Meeting Recap - November 24, 2015

Jeff opened the meeting with the Pledge and invocation.

 

President Dana reminded us of the following upcoming events:The District 5960 Midterm is Jan. 30, 9:00-2:00 at the Roseville Radisson.  Midterm 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. Get more information here.

 

Our Gold Plate Dinner fundraiser is scheduled for April 1, 2016.

 

Mark your calendars now for the District Conference which will be held May 12-14, 2016 at Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake.  Details are forthcoming.

 

Geoff Hollimon reported that our ECHO grant proposal, which had been delayed because of another district grant proposal, is on again for this Rotary year.  Geoff will have details in the near future.

 

Nils Friberg had the honor of presenting Mike Neeley with his Paul Harris+2 award, indicating total contributions to the foundation of over $3,000.  Way to go, Mike!  Nils and Mike are pictured below.

 

Char Samuelson will be moving to an assisted living facility in Moorhead, MN as she continues her recovery after her recent fall.  Our best wishes go with her and Gerry.

 

Val reported that former NBMV Rotarian, Roger Anderson, passed away this past week.

 

Jim Kadechka announced the rapid-fire births of two grandsons in just two days this past weekend.  The boys are named Andrew James and Shawn Michael.

 

A big thank you to all who helped organize for the holiday rush at the Ralph Reeder Food Shelf!

 

John Marg-Patton reported on his hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.  As the signs say: "Going down is optional...Coming back up is mandatory".  John and Ruth spent two nights on the Canyon Floor, plenty of time to rest up for the "mandatory" return to the canyon rim.

 

November is Rotary Foundation Month, and Gerry Tietz, along with his new Foundation Committee sidekick, Nils Friberg, presented a great overview of the scope of Rotary Foundation Programs and how donations flow from clubs and individuals to the myriad of grants and programs which are supported by the Foundation.  Here are the highlights:

 

The mission of the Rotary Foundation is to enable Rotary Members to advance world understanding, goodwill and peace through:

The foundation's areas of focus are: —

Donations to the Foundation are invested for three years with the investment proceeds and only 5% of the principal used for administrative costs.  The remaining principal is then split 50/50 between the District Designated Fund (DDF) and the World Fund.  The DDF goes back to the district, where it is split 50/50 between District Grants and Global Grants.  The World Fund is used by Rotary International to fund Matching Grants, Packaged Grants, Peace Fellows, Polio Plus and other international programs.

 

New Brighton Mounds View Rotary has been a District leader in both giving and grants leadership for many years.  In fact, we were one of only two clubs in the District to be an EREY (Every Rotarian Every Year) club this past year.  This means that every NBMV Rotarian contributed to the foundation and we averaged over $100/year/Rotarian.

 

For more information about the Rotary Foundation, and our club’s amazing participation, check out Gerry’s and Nil’s PowerPoint in the Home Page Download Files Tab in the left column, or click here.  Gerry and Nils are shown below.