Posted by Jeff Benson on Nov 28, 2017

Mark Lampman opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation.

President Gerry Tietz announced that Jason Slama has accepted the nomination as President-elect Nominee for the 2019-20 Rotary Year.  Jason’s nomination was confirmed by a unanimous voice vote of members present.  Congratulations, Jason!

Jason Miller had the pleasure of presenting Geoff Hollimon with his Paul Harris Fellowship + 4, signifying that Geoff has contributed over $5,000 to the Rotary Foundation! (photo below)

 

John Marg-Patton reminded us that the next Gold Plate Dinner Planning Meeting will be at 11 AM on December 12th at the Exchange.  All are welcome.

 

Cindy Carlson said that if her daughter Natalie hasn’t delivered by Friday, she will be induced, so Cindy should have a new grandson by next meeting.

 

The dreaded birthday hat was brought out of retirement to commemorate David Hoel’s 72nd birthday.  Dave is pictured below.

 

Our Assistant District Governor, Anoka Rotarian Sandy Campbell, had the honor of introducing our District Governor, third generation Rotarian, Kyle Haugen.  Kyle received his degree in political science from Hamline and is CFO of Haugen Agency, an insurance and financial planning firm.  Kyle played baseball for Hamline and remains an avid baseball fan.  Kyle was president of the Prior Lake Rotary Club in 2009-10.  He has the distinction of being the youngest District Governor in all of Rotary this year, and his energy and enthusiasm for Rotary were undoubtedly a factor in his selection at such a young age.  He and his wife, Carrie, have a 2 year old son named Cooper and another child due very soon (as if a District Governor’s life isn’t busy enough).

 

DG Kyle had very warm words about Rotary International President Ian Risely.  President Risely’s theme, “Rotary: Making a Difference”, resonates with Kyle because he feels that making a difference is the core value that draws us to, and keeps us involved in Rotary.  This feeling was crystallized for Kyle when he went to Haiti in 2010 to help in the earthquake relief effort.  He was struck by how the intelligent and capable people he helped might never reach their full potential because of their place of birth.  Kyle feels that Rotary can help the less fortunate to reach their potential.

 

DG Kyle commended our club for its many accomplishments but also challenged us to find ways to do more.  He suggested some avenues for service that align with President Risely’s “Making a Difference” theme:

     - Environmental responsibility: Plant a tree for each Rotarian.

     - Human Trafficking: Work with anti-trafficking organizations.

     - Tell the Rotary story:  Proudly tell others why Rotary is important to you.  This will lead to more Rotary members and more opportunities for service.

     - Work on member retention:  Rotary has 1.2 million members, but that membership has turned over completely in the last 7 years.  Rotary doesn’t have a new member problem; it has a member retention problem.

     - Create the best personal experience for your members: Make the club fit the needs of the members (i.e.  Breakfast meetings)

     - Get your family involved.

     - DG Kyle also emphasized the importance of the Rotary Foundation, saying that the Rotary Foundation is the only charity where you have a say in how your     contributions are spent.  He said that we must stay the course on polio eradication, taking advantage of the 2 for 1 match from the Gates Foundation until the scourge of Polio is wiped from the face of the earth forever.

     - The final way that Kyle suggested that Rotary “makes a difference” is the change that it makes in us, making us better because of our Rotary involvement.

 

DG Haugen and the NBMV Board of Directors are shown below.