ted Johnson Introduced visitors and guests
Renee Tyo from the Blaine/Ham Lake Rotary Club
“Facetiously:” From the Roseville Rotary Club
Angela Eifert Back from Uganda
Bob Rosene and his favorite driver and Middle Daughter, Barb Rosene ******
Sam Owori, Rotary International President Elect Nominee
Angela Eifert talked about the new Nakivale Rotary Club in Uganda. This is whole-heartedly supported by ***** the leader of Uganda Rotary and Sam Owori the incoming president of Rotary International.
George Krinke announced Health Day. Come early, (11:15) to get your blood drawn.
If you desire the fasting test, ingest water only from Sunday 10:00PM until after the blood is drawn. Fasting test is $81.50 and non-fasting is $74.00. Normal charges for this service is reported to be in excess of $400!
The speaker for the day will be Dr. Boley, a cardiologist, who is a member of Roseville Rotary!
The May 1st meeting will have as the speaker Neema Namadamu who was a polio victim and as of 2014 is listed as 1 of the top 14 Women’s Rights Advocates to watch.
We had several happy dollars contributed to Rotary +.
Terry Gilberstadt, Noel Lutsey
Terry Gilberstadt introduced Noel Lutsey from the Rotary Club of New Richmond, WI as the speaker of the day who talked about his experience in Guatemala.
Wakami is a business model that empowers women. Noel’s/Wakami’s goal is to get money into the hands of women. With the income they become important in the community and have a voice in the community. Men have most of the money and thus most of the power. There is indeed resistance to the women getting money and power! This too shall pass as it has in our society.
Wakami begins with a dream workshop. Next the volunteers joined with the locals to clear the land and build the buildings needed to house their project. They built a technology center and began by equipping it with with some donated, refurbished computers. The buildings were built with bamboo to begin with and later they found kits to build the buildings. The workers that came from the USA included friends and families of the Rotarians.
Now women are working in their own businesses making merchandise and selling some of it locally and selling some of it using the internet. As you would expect this internet connection has opened the whole world to their products. Among the facilities, they created with the help of the locals, the nutrition programs to help keep them healthy the training in making marketable products and the use of technology to sell it they have created a business model that has helped women in this community to have their own finances and thus their independence to do the things they know needs to be done.
Thank you Noel for the way you have helped the world be a better place.
Roseville Rotary Club annual Health Day will be held on the 17th of April 2017...starting at 11:15 in the morning..before our regular Monday meeting.
***NEW! Pathway Lab Technicians will be doing the teasting. They are from Minneapolis Park Nicollet Laboratory.
Testing will include a Fasting Test and a Non-Fasting Test.
To take the Fasting Test you must fast from the previous evening. So no food or liquids after ten (10) pm Sunday night., water is OK. (no breakfast Monday morning) If you do eat, you stilll can take the non-fasting tests.
Cost: (We may be billed through the club)
Men - Fasting Test $81.50
Men - Non-fasting Test $ 74.00
Women - Fasting Test $ 63.50
Women - Non-fasting Test $ 56.00
A report will be mailed to all participants from Park Nicollet Laboratory.
Guests & Visitors welcome, you don't have to be a Rotarian to take the tests.
Roseville Rotary is excited for you to join us next Monday, April 10th, our speaker will be Noel Lutsey.
Noel is a member of the Blaine / Ham Lake Rotary, and has worked with other clubs to combat poverty in Guatemala. Come hear his passionate story, hear what Rotary can accomplish around the world, and invite a friend.
Here's a bit about Noel's topic:
Noel has worked with other clubs to build training pods in which to educate the local people on how to combat poverty. With training, they are being empowered to succeed themselves, not depend on charity. They are learning gardening techniques, hygiene, medical care, gaining access to clean water and nutritious food, and more. Come hear the passionate story of Rotarians working toward a common goal.
All were welcomed for the first meeting of April by David Kray. After enjoying a delicious lunch, President Brad Kirscher called the meeting to order at 12:30, then David Kray led the flag pledge and four way test. Dick Einan delivered the invocation about how small groups of citizens change the world. Jan Vanderwall made the long walk up to the podium to introduce the lone visitor, Ron Hughes from the Excelsior Rotary Club.
Following introductions there were several announcements:
Ted Johnson informed the club that he recently received an email from one of the REEP educators that visited us from Sri Lanka. The email thanked us for the opportunity and explained how the exchange really helped improve the teacher’s English and he has learned a lot after the trip. The teacher has now changed schools and received a promotion.
Deb Nygaard had the weekly “membership moment” and asked club members to invite friends and acquaintances to the meeting next week where Rotarian Noel Lutsey will be discussing the Guatemala Maternal, Child Health and Nutrition Center.
Brad Kirscher reminded the club that there is a special meeting on May 1 with guest Neema Namadamu, who is one of the presenters at the District Conference. Crippled by polio, Neema is the first woman with a disability from her ethnic group to earn a university degree. She served in Parliament for South Kivu province and then Chief Advisor to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Minister of Gender and Family. The meeting will be open to Rotarians and guests in our District and registration is required for guests at this meeting. Contact Kathy or visit our website for more information.
Brad Kirscher also announced that Bill Gates will be speaking at the International Conference this June in Atlanta.
Melanie Mogg recently returned from Arizona with a plethora of lemons from her tree. Meeting attendees had an opportunity to take lemons home with a free will donation benefiting REEP.
Next, several club members participated in Happy Dollars to raise money for Polio Plus.
Carolyn India-Black, Alicia Sandy, Brad Kirscher
The presenters for the meeting were Alicia Sandy and Carolyn India-Black who both have three children attending the Falcon Heights Elementary School (FHES). Alicia is also a kindergarten teacher at the school. FHES currently serves 520 students in grades K-6 of which 69% are white and 30% receive free or reduced lunches. Carolyn and Alicia came to discuss the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Adventures program that they just started to implement in the second half of the 2016-2017 school year. Many schools are lacking STEM curriculum because the curriculum is generally geared towards having the students reach certain reading achievement levels and we are starting to see a shortage of qualified individuals to fill STEM related jobs. The presenters indicated that STEM related occupations are growing at 17% while all others are growing at 9.8%. Additionally, individuals with a STEM education have higher income potential and play a key role in the growth and sustainability of the U.S. economy
The program, which helps kids see and think like designers and prepares them for future STEM curriculum, was initially funded by a grant from the PTA to have a STEM teacher come to each K-5 classroom two days per week (6th grade already has an engineering class). The grant also funded materials including Rokenbok RokBlocks and Mobile STEM Labs. Alisha explained that she discovered the Rokenbok curriculum at her prior teaching gig in California and FHES is the first school in Minnesota to use the curriculum. She demonstrated how the RokBlocks work and they are really cool. They are building materials like big Legos with different shaped blocks, pieces and movable parts like hinges. The children can start with build plans or do their own creative builds. Alisha indicated that the students really enjoy the RokBlocks and have fun while learning the design process. For example, she demonstrated how children are asked to build a hammer and then improve the design to make it stronger, more cost effective and user friendly.
Alisha explained that the STEM program has been a great success in its early stages and is helping students develop in science, physics, math, creativity and the ability to successfully work as a team. To continue and expand the STEM program, additional funding will be required and FHES is seeking to partner with the Roseville Rotary Club to continue the program next school year, purchase Snap Stack Mobile Stem Labs and purchase Basic Robotics Mobile STEM Labs. They made a financial request of $13,000 of which $10,000 would fund a part time teacher to visit each K-5 class 20 times, $1,200 would fund the Snap Stack labs and $1,800 would fund the Robotics labs. If the Club were to partner with FHES, the school would show appreciation by hanging a Roseville Rotary banner by the school’s front entrance, give acknowledgement on the school website and newsletter, attend future meetings to provide updates and invite Rotary members to attend events and STEM classes.
Brad Kircher called the meeting to order at 12:30 p.m. Luke Ferden greeted us as we arrived and led the flag pledge, followed by Ted Johnson who offered a centering invocation. Joan Kallenberg introduced a number of visiting Rotarians; Kent Peterson from Arden Hills whose guest was Jiui from South Korea, John Risdall and Paul Fournier, Rotarians from New Brighton / Mounds View, Kathy Ingulsrud from St. Paul Sunrise and District Governor Jim Hunt. Other guests included Carly Lunden, our GSE representative going to Australia, Alicia Sandy and Carolyn India-Black representing the STEM Program and Falcon Heights Elementary and Pam Tschida today’s speaker.
General club announcements and business
Sign up for the District Convention April 27 through the April 29, 2017– there will be lots of fun and interesting people and speakers. Click here for more information
St. Paul Sunrise Rotary Club hosts its 12th annual Community Forum "Addressing Mental Health and Minnesota’s Criminal Justice System: Can Minnesota Do Better? The event will be on Thursday, April 20, from 7:15 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. at the Town and Country Club in St. Paul. To register, contact Ed Marek at (612) 210-4342, or by e-mail at henakaga@yahoo.com .
Join us for the next Roseville Rotary 5:01 Happy Hour and Fellowship Meeting this Thursday, March 30 at Stout’s Pub. 1611 W. Larpenteur Ave, Falcon Heights, MN… at 5:01 p.m.
Stamp out Hunger food collection drive is on May 13, 2017, Volunteers needed. If you can help, please contact Kathy at the Rotary office.
Remember, the incoming Australia GSE Team arrives on the 7th of May.
Carly Lunden presented Brad Kirscher with a thank you card for our club for our support for her Group Study Exchange to Australia.
The Rotary District 5960 Fast for Hope initiative is working to effectively address the problem of systemic poverty in El Corozo, Nicaragua. This location was chosen because it is safe, Spanish speaking, and Rotary was able to partner with Kairos, an NGO (non-governmental organization) serving the area.
The Fast For Hope goal is to be sustainable, replicable, incorporate new ways of serving, and put volunteers on the ground.
The program model is based on a belief that the local community knows what they need and that community members will remain involved and take ownership of any solutions.
El Corozo residents identified several key needs such as education and literacy, access to medicine, access to other communities by road and easier access to potable water. Program success in El Corozo will help 500 people comprising 90 families who currently live in poverty.
You can help.
Working through Fast For Hope to solve the identified problems, Rotarians can have a significant impact and vastly improve the economic and social health of the area.
This effort is not funded through the Rotary Foundation, but through individual donations and District Grant Funds. Any Rotarian and their family members can participate in this project. It‘s an opportunity to meet the people, to see the country, to learn about the history and to see the work you are helping to fund.
District grants currently support literacy and delivery of medical kits, but the primary focus is now on improving the main seven-kilometer track to the neighboring community. An improved road would facilitate resident access to jobs, markets and water.
For more information, please contact the Fast for Hope Chair, Dave Newman, dave@bancorgroup.com
Roseville Rotarians gathered for our regular Monday meeting. Past President Jan Vanderwall called the meeting to order. Jenny Hedal reminded us in her Invocation to open our hears and give back to the community. Quite a nice message for our meeting meditation. Visitors and guests were introduced by Luke Ferden.
Special Announcements
Curling event this Saturday at 5:30 at the Frogtown Arena – previously known as the “Biff Arena” – registration still open contact Jim Ostlund
Sign up for the District Convention – there will be lots of fun and interesting people and speakers. Click Here for more information
Come hear the District Governor next week talk on Fast for Hope project
Happy Dollars abounded!!
Jan Vanderwall , Alan Anderson
This week we welcomed Northfield Rotarian, Alan Anderson to inform us about the compelling urgency of Climate Change and what we as Rotarians and Citizens can do about the very serious issue. Alan first got inspired on the issue of climate change by taking a course on it. He attended the Nobel conference on oceans in 2012 at Gustavus College in St. Peter and became inspired by the world thought on the subject. This struck a nerve in him that so much of Rotary’s wonderful plans and all of our future hopes for our kids and grandkids could be ruined by a significant irreversible climate change. With life in chaos the world’s population would never know the everyday pleasures and quality of life we have all enjoyed. Health, living spaces, food and government stability would be all interrupted. Just a small amount of average change can have devastating effects on the globe with melting seas and atmospheric weather pattern changes. This is really a scientific issue and not a political one.
What can we do? Write or call state representative to support legislation to reduce CO2 admissions. There are organizations such as www.CitizensClimateLobby.org
And there is a Northfield chapter – cclnorthfield.org
Thank you Dr. Anderson for informing us about the very important issue. I have noticed recently there is a lot more press about the issue and there are many local groups concerned – now we have to transform the concern into action – but don’t we Rotarians know how to do that??
Alan Anderson on Rotary's Legacy and the Challenge of Climate Change
Join us next Monday, March 20th to hear how The science on climate change is settled, per Alan Anderson, Northfield Rotary club member and advocate for reducing carbon emissions.
“It’s us. It’s getting warmer, and it’s urgent,” he said.
That’s Alan’s shorthand for: Our dependence on fossil fuels is the cause of unprecedented global warming, and the situation is dire.
Left unchecked, global warming will melt land ice, resulting in rising sea levels, resulting in coastal flooding, resulting in displaced people and hundreds of thousands of refugees who will require humanitarian aid. Alan said it will threaten all of Rotary’s good work in the developing world.
For the sake of our children and grandchildren, Alan says we cannot run the risk of sitting on our hands. Addressing the climate science skeptics, he said: “Are we willing to run an uncontrolled, irreversible experiment?”
He says we are the ones who must initiate the change. He calls it a terrible “intergenerational injustice” if we fail to address this critical issue.
Things to do:
◦Make climate change a personal priority.
◦Insist our state and national representatives support efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
◦Vote only for those who understand the issue and have made a commitment to change.
◦Become educated based on science not those who benefit from the status quo.
◦Courteously challenge climate change skeptics with real science from skepticalscience.com.
◦Encourage Rotary to get involved in climate change educations and national and worldwide initiatives that protect Rotary’s investment in the world.
Monday, March 13, looked like winter with a new layer of snow on the ground but the warm Rotary welcome felt like spring. Our President-elect Julie Wearn presided over the meeting, President Brad is living the good life on Spring Break.
Ed Studniski gave the invocation praying that the "world develops as a better place". Don Craighead introduced three guests, there were no visiting Rotarians.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
George Krinke pointed that April 17 would be "Health Day". Blood testing willbe provided before the meeting, guests are welcome.
Melanie Mogg reminded us that a GSE team from Australia here in June. She needshost homes and tour leaders to support these visiting Rotarians.
Jan Vanderwall announced that the Roseville Schools are alive and well and handedout the winter 2017 issue of 623 Today as support for his announcement.
Next week the speaker will be Alan Anderson from the Northfield Rotary Clubspeaking about Climate Change and its effect on future Rotary objectives.
PROGRAM
Julie Wearn, Pastor Jeff Zaugg
The speaker, Pastor Jeff Zaugg of the Substance Church, gave a presentation entitled "Engaging Younger Generations through Community Empowerment".
The Substance Church is a Christian organization started in 2004 by Pastors Peter and Carolyn Hass. The Church holds services at and various temporary locations in the Minneapolis/At. Paul area, they had offices in Roseville until one year ago when the moved to its own Northtown Campus in Spring Lake Park. Today they count their membership at about 3,200 and growing. 70% are under age 30.
Substance Church stresses two missions 'Community' and 'Empowerment'. Pastor Zaugg said ...' on the surface we look like a typical church that preaches the bible, but at Substance we're not afraid to do things differently." "Church does not start until the service is over". This means that after the classic type of service including singing, preaching, etc., the congregation is asked to move to a social environment and form Subgroup(s) ("Sub-" is a play on the Substance name) of five to twenty people to plan activities in the community. The activities may be service such as working at Feed-My-Starving-Children, tutoring, etc. or they may be social such as golfing, skating, etc. But, doing something for the community is always stressed.
WRITERS NOTE: I have lobbied for a coordinated mix of religion oriented
presentations at Roseville Rotary meetings. This idea was first introduced to me
by our member, the late Reverend Dick Gregory a retired Baptist missionary. The Roseville area has 23+ churches and groups with a wide distribution of denomination, tradition, and mission. They all need community understanding and support.
President-Elect Julie Wearn called the meeting to order at 12:30 PM.
Greeter and Pledge leader was: Lynne Megan
Guest of the day was introduced by: Jenny Hedal
Hyon Kim gave us the invocation.
Jim Ostlund:Curling is scheduled for March 25th at 4:30 at Frogtown Curling Club
Ted:YMCA Rotary Gardens planting and adding dirt is coming.He will be seeking volunteers in the near future.Salsa Party in the future?
Deb Nygaard Gave us a briefing on our speaker for next week and encouraged us to come hear from the Pastor of one of the fastest growing churches in the Metro area.The topic is Engaging younger generations through Community Empowerment.
Inbound GSE team coming May 7th.There are 6 members and we will need places for them to stay and people to help with their mobility and programming while they are here. Volunteers are needed, please contact Melanie Mogg, melanie@moggtax.com .
Julie Wearn, Tim Grant
Julie Wearn introduced our speaker for the day:Tim Grant.
Happiness is the topic for the day.Tim grew up in an environment where he walked on egg shells and dodged slaps upside the head and decided through therapy that he would walk the path of happiness.
When babies are born parents want them to be happy and healthy.Happy/positive people are healthier people.They will also live 7 – 8 years longer.Intelligence, creativity and energy all rise in happy people.They also get paid more and promoted faster.Happiness is one of the last things left to parents to teach.
THINGS TO DO:G,R,A,C,E;Gratitude, Relationships, Activity and Acts of Kindness,Competencies,Eyes.
THINGS TO STOP DOING:Complaining and worrying about things you can’t change, Comparing,(we all have a negativity bias), Projecting negative outcomes.
Tim’s version of the serenity prayer is:
God grant me the vision to enjoy life fully
The courage to live gratefully
And the confidence to bring joy into the lives of others.
Your brain chemistry will improve by just laughing for a minute or by taking a few deep breaths.
Join us on Monday, March 13th, our speaker Jeff Zaugg will be speaking on Engaging Younger Generations through Community Empowerment.
Jeff Zaugg, Pastor of the Northtown Campus of Substance Church
“We believe we do things a bit differently here. On the surface we look like a typical church that preaches the Bible, but at Substance, we’re also not afraid to do things differently. Our beliefs may be similar to many churches you’ve found, but it is our hope that we push the limits of your expectations and drive our members deeper into community.”
Our journey began in 2004 when Pastors Peter and Carolyn Haas planted Substance Church. Since starting in 2004, we’ve grown to multiple campuses and we truly believe in the power of community. To hear more of our history, our vision, and meet our staff, join us at our Empowerment Track! We offer multiple services throughout the weekend… it is our hope that, “Church doesn’t start until the service is over… so join a Ministry Team and find a Subgroup this week!”
Maria Goretti and her husband Joseph at their own expense opened a home for "throw away babies" in Masindi, Uganda. They now have 25 children that they care for with the help of 3 other employee/helpers. Some of the children are now old enough to go away to boarding school. Presently they are working on building a new home for them and their kids in a rural area so the kids will have more room to play. They already have a well dug and soon they will be putting the roof on the new home so they can inhabit it.
When my sister Cheryl and I arrived in Masindi we were already entered in a Rotary fund raiser with Maria's Rotary Club. Up to this point I did not even know she was a Rotarian. Upon our return to the USA I remembered that the Roseville Rotary Club had an excess of Paul Harris Awards that we could bestow on other deserving people. I believe Maria was one of those people and recommended to the Board that we give one to Maria. I believe she is the incoming president of her club in Masindi and the only member of the club to have the Paul Harris Award. She was surprised and delighted when it happened. Thank you for your support in honoring Maria in this way!
Join us Monday, March 6, 2017, for our Speaker - Tim Grant
Understanding Why Happiness Matters
"Our personal happiness drives our success in business, family life, community life and love life.” Tim Grant’s personal happiness has survived and now thrives despite growing up in an angry alcoholic family, achieving business success and surviving business failure, achieving community success, and finally creating a thriving environment along with his bride for their children.
Tim's "Personal Happiness is a Prerequisite for a Successful Life” presentation provides the audience with a concise learning curve to greater personal happiness, motivates them with the significant benefits of living happier and teaches them the five key action steps to build a happier life. “A happier life is a successful life”. Tim draws from the leaders in positive psychology and turns PhD. research into you and me understanding.
Tim Grant is an entrepreneur and an intrepreneur. Over his career he has built three businesses, two stand alone and one startup within an existing corporate structure. He was on the leadership team of CCRN, and volunteer lobbyist responsible for passing the Minnesota Personal Protection Act and is an 18 year member of the National Ski Patrol. Tim resides in Edina, Minnesota with his bride Beth and children, Keenan and Kendahl. He holds an MBA from St. Thomas University, a BA in Political Science and Economics from the University of Minnesota and has graduate credit in Theology from St. Paul Seminary. Tim Grant is President of Merriness Inc.
President Brad Kirscher called the meeting to order at 12:30. The greeter, Jenny Hedal, led the flag pledge and four way test. Julie Wearn provided an inspiring invocation then Terry Gilberstadt introduced visitors and guests in attendance. Visitors included John Risdall from the New Brighton/Mounds View club and Judy Johnson from the Maple Grove club. Guests included Barb Einan (Dick Einan) and Jim Collins.
Following introductions there were several announcements:
Membership Chair Deb Nygaard asked club members to invite guests to upcoming meetings as that is the best way to grow membership. The program next week is Understanding Why Happiness Matters being presented by Tim Grant.
The annual curling event is March 25 and an email was sent to all members with the information. Contact Jim Ostlund, Jim.ostlund@sunrisebanks.com
There is a special meeting on May 1 with guest Neema Namadamu, who is one of the presenters at the District Conference. Crippled by polio, Neema is the first woman with a disability from her ethnic group to earn a university degree. She served in Parliament for South Kivu province and then Chief Advisor to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Minister of Gender and Family. The meeting will be open to Rotarians and guests in our District and registration is required for guests at this meeting. Contact Kathy, Kathy.Hughitt@rotary5960.org, or visit our website for more information.
Judy Johnson announced upcoming Sew-a-Thon events and is seeking volunteers.
March 16, Maple Grove Community Center, 5:00-7:30 PM
April 19, May 14 and June 11, J. Arthur’s Coffee Shop in Roseville, 2:00-4:00 PM
Next, several club members participated in Happy Dollars to raise money for Polio Plus.
John Crudele, Brad Kirscher
The presenter for the meeting was John Crudele, who is a professional speaker, member of the Eden Prairie Rotary Club and is involved with Camp RYLA. John recently returned from an 18-day mission trip to the Marinduque Island, Philippines where he volunteered at various Feed My Starving Children feeding stations. The first part of his presentation was a summary of this trip and he described how the 235 feeding stations on the island change the lives of the children living there. Feed My Starving Children sends millions of food packages to the Philippines each year and it continues to grow. John explained that just one meal per day for six months can bring an impoverished child back to health.
The second part of John’s presentation was a moving discussion about developing self-worth and identity, how to better connect with people and the building blocks of healthy development that help young people grow up healthy, caring and responsible. John made a lot of impactful points that will help us in our personal and professional lives.
RAHS has ten exchange students who are studying with us during the 2016-2017 school year. These students are living with host families and are affiliated with a variety of study abroad programs. We are fortunate to have these students in our school community as they enhance classroom discussions and offer us their global perspectives. Welcome!
John Crudele - Leadership Principles Made Personal
John says “I’ve always had the innate ability to connect with youth and adults at the heart level. To connect with the spirit of my audience and help them make new discoveries is one of my life’s passions. I believe each of us is filled with concerns, desires and dreams. When I look into someone’s eyes, I sense their journey and strive to find ways to bring language, explanation, and understanding to their thoughts and feelings. Many experience relief: “If something can be explained then I’m not crazy.” This mutual understanding clears a pathway through even unasked questions and makes way for the new belief that there’s hope for a better, more connected and purposeful future.
We each wish to make choices that impact our future in a positive way, yet without realizing it we often limit ourselves. There are beliefs that drive every behavior. These hidden attitudes support our motives, habits and actions and will either advance us, or hold us back. I encourage my listeners to reflect, refocus and discover their own possibilities.”
Roseville Rotarians gathered for our regular Monday meeting and were greeted by a friendly handshake and hugs by Mary Jo McGuire. President Brad called the meeting to order. Mary Jo also lead the pledge, Mark Zastrow reminded us of the value of friendship in Rotary as our Invocation leader. Visitors and guests were introduced by Joan Kallenberg.
Special Announcements
Happy February Birthdays – especially Don Zibell who is “forever young at heart” with his milestone birthday today!
Minutes for Membership brought to us by Deb Nygaard who encouraged us to bring guests to meetings; our next one is Feb. 27, 2017.
Happy Dollars Abounded!
Next Monday no meeting February 20 in honor of President’s Day
Mark Zastrow announced Bed Racing for Bridging on March 4, at Buck Hill – a team is forming!
This week’s program was presented by a panel from “Conversations on Healthcare” These folks are part of a diverse group of Minnesotans who are concerned about the excessive costs of US healthcare compared to the rest of the world. Our first speaker was Dr. Mark Brakke, a family practice physician. Dr. Brakke presented some sobering statistics. He quoted Warren Buffet that “Healthcare is the tapeworm of the American economy” It is 18% of our GDP. In the rest of the world it is 12% or less. Also there is an acute shortage of general practice doctors in the US due to the low pay scale compared to the more lucrative specialties.
Our second speaker was Nancy Breymeier, a business owner and financial planner. She told us of the consequences to business which ranges from employees staying in the wrong job in order to keep getting healthcare to 50% of small business bankruptcies that were due to the high cost of providing healthcare to their employees.
What should concerned citizens do? Continue to have conversations on healthcare costs and delivery. Communicate with your state and federal elected officials about the need to reform healthcare for the good of all of us. We have wonderful hospitals, Doctors and
Professionals and great medical technology but yet our system is broken and we are all suffering from that.
Thank you, panel for a great presentation. You have an interesting story that impacts all of us.
Brad Kirscher called the meeting to order at 12:30 p.m. Luke Ferden greeted us as we arrived and led the flag pledge, followed by Melanie Mogg who offered the invocation. Joan Kallenberg introduced visiting Rotarian Eldon Tessman from Brooklyn Park; two guests of Don Craighead, Joseph Lavalle and Dan Batton; and Amy Marret (ma-RAY) a guest of Deb Nygaard.
General club announcements and business
New member, Angela Eifert was inducted and welcomed by Deb Nygaard.
We would like to extend our deepest condolences to Terry and David Gilberstadt and Hugh Schilling at the loss of Terry's mother, Peggy Schilling, who passed away this week.
Eldon Tessman announced the Brooklyn Park sponsored Wild Game Dinner, Thursday, Feb 16, 2017. Tickets are $90. This is the premier fundraising activity that supports the Club’s annual donations within Brooklyn Park and around the world. For tickets, contact Gina Smith at http://www.rotaryclubofbrooklynpark.org or call, 763-225-8886.
Remember, the GSE Team coming in May from Australia arrives on the 7th of May. Ted Johnston is seeking host families for their stay. Contact Gayland Bender or Melanie Mogg if you can help out.
Program
Brad Kirscher, Eh Tah Khu, Rebekah Jacobson
Brad Kirscher introduced today’s speakers, Rebekah Jacobson, Community Engagement Specialist and Eh Tah Khu, Co-executive Director for the Karen Organization of Minnesota (KOM).
The Karen (pronounced Ka-REN) are an ethnic group from the mountainous border regions of Burma and Thailand. They have long been subject to persecution and ethnic cleansing by the Burmese government, and many have been living in refugee camps in Thailand for years before being resettled to Minnesota.
There are approximately 12,000 Karen and an additional 500 refugees from other Burmese ethnic groups in Burma now resettled and living in Minnesota. St. Paul and its surrounding communities have the largest and fastest-growing Karen populations in the U.S. Other Minnesota communities with significant Karen populations include Worthington, Willmar, Austin, Albert Lea and Faribault.
Rebekah and Eh Tah Khu in turn described how the history of Burmese conflict necessitated the move to resettlement camps in Thailand and described what life in the camps was like. They also talked about the characteristics that comprise the Karen cultural identity and outlined the barriers encountered as they struggle to assimilate into their new homeland.
The Karen Organization of Minnesota's ("KOM") mission is to enhance the quality of life for Karen and other refugees from Burma. They strive to:
Assist refugees to settle, integrate and become increasingly self-sufficient;
Foster cultural knowledge and understanding; and
Strengthen organizational capacity and effectiveness to meet the needs of the community.
For more information visit mnkaren.org, or contact Rebekah Jacobson, Community Engagement Specialist, 651-202-3112, rjacobson@mnkaren.org
Rebekah Jacobson, Community Engagement Specialist.
The Karen (pronounced Ka-REN) are an ethnic group from the mountainous border regions of Burma and Thailand, where they are the second largest ethnic group in each country. They have long been subject to persecution and ethnic cleansing by the Burmese government, and many have been living in refugee camps in Thailand for years before being resettled to Minnesota. There are approximately 12,000 Karen living in Minnesota with an additional 500 refugees from other ethnic groups in Burma. St. Paul currently has the largest and fastest-growing Karen populations in the U.S. Other communities in Minnesota with a large Karen population include Worthington, Willmar, Austin, Albert Lea and Faribault.
The Karen Organization of Minnesota's ("KOM") mission is to enhance the quality of life for Karen and other refugees from Burma in Minnesota.
Our Vision:
Assist refugees to settle, integrate and become increasingly self-sufficient;
Foster cultural knowledge and understanding; and
Strengthen organizational capacity and effectiveness to meet the needs of the community.
Ted Johnson: GSE Team coming in in May from Australia. Arriving the 7th of May. Ted is seeking Host Families.Gayland and Melanie are the contact people for this.
Angela and Ted are going back to Uganda in February to set up a Rotaract club in the refugee village in Uganda.
Al Gerdin and Ted Johnson both got Perfect Attendance awards. Ted came in second with only 39 years of perfect attendance. Al’s award was for 41 years!
Deb Nygaard welcomed new member Mark Zastrow into the club.
Kevin and Lynne Megan have resigned from the St. Paul Winter Carnival.
Scott announced that the Books for Africa is having their fundraiser May 8th. He encouraged us to fill a couple of tables with supporters in honor of Seth Eggessa
Heather Worthington came from Ramsey County to talk about the Rice Creek Commons Project. It’s a 427 Acre Site which was the former Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant. It will be a combination of homes, businesses and retailers, parks and protected wildlife sites.
There is a 5-member board that is managing this site. Roads are being built. It has been cleaned and is now approved to residential standards. This has been off the tax roles since 1941 and they are looking forward to getting it back on the tax roles. In the process of reclaiming this area they recycled 93 – 95% of the materials. Rice Creek will be navigable to lakes and the Mississippi River via Kayak and Canoe.
Now they are looking at about 1431 residential units, excellent access to freeways, retail shops and commercials areas such that this could easily be a walking area and walking paths will permeate the area!
There will be Round-a-bouts and Divergent intersections that may initially be a challenge to some of the drivers. They are already proven to be better safety risks than other options.
President Brad Kirscher called the meeting to order at 12:30. The greeter, Mary Sommerfeld, led the flag pledge and four way test. Ed Studinski provided the invocation about optimism then Joan Kallenberg introduced visitors and guests in attendance. Visitors included John Risdall from the New Brighton/Mounds View club and Angela Eifert who is transferring her membership to Roseville from Prior Lake. Guests included Mark Zastrow (Terry Gilberstadt) and Roger Coombs who Ted Johnson met at Seth Eggessa’s funeral and heard many good things about Rotary. Also in attendance was the Rotary Youth Exchange student from Belguim, Daphine Dormans.
Following introductions club members participated in Happy Dollars to raise money for Polio Plus.
The presentation for the meeting was the AVID program from the Roseville Area Schools, which is supported by our club. Jan Vanderwall introduced the following educators who were in attendance:
Dr. Juanita Hoskins, AVID Director
Dr. Jenny Loeck, Roseville Area High School Principal
Dr. Tyrone Brookins, Roseville Area Middle School Principal
Laura Freer, Fairview Alternative High School AVID Coordinator
Anne Barnes, Roseville Area High School AVID Coordinator
Tana Bogenholm, Roseville Area Middle School AVID Coordinator
The AVID Coordinators explained what the program is and how it works, then introduced ten students (grades 7-12) who are in the program. The students each discussed how the program has helped them as a person and academically.
The AVID program was started in 2008 with the mission of closing the achievement gap by preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global society. AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. The AVID program aims to help students boost their grades and prepare for college. AVID acts as an elective class where students learn organization get help with rigorous classes and learn more about college. AVID students are more likely than non-AVID students to take college credit bearing classes, complete their college eligibility requirements, get into 4-year colleges and maintain the higher-level skills needed for college success.
To qualify for AVID, students must meet one or more of the following criteria:
First generation to attend college
Belongs to an ethnic group historically underserved in 4-year colleges
Qualifies for free or reduced lunch
Other special circumstances
The AVID students work with tutors, mentors and peers to practice organization, learn study strategies, participate in small learning groups, hear from inspiring speakers and visit colleges to learn about opportunities and what goes into applying for college. The AVID students in attendance gave high praise to the program and explained how it has helped them with career exploration and college readiness, finding their passion, organizational skills, note taking, communication, time management, public speaking, creative thinking and problem solving, leadership, motivation and confidence.
Clearly the AVID program has been a success and that is reflected in the enrollment numbers. There are currently 8 classes at Roseville Area High School, 4 classes at Roseville Area Middle School and 1 class at Fairview Alternative High School. Due to funding restrictions, they can only accept 50 students per grade and there is a long waiting list to get in. Prior to this school year, there were 200 6th graders that applied.
Roseville Rotarians gathered for our regular Monday meeting and were greeted by a friendly handshake by Greg Carlson. President Brad called the meeting to order. Greg also lead the pledge, Julie Wearn was our Invocation leader, giving us a touching reminder about spending time with family. Visitors and guests abounded and were introduced by Julie also.
Special Announcements
We shared many fond memories by way of Sad/Happy Dollars for our beloved member, Seth Eggessa, who passed away this last weekend.
No Meeting next Monday for Martin Luther King Day.
June 22, 2017 is Taste of Rosefest!!
Brad Kirscher, Ben Utecht
This week’s program was presented by Ben Utecht, a former NFL player who shared his interesting story about his NFL career and the injuries the sidelined him and ended his career suddenly. Ben played in the NFL for 7 years and was on a winning Colt’s team in the 2006 Super Bowl. He suffered several head injuries and after the 5th one was unable to continue playing. This unfortunate situation propelled him onto a new career – motivational speaking and representing the American Academy of Neurology as a spokesman and board member of the American Brain Foundation.
Ben’s fascinating details about his career in sports and his current passion were a real inspiration to make the best of what we have and to give back. Ben has written a book:
Counting the Days While My Mind Slips Away.
After listening to Ben I think his book should be called “Making the most of my days …”
His energy and enthusiasm for sports and for continuing to make sports safe by recognizing injury and developing new regimes for those injured. To have productive lives after sports is really important for all athletes and was very refreshing to hear about.
Ben, you made our snowy day! You have an inspirational story and all the best of luck to you and your family as you continue to grow in your public speaking career and educate others in the area of brain injury.
Two witches with pointed hats and long flowing black robes infiltrated our meeting.
They announced that they came from the Halloween Capitol of the World.
Hyon Kim greeted us with a warm smile. President Brad Kirscher rang the bell at 12:32 to call the meeting to order, Hyon led the Pledge of Allegiance, and Brad led recitation of the Four-Way Test reminding us of our Rotary beliefs. Jeff Norton sang a love long for the invocation and Joan Kallenberg introduced two visiting Rotarians and one guest. The visiting Rotarians were Sandy Campbell and Darlene Hookom
from the Anoka Rotary club. The witches were promoting and selling chances for the Anoka club's "Vacation of a Lifetime" raffle. Hyon Kim’s guest was Haytham Ibrahim.
SPECIAL THINGS
Brad inaugurated Doctor Nyonbeor Boley as a new member of Rotary. Dr. Boley
spoke briefly about his interest in helping people and was very happy to have Rotary as part of his life.
Jan Vanderwall encouraged all members to attend the 15th annual Rotary Foundation Celebration November 12 at the Double Tree Hotel in downtown St. Paul. He also announced that the Roseville Rotary Club would match any donations to the Foundation prior to the celebration one-to-one.
"Happy Dollars" drew many announcements including past President Terry Carlson being recognized as Corrections Person of the Year and a project to create a memorial to Roland Wilsey.
Brad Kirscher, Nyonbeor Boley
PROGRAM
Brad Kirscher , Terry Lee
Terry Lee author of the book Business Fits pitched his book. He was introduced by Jeff Norton with a long list of Terry's credentials. Terry added to this list and stated that when he reviewed his career he decided to write a book about 'how to find the right business for you'. He said a new product or service idea is not the right choice, rather a good investment should be identified as a business opportunity.
Here's a description of what Joe Stahlmann will speak about:
Minnesota State Capitol Restoration Project:
Join us for a unique opportunity to learn about the current restoration project at the Minnesota State Capitol. Joe will give a brief history of the building, key milestones that lead to this comprehensive restoration, and a behind-the scenes look at what is currently underway behind the construction walls.
Bio:
Joe Stahlmann is a Project Manager for MOCA, currently working as the Owner's Project Manager of the Minnesota State Capitol Restoration Project. Joe’s unique Background in Architecture, Construction, and History has served well in the role of Owner Representative, especially on Historic Restoration projects. Joe is the President-Elect for the North St. Paul, Maplewood, Oakdale Rotary Club.
Roseville Rotarians gathered for our regular Monday meeting and were greeted warmly by Julie Wearn. President, Brad Kirchner called the meeting to order and Julie lead the flag pledge, Dick Einan was our Invocation leader. Our many visitors and guests were introduced by Jenny Hedal.
Terry Gilberstadt, Jenny Hedal, Brad Kirscher
Announcements:
We welcomed Jenny Hedal into membership today. She is from the North Star Council of the Boy Scouts.
Deb Nygaard gave us a minute for membership. Please forward the interesting program invitations sent out weekly to others interested to hear a great speaker and look at Rotary Membership. Next week will be Terry Lee discussing “Business Fits” as a way of career planning.
Jan Vanderwall gave us a super overview of the Rotary Foundation which is 100 this year. Be sure to come to our District Celebration on Saturday, November 12, 2016. Click Here for Registration
Robert Veninga, Brad Kirscher
Our speaker today was Robert Veninga, on the topic of “Resilience”. I found his talk to be fascinating and very informative. In all stages of life we could all use some Resilience. Here’s what Dr. Veninga’s research tells us:
There are 4 components to resiliency:
Attachment – trusted relationships
Mastering – being capable and admired
Survival – not trapped – find a way out.
Spirituality – higher power and gratitude.
In organizations resiliency is built in by the middle management – not the top. That statement resonated with me and I think it affects the performance of organizations. Those leaders that inspire others are building in a lot more resilience and longevity into their organizations.
His other 5 mantras were:
All productivity begins with rest
Stop the wining!
Thank You (gratitude and praise)
Travel lightly – have humor and observe
Go to the next party – follow your dreams.
Thank you for a great talk and I know all the Rotarians and guests really were inspired and reminded of some great principals to live by!
Jeff Norton called the meeting to order at 12:30 p.m. Lynne Megan (with help from Greg Carlson) greeted us as we arrived and led the flag pledge, followed by Jenny Hedal who offered the invocation. Joan Kallenberg introduced visiting Rotarian Jan Parker and other guests; Becky Berkus, Principal of Central Park School, Aldo Sicoli Superintendent of Roseville Area Schools, Paul Meekin and David Milton, CEO of MINNCOR, both guests of Terry Carlson.
General club announcements and business
Jeff presented Betty Berkus with two checks: one for our 2016 Rotary contribution to the Spark Lab for $20,000 and a separate check of $8,000 for the purchase of 3D printing equipment.
Greg Carlson thanked club members for participating in the annual roadside clean up.
Deb Nygaard, membership chair, announced our goal of attracting 10 new members by the end of the year. To this end she will be sending out weekly speaker updates and had enlisted every club member to step up their social media game to spread the word electronically, by email and through flyers that will be on the tables each week.
Aldo Sicoli announced a program by the Roseville Area Schools On November 15, 2016, at 7 p.m., called Partners for the Future at the TIES Building (on the corner of Snelling Ave. and Larpenteur Ave. The district has been working with R.T. Rybak, president of The Minneapolis Foundation, to create opportunities for the community and schools to meaningfully connect through mentoring, inspiring young readers and creating career connections through business. Please come to share strategies and outline opportunities for community members to make a difference in the lives of our community’s youth.
Program
Jeff Norton introduced today’s speaker, Georgia Afton, Volunteer and Outreach Manager for Little Brothers - Friends of The Elderly, Minneapolis and St. Paul Chapter.
An Antidote For Loneliness.
As people age, most automatically have a support system, whether it’s a caring family or a healthy financial nest egg, or both. But those who don’t have these are at greater risk of isolation and loneliness and may slip through the cracks in getting their basic physical, social and emotional needs met.
Little Brothers - Friends of The Elderly (LBFE) identifies isolated adults in the Twin Cities age 65 years and older, providing social connectedness that fosters their independence and quality of life in the community so they may age in place.
According to 2012 projections from the 2010 U.S. Census, approximately 30%, or 61,500 of the more than 205,000 persons age 60 and older living in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, live alone. While living alone is not the same as feeling lonely or isolated, it does put elders at greater risk. In fact, more than a third of respondents in a 2010 AARP survey described themselves as chronically lonely.
Loneliness and isolation among our older population poses the following concerns to the community:
Loneliness negatively affects health.
Isolated elders often lack the social skills and capacity needed to form healthy relationships and community connections.
Isolated elders are at greater risk of all forms of abuse, including physical, emotional, financial and self-neglect.
Elders who are isolated are at greater health and safety risk in their homes, often requiring that they move into assisted
LBFE serves Twin Cities elders, providing personal, one-on-one contacts that demonstrate compassion and bring the gift of friendship, hope and joy. They have two core program areas:
Visiting and advocacy services that support isolated older adults by helping them strengthen their formal and informal support networks, reduce safety risks and increase their independence, and
Social engagement services that enhance elder well-being through a holistic approach that helps fulfill their physical, emotional and spiritual needs in a group or community setting.
Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly (LBFE) is a national network of non-profit volunteer-based organizations committed to relieving isolation and loneliness among the elderly. It is a secular, independent 501(c)3 organization and is totally dependent on donor support.
For more information or to volunteer, contact Georgia Afton at 612.746.0732 or by email at gafton@littlebrothersmn.org
Gayland Bender opened the meeting today with a slide tribute to Roland Wilsey, a charter member of Roseville Rotary, who passed away on September 20, 2016.
Roland's Memorial Service will e held at St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral of Minneapolis, 519 Oak Grove St, Minneapolis on Saturday, October 15th at 11:00am, followed by inurnment in the Columbarium of St. Mark's.
President Brad Kirscher called the meeting to order at 12:30 p.m. Greeter Lynne Megan led the flag pledge. Melanie Mogg introduced visiting Rotarian Angela Eifert from Prior Lake who brought Carly Lunden as a guest. Also present were new members Dr. Nyonbeor Boule and Jenny Hedal.
Ted Johnson and Mary Jo McGuire offered the invocation and invited members to share stories and memories of Roland.
General club announcements and business
Monday, October 3, is Rotation Day. We will not have a regular meeting on this day. Please plan on joining fellow Rotations at one of the “off-site” locations. If you have not already done so, please contact Kathy Hughitt to register in advance as the host sites have limited capacity.
In 1905 when Rotary was founded, the meetings were held at members’ place of business – rotating from member company to member company – hence the name “Rotary.” Rotation Day is an event which brings us back to our “roots” and gives us the opportunity to gain insight into the vocational challenges and business issues that are faced by our fellow Rotarians.
No meeting October 10 – Happy Columbus Day!
Join us for the next Roseville Rotary 5:01 Happy Hour and Fellowship Meeting on Wednesday, October 12th at Stout’s Pub. 1611 W. Larpenteur Ave, Falcon Heights, MN… at 5:01 p.m.
The first meeting of the Taste of Rosefest 2017 committee is planned for November 18, 2016 at 7:30 a.m. in the NYFS conference room.
Program
Brad Kirscher, Jim Christian, Dr. Tom Hendrickson
Jeff Norton introduced today’s speakers, Dr. Tom Hendrickson, President and Director of Iringa Hope since 2010 and Jim Christian from Rotary Club of Lakeville.
Iringa Hope is A 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Public Charity that works in the rural regions of the Iringa District of Tanzania to develop locally-run cooperative societies that in turn provide micro finance and agricultural input, training, and marketing assistance to local cooperative members in the villages.
Run entirely by Tanzanians, the Iringa Hope team is currently working in 41 village locations and has more than 3,600 cooperative fund members representing more than 20,000 family members.
The typical member is a female head of household with 5 or 6 dependents. When she enters the program, her initial income averages $300 per year that she earns by farming from one to four acres of land. On average she will have no more than a 6th grade education.
After 1 or 2 years of working with Iringa Hope, her income will rise to $800-$1,400 per year. She will be able to eliminate malnutrition form her household, her children will go to school (many are sent on to trade school or college), and she will build a brick house.
Just the act of moving from a mud hut to new building with a cement floor and tin roof will increase her life expectancy by more than eleven years.
Iringa Hope is the largest network of cooperative societies in southern Tanzania. The network is entirely owned and managed by members and the charitable organization maintains no ownership position. It is there solely to provide training, organization, legal assistance, seed capital, and management support to its member locations.
For more information or to contribute, visit iringahope1.org
Roseville Rotarians gathered for our regular Monday meeting and were greeted by Deb Nygaard. President, Brad Kirscher called the meeting to order and Deb lead the pledge. Ted Johnson was our Invocation leader and reminded us of all the great Minnesota blessings we have. Visitors and guests were introduced by Luke Ferden. Special welcome to future new members, Nyonbeor Boule and Jenny Hedal.
Announcements:
Sunday – September 25, from 5:00-7:00 come celebrate 10 years of the Taste of Rosefest at the Horton Hanger. Taste 2016 Committee will meet from 4:00- 5:00 before the event. RSVP to Kathy by Wed., Sept. 21. Invitation and directions are attached. Check the MN DOT website for Hwy. 52 Bridge weekend closures and follow detours through downtown St. Paul!
October 3, Rotation Day – be sure to sign up on the circulated sheets or with Kathy.
Hyon Kim invited us to the “Freedom for North Korean Refugees of Minnesota” Seminar – Thursday, October 27, 2016, Humphrey School. Contact sjohnson@freedomrefugeesmn.org
Prayers and good thoughts for Roland Wilsey at Wealshire Bloomington Care Center.
No meeting October 10 – Happy Columbus Day!
Welcome to our newest member, Stephan Johnson. His sponsor is Hyon Kim.
Brad Kirscher, Patrick Donohue
Our speaker today was introduced by Jeff Norton. Patrick Donohue has had an active life giving back to the community and is a Rotary #9 member. His passion is supporting the needs of emerging and expanding businesses through the Hill Capital Corporation which is an interested private philanthropic fund to provide capital to small businesses that are beyond small funding from friends / relatives and those companies which can attract large Angel Investor Grants.
Pat gave a fascinating look into JJ Hill’s philosophy of supporting towns and farmers along his Great Northern Route so these communities could thrive and grow (and, of course stay customers for his transportation system). The legacy this philosophy created is really interesting. James J Hill also funded a very elaborate and extensive business research library that has gone more digital of late.
Hill’s farming and agricultural programs were very insightful. He encouraged diversity of crops and introduced cattle that he personally provided to farmers. His North Oaks Farm was originally an experimental cattle farm.
In his spirit of entrepreneurism, the Hill Capital Corporation provides loans to growing businesses. The corporation is open to outside investors.
Thank you for an interesting presentation and for further information check out www.hillcapitalcorp.com .
At the Roseville Rotary leadership book discussion group held on Monday, September 12, 2016, Don shared information about his 62nd St. Paul Central High School Reunion held last weekend. The celebration centered around classmates who all celebrated their 80th birthday this year. Happy 80th!
Thank you Don for sharing a very special event with our group. The class recognized fellow classmates Denny Sanford and Sam Kaplan for their leadership, their business success and philanthropy.
The Black and Red balloons represented Central High Schools colors. Since David Kray had a black shirt and is our newest book club member and Don wore his red shirt we thought it would be fun to share this photo.
This Monday's meeting was held in the Rosebrook room of the Roseville Radisson. Jan Vanderwall was the greeter, or better, called the guide. The meeting room is near the pool and Jan was at the front door giving directions. Jeff Norton, President-elect, presided over the meeting, sang a love song for the invocation and Lynne Megan introduced two visiting Rotarians and one guest. "Happy Dollars" got off to a slow start but ended with a flourish. This is a fun way to raise money for Polio +.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Taste-of-Rosefest kick off is September 25, 5:00PM to 7:00PM, in Horton Hanger at the Saint Paul airport. Dave Gilberstadt will be at the gate with directions. Arrive before 5:15, Dave does not want to miss the party so he will only stay a short time.
Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly picnic is Wednesday September 14.
PROGRAM
Ethan Aronson, Jeff Norton
Ethan Aronson from TreeHouse told us about TreeHouse Partner Network.
His "Take Home Message" for us was "...tell people about Tree House, spread the word."
TreeHouse is a non-profit organization with the mission of "Transformation" - helping youth suffering from abuse, bullying, and poverty and do not know how to cope.. It was founded 31 years ago, financed by private donations, with no sponsoring agencies. They have nine locations throughout the Twin Cities and seven partners. Their staff of 50 + engage teens in 7-12 grades using a proven model and expertise which includes support groups, mentoring, etc. They are Christian Faith based but accept people of all faiths and/or no faith with no pressure to accept any particular tradition. The vision of TreeHouse is to reach every at-risk teen so they are loved, feel hope and realize life transformation
The meeting was called to order by President Brad Kirscher on this the 22nd day of August, 2016.
Gayland Bender, our Greeter, then led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance after which we recited the Four-Way Test.
Dick Einan gave the invocation.
Joan Kallenberg introduced visitors and guests. Today we had one visiting Rotarian, Hugh Schilling. We also had three guests: Jenny Hedal, Stephen Johnson and Lonnie Brokke. Welcome everyone.
General club announcements and business followed:
Brad called up Lonnie Brokke from the City of Roseville Parks & Recreation Department and presented him an Honorarium check in the amount of $1,200.00 on behalf of the club.
Terry Carlson reminded everyone that October 3rd is Rotation day and that she is looking for volunteers to host. If you are interested please see Terry,terry.carlson@state.mn.us.
Jason Raether reminded everyone that September 14th is the Little Brothers picnic and that he still needs volunteers to drive. If you are interested please see Jason,.jraether@hjlawfirm.com
With general club announcements completed President Kirscher called for a vote on an amendment to the club’s bylaws to permit an off-site, informal once / month meeting that could be used as a make-up for regular meetings. These are commonly known as 5:01 meetings. Terry Carlson made a motion for approval which Ted Johnson seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
With announcements completed our AG, Lynne Megan, introduced today’s speaker, DG Jim Hunt.
DG Hunt started off by presenting President Brad Kirscher with the Rotary Literacy Award.
With the award presentation complete DG Hunt moved into the rest of his presentation. He spoke about the five core values all Rotarians share: Fellowship, Leadership, Integrity, Service and Diversity; which are traits that other non-Rotarians aspire to as well – and how we might attract those individuals as new members.
He also spoke about his vision for the District for the upcoming year which involves clubs doing the following:
Getting involved in hands-on projects,
Make sure we are creating the image we want to project,
Increase membership,
Increase giving to the foundation.
DG Hunt reminded us of the importance of the Rotary Foundation and that this is the 100th year of its existence. He also reminded us that 92% of whatever we give ends up going toward projects with half of those dollars coming back to our district.
The roadmap, of sorts, to achieve those goals is fairly simple and consists of the following:
Get involved in hands-on projects that have positive outcomes, both locally and abroad (Projects & Outcomes),
Use those positive outcomes to generate the image we want (brag a little) (Public Image),
Use that positive image to attract likeminded; non-Rotarians (“Rotarians at Heart”) to get involved (Membership).
Once we’ve attracted those new people make sure to get them engaged with the Rotary Foundation (Foundation).
Repeat Step 1.
DG Hunt feels that if we spread our message, with both actions and words, we will attract new membership and continue to thrive.
Following DG Hunt’s presentation we also engaged in a late round of Happy Dollars. Of note is that Lori Pulkrabek’s organization CTV North Suburbs is having an open house on Saturday, September 10th from 12-4PM. If you need more details, see Lori.
With the presentation completed and no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
Roseville Rotarians gathered for our regular Monday meeting and were greeted by a friendly handshake by Ed Studniski. President, Brad Kirscher called the meeting to order. Ed lead the pledge, Melanie Mogg was our Invocation leader, reminding us of our great opportunities to see and understand the world. Visitors and guests were introduced by Luke Ferden.
Announcements:
October 21-30 – Fast for Hope Delegation Trip to Nicaragua - Contact Bev Driscoll, Stillwater Rotary Club, for more informaiton.
September 14 – Little Brothers Picnic – time is from 3:00-7:00 - Contact Jason Raether to volunteer.
Jeff Norton introduced our speakers today, Erika, Alexa and Debby with Ted Johnson (Uncle Ted), they are the group that went to schools in Sri Lanka. They gave us a great recap of their REEP exchange experiences in Sri Lanka from June 16 July 3, 2016. It was by all measures a trip of a lifetime which allowed the group to really experience the country and to learn what it is like to be in a different culture then the one you are used to. Each member talked about their experiences in 3 main areas visiting schools and seeing the sights. The 3 areas where they worked in and visited schools were in Colombo, Galle, and Nuuara Eliya in Sri Lanka.
The host families were more than generous with their time and talents in sharing many great experiences with the group. As each teacher took teacher took turns talking about their individual experiences of the trip and what they found interesting, useful and inspiring it really made me proud of our club to put together this ambitious program and how successfully it turned out for both the Sri Lankan teachers and the Roseville ones. This program really gave back to our educational community and broadened it. I hope the group will give this talk many times as it is really inspiring and shows how important it is to get to know other cultures and to put yourself in their shoes.
Kudos to you Ted and to your committee that arranged this wonderful and valuable exchange experience. Of course thank you teachers for agreeing to go on this adventure. Thanks also to our Roseville Rotary that is always interested in supporting new projects.
President Brad Kirscher called the meeting to order at 12:30 p.m. Greeter Melanie Mogg led the flag pledge. Jerry Hromatka offered the invocation. Lynne Megan introduced Alex Huffman a guest of Don Craighead and also noted that John Suzukida, today’s speaker, is a Rotarian from the Arden Hills/Shoreview Club.
General club announcements and business
Brad Kirscher, Jan Vanderwall
Rotary State Fair Day and Picnic is on Monday, August 29 2016.
Jan Vanderwall presented the Paul Harris Fellow Award to Brad Kirscher for contributions to the Foundation.
Jerry Hromatka gave an update on the Taste of Rosefest proceeds. Among many other successes, the net revenue was $42,666.
Program
Brad Kirscher , John Suzukida
Brad Kirscher introduced today’s speaker, John Suzukida a Rotary member and past president of the Arden Hills/Shoreview Rotary Club. John told the story of the Japanese-American relocations and internment camps during World War II from the perspectives of his parents who endured them.
In February 1942, President Roosevelt succumbed to pressure from civic and political leaders in western coastal states and signed Executive Order 9066, which resulted in the forcible internment of more than 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry.
The executive order forced the relocation and incarceration of both first generation immigrants from Japan called Issei (Eee-say) and the children of the Issei born in the U.S., called Nisei (Nee-say), who lived on the Pacific coast. The government moved them from their homes, farms and businesses to ten isolated relocation camps in the interior of the country, eight in arid and semi-arid Western states and two in Arkansas. Sixty-two percent of the internees were United States citizens. None had ever shown any disloyalty.
As he spoke John Suzukida often used his father’s and mother’s words, referring to family historical diaries and letters.
In 1988, President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act to compensate the people of Japanese descent who were incarcerated in internment camps during World War II. The legislation offered a formal apology and paid out $20,000 in compensation to each surviving victim.
“It was one of the greatest errors in American history, but it was not the money that meant a lot to them. It was the apology,” said Suzukida. He tells this story of his parents to shine a light on this period in our history so that we can view it from a different perspective and perhaps avoid making similar mistakes in the future.
Next weeks meeting will be held at the Roseville Radisson and will feature a REEP follow up by the Edgerton Teachers who participated in the Rotary Exchange Program with Sri Lankan teachers.
Gayland Bender, the greeter, led the Pledge of allegiance
Ted Johnson: provided us with the Invocation ending with a tempering prayer, breathing in the peace of our environment and exhaling all the stress of the day.
Joan Kallenberg introduced the visitors and guests
Chelsea Holub from TC Rotaract
Samantha Graf , who is a lawyer with Johnson Turner, Visitor
Brendan O’Meara was inducted as a new member today! Pam O’Meara is his sponsor. Welcome to Roseville Rotary Brendan!
Chelsea, Secretary of TC Rotaract. Invited us to attend any of their meetings.
Happy Birthday was sung to Ted Johnson: Let’s just say, “One of our senior members!”
Angela Eifert, Jan Vanderwall, Brad Kirscher
Brad introduced Angela Eifert to continue on with her presentation on the challenge of Membership.
We had been assigned the task of completing interviews with regard to Rotary.
Jan Vanderwall: Spoke of his conversations with potential new members
Lynne Megan interviewed Sam Graf as an example of what we are trying to do.
I’m sure Angela will be writing up a review of this process to help us with direction and principles involved in how we can most effectively encourage new members.
Next week we are at Grumpy’s. The speaker will be John Suzukida, "America's Concentration Camps."
The meeting was called to order by President Brad Kirscher on this the 25th day of July, 2016.
Jason Raether, our Greeter, then led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance after which we recited the Four-Way Test.
Julie Wearn gave the invocation and followed it up by introducing visitors and guests. Today we had two visitors and one guest. Visitors included non-Rotarian Rochelle Scanlon from Wells Fargo who was here to check the club out and PDG and Past Roseville Rotarian, Tom Yuzer, Menifee, CA. Hyon Kim introduced her guest Stephen Johnson. Welcome everyone.
With introductions completed we participated in Happy Dollars.
General club announcements and business followed:
With recent events in Falcon Heights touching a number of Rotarians Jan Vanderwall reminded everyone about the upcoming Community Conversation which will be held Thursday, July 28th from 5:30 to 8:30 at the Fairview Community Center.
A reminder to everyone that Angela Eifert will be coming back next week to assist us with club visioning. Please make sure to get your community surveys completed and be ready to participate. You can enter your interview results on SurveyMonkey,https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RosevilleInterviews.
Lastly, the August 8thmeeting will be held at Grumpy’s. Details to follow.
Ben Bina, Jason Muhlstein, Brad Kirscher
With announcements completed Jeff Norton introduced today’s speakers: Jason Muhlstein and Ben Bina from the Wishes & More Foundation.
Wishes & More has an annual budget of approximately $750K and grants an estimated 50 wishes / year. Mr. Muhltstein estimated they were on their 785th with and, to the best of his knowledge, had never rejected a wish one a doctor verified the child’s condition. He further indicated that 87% of all the funds donation end up going to their programs rather than administrative expenses.
If you are interested in learning more about this organization and their mission, please go to wishesandmore.org.
With the presentation completed and no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
President Brad Kirscher called the meeting to order at 12:30. The greeter, Mary Sommerfeld, led the flag pledge and four way test. Ed Studniski provided the invocation by reading quotes from the book “How Successful People Think.” It was an inspiring message centered on how successful people are usually big picture thinkers because they learn continually, are never satisfied with what they know, listen intently and realize that the world is bigger than their own.
Clare Baierl (RYE Spain), Brad Kirscher
Colleen Reistad introduced visitors and guests. There were no visiting Rotarians in attendance. Guests included Pam O’Meara’s son, Brendan O’Meara, Rotary Youth Exchange student Clare Baierl and Clare’s father Don, mother Sharon and sister Daisy. Clare was presented a check for $500 from the Club to defray some of the costs for her upcoming trip to Spain. Clare thanked the Club and said she is really looking forward to her trip where she will be staying eight hours south of Barcelona.
Brad Kirscher, Angela Eifert
This week’s program was the New Year Rotary Workshop presented by Angela Eifert who is the District 5960 trainer and a member of the Prior Lake Rotary Club. The purpose of the workshop is to plan for the upcoming year using the Human Centered Design (HCD) concept. HCD solves problems that begin with gaining deep empathy for the customer’s needs, hopes and aspirations for the future. HDC helps understand not only the people and their needs but also the broader context that inspires their daily lives. Over the next three weeks we will complete the first two phases of the HCD process – Empathy and Define.
We are being challenged by Rotary International to increase membership by thinking creatively about the value we bring to members and the community. Our challenge question is, “How might we offer high-value membership to busy professionals?”
After Angela’s presentation, members practiced the empathy interview process by interviewing each other and then synthesizing the feedback into what we learned and what it might mean about that person. After the empathy interviews, members were asked to interview at least three people from a different area of their network over the next two weeks and bring feedback for the follow up workshop on August 1. The primary purpose of the interviews is to find out what people are engaged in and why. Rules to unlock creativity include deferring judgment, encouraging wild ideas, building on ideas of others and staying on topic.
Minutes for Roseville Rotary, July 11, 2016 by J. M. Foley
This meeting began the new Rotary year 2016/2017. Julie Wearn greeted us and Gayland Bender entertained us with photos of the "Faces of Rosefest" (click here for photo link) as we ate a tasty Asian lunch.
Our new president, Brad Kirscher, asked our past president, Terry Carlson, to hand over the gavel so he could ring the bell. Terry happily handed the gavel to Brad but only after she presented an armful of flowers to Kathy Hughitt as a thanks for her help over the last year.
Brad then rang the bell to start the meeting. Julie led the Flag Pledge and Brad helped us recite the four-way-test with the reminder that this was our guide. Julie gave the invocation sighting the happenings of the last few day and asked for God's help in healing and developing action(s) to make violence subside. Jeff Norton introduced two guests, Brendan O'Meara son of Pam O'Meara and Jenna Falkenstein daughter of Terry Carlson.
At this time in the meeting our new president usually gave a polished presentation of club goals for the coming year that restated the RI goals to fit our club. Brad did not do this. Instead, he pointed out that two of the RI goals, increasing membership and support of the Rotary Foundation directly, fit our Rotary club. But we need to define projects that help our local, national, and global communities become a better place to live. To do this an "idea" workshop will be held at next Monday's meeting.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Ed Studniski recognized Loren Swanson with his fifth Paul Harris Fellow award.
Ted Johnson reported on the many successes of the education team trip to Sri Lanka. The mostimmediate result is a Friendship Exchange; the incoming group will be here this Fall and outgoing trip will be February 3 - 13, 2017. (Click here for more informaiton)
PROGRAM
Janice Barker, Al Zdrazil, President Brad Kirscher
Al Zdrazil, retired prosecutor for the Ramsey County Attorney Office, and Janice Barker, active prosecutor for Ramsey County, presented the family abuse situation. It is wide-spread and complicated.
Abuse exists across all social and economic sectors. Statistical studies show that one of four women are abused and many men are abused but statistics are not available. It is a situation of power and control. Al said abuse occurs in many forms: physical abuse is the easiest to recognize and prove since it leaves bruises and wounds. Verbal, financial, isolation, and other forms of abuse are not as apparent and abuse victims do their best to hide their situation. If they are working, they do not want to lose their job.
Recognition of abuse in business and social situations is difficult because the victim hides the situation. And, intervention is even harder. There are numerous public and private support programs available. The best form of intervention is identification of these support options and aiding the suspected victim by allowing time off and/or helping them to make appointments or contacts. The professionals can deal with the problems.
Al is past president of the Saint Paul Rotary Club. He recruited Janice, his past co-worker at Ramsey County, to join him in this education program that has its roots in Rotary and hopes to enlist Rotary Clubs to help spread the education.
Click Here for more information - District 5960 website.
Incoming President Brad Kirscher gave us a PowerPoint of the Rotary International Convention in Seoul, Korea, at the end of May. It was a most interesting conference and Brad is truly grateful for the opportunity to attend the conference and looking forward to a great Rotary year. His great take away from the President of Sri Lanka is “Any community with a Rotary Club is a better community”. Great words for Rotarians coming from a very eloquent world leader.
DG Marlene Gargulak recognized Gayland with a gift and hug for his support and photography work at the District Conference. Click Here to view photos of the 2016 Joint District Conference.
Today we visited Ajith's school. His school is the largest mixed (boys & girls) public school with 5,000 students! We visited many different areas of the school, including music class, computer lab, English Medium section (where the teacher teaches different subjects in English),we also visited biology, and dance class. It was wonderful!
Here we are with the school principal where we had the chance to speak about our schools in Minnesota.
Roseville Rotarians gathered for our regular Monday meeting and were greeted by a friendly handshake by Lynne Meghan. President, Terry Carlson called the meeting to order. Lynne lead the pledge, Jeff Norton played a tribute song for the Orlando shooting victims for a very meaningful Invocation, reminding us of the fragility of life and how things can change in an instant. Visitors and guests were introduced by Joan Kallenberg.
Special Announcements
TASTE of ROSEFEST – it is coming soon – June 23, We have all the pieces in place but need more ticket sales and a few more volunteers!!
Meeting called to order by President Terry Carlson at 12:30PM
Pledge of Allegiance led by Dick Einan
Invocation by Ed Studniski: The importance of Love in all the projects we do.
Intro of visitors and Guests: Jason Raether
PDG Gary Campbell
Isabella Kirscher
Jason encouraged us to being the money or wine for the Wall of Wine for the TOR
Jim Hunt incoming Governor invites you to his inauguration on Tuesday, June 21st, Click Here for more information .
PDG Gary Campbell will be replacing PDGCraig Leiser as the Chair of the District Foundation. He also invited us to the Anoka Club’s Briefing on Syria and the Global Refugee Crisis on June 30th at 7:30 AM. It is at Greenhaven Golf Course, 2800Greenhaven Road, Anoka, MN 55303.
Kathy invited us to volunteer for the TOR. We still have some blanks in the Table of Volunteers, Cleanup Crew, and Gate Montiors!
If you have a truck or SUV and can help move items to the Park, please contact Colleen Reistad,pforms@qwestoffice.net.
Don Craighead brought us greetings from Seth Eggessa and invited us to think about and/or visit Jerry Showalter, Bob Rosene and Donavan Fischer.
Terry announced that our club went to Bridging and built 6 dressers. (They read the instructions)
Terry Carlson, Dr. Joe Gaugler
Brad Kirscher introduced the speaker for the day, Dr. Joe Gaugler.
Speaking about dealing with Family Members and Loved ones with Memory Loss. Alzheimer’s is the 6th leading cause of death in the USA. About 5 Million in the USA have Alzheimer’s disease and/or related dementia. Minnesota Care cost for caring for Alzheimer’s patients is large enough to be a fortune 500 company.
What is the cost for unemployment? What is the cost for lost productivity? Many family caregivers are balancing work and care for the patients. 2/3 of family care givers are women. There is a shortage of health care workers in the USA. Many immigrants are employed in this profession. Costs for Alzheimer’s patients are about 3X greater than for other age related maladies.
Board Certified Geriatricians are about the same as in 1985! About 1/12,000 patients! Most of the drugs on the market today are good for about 3 years and are effective on about 50% of the people. There are conflicting reasons for doing early diagnosis, administering drugs, justifying fee for service fees, meeting the limited clinic schedules of the various insurance companies.
www.mcicc-connect.org offers a program online that is a free service to help you better understand Alzheimer’s/memory loss problems. “Family Care Needs Assistance” Thank you Bob Burmeister for your helping us walk through this process!
NOTES FOR ROSEVILLE ROTARY - June 6, 2016 J. M. Foley
We felt some raindrops as we entered the Radisson but the warm smile of Hyon Kim brushed away the rain and welcomed us to the meeting. Just as we began to eat and before the meeting started Gayland Bender gave a description and slide show of the joint district conference.
President Terry Carlson rang the bell quite early at 12:20 to start the meeting. Kim led the Flag Pledge, Terry led recitation of the 4-way-test, and Dick Einan gave the invocation. One visiting Rotarian was introduced and there were no guests.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Early registration for the 2017 RI Conference in Atlanta ended Monday, June 6.
Roger Reistad reminded us that the Bridging project is Thursday, June 9. Our task will be assembly of dressers. They have a simplified kit design that is much easier to assemble, but read the instructions before you start work!
Luke Ferden and Jerry Hromatka updated the Taste-of-Rosefest preparations: Thursday, June 23 is the date everyone is asked to work that day and not think the "R" word between now and the 23rd. Sponsors, donations for the silent auction, and wine donations are still needed,
President-elect Brad Kirscher, suffering from jet lag from his flight from Korea, gave enthusiast extemporaneous comments. Being with 44,000 Rotarians from all over the world really caught his attention. He will give a formal report later.
PROGRAM
Terry Carlson, Brian Crabtree
Brian Crabtree talked about "Crabtree Scientific” which is working to "Transform Developing Countries by Engineering Safe Water".
Brian started by describing a device that can automatically purify water for human use. It uses modern electrical technology in a very robust self-powered device. Through the eyes of us engineers, a very neat design which is solar powered, difficult to destroy, and easy and inexpensive to repair.
But, this is only the "tip of the iceberg”. Brian is an Environmental Engineer and his wife, Heidi is a Pharmacist. The live in Rochester Minnesota, Brian works for Olmstead County providing water support for the eleven county areas. This developing country project is their pastime; I think it should be called their passion.
Some years ago they took a vacation to Guatemala, Brian and Heidi visited the small community of El Dalmar which had been ravaged by the civil war. They found that most of the people had diarrhea. They looked into their water supply and found it was shared with pigs, cows, and wild animals; Very polluted. They told the local people, through a Mayan language interpreter that they could help and would be back. The locals said yes we have heard that before. They went home and built this pure water device on their kitchen table with the help of their two dogs. They took another "vacation" to deliver their device to El Dalmar, worked with the people to install a clean water system, educated them on hygiene, and earned their trust. They have taken a number of "vacations" to Guatemala since and visited many communities that have the same kind of problems.
Brian and Heidi have paid for all this out of their own pockets except for a couple of exceptions.
They have received a small grant from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse and some help from the Rochester Rotary. This looks like a great project for the future that is currently in its infancy.
President-elect Terry Carlson called the meeting to order. Greg Carlson led the flag pledge. Melanie Mogg offered the invocation. Greg Carlson introduced visitors and guests.
General club announcements and business
Jeff Norton noted and thanked the many sponsors to date of this year’s Taste of Rosefest. He asked members present to refer any potential sponsors to him. June 23, is coming up fast. It’s less than five weeks hence.
Thursday, June 9th we’ll be volunteering at Bridging from 4-6 p.m. If you are interested in participating please contact Roger Reistad, pforms@qwestoffice.net.
Next Monday is Memorial Day, there will be no meeting on May 30. The June 6 meeting will be held at the Radisson Roseville.
Program
Brad Kirscher introduced John A. Yilek who spoke on his new book, History of Norway. John, a Norwegian history instructor, author, retired banking and commercial lawyer and native of Roseville was joined by Kay Sandeen of Sandeen's Scandinavian Gifts in St. Paul, who sold signed copies of the book.
One thing’s for certain, Norway isn’t just about sardines and oil rigs.
Spanning several centuries of Norwegian history John took us on a ‘short course’ journey from the beginnings of agriculture in the area that is now Norway, around 4000 BC, through the onset of the Viking period when the island of Lindisfarne off the coast of northern England was raided in 793 AD.
John’s stories were terrific. About warlords and princes; the Black Death, and tales of heroes such as Claus Helberg, the Norwegian resistance fighter who famously carried out sabotage on a Nazi heavy water plant during World War II and the not so notable King Harold Hardrada who invaded England in 1066 to expand his territory and was roundly defeated at the battle of Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire.
If it’s anything like his talk, his book, History of Norway will be a very fast-paced and entertaining read about Norway from the ice age to the EU.
The meeting was called to order by President Terry Carlson on this 16th day of May, 2016.
Luke Ferden led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance after which we recited the Four Way Test.
Hyon Kim gave the invocation.
Lynne Megan was supposed to introduce visitors and guests but today we had no visitors or guests.
General club announcements and business followed:
Today we welcomed a new member, Courtney Harrness, from the YMCA. Welcome Courtney.
The District conference was held Last Thursday and Friday. Between the two districts almost 700 people attended including a large number of Roseville Rotarians.
Last Saturday our club participated in the Stamp Out Hunger program. Thank you to David Kray for getting the Roseville football team to assist.
Tonight the club will be presenting its annual RAHS scholarships. Two scholarships for $1,000 each will be awarded. More details to follow later on the recipients.
Saturday, May 21st, the club will be holding its roadside clean-up. If anyone hasn’t signed up but is still interested in helping, please contact Greg Carlson,gwcarlson@hotmail.com.
Thursday, June 9th we’ll be volunteering at Bridging from 4-6PM. If you are interested in participating please contact Roger Reistad,pforms@qwestoffice.net.
Finally, next week’s meeting (May 23rd) will be held at Midland Hills Country Club.
With announcements completed Brad Kirscher introduced today’s speaker: Michael Korman with Right Stuff Drones. Mr. Korman is a retired Master Chief Seabee and Target executive who spoke to the club about the use of drones in society.
Today it’s estimated that there are over 1 million drones in use, both commercially and recreationally. By 2020 that number is expected to rise to 7 million. While the recreational use of drones isn’t really regulated, commercial usage is overseen by the FAA and has a number of rules / requirements – although it doesn’t sound like a lot of those are followed, resulting in illegal flight operations under current laws and FAA rules & regulations.
Commercial drones are flown for a number of reasons but primarily they are data collectors and many include NDVI, FLIR, PIX4D and infrared cameras. Drones are considered unmanned aircraft and potentially carry significant liability if they crash or are otherwise misused. In order to operate a drone commercially the pilot is supposed to have a valid pilot’s license and aviation liability insurance – but often this isn’t the case, making the flight an illegal operation.
If you or your company uses drones or are considering using drones for any commercial purpose, make no mistake, you are in the aviation business and should have a Drone Policy. On the other hand, if you are simply considering hiring someone to fly a drone on your behalf, you should ask the following questions:
What were you doing a year ago?
Do you have a valid pilot’s license?
Do you operate under a Section 333 exemption?
Do you carry aviation liability insurance?
Do you have an operations manual?
Have you met all the maintenance requirements on your drone?
Do you have airspace clearance?
How many paid take-offs / landings do you have?
What kind of ongoing training do you participate in?
Where is your office? Can I visit it?
Following the FAA rules & regulations along with asking a few questions could keep you out of trouble should a crash, or worse, occur.
If you would like more information on his presentation you can contact Mr. Korman at mike.korman@rightstuffdrones.com. Please include “MSCA Learning Drones” in the subject line.
With the presentation completed and no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
Roseville Rotarians gathered for our regular Monday meeting and were greeted by a smiling Gayland Bender who also lead us in the flag pledge. President Terry Carlson called the meeting to order. Jason Mraz AKA Jeff Norton serenaded us with a great unplugged tune – it was better than The Coffee House on XM Radio! Quite a nice way to have our meeting meditation. Visitors and guests were introduced by Luke Ferden.
Special Announcements
Thanks again to Ted Johnson as we said good by to the REEP Rotarian leader, Gihan. Our group will be going over to Sri Lanka on June 15, for 2 weeks.
Sign up for the District Convention (LAST DAY TO REGISTER MAY 6)– there will be lots of fun and interesting people and speakers.
Snelling Clean Up – Saturday, May 21, at 9:00 AM – Meet at Grumpy’ s.
Happy Dollars abounded!!
John Noltner, Jeff Norton, PEN
This week we welcomed John Noltner, photographer and author. He told us about his beautiful journey about collecting stories of Peace and photographing the individuals. He became interested in the topic of peace since we all want it at every level and it is very hard to achieve. He took stories of Minnesotans and turned it into a book, A Peace of My Mind – Minnesota Stories. In this book he explored the meaning of peace by listening to one story at a time. His “real” career has been in freelance journalism photography for many national publications such as National Geographic. Is he dedicated to his idea? Yes, he surely is, making big lifestyle changes for he and his family to be able to pursue the travel and gathering of stories. He states that some jobs feed the belly and some feed the soul – this one is certainly on the “soul” side. His feelings of outrage with the polarization and division in life lead him to start thinking about peace as a common concept. He interviewed a very diverse group of folks and tried to hear from many different communities ethnically, religiously and economically. We all agree we want peace but we don’t really live it. He is no expert but hearing the stories melted away his bias. He was awarded a MN State Arts Board grant and also did a Kick Starter fund raiser to get the book published.
What is next? John is currently doing a version of his book using stories from the whole country. Such a fascinating topic and one very timely in our fractured and polarized world.
Thank you, John for an interesting talk and for the several good questions posed by our Rotarians.
President-elect Brad Kirscher called the meeting to order. Lynne Meagan led the flag pledge. Ted Johnson offered the invocation. Melanie Mogg introduced visitors and guests.
Special announcements
REEP – On behalf of the teacher exchange group from the Mount Lavinia Rotary in Sri Lanka, Gihan Dalpethado thanked local host families and club Rotarians for their hospitality and warm welcome. In a fascinating presentation by the group, ChampaPerara talked about the history and culture of Sri Lanka; Thyani DeSilva described Sri Lankan youth and customs of the country and Ajith Herath outlined the educational system in the country.
Sign up for the District Conference - There will be lots of fun and interesting people and speakers, including our own Jan Vanderwall and Terry Carlson who are both leading breakout sessions, www.rotary5960.org/dc2016.
Sign Up to help pack and label food containers at Second Harvest Heartland, 1140 Gervais Ave, on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 from 5:30pm - 7:30pm - Group size is limited to 9 - volunteer slots remain. Email Kathy.hughitt@rotary5960.org.
Stamp Out Hunger - Saturday, May 14, 2016 - Cub Foods, 1201 Larpenteur West. We need a Site Leader - commitment from 11am through 4pm, working with the driver, store manager and volunteers. We need volunteers to work from 2:30pm - 4:00pm, helping to unload the postal vehicles and loading the food into trucks. Contact: Kathy Hughitt@rotary5960.org if you can help.
Walk Minnesota Roseville Team Leader Needed - See Brad Kirscher for information - Event is September 10, 2016, at Long Lake Regional Park. Registration opens at 1pm and the Walk or Ride will be from 1:30pm - 2:30pm. The goal is to raise more than $15,000 to help schools to be safer places, free from bullying and harassment, and to help youth learn positive relational skills like empathy, respect cooperation and how to resolve conflicts peacefully.
Program
Brad Kirscher , Terry Kerber
Brad Kirscher introduced Terry Kerber who spoke on his new book, Major Taylor, A Forgotten Legend.
The story is about an African-American world's champion bicycle racer at the turn of the last century who competed in a sport filled with rampant prejudice and racism. And prevailed.
Terry Kerber and his brother Conrad co-authored the book after learning about Major Taylor while conducting online research for vintage bicycles. Taylor’s story touched them.
Major Taylor became perhaps the greatest living athlete in the world in 1907, having won the world’s one-mile track cycling championship in 1899 and then setting numerous world records in the early 1900’s.
During the height of his racing career Taylor earned between $25,000 and $30,000 a year, but by the time of his death in 1932 he had lost everything to bad investments, persistent illness, and the stock market crash. “Taylor achieved so much against such odds, and became a household name in his day — and now he’s been virtually forgotten,” says Kerber.
Both Terry and Conrad Kerber hope that their book will help rekindle wider interest in Taylor. In certain areas that may have already started, today there are Major Taylor Bicycling Clubs that are encouraging African-Americans to take up recreational cycling, and the Minnesota chapter, now 15 years old, is one of the biggest in the country. More than 80 years after his death, Major Taylor still has the power to inspire people to get out and ride their bike.
Learn more about Major Taylor at www.majortayloronline.com
Roseville Rotarians gathered for our regular Monday meeting and were lead in the flag pledge by President Elect Brad Kirscher. President elect Brad called the meeting to order. Dick Einan was our Invocation leader. Visitors and guests were introduced by Jason Raether.
Special Announcements
We were introduced to our visiting REEP (Rotary Educational Exchange Program) Team from Sri Lanka. Thank you Ted Johnson and his committee for putting this great event together.
Sign up for the District Conference - There will be lots of fun and interesting people and speakers, including our own Jan Vanderwall and Terry Carlson who are both leading Breakout Sessions, www.rotary5960.org/dc2016.
Special Thank You to Dr. George Krienke for sponsoring Health Day and to the great Medical Techs from Regions Hospital that were with us. Dr. Krienke has sponsored this event for over 25 years!
Sign Up to help pack and label food containers at Second Harvest Heartland, 1140 Gervais Ave, on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 from 5:30pm - 7:30pm - Group size is limited to 9 - We have 4 volunteer slots remaining. Email Kathy.hughitt@rotary5960.org or signup at the Greeters Table.
Walk Minnesota Roseville Team Leader Needed - See Brad Kirscher for information - Event is September 10, 2016, at Long Lake Regional Park. Registration opens at 1pm and the Walk or Ride will be from 1:30pm - 2:30pm . - Goal is to raise more than $15,000 and the donations will go to help schools to be safer places, free from bullying and harassment, and to help youth learn positive relational skills like empathy, respect cooperation and how to resolve conflicts peacefully.
Herb Mishke introduced our Health Day speaker, Dr. Peter J. Daly, an orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Daly graduated from the University of Notre Dame and Mayo Medical School. He is certified in orthopedic surgery and sports medicine. He has published extensively and currently practices at Summit Orthopedics. He has held leadership positions in several metro hospitals and been listed yearly as a Top Doc in Mpls- St. Paul Magazine since 1997. His topic for us today was an introduction to Holy Family Surgery Center in Honduras. He and some colleagues founded the center and it has made a great difference to that very poor community. The group has seen over 13,000 patients and preformed over 1800 surgical procedures since 2008. Dr. Daly and his entire family have volunteered on a regular basis in Honduras. The hospital is part of a large orphanage and serves kids as well as adults. The need, however is extremely great with 3000 patients on the surgical waiting list. His stories of several of the patients and how his team helped them was very inspiring. Dr. Daly invites anyone interested to come down and experience the hospital and lend a hand to the community.
Thank you, Dr. Daly for an interesting talk and for the several thoughtful questions posed by our Rotarians.
To find out more about the Holy Family Surgery Center contact Dr. Daly at pdlr331@gmail.com.
President Terry Carlson called the meeting to order at 12:30. The greeter, Greg Carlson, led the flag pledge and four way test, and Jeff Norton strummed his acoustic guitar along to one of his famous signing invocations.
Jason Raether introduced visitors and guests. Clay Lambert was in attendance along with Loren Swanson’s long-time friend Steve Gawron. Luca, Katja and Kyria Hernandez attended the meeting as Luca is writing a school report about Rotary. John Risdall was the lone visiting Rotarian.
Following introductions there were several announcements:
Brad Kirscher announced that he is stepping down from the Grants Committee Chair position and will be replaced by Jason Raether.
George Krinke announced that Health Day is April 18 with tests beginning at 10:15. Remember to skip breakfast if you are going to take the fasting blood test.
Greg Carlson is planning roadside cleanup on May 21 with a signup sheet to be distributed in coming weeks.
Ted Johnson provided an update on REEP. The teachers from Sri Lanka will be arriving this Friday and a group will be welcoming them at the airport around 6:30 PM if you would like to join. Rotarians are also welcome to join a Mississippi River cruise being planned April 23 and a goodbye party being scheduled for April 29. More details to come.
A few more volunteers are needed for Cook for Kids at the Jeremiah Program on April 26.
Volunteers are needed for sorting and packaging at Second Harvest Heartland on May 3 from 5:30 to 7:30.
The April 25 weekly meeting will be at Midland Hills rather than the Radisson.
The joint District Conference for 5950 and 5960 is May 12 and 13 at Majestic Oaks.
Terry Carlson, Steve Yoch
Next, Brad Kirscher introduced our speaker, Steve Yoch, author of the book “Becoming George Washington.” Steve discussed his infatuation with George Washington and told some interesting stories about his life. In addition to being the first President, Washington was known as the hero of the French/Indian war and was a tremendous innovator. As a child his family was not wealthy and he received an 8th grade education, but by the time he died, Mt. Vernon was a larger commercial enterprise than the United States government.
George Washington is famously known for cutting down a cherry tree then fessing up to it. This never happened! In fact, Washington was not close to his father and he passed way when George was 11 years old. Washington was closer to his ½ brother Lawrence Washington, who was 14 years older than George. Steve described Washington’s mother as an awful person who chose not attend Washington’s wedding or inauguration. In fact, Washington volunteered for a position in the military to get away from this mother. Because of this, Washington earned Lieutenant status by the age of 21 with minimal military experience or training. It is not well known that Washington essentially caused the French/Indian war when he and a group of soldiers slaughtered French diplomats then told his superiors they were spies. After the slaughter, Washington designed the very poorly designed Fort Necessity and had to surrender to the French when it was attacked. Washington learned from this and went on to be a great military tactician and leader.
Steve indicated that despite marrying Martha Curtis Washington, George was in love with Sally Fairfax who he could not have a relationship with because she was married. George and Sally wrote many letters to each other and all of the letters written by George were saved. Martha found the letters from Sally to George after his death and burned them.
It is legend that Washington had wood teeth and wore a wig. Both are false. Steve indicated that when he would lose a tooth, it would be replaced with a tooth made from animal bones or with a real tooth from an enslaved person. Washington did not wear a wig, but rather powdered his hair in his younger years because grey or white hair was a sign of intelligence.
Lyford, Eric age 58 of Minneapolis passed away unexpectedly on March 29, 2016. Preceded in death by father, Thorton; brother, Chris and grand-parents. Survived by daughters, Lindsey and Leasha Jimenez (Eli); grandson, Cruz; brothers, Greg (Kari) and Kent (Barbara); mother, Kay; Dart Lyford and her family and other special relatives and friends. Memorial Service Wednesday, April 6th, 2PM at Falcon Heights United Church of Christ, 1795 Holton St., Falcon Heights. Visitation one hour prior to the service. Memorials preferred to The First Tee of the Twin Cities. thefirstteestpaul.org Roseville Memorial Chapel 651-631-2727
Intro of Guests: Don Salverda: He had so many guests that he was the only one who could keep track of them all. The general theme of them was that there were City and County Administrators or School officials.
REEP: Ted Johnson announced the progress of REEP and they are still seeking drivers for the incoming teachers while they are here. Give either Ted Johnson,tdreamintl@mindspring.com, or Jan Vanderwall, jan.vanderwall@isd623.org, a call if you can volunteer.
Melanie Moog brought back a load of lemons from her tree in AZ. Several people donated some money to REEP and walked home with some of her sun warmed, organic lemons. I’ve had them before and they are delicious!
Terry Carlson, Scott Welle
Brad Kirscher introduced the speaker for the day, Scott Welle.
Scott’s theme is “Outperform the norm”. He has a Masters in sports psychology and is the author of several bestselling books.
Principle 1. Outperformers Commit to something, keep it positive.
Reinforce your commitments daily.
Bear Bryant: Be willing to pay the price.
"Winning is not normal and those who constantly win follow an ‘abnormal’ path. The discipline, dedication and sacrifices are incomprehensible to those thousands standing outside, looking in, who are capable of joining the winning team, yet unwilling to pay the price of admission. Winners win in a fair effort, on a level playing field; because they deserve to win... they willingly pay their dues in full, time after time, after time."
Principle 2. Outperformers attack: What you do in the first hour each sets the tone.
Do you say, “Good morning Lord or, “Good Lord it’s morning” Herb Mischke
Principle 3. Outperformers Conquer: Positively respond to adversity.
People have about 50,000 thoughts per day. 80% negative.
You are your own biggest opponent
There is no failure, only feedback
Struggle begets mastery.
Principle 4. Outperformers Fuel
Hydrate for high performance
Body weight/2*= ounces of water to consume per day.
Principle 5. Outperformers Move When the body turns off, the brain turns off.
Humans were built to move.
Principle 6. Outperformers have Generosity
Giving all of yourself
If you are spent 100% you can accept any result
Give your presence and your passion
Speed of Implementation……How long does it take you to begin doing what you learned? The faster you begin the better off you will be!
Thank you Scott for a fast paced, energetic and motivating talk!
Terry Carlson called the meeting to order at 12:30 p.m.
Jason Raether greeted us as we arrived and led the flag pledge. We followed with the Rotary Four-Way Test. Ted Johnson gave the invocation. Julie Wearn introduced visitors and guests.
Announcements
Rotary Club of Roseville has qualified for the Rotary Presidential Citation for 2015-2016.
Ted Johnson announced that Rotary Educator Exchange Programs (REEP), needs one more host family and will need drivers when the REEP educators are here.
PTA Bingo Night, Friday April 1, 2016, from 6 – 8 p.m. at the Edgerton Elementary School gym, 1929 Edgerton St, Maplewood, MN 55117. Some proceeds will go to benefit the REEP program.
Help the Jeremiah "Cook for Kids" program by working with club Rotarians to prepare and serve a meal for families on the evenings when mothers attend Life Skills classes. Volunteer cooks and servers are needed. The dinner is Apr 26, 2016 4:30 PM – 7:30 PM, 932 Concordia Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55104; contact Kim Vanderwall, Kim@vanderwallconsulting.com.
Presentation
Terry Carlson , Geoff Hollimon
Brad Kirscher introduced Geoff Hollimon, from New Brighton/Mounds View Rotary who spoke on ECHO, Educational Concerns for Hunger Organizations.
It is a challenging existence for the 925 million people who are hungry today around the globe. The urban poor face high prices and low incomes, making nutritious food unattainable. Rural families often deal with malnourishmentdue to a lack of diverse nutrients in their diets, if they have enough to eat at all. And in both cases, children suffer the most. According to ECHO statistics, a child dies from hunger-related causes every 12 seconds. To bring that into grim perspective, that’s more that 100 deaths over the span of an average middle-class American’s dinnertime.
ECHO is a leading international charitable organization that provides sustainable options to world hunger through innovative solutions, agricultural training, and networking with community leaders and missionaries in 180 developing countries.
Located in Fort Myers, Florida, ECHO is focused on reducing hunger and improving livelihoods among the 450 million small-scale farmers around the world. ECHO believes that by acting as an information hub for development practitioners around the world; gathering and disseminating well-tested and successful solutions to small-scale farmers, the organization can promote sustainable farming techniques, nutritional plants, and appropriate technologies that will make a difference in the lives of children and families in the 120 countries they serve.
After being greeted with a handshake and smile by Dick Einan and enjoying a tasty lunch, President Terry Carlson called the meeting to order at 12:30. Mr. Einan led the flag pledge and four way test, and Jeff Norton gave an invocation reminding us of the importance of teamwork.
Luke Ferden introduced visitors and guests. There were no guests in attendance and two visiting Rotarians. Visitors included Burt Riskedahl from the St. Paul Sunrise club and John Risdall from the New Brighton/Mounds View club. Mr. Riskedahl invited everyone to attend the St. Paul Sunrise Rotary Club’s 11th Annual Community Forum titled “The State of Race in Minnesota Then and Now” on April 14 from 7:15-9:15 AM at the Town and Country Club. If you are interested in attending, visit stpaulsunriserotary.org or contact Ed Marek at 612.210.4342.
Following introductions there were several announcements:
Ted Johnson provided an update on REEP. We are in need of more host families and drivers for the visiting teachers from Sri Lanka in town from April 15 - 30. Contact Ted if you are interested. Ted also handed out flyers for the Edgerton Elementary School PTA Bingo Night on April 1 from 6:00-8:00 PM in the gym. A portion of the funds raised will go towards hosting the inbound teachers.
Ed Studinski informed the club about the Rotary Foundation Donor Advised Fund. Essentially how it works is you make a tax-deductible contributions to the Rotary Foundation in years when they are most beneficial. Over time, you can advise the Foundation how to invest the funds and recommend grants to any IRS-approved charity of your choice. For more information, visit https://www.rotary.org/myrotary/en/document/donor-advised-funds-leaflet.
Terry Carlson indicated that Seth Eggessa is undergoing dialysis and is on the Kidney transplant list. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Ms. Carlson also mentioned that the Board recently approved giving Seth a “Service Above Self” plaque.
Kim Vanderwall is seeking volunteers for Cook for Kids at the Jeremiah Program in St. Paul on April 26 from 4:00-7:00 PM. The Jeremiah Program provides the support necessary for low-income single mothers and their children to move into a life of economic independence. The Cook for Kids program allows the mothers to have a meeting rather than cook dinner.
Patrick Mader, President Terry Carlson
Next, Terry introduced our speaker, Patrick “Packy” Mader. Mr. Mader is a retired teacher from Northfield Area who recently authored a book titled “ Minnesota Gold, Conversations with Northland Athletes Competing on the World Stage.” The book is a collection of 57 biographies celebrating the lives, stories, challenges and achievements of Minnesota athletes competing in the Olympics. Mr. Mader described a Minnesota athlete as person who received their K-12 education in Minnesota and there are currently 300 such living people who have competed in the Olympics. Of the 57 athletes interviewed, Mr. Mader indicated they were all down to earth good people and he had no bad experiences. For the remainder of the program, Mr. Mader showed slides of some prominent and obscure Minnesota athletes, and provided some tidbits about each. Following are most that Mr. Mader discussed:
Wendy Anderson – the future governor of MN won silver in hockey at the 1956 Olympics.
Lindsay Whalen – the MN Lynx guard won gold in 2012.
Ruben Bjorkman – won silver with the 1948 hockey team at the age of 18.
Burdette Haldorson – MN’s only male basketball Olympian in 1956 and 1960.
Sara Reiling – Roseville native who attended Credit Derham Hall. She was a gymnast who broke her back then switched to diving and made the Olympics in 4 years – 2000 and 2004 platform and synchronized diving.
Randy Bartz – Rosevlle native who attended Mounds View High School. He was a short track speed skater who competed in the 1994 Olympics and won silver as part of the 5000 meter relay.
Steve Sertich – coached hockey at Roseville for many years then went on to be the head coach of the Bemidji State Women’s team. Steve was on the 1976 Olympic hockey team and his son Marty won the Hobey Baker award with Colorado College.
Tom Malchow – three-time Olympic swimmer who won gold in the 200 butterfly in 2000.
John Mayasich – grew up in a poor family in Eveleth. His parents never saw him play because they were always working and he wore the same pair of hockey skates throughout high school. His #8 is the only jersey retired by U of M hockey. He was inducted into the MN Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Mayasich won silver at the 1956 Olympics and gold at the 1960 Olympics.
Brianna Scurry – soccer goalie who won 2 silvers and 1 gold.
Janet Gerhauser – doubles figure skater who was 1 of 13 women on the 1952 Winter Olympic Term.
Buzz Schneider – won 1980 hockey gold on the high scoring line with John Harrington and Mark Pavelich. His son Billy played Buzz in the movie “Miracle on Ice.”
Phil Rogosheske – multi sport athlete at Gustavus who started kayaking in 1970 and was in the Olympics 2 years later.
George Hovland – oldest Olympian interviewed who turned down a promotion in the Navy because he would rather cross-country ski. He was in the 1952 Olympics.
Jessie Diggins – cross country skier who accidentally lost one of her poles during a relay race but kept going and her team won gold in 2014.
Heather Dorniden - Not an Olympian, but check out what she did in the 600-meter race at the 2008 Big Ten Indoor Track Championships…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjejTQdK5OI
After being greeted with a handshake and smile by Dick Einan and enjoying a tasty lunch, President Terry Carlson called the meeting to order at 12:30. Mr. Einan led the flag pledge and four way test, and Jeff Norton gave an invocation reminding us of the importance of teamwork.
Luke Ferden introduced visitors and guests. There were no guests in attendance and two visiting Rotarians. Visitors included Burt Riskedahl from the St. Paul Sunrise club and John Risdall from the New Brighton/Mounds View club. Mr. Riskedahl invited everyone to attend the St. Paul Sunrise Rotary Club’s 11th Annual Community Forum titled “The State of Race in Minnesota Then and Now” on April 14 from 7:15-9:15 AM at the Town and Country Club. If you are interested in attending, visit stpaulsunriserotary.org or contact Ed Marek at 612.210.4342.
Following introductions there were several announcements:
Ted Johnson provided an update on REEP. We are in need of more host families and drivers for the visiting teachers from Sri Lanka in town from April 15 - 30. Contact Ted if you are interested. Ted also handed out flyers for the Edgerton Elementary School PTA Bingo Night on April 1 from 6:00-8:00 PM in the gym. A portion of the funds raised will go towards hosting the inbound teachers.
Ed Studinski informed the club about the Rotary Foundation Donor Advised Fund. Essentially how it works is you make a tax-deductible contributions to the Rotary Foundation in years when they are most beneficial. Over time, you can advise the Foundation how to invest the funds and recommend grants to any IRS-approved charity of your choice. For more information, visit https://www.rotary.org/myrotary/en/document/donor-advised-funds-leaflet
Terry Carlson indicated that Seth Eggessa is undergoing dialysis and is on the Kidney transplant list. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Ms. Carlson also mentioned that the Board recently approved giving Seth a “Service Above Self” plaque.
Kim Vanderwall is seeking volunteers for Cook for Kids at the Jeremiah Program in St. Paul on April 26 from 4:00-7:00 PM. The Jeremiah Program provides the support necessary for low-income single mothers and their children to move into a life of economic independence. The Cook for Kids program allows the mothers to have a meeting rather than cook dinner.
Patrick Mader, President Terry Carlson
Next, Brad Kirscher introduced our speaker, Patrick “Packy” Mader. Mr. Mader is a retired teacher from Northfield Area who recently authored a book titled “Minnesota Gold, Conversations with Northland Athletes Competing on the World Stage.” The book is a collection of 57 biographies celebrating the lives, stories, challenges and achievements of Minnesota athletes competing in the Olympics. Mr. Mader described a Minnesota athlete as person who received their K-12 education in Minnesota and there are currently 300 such living people who have competed in the Olympics. Of the 57 athletes interviewed, Mr. Mader indicated they were all down to earth good people and he had no bad experiences. For the remainder of the program, Mr. Mader showed slides of some prominent and obscure Minnesota athletes, and provided some tidbits about each. Following are most that Mr. Mader discussed:
Wendy Anderson – the future governor of MN won silver in hockey at the 1956 Olympics.
Lindsay Whalen – the MN Lynx guard won gold in 2012.
Ruben Bjorkman – won silver with the 1948 hockey team at the age of 18.
Burdette Haldorson – MN’s only male basketball Olympian in 1956 and 1960.
Sara Reiling – Roseville native who attended Credit Derham Hall. She was a gymnast who broke her back then switched to diving and made the Olympics in 4 years – 2000 and 2004 platform and synchronized diving.
Randy Bartz – Rosevlle native who attended Mounds View High School. He was a short track speed skater who competed in the 1994 Olympics and won silver as part of the 5000 meter relay.
Steve Sertich – coached hockey at Roseville for many years then went on to be the head coach of the Bemidji State Women’s team. Steve was on the 1976 Olympic hockey team and his son Marty won the Hobey Baker award with Colorado College.
Tom Malchow – three-time Olympic swimmer who won gold in the 200 butterfly in 2000.
John Mayasich – grew up in a poor family in Eveleth. His parents never saw him play because they were always working and he wore the same pair of hockey skates throughout high school. His #8 is the only jersey retired by U of M hockey. He was inducted into the MN Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Mayasich won silver at the 1956 Olympics and gold at the 1960 Olympics.
Brianna Scurry – soccer goalie who won 2 silvers and 1 gold.
Janet Gerhauser – doubles figure skater who was 1 of 13 women on the 1952 Winter Olympic Term.
Buzz Schneider – won 1980 hockey gold on the high scoring line with John Harrington and Mark Pavelich. His son Billy played Buzz in the movie “Miracle on Ice.”
Phil Rogosheske – multi sport athlete at Gustavus who started kayaking in 1970 and was in the Olympics 2 years later.
George Hovland – oldest Olympian interviewed who turned down a promotion in the Navy because he would rather cross-country ski. He was in the 1952 Olympics.
Jessie Diggins – cross country skier who accidentally lost one of her poles during a relay race but kept going and her team won gold in 2014.
Heather Dorniden - Not an Olympian, but check out what she did in the 600-meter race at the 2008 Big Ten Indoor Track Championships…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjejTQdK5OI
A team of teachers from Edgerton is lucky to be chosen to participate in the Roseville Rotary Club's REEP trip to Sri Lanka! The Rotary Education Exchange Program, or REEP, will send 3 teachers from Edgerton (Erica Anderson, Debbie Romero, and Lexie Griffiths), along with a Rotarian (Ted Johnson) to schools in Sri Lanka in June 2016. But, first, the team will host 3 teachers and a Rotarian from Sri Lanka from April 15-30, 2016.
We need your help to provide welcoming and safe homes and transportation for the educators visiting from Sri Lanka. Please consider hosting one of our Sri Lankan visitors. Hosting would involve providing a 3-4 night stay, breakfast and dinner, and some transportation.
If you are not able to host someone, please consider helping with transportation. Or, if you have a family member or friend who may be interested and willing to host, please let us know below as well.
I've invited you to fill out the form Sri Lankan Teachers Hosting Survey . To fill it out, visit: http://goo.gl/forms/hSpDT8qG3t
We were greeted by Marv Sorvala and an assistant, David Parker. David, today's speaker, was very encaustic with his greetings and made everyone excited to hear his message about teaching young children to read.
The meeting was called to order by President Elect Brad Kirscher at precisely 12:30 PM. Marv led us in the Flag Pledge and Brad led recitation of the Four-Way-Test. Melanie Mogg gave an
invocation with an education theme. Jeff Norton reported that we had no guests or visiting Rotarians.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Jeff Norton announced that the REEP program is taking shape. They are still accepting donations and still need hosts for the visiting teachers. The team is requesting that anyone interested in hosting complete on online Google Survey, http://goo.gl/forms/hSpDT8qG3t .
Jerry Hromatka announced that the Taste-of-Rosefest is getting organized and reminded us that the date is Thursday, June 23.Jan Vanderwall pointed out that a memory tool is "that 623 is the same as the Roseville Area School District."
HAPPY DOLLARS
"Happy Dollars" got off to a slow start but took off with many "happy" and "unhappy" announcements.
PROGRAM
David Parker, Brad Kirscher
Dr. David Parker, Research Director, Service Minnesota was very energetic and very involved in presenting the Minnesota Reading Corps program of helping schools teach young children to read.
Their slogan is "Learn to Read so you can Read to Learn".
The Minnesota Reading Corps includes state wide activities for pre-school and K-3 school children.
The corps is staffed by AmeriCorps volunteers who aid pre-school organizations and formal schools with tutoring and program development. Their goal is third grade reading proficiency for all students by the end of third grade. Research shows that if this goal is achieved by students a good education in future years is possible. Progress to date is limited, but David showed graphs indicating positive results. Focus is all children of pre-school age and at-risk children K-3.
The volunteers have a yearlong commitment. They are trained when they enter the program and work in schools’ full time for their year. The program is a multi-part science of reading including vocabulary, word attack (recognizing words), and rate. If one reads too fast you miss the joy of words and if one reads too slow you miss the joy of reading.
Dr. Parker ended with a lot of time for questions, and there were many. One was, "... how were they funded. He answered, "...federal, state, and private sources. The AmeriCorps volunteers receive payment from the federal government, funding comes from the State of Minnesota education initiatives, foundations, and individuals provide some funding.
President Elect Brad Kirscher opened the meeting at 12:30 PM
Greg Carlson was the greeter and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance
The invocation was by Ted Johnson who used his experience in Sri Lanka, India and Viet Nam in conjunction with Hindu and Buddhist religious philosophies to encourage us to quiet our minds and be in the present.
Luke Ferden introduced Jane Heinks who was brought by Brad Kirscher
Jeanne Nelson who was a guest of Melanie Mogg
Kora Boisvert who is a Music and Bee enthusiast and also an EMT and guest of Deb Nygaard
Greg Carlson gave his classification speech and took us through his history in Minnesota Corrections, the National Guard, the Coast Guard, Augsburg College, his children in Norway, Sweden and Florida, his 7 Marathons, Triathlons and now his volunteering exploits. He is one busy guy!
Note: The District Conference is happening on May 12 and 13 at Mystic Lake. Click Here for more information.
Deb Nygaard and Jeff Norton sponsored a fund raising concert for REEP! Thank you both for your efforts.
Melanie Mogg passed out organic lemons fresh from her tree in Arizona that she carried back to Minnesota. She asked for a donation to REEP from those that took the lemons home. I know from firsthand experience how good those lemons are!
Brad Kirscher introduced the speaker for the day, Kevin Cavanaugh from the U of Minnesota who spoke about domestic and wild Pollinators and what their demise would make to our world. (Pollinators include Honey bees, bumble bees, flies, butterflies, beetles, and some bats and I’m sure there are many I have missed.) There is a progressive depletion of pollinators across the globe. They are suffering from multiple challenges to their lives. Virtually all of their challenges are from Man Made elements.
Their partial demise could cost the world billions of dollars in reduced production of food crops which could cause hunger at worst and higher priced food at best! What can we avoid and change to alter this progression?
We have CRP, (Conservation Reserve Program), land that had many flowers and is now going away. That program could be reinstated. We have many pesticides that are adversely affecting their population. The Neonicotinoids appear to be the major thread, however there are also several other chemicals in common use on farms and also in residential areas that adversely affect the pollinators. We have a love of green space…..grassy areas….with no flowers and that hurts the population of the pollinators. We treat seed with systemic chemicals before planting them and the dust from the treated seed harms the insects as well as the beneficial plants like the milkweed that is so important to the monarch butterflies ends up dying in the process. We also use some nosema pathogens that adversely affect the insects. We have imported the Varroa Mite from Europe and that critter attaches to insects in the pupae stage as well as the adult stage and literally sucks the life out of insects. A Varroa Mite on a bee is the equivalent of a hubcap sized blood sucker on our chest! These are the things we can avoid.
What can we do to affect a positive change is: Limit the non-flower grassy areas like lawns, golf courses, road side ditches, plant more flowers that are insect friendly, add flowering park areas, introduce more milkweed. If we do these things it is like an invitation to the insects and they will respond. I suspect we all have responsibility for some piece of land. What does yours look like to a pollinator?
President Terry Carson called the meeting to order at 12:30. The greeter, Greg Carlson, led the flag pledge and four way test. Dick Einan provided the invocation and thanked those who are making the world a better place to live. The invocation was ended with a humorous quote, “if our purpose in life is to help others, then what is the purpose of the others?”
Visitors and guests were introduced by Jason Raether. There zero visiting Rotarians and three guests. Deb Nygaard introduced her guests, Mark Nygaard and Jason Hier, and Dick Einan was accompanied by his wife/business partner Barbara.
The record reporter caught a break as there were no official announcements and the speaker (Washington County Attorney Peter Orput) did not show. Apparently there was a scheduling miscommunication and he was at another meeting.
In lieu of the speaker, Don Craighead raved about a presentation he attended by Dr. Bennet Omalu at the Beth El Synagogue. Dr. Omalu discovered CTE in former football players, sparking years of denial from the NFL and the creation of the 2015 film Concussion, with Will Smith portraying the Nigerian-born doctor. Mr. Craighead was so impressed by the doctor that he mailed a hand written letter to his office in California inviting him to become a Rotarian or rotary speaker. He also had Dr. Omalu sign the book "Concussion" by Jeanne Marie Laskas.
Next, donations were solicited for the Rotary Educator Exchange Program (REEP) and Ted Johnson talked about the six week trip he returned from last week. Mr. Johnson traveled to India with the Rotary Friendship Exchange group for ten days, and then ventured to Sri Lanka and Vietnam. During his travels, Mr. Johnson stayed with a many different host families and visited numerous Rotary clubs, Hindu temples, schools and businesses. He also managed to survive a Tiger safari.
Mr. Johnson explained to the club how the REEP will benefit the teachers in Sri Lanka and Roseville. Sri Lanka’s official language was English prior to be changed back to the native language of Sinhala in 1980, which is not beneficial when competing in a global economy. All of the business people in Sri Lanka speak English, but the middle and lower classes struggle picking up the language due to the lack of education. The teachers from Sri Lanka traveling to Roseville for two weeks will learn new methods of teaching English that they can bring back to Sri Lanka and share with other teachers. The teachers traveling from Roseville to Sri Lanka will get to experience what it might be like for one of their students living in the U.S. while learning English as a second language. If you are interested in hosting one of the exchange teachers (2 men and 2 women), please contact Ted,tdreamintl@mindspring.com.
Terry Carlson called the meeting to order at 12:30 p.m.
Al Gerdin greeted us as we arrived and led the flag pledge. We followed with the Rotary Four-Way Test. Jeff Norton played the guitar and sang the invocation.
Jeff Norton
Announcements
Rotary turns 111 years old February 23 2016.
Rotary Educator Exchange Programs (REEP), The Rotary clubs of Roseville and Sri Lanka are hosting a fundraiser Tuesday March 1 2016 from 7 – 9 p.m. to support a joint two week exchange of educators to improve empathy and skills for teaching English language learners.
Days for Girls, Deb Nygaard called for volunteers to help sew washable feminine hygiene supply kits for girls in developing communities worldwide. Sunday March 13, 2016, noon to 3 p.m. at North Heights Lutheran Church. To volunteer, contact deb.nygaard@arthursresidentialcare.com or call Deb at 612-919-0882. Click Here for more information.
Next year the Roseville Rotary Youth Exchange Program will host an inbound student from Belgium. David Kray asked for 3 volunteer host families. For more information, contact Dave,david.kray@krausanderson.com, or Kathy Hughitt, kathy.hughitt@rotary5960.org.
Presentation
Amy Zellmer , Terry Carlson
Today’s talk was on living life with a traumatic brain injury (TBI), more commonly referred to as concussion in its milder forms.
Our speaker was Amy Zellmer, a person dealing with the problems of TBI and author of Life With a Traumatic Brain Injury: Finding the Road Back to Normal.
Amy suffered a head injury one morning in February two years ago when she slipped on a patch of ice in her driveway. She shared her story of recovery with us, and offered insights into ways to help support a someone dealing with this invisible injury like TBI.
TBI is one of the leading causes of death in America at 52,000 deaths per year, yet hardly anyone what a TBI even is, let alone aware of the lasting effects of a concussion. Every 13 seconds, someone in the US will suffer a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Chances are you or someone you love has been affected by this injury. And it can happen to anyone; a simple fall, car accident, sports injury, stroke, or assault can change a person’s life significantly. More than 2.5 million people annually undergo TBI, which is made worse because it is often misunderstood, undiagnosed, and overlooked in severity.
During her recovery Amy created an organization, Faces of TBI, that has become a voice for Traumatic Brain Injury and brings awareness by educating survivors, caregivers, friends and family, as well as the medical community. You can find out more about concussion injury by visiting www.facesoftbi.com.
The meeting was begun by President Terry Carlson who rang the bell at 12:30.
Greeter: Jeff Norton who led the Pledge of Allegiance
Invocation: Melanie Mogg
Terry Carlson gave us a brief review of the weekend 5960 Mid-Year Meeting, which just happened this past weekend at the Radisson in Roseville.
Dan Wall Announced the Ramsey County Library Gala and encouraged our support and attendance.
Deb Nygaard promoted the Jeff Norton Concert to support the Teacher Exchange program with Sri Lanka.
Dave Gilberstadt gave us an update on his trip to Sri Lanka with Ted Johnson and working on the Teacher Exchange Program.
Hyon Kim made a statement supporting the value of American Forces in South Korea where they do keep the peace!
Eric Hylok, Terry Carlson
Loren Swanson Introduced Eric Hylok of the Clemency Project which is a joint venture between New York University and the University of St. Thomas in the Twin Cities.
Eric began by differentiating between Clemency Vs Pardon: Clemency is Reducing the penalty for some one who is guilty and a Pardon is Forgiveness of the Crime, taking the offender back to the point where it is as if the crime did not happen.
There are 13 steps to go through the Clemency Process, (Mostly Committees). Any one member of any of the committees has veto power and the application will die. If any member asks a question that is not answered the application goes back to the previous committee and to the previous one etc. until the question is answered and then it moves forward again. The analogy used is a giant game of “Chutes and Ladders.”
Eric stated that, “We are not the innocence project, we are the guilty project” All our clients are guilty and simply sentenced to terms that are unfairly long! The ones who get clemency are the ones believed to be able to re-enter society as a person who can contribute to the benefits of our society.
This is primarily focused on the harsh penalties meted out in the 1970’s and 1980’s for use and distribution of crack cocaine. Some people received life sentences for possession of small amounts of Crack.
This is a time sensitive issue and the funding for this project runs out in August of 2016. Right now they have a backlog of about 10,000 cases to process with the knowledge that with the 7.5 people they have working on this program this goal will never be met and there will be people who are deserving of clemency and their cries will not be heard.
The deadline is January 2017 when President Obama leaves office. Then is it a crap shoot as to what the next president will do with this issue.
The presentation was intentionally short leaving much time for questions. There were significant and well reasoned questions right up to the time limit! Throughout the presentation Eric kept the pace fast which is how I know him to work. In addition to this it was very clear in his voice and his judicious choice of words that he truly has a passion for this project and wants desperately to get as many of those 10,000 files processed before time runs out. Eric was asked questions about things outside of his preview and he simply said, “I don’t know the answer to that and do not have the time to find out.” Thank you Eric for giving us a glimpse into your world!
CLICK HERETO REGISTER ONLINE through Survey Monkey (no charge)
We are now halfway through this Rotary year…Mid-Term is a time to meet and network with fellow Rotarians, learn of club activities around the district, and re-energize for the rest of the year. All Rotarians are encouraged to attend, particularly Club Presidents, Presidents-Elect and Board Members, Assistant Governors, and District Leadership.
Leadership Academy:(All Rotarians) - Friday Jan 29 and Saturday, Jan 30 with Keynote Speakers, Chris Wright, President of the MN Timberwolves and former Rotary International Director, Mary Beth Growney Selene.
Mid-Term(All Rotarians)– Radisson Hotel Salons A/B/C
Saturday, January 30, 2016– 9:00 am – 2:00 pm (Lunch provided)
Keynote Speaker: John Rosengren, Author
An interactive Public Image Panel , Rotary Showcase with roundtable discussions
Share ideas and create action plans!
Greg Carlson greeted us with a warm handshake on this cold Monday. Terry Carlson opened the meeting at 12:27, Greg led the Pledge Of Allegiance To The Flag and Terry led recitation of the Four-Way-Test. Jerry Hromatka, in his ebullient way, gave the invocation: “A study of New Year’s resolutions”. Jeff Norton introduced two visiting Rotarians.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Terry Carlson, Jon Roswick
1.) Jon Roswick was inducted to membership, Jon is in the Transportation Industry.
Ed Studniski, David Gilberstadt, Jan Vanderwall
2.) David Gilberstadt was recognized as a multi Paul Harris Fellow.
ANNOUNCEMENTS (an announcement could be made for a $5.00 donation to Happy Dollars )
1.) President Carlson announced that mid-year review of Roseville Rotary progress
toward a 2015/2016 Presidents Citation showed great progress.
Philip Kaleewoun
2.) Philip Kaleewoun, President of Twin Cities Rotaract, announced that we are invited to a fundraiser Wednesday, January 27. This event is in support of Northside Achievement Zone. Ticket are $35 and can be purchased through Eventbrite, tcrotaract-naz-2016.eventbrite.com
4.) No meeting next week – Martin Luther King Day.
PROGRAM
“EVOLVE Adoption & Family Services” was presented Christine Gurney, Development Manager and new intern from EVOLVE.
EVOLVE, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, was formed in 2014 merging Crossroads Adoption Services and HOPE Adoption & Family Services. EVOLVE provided a broad range of adoption services including domestic and international adoption, pre-adoption training and post-adoption support.
Foster-care training and support for both children and foster-care providers.
President Terry Carlson called the meeting to order a bit early at 12:24 due to time constraints of the speaker. The greeter, Greg Carlson, led the flag pledge and four way test. Melanie Mogg recently returned from ten weeks of traveling around the country and she gave an invocation recalling her interesting memories from Rotary makeup meetings. Melanie attended meetings in Oklahoma City, OK, Spokane, WA, Atlanta, GA, Topeka, KS and Boise, ID. Despite meeting at 7:30 AM, Melanie indicated the Boise group was the most enthusiastic.
Lynne Megan introduced visitors and guests. There were no visitors today and one guest. Brad Kirscher’s guest was Beth Behnke, who is the principal of Falcon Heights Elementary.
Terry Carlson, Tom O'Hern
Next, Brad introduced the speaker, Tom O’Hern. Tom works for Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest (JA), which is a non-profit organization based in Maplewood with roughly 40 employees. Roseville Rotary member Terry Gilberstadt has been on the board of JA for many years and has also volunteered in JA’s programs.
JA works with public, private and charter schools (K-12) to inform students about entrepreneurship, financial literacy and career exploration at no cost to the schools. As business and accounting are not required in high school, JA’s goal is to get business people from the community into the classrooms to get students thinking about careers. JA also works with private businesses to offer a job shadowing program for the students. Tom indicated the most successful job shadowing program is at Computype in Roseville. Computype is a world leader in bar code labeling.
JA works with the Roseville school district, as well as most of the school districts in the Twin Cities and western Wisconsin. JA does not work with entire schools, but rather specific teachers request JA to work with their class. When JA receives a request, they assign a volunteer to teach the program, which is typically 1 hour per week for five to seven weeks. JA provides its own curriculum and Terry G. indicated it takes 30-60 minutes to prepare for the program. Terry G. also mentioned as a volunteer you learn a lot and have fun interacting with the students. If you are interested in learning more about JA or volunteering, you can visit the website at www.jaum.org.
After the conclusion of Mr. O’Hern’s program, Terry Carlson presented the Radisson staff with gifts and thanked them for the great service we receive every week.
Jason Raether informed the club of volunteer opportunity with Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly named Elder Dreams. The program allows an elder to choose a one-time experience they would like to do with a volunteer. For example, going to a concert, out for dinner, or Jason and his wife recently drove an elder around to look at Christmas lights. Just something to consider if you are seeking a volunteer opportunity with minimal time commitment.
The District 5960 midterm meeting will be held at the Roseville Radisson on January 29 and 30. For more information, visit www.rotary5960.org. ( Click Here to register through SurveyMonkey)
With the upcoming holidays, the next meeting will be in three weeks on January 11 and the speaker will be Christine Gurney with Evolve Adoption and Family Services.
After announcements the meeting was adjourned. Everyone have a joyful holiday season!
The meeting was called to order at 12:30 by President Terry Carlson
Invocation Ted Johnson revolved around a Centering Exercise
Intro of Visitors and Guests by Jeff Norton
Guests of Terry Carlson included Renee and Karen Baumgaertner
John Roswick Potential New Member
Roland Wilsey introduced his son Greg Wilsey
Happy Dollars………among those happy people are:
Mary Jo McGuire and Susan Nemitz who are headed to the White House to work on a library card project. They are hoping to see President Obama while there, but there are no guarantees.
Board Meeting tomorrow at 7:30AM at the usual place.
Terry Carlson , Karen Baumgaertner
Terry Carlson introduced the speaker of the day, Karen Baumgaertner.
Karen Baumgaertner is a Representative of MINN (Minnesota International NGO (Non-Governmental Organization)Network) For her day job she works at Land O’Lakes in the International division (LOL is the second largest Coop in the country), minnesotangos.org is their website. There are hundreds of NGOs in MN, with about 2000 people are involved in this organization.
MINNspire, part of MINN, is looking for experienced people to work with them. (Act 3 of their lives!)
There will be a seminar at St. Catherine’s in Highland Park meeting on a monthly basis for four months for those interested in working with NGOs:
Topics include “Planting the Seeds” “Choosing your opportunity” “I’m here, now what?” and “Home Again”
There will be a minimum 12 and a Max 30 people to conduct the class. Cost for the Class is up to $100. per person for all four sessions.
If you are interested in learning more please go to their website, minnesotangos.org .
The meeting was called to order by President Terry Carlson on this 30th day of November, 2015.
Greg Carlson led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance after which we recited the Four Way Test.
Ted Johnson gave the invocation. He spoke about the upcoming Rotary Educator Exchange Program (REEP) with Sri Lanka and Christina’s story.
Lynne Megan introduced visitors and guests. Today we had no visitors or guests.
General club announcements and business followed:
Jan Vanderwall announced that he is trying to coordinate some Polio Plus dinners in the February – April timeframe. If you are interested in attending or hosting, please contact Jan, .jan.vanderwall@isd623.org.
The Roseville Rotary club donated $500 to the West St. Paul / Mendota Heights club for their project in Haiti, a maternity care center.
A reminder that the holiday party is next Monday, the 7th.
With announcements completed we engaged in a round of happy dollars.
Terry Carlson , Jean Weiss
Brad Kirscher introduced today’s speaker, Jean Weiss with Technovation MN.
Technovation MN is an organization that works with young women, ages 10-18, to get them more involved with technology, specifically computer science. Computer science is a $500 billion opportunity with growth potential for 1,000,000 new jobs by 2020. Currently only 18% of computer science majors are women. If that 18%, less than 3% are African American and less than 1% are Hispanic. With that said, however, more than 70% of Technovation MN’s alumni take further computer science courses.
Technovation MN operates a 3-month program consisting of 40-60 hours worth of curriculum where young women dream up, design, code and pitch mobile apps. Technical skills taught during the program include the following:
MIT App Inventor Training
Basic Programming Skills
External Data Source Integration
Product Specs w/ in Technical Constraints
User Centered Design
In addition they also learn the following entrepreneurial skills:
Idea Development
Market Research / Surveys
Business Plan Development, including financial analysis
Pitch Presentation
The organization runs a 12-week challenge season or contest. In this contest the young women are broken up into teams consisting of 3-5 students, 1 teacher or parent – effectively the coach and 1 or more mentors. Teams are provided with a safe space to work and access to a computer, phone and the internet. Their goal is to, again, dream up, design, code and pitch a mobile app.
Locally the contest is called Appapalooza. In 2015 they had 28 teams consisting of 120 young women and 400 supporters. The top 10 from the local “Appapalooza” contests advance on to World Pitch. At World Pitch they present their ideas to venture capitalists with the winning team getting $10,000 in seed money to further their app.
Technovation MN needs volunteers, corporate sponsors, hosts for field trips, advocates to get young women involved and advance their story and, of course, donations. If you are interested in finding out more about Technovation MN their website is www.technovationmn.org.
With the presentation completed and no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
The meeting was called to order at 12:30 pm by President Terry Carlson.
We all greeted each other at our respective tables. This was one of the meetings at which Marv Sorvala arranged for an orientation so Greg Carlson, Kim Vanderwall, Jason Raether and Hyon Kim got a quick update on the Club Service and Community Service committees of our club.
Ed Studniski offered the invocation in a Thanksgiving theme.
Luke Ferden introduced visitors and guests:
John Risdall, New Brighton/Mounds View Rotary, who had earlier been a member of Roseville Rotary for 10 years was present.
Al Gerdin introduced his daughter Marcia Gerdin
Our speaker introduced his wife Taylor Westerberg and
Sean Goerss, a guest, joined us at the orientation table and learned a bit about the club workings as well.
Jeff Norton told us about his enlightening experience speaking to the Roseville Students of AVID and encouraged more of us to sign up to do that. He was particularly impressed with the questions asked by the students!
Al Gerdin did his classification talk which just happened to coincide with his award for 40 years of perfect attendance while with the Roseville Club! In addition to that he told us that he has visited about 72 other Rotary Clubs over the years. I suspect that is another record, but we don’t keep statistics on that one! Al went on to tell us of growing up on a farm in Braham, MN. Money was tight and the only running water was in the creek. He had to go outside for water and to use the outhouse, but it was a good life. He took two years off of school to help on the farm and then graduated two years late because of that interruption in his schedule. Eventually he got married and migrated to the U of Minnesota and got a BS in Ag Education and went to work selling ag supplies for lawns and golf courses. Next he got a masters degree and taught at the U of MN in Crookston, Likely the Ag School in those days. After a few years of that he went to work with RL Gould for the next 38 years, again selling turf products to parks and golf courses.
Through much of this time he was a Rotarian and got involved in the Youth Exchange program. We can learn a good lesson here from Al that Rotarians who get involved with something they love stay active for the long term! He has been active in the Youth Exchange program on a club and district level for many years. Currently he drives about 35 miles round trip from Plymouth because he likes the Roseville Club. From the Standing ovation he got at the end of his classification talk it was obvious that the Roseville Club likes Al as well. Thank you for all your service over the years.
Terry Carlson, Chia Tasah
Brad Kirscher introduced the speaker for the day , Chia Tasah. He wrote a book, The Life of an African Peace Corps Child ,The Life and Experiences of a Peace Corps Child of Kom, Cameroon Africa. He gave us a good lesson in three things:
The value of networking. He networked with the Peace Corps workers in Cameroon and listened to their advice. When he eventually migrated to the USA he found them again and was again helped by their wisdom. He was also encouraged by Christine Swanson in his process.
That we all need to learn about systems. Chia had to learn about the systems of education, grants, loans, housing etc that exist in the USA. That is not an easy task from one dropped into our culture from Cameroon!
Keep moving forward. Run if you can, if not walk, if you can’t walk crawl, but keep moving forward.
Chia has had an interesting life going through his whole process and now working hard to give back to others to help them in the ways he has been helped.
If you would like to learn more about his life, you can buy his book on line at: www.chiatasah.com.
The meeting was called to order by President Elect Brad Kirscher on this 16th day of November, 2015.
Jason Raether led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance after which we recited the Four Way Test.
Hyon Kim gave the invocation.
Ed Studniski introduced visitors and guests. Today we had one visiting Rotarian, Sam Cave, and three guests: Jon Roswick, Marilyn Rosene and Barbara Einen. Welcome all.
General club announcements and business followed:
Today we auctioned off two autographed copies of Written on the Knee. Proceeds were donated to PolioPlus. Thank you to Hyon Kim and Mary Sommerfeld, our auction winners, for their winning bids of $45 and $55, respectively.
With no other announcements Brad Kirscher introduced today’s speakers, Dan McNeil and Judy Larsen from PeaceMaker Minnesota, who spoke to us about the problem of bullying.
Judy Larsen, Dan McDeil, Brad Kirscher
Bullying, verbal abuse and physical violence are problems in every school – each day. Bullying also affects everyone it touches: the bully, the victim, the followers, the bystanders and the adults. It adversely impacts learning, involvement in activities, school morale, etc. How widespread is the problem? Ms. Larsen reported to us that 1 in 7 students report being bullied at one point or another; of these only 20% tell an adult. Further, 56% of students report witnessing some sore bullying. Because of these issues thousands of students fear going to school each day but it doesn’t have to be that way…
PeaceMaker Minnesota is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization, formed in 1998 that works with schools in Minnesota to give them the tools they need to stop violence. Their goal is to stop violence by helping schools prevent bullying and teach kids how to get along. Their objective is to reduce the number of kids who report being bullied that do not feel safe at school. Their strategy is to 1) work with schools committed to using the best practices in youth violence prevention, 2) to develop sustainable funding for their work so they can obtain the programming and training that they need and 3) celebrate successes so that other schools see how bullying can be reduced and a positive learning environment achieved. By taking these actions their vision is for every school to be a safe place where students can learn and develop positive relational skills.
PeaceMaker Minnesota was originally funded with just over $8,000 in contributions. Since that time they have provided hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of support and currently boast 23 partner schools. As Mr. McNeil stated, bullies are like dandelions…if you do something about them your yard looks pretty nice but if you let them go you’ll have issues.
If you are interested in learning more about PeaceMaker Minnesota or wish to donate to their cause, information can be found on their website: www.peacemakermn.org.
With the presentation completed and no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
Minutes for Roseville Rotary Monday, November 9, 2015
We were greeted by Al Gerdin then filled our plates with salad, rice, and chicken in a white sauce and chose a place to sit. Our tables were each decorated with a bright colored placard about the Teacher Exchange program between Sri Lanka and Roseville Area Schools.
Ted Johnson explained that three Roseville teachers and a Rotarian would travel to Sri Lanka for two weeks and a group from Sri Lanka would visit Roseville. These initial information gathering visits are sponsored by Roseville Rotary with partnering clubs. Hopefully this will be the beginning of an ongoing educational initiative. This project does not fit within the Rotary International guidelines so there is no District or Foundation funding available.
The meeting was called to order by President Terry Carlson. Al Gerdin led the flag pledge and Terry led recital of the four-way pledge. Ed Studniski gave the invocation after a reading a passage from the book On Leadership titled “The Toughest Person to Lead Is Yourself”. Ted Johnson introduced visiting Rotarian Jim Hunt, of the White Bear club, and District Governor-elect. Ted also introduced two guests, both of whom are perspective members of Roseville Rotary.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Clean water project for four schools in Nigeria sponsored by White Bear Rotary was described by Jim Hunt.
SPARK program at Central Park Elementary, sponsored by Roseville Rotary last year, was impetus for the Roseville Area School District naming Central Park as a “choice” school for students interested in science and technology.
Mary Jo McGuire was presented a “Sponsorship” pin for bringing in a new member.
Greg Carlson was presented a Paul Harris Fellow award.
The Foundation Event last Saturday was a great success.
No Board meeting next week.
Ed Studniski, Greg Carlson
Jan Vanderwall, Hyon Kim, MaryJo McGuire
PROGRAM
BradKirscher, Helen Lindsay
Helen Lindsay, author of, Written on the Knee, spoke about her book and the political situation in Greece. The book is about her father’s involvement in World War II. Basis of the writing is the collection of love letters saved by her mother who was then a new bride much missed by her husband. The Greek-Italian conflict was in early WW II and located in the remote mountain area of the Greek-Albanian border. The Greek army turned away the Italian army much to the dismay of Mussolini and his ally Hitler. Hitler’s army was headed for Russia, but turned south to help the Italians. This delayed the Russian attack by five weeks into the cold winter which the German army was not equipped to handle thus leading to the change of the direction in WW II.
The author was raised and educated in Greece and owns property in Greece today. She said the country is a political and economic mess. And a literal mess with all the trash being left behind by the refugees from Syria as they come ashore and pass through this small country on their way to Europe. Helen Lindsay said the Greek culture, which is thousands of years old, is being destroyed. Communism is rising but membership in the European Union is holding it back from taking control. Ms. Lindsay said she is writing and e-mailing members of congress stating that the United States can and should help.
Jeff Norton Gave the invocation: Hey Jude……Complete with guitar accompaniment
Intro of visitors and Guests
Brenda Teats, MN Zoo and Steve Baker, St. Paul Sunrise, Gordon Park High School Benefit. Nov 10th from 5 to 7 PM.
Announcements
UCM Foundation, “Change Hearts” “Change Minds” “Change Lives” Gala Event to raise money for schools in Africa ,Nov 21 at the Anderson Center on the Hamline University Campus, UCMFoundation@gmail.com .
Rotary Foundation Celebration at Holiday Inn East, Saturday, Nov 7th. Sign up to sit at the Roseville Rotary Table.
Thank you from Roseville Parks for helping with the fall cleanup.
Happy Dollars…Many happy Rotarians
(PE Brad Kirscher, Beth Burns)
Beth Burns from the Minnesota Zoo was the speaker for the day. Her important points about the MN Zoo were:
It is the live interaction with the animals that makes time at the Zoo so special…..Just the same as Hey Jude in song is more meaningful that just reading the words.
The mission statement is, “We are here to help preserve wildlife.”
5 blind Monk seals are now living in what was the dolphin exhibit.
1.2 million visitors to the zoo every year
4700+ animals
1100 Volunteers
122 Buildings
62 Fleet Vehicles
485 Acres of land to work with
Full time staff person living in Namibia to help preserve black rhinos.
Moose research in Northern MN is being done by the Zoo personnel.
Brown Skipper and Dakota Skipperling butterflies are being managed in small populations.
They are telling the story of animals to Minnesotans
Friend the Minnesota Zoo on Facebook
30% of funds come from the State of MN, the balance from admission and donations
Region’s #1 environmental education provider
A public-private partnership
Support animals by buying sustainable products: e.g. products from General Mills, Cargill, Hershey etc.
African Savannah at the Zoo is in development. They bring in only animals that they can take good care of and support properly.
AZA Association of Zoos and Aquariums Accrediting organization to preserve animal and genetic integrity. Both Como and the Minnesota Zoo are accredited. Members of this organization work together collaboratively for the betterment of the animals.
World Association of Zoos and Aquariums The international component of the AZA.
MN Zoo has been working on the reintroduction of Bison to MN
MN Zoo has resources to help with the pollinator program.
Monday was another wonderful Minnesota October day, warm with trees still covered with colored leaves that seemed like they did not want to let go. Jeff Norton’s greeting matched the pleasant day. President Terry Carlson opened the meeting with a hardy stroke to the bell. Jeff led the flag pledge with enthusiasm and Deb Nygaard gave an invocation titled “When You Thought I Wasn’t Looking”. Very appropriate.
Terry introduced a new word – “Destickering”. And used it to announce (desticker) removal of the red “new member” stickers from the name badges of Pat Trudgeon and Shannon Kinstler. Lynne Megan introduced two visiting Rotarians, Claudia Nicholson and Anita Jader, North St. Paul/Maplewood/Oakdale Rotary, who were not promoting anything and two visitors who were. Guest Jean Weiss of Technovation, a program that teaches young women computer skills, is seeking mentors. Claudia Nicholson announced that the Boy Scout Museum would be honoring Bob Rosene and Roland Wilsey on November 14th at the Founders Hall event. For more information or tickets contact www.nssm.org/events .“Happy Dollars” rounded out the meeting.