John Risdall opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and Nils Friberg offered the invocation.

Just prior to today's meeting Dave Hoel, Jeff Benson, Mark Lampman, Debra Hollimon, Jason Slama, Jim O'Brien, John Marg-Patton and Geoff Hollimon (not pictured) stocked shelves and filled Thanksgiving food packages  at the Ralph Reeder Food Shelf.  Many thanks to those who showed up to help and especially to Mark Lampman, who organized the event.

Mark Lampman shared the story of the late night rescue of his daughter's dog, which was stuck up to its chest in swamp mud.  He had passed near the spot several times earlier in the search but, because the dog is a non-barking breed, it had been unable signal its location.

Dana  was happy to report that her house has been sold, which was a good thing because she had already bought a townhome in Shoreview.

Former Rotarian Bob Jacobson was in the area and made a surprise visit to the meeting.  He is working with the Minnesota Police Chiefs Association.  Bob reported that his semi retirement is busier than expected and life should get busier yet as he is expecting his second grandchild soon.

Jim O'Brien introduced our speaker, Jack Nielsen from Cardiovascular Systems, Incorporated (CSI).  CSI has been headquartered in New Brighton since coming here in 2003, but the company was  in a non-descript building in an out of the way location.  That's no longer the case because their new building on Old Highway 8 is very striking. The new building was completed in just 10 months and ahead of schedule.  The new building will provide room to grow and adjacent land is available for future expansion.  CSI has developed a unique way of treating calcium deposits in leg and cardiac vessels. 

Calcium deposits in the legs can lead to Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) which, as it gets worse can lead physicains to recommend amputation.  CSI's product uses a rotating microabrasive cylinder to "sand" away the calcium deposits, restoring circulation and health to the leg.  The cost of the procedure can be as little as $13,000, which is a drop in the bucket compared to the initial cost of amputation, not to mention the ongoing costs of physical therapy and prosthetic fabrication.

Calcium deposits also affect coronary arteries, and this technology is also approved for removing deposits from those vessels.  Removal of these deposits creates space for more effective placement of stents and the stents placed after deposit removal are less likely to plug up in the future.

CSI is the leader in market share in both the leg and cardiac markets and expects the overall market for these procedures to grow dramatically as doctors, hospitals and insurers are convinced of the health benefits as well as economic benefits of the procedures. Jack, Jim and John are pictured below.