Our Rotary Day Event took the place of our regular noon meeting today.  The event was held to honor the participants in our recent holiday food drive effort to help stock the shelves of the Ralph Reeder Food Shelf.  Twenty one Rotarians and guests joined twelve food drive participants from local businesses for hotdogs, tacos and delicious desserts.  The highlight of the event was the presentation of the prestigious Paul Harris Fellow Award to Lisa Baker for her outstanding service to the community.  Lisa started working part-time at the food shelf 15 years ago.  Lisa's hours rapidly increased to full-time as the demand for food shelf services has increased 300% in the past 15 years.  The Food Shelf is now serving 16,000 individuals annually; 7000 of whom are children and 1500 of whom are seniors.  Since grants and state aid amount to less than 10% of the food shelf's budget, donations of cash and food are constantly needed to restock the shelves.  The Christmas holiday season places an even greater burden on food shelf supplies, so New Brighton Mounds View Rotary's Holiday food drive helps to make sure that food shelf clients have enough food during the holidays.  Lisa also acknowledged the invaluable contributions of her assistant, Sue Peake, and the volunteer efforts of the Rotary Club, as well as businesses, schools and churches whose donations and volunteer efforts allow the food shelf to dramatically reduce hunger in our community.  Our sincere thanks and congratulations go out to all who participated in the Holiday Food Drive and we hope that you will join us again next year. 
Gerry Tietz presents Lisa Baker with the Paul Harris Fellow Award
 
 
Sue Peake and Lisa Baker