Meeting Recap - June 30, 2105

Jeff Benson opened the meeting and offered the invocation.  Jeff noted that former member Bob Jacobson married Diane this past weekend.  Jeff also said that Nils Friberg is currently in Rochester with his son Jim, who has been diagnosed with a brain aneurysm.  Our prayers go out to Nils, Jim and their families.

 

Our guest today was Mary Jo McGuire.

 

President Margaret started the final meeting of her presidential year with a review of her 30th reunion in Taiwan.  She had a wonderful time and, despite still suffering from jet-lag, appeared rested and relaxed.  Margaret distributed cards from Pinewood Elementary School students, thanking our members for talking to them about the value of trees and for the tree seedlings we gave them in celebration of Arbor Day.  Eric Nelson selected a few of the funniest to read aloud.  Thanks to Amy Wakem for organizing the Fourth Grade Foresters program, even though she was on a leave of absence.

 

Geoff Hollimon read a letter from ECHO thanking us for our multi-year matching grant totaling $8,326.  The letter also outlined some of the recent developments at ECHO, including regionalization of ECHO's training and services to bring them closer to areas of high demand.  These regional centers offer programs on natural farming, rice intensification, seed swapping, livestock production and nursery management, among many others.  ECHO is world renowned for their expertise in small-scale farming practices and our grant will help ECHO to promote these innovative practices around the globe.  Thanks to Geoff Hollimon for his work to secure the matching grant.

 

Don't forget that next Tuesday, July 7th, at 11 AM, there is a training session for all committee chairs on using the ClubRunner committee management module.  Please bring your (fully charged) laptop or tablet to get hands-on experience with the module.  The session will be held in the normal meeting space.

 

Dean Lotter gave a brief update on the city's efforts to manage the trace amounts of 1,4-dioxane that had been recently discovered in New Brighton's drinking water.  Although no regulatory limit has been set for this contaminant, Dean, and city staff are aggressively seeking a permanent solution which will be funded by the U.S. Army.  For more information on the problem, click here.  The temporary solution currently in effect is to switch to a deeper, uncontaminated, aquifer but there is concern that late summer water demand may exceed the pumping limit of these deeper wells.  The City has already established guidelines for its own water usage during the peak demand period.  To view those guidelines and see what you can do to reduce the burden on those temporary wells, click here.

 

Margaret offered a very thoughtful and sincere thank you to the Board members and all other Rotarians who had a part, big or small, in the successes we've shared during her presidency.  She also thanked us for the kind words and personal support she has received.  Margaret then welcomed our new president., Dana Rebelein, to the stage.  Dana presented Margaret with a plaque to commemorate her presidency and thanked Margaret on behalf of the club for her leadership and the creation of a great foundation on which to build future successes.  See Margaret with her plaque, below.

Dana then revealed Rotary International President K.R. “Ravi” Ravindran's theme for 2015-2016: "Be a Gift to the World".  She briefly outlined her own vision for the coming year.  For the past couple of years we have run a deficit budget to bring our reserves down to an appropriate level for a non-profit organization, and that level has been reached.  Dana's (and the Board's) challenge for the coming year is to provide the maximum benefit for each dollar we donate to our charitable partners.  Dana recognized the outgoing and incoming Board members and distributed a sign-up sheet for members to indicate which committees they would like to serve on in the coming year.  If you were unable to sign up today, you can be sure to see the sign-up sheet at the next meeting.  See Dana with her Pre-Presidential Mug, below.