Home Page | Rotary Club of New Brighton Mounds View

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Our Club Motto: Service Above Self

We meet In Person

Tuesdays at 12:00 PM

The Exchange Food and Drink

500 5th Ave. NW
651-348-6289
New Brighton, MN 55112
United States of America

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Welcome to the New Brighton / Mounds View Rotary Website and thank you for your interest in Rotary.

The New Brighton / Mounds View Rotary Club is one of more than 35,000 Rotary clubs in 180 countries around the world. Together these clubs form Rotary International, the largest global service organization in the world with 1.2 million members. Rotary International has been working for the last 110 years to improve the lives of people around the world by promoting peace, education, economic opportunities, fighting poverty, and helping to grow local economies.

The New Brighton / Mounds View Rotary Club supports the work of Rotary International through contributions to the Rotary Foundation and partnering with other local Rotary clubs to support service projects that benefit humanity around the world. Our club has been very active in the local community for the last 40 years, building relationships with community and business leaders, sponsoring local community service projects, and providing support for local community organizations.

One of the important tools Rotarians use in making decisions about what programs to support is the “Four-Way Test”.

Is it the truth?
Is it fair to all concerned?
Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

The Four-Way Test not only guides our club activities but it often becomes integrated into each Rotarian’s lives, helping to separate truth from fiction in our increasingly complex world.

Rotary does not have a political agenda; diverse points of view are welcome and respected. Rotarians of all political persuasions are united by the desire to be of service to both our local and world community. Our moto is “Service Beyond Self”.

This year’s Rotary International theme is “ROTARY CONNECTS THE WORLD”. Rotary provides connections around the world to solve some of the critical problems facing humanity in the coming years.

Thanks again for your interest in Rotary. If you would like to learn more about our club, please contact our Membership Director listed below or simply attend one of our meetings as our guest.

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Rotary's Four-Way Test

Of the things we think, say and do:

Is it the truth?

Is it fair to all concerned?

Will it build goodwill and better friendships?

Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

Meeting Recap - March 7, 2023

Calendar:

March 21 – Club meeting at 7:30 a.m. at the Mounds View Community Center
April 2 – (Sunday) Rotarians and friends fill Easter eggs with jelly beans
April 4- Club meeting at noon, at the Mounds View Community Center, 11 a.m. Board meeting; (The Exchange is unavailable.)
April 8 – (Saturday) Easter Egg Hunt signature event
April 18 – CPY Luncheon/Club meeting at Christ the King Lutheran Church
April 21 – Gold Plate Dinner
April 22 – Paul Fournier memorial

Announcements:

Devin Massopust, New Brighton City Manager, was inducted as the primary member under the City’s corporate membership. Welcome! Devin and Membership Director Cindy Carlson are shown below

John Johnson (PHF+1) and Dana Rebelein(PHF+8) were awarded Paul Harris Plus pins for contributions to The Rotary Foundation over and above those for their initial PH Fellowships. See photos below.

Paul Jacobsen, John Johnson, Ed James, Jason Miller, Jeff Benson, Geoff Hollimon, Cindy Carlson, John Ordway, and Dana Rebelein were recognized as members of the Polio Plus Society and received special pins recognizing Polio Plus contributions made during a special D-5960 appeal last Fall.

The Club has acquired some beautiful signs displaying the 4-way test. Let Jason know if you have a place to display one. Some will be displayed at our Rotary community events. They are just $5 and come with a metal support for easy display.

After April 4, all regular Club meetings will be at noon at The Exchange on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the months

Invitations to our only fundraiser and major community social event, the Gold Plate Dinner, are now available (you can find them in a recent email from Cindy Carlson). Each ticket includes one raffle ticket and meals for two. Only 75 will be sold. Price is still $170 per ticket.

Members – keep track of your Rotarian volunteer hours for RI.

Today's Speaker:

Jamie Kagol, KARE 11 weekend meteorologist, was another great program, brought in by John Johnson. Jamie was raised in St. Anthony Village and interned in Mankato before traveling around the country to work in diverse regions reporting on extreme weather events, including mountain snowstorms, tropical storms, desert heat and monsoons. He found his way back to Minnesota in December.

Jamie makes his own forecasts, studying mathematical models and the available “data overload,” including satellite data. Jamie works alone on weekends and with one of the other forecasters on weekday afternoons. Jamie and John are sh

Meeting Recap - February 21, 2023

Calendar:

March 7 – noon meeting AT THE EXCHANGE. 11 a.m. Board meeting;
March 21 – 7:30 a.m. at the Mounds View Community Center

April = NBMV Rotary Month!!

April 2 – (Sunday) Rotarians and friends fill Easter eggs with jelly beans
April 4- Club meeting at noon, MOUNDS VIEW COMMUNITY CENTER; board meets at 11AM
April 8 – (Saturday) Easter Egg Hunt signature event
April 18 – CPY Luncheon/Club meeting at Christ the King Lutheran Church
April 21 – Gold Plate Dinner
April 22 – Paul Fournier memorial

Announcements:

Beginning on April 4th, all regular Club meetings will be at noon at The Exchange on the first and third Tuesdays of the month.
Invitations to our only fundraiser and major community social event, the Gold Plate Dinner, are now available. Each includes one raffle ticket and meals for two. Only 75 will be sold. Price is still $170 per ticket.
Members – keep track of your Rotarian volunteer hours for RI.

Speaker:

Luke Little, former tree specialist at ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization), explained the benefits provided by the “Tree Keeper” tree mapping software we facilitated

obtaining for them last year. Every tree is now located on an internet site map with specifics about its characteristics, seeds, grafting, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. The trees are studied, and information and seeds are shared across the world for timber, fiber, food, medicine, and environmental benefits such as erosion control.

Hurricane Ian uprooted many of the trees last Fall. 90 trees were lost. 150 were “stood up.” The original holes had to be dug out. Tree trunks were painted with yellow latex paint to protect them from sunburn, canopies were pruned to reduce demands on the damaged root systems, and the trees were propped up with stakes and cable.

ECHO is headquartered in Florida with regional centers strategically placed around the world to develop and share sustainable hunger solutions. They develop and share innovative, low-tech options to maximize degraded sites, tripling yield with homemade fertilizers and pesticides. Other low-tech examples include drip tape micro dosing to maximize water, and instructions for making your own pumps.

Meeting Recap - February 7, 2023

NBMV Rotary Club Meeting February 7, 2023

Meeting notes:

• Change of meeting time/place: Beginning in April, we will meet the first and third Tuesday of every month at noon at The Exchange.

• April 2: Gather to fill plastic eggs with jelly beans and prize slips for the annual Easter Egg Hunt.

• April 8: NBMV Signature event Easter Egg Hunt.

• May 9: Service Project: NBMV Rotary volunteering at Bridging from 4 – 6 p.m.

• We gave $250 to the Roseville Club’s Rotary Reading Room at the County library in Roseville.

• The Fund-A-Cause special collection at the Gold Plate Dinner will benefit the Northeast Youth and Family Services playroom and art therapy room for addressing mental health issues of children and youth.

• District 5960 is offering bonus recognition points for February donations to The Rotary Foundation. The points count toward Paul Harris Fellowship(s) $100 = 2 to 1 point match, $365 = Point match to Paul Harris Fellowship, $1,000 = recognition on the District website and share a PHF with 2 people.

• Jack Gibbons of the Stillwater Sunrise Club visited and added NBMV as one of the 50 Clubs he will have on his passport, celebrating his 50 years in Rotary. [Congratulations, Jack!]

Lee Scheumann, Pastor, Real Estate Appraiser, Rotarian and Humanitarian, spoke about the Cherkasy Medical Aid Project in Ukraine. He has spent considerable time in that country and region over the years. Working through a global network including, among others, Matters 360, Life Rice, the Minnesota Coalition for Eastern Europe, his own non-profit, Hand in Hand Logistics, and churches in Ukraine, he delivers surplus medical supplies to Ukraine. He described the displacement of millions of people and infrastructure devastation caused by the war. 927 hospitals and medical facilities have been damaged or destroyed. Bibles for Missions thrift store sends surplus clothing.

The Board will consider a donation from the Club to this initiative at its next meeting. If you want to make a personal contribution to this Ukrainian humanitarian relief, make your check payable to HAND IN HAND and send it to John Ordway who will send all checks together to Lee. Jason, Lee and John are shown below.

Meeting Recap - January 17, 2023

Meeting notes:

IMPORTANT: January 31 All Hands On Deck Noon Meeting at The Exchange to plan Gold Plate Dinner
Calculate and report your hours of community service as a Rotarian since July 1, 2022
The St Paul Club is seeking adult counselors and a Camp Director for RYLA
Next regular meeting: February 7, noon, at The Exchange. Board meets at 11.

Today’s Speaker:

Dana Johnson from Cargill, a Minnesota company, shared:

Cargill is the largest privately owned company in the U.S. with $134 billion revenue last fiscal year. If it were publicly traded, it would rank #16 just behind Walgreens. It has 155,000 employees in 65 countries.
There are 4 divisions – (1) Grain (analytics re. origination & trading), (2) Protein (poultry & salt), (3) Food Ingredients and Bio-industrial (ex., cane & corn syrups and non-artificial high intensity sweetener Stevia; sustainable aviation fuel, elimination of chemically derived products such as plastic, and promoting low-till farming to reduce carbon emissions), and (4) Trading Risk Management (ocean transportation).
Cargill gives 1% of its earnings to the community, for example, to support general food security and water and to oppose child labor.
To support its employees and the need for food, Cargill continues its operations in Russia, sending 100% of profits therefrom to Ukraine for humanitarian purposes.

Meeting Recap - December 6, 2022

Meeting notes:

A memorial service for Paul Jacobsen’s father, Richard, will be this Saturday, December 10, at North Heights Lutheran Church, 2701 North Rice Street, Roseville. 10 a.m. visitation, 11 a.m. service. Obituary at https://www.muellerbies.com
The Club will donate $400 toward the $600 cost per video to The Reel Project (professionally made videos of children in foster care seeking forever families). If you wish to add to the donation, make your tax-deductible check payable to the Rotary Healthy Youth Foundation and mail it to John Ordway to be included with the Club check.
Our annual holiday party with the Irondale Chorus will be Tuesday, December 20 at noon at the Mounds View Community Center.
Members – keep track of your Rotary volunteer hours for RI.
Save the Date - The Gold Plate Dinner will be April 21, 2023, at the Mounds View Community Center, $170 per ticket for two, 75 tickets will be sold.
John Risdall is in hospice care.
Paul Fournier is recovering from hip surgery.
If you have a passion for fighting human trafficking, please volunteer to be the one who keeps us tuned to the D-5960 effort. (You’d be a Champion!)
NBMV Rotary Club members donated $3,465 to Polio Plus in November!!! Awesome!
Congratulations to John Johnson who is now a Paul Harris Fellow! And to Ed James, who is now Paul Harris plus 3! FYI: Our Club has 3 Major Donors - members who have given more than $10,000 to The Rotary Foundation over time.

Speaker:

Dan McNeil, Peacemaker Minnesota, acknowledged 15 years of NBMV Rotary support for the anti-bullying/anti-harassment program which focuses on teaching children to treat each other with kindness and respect, developing positive relationships.

In the most recent survey (2018 pre-COVID), 19% of Minnesota children reported being bulliesd and 8-11% said they didn't feel safe in school. Last year, Peacemaker served 45 schools in 29 communities. They provide curriculum, speakers, staff training, videos and age-appropriate books.

Meeting Recap - November 15, 2022

Meeting highlights:
 Dave Hoel shared pictures of the new Disc Golf Course by Fridley High School. Designed by
Explorer Scout candidate, Noah, Rotary contributed funds and volunteer labor. (Thanks, Dave!)
 Our annual holiday party with the Irondale Chorus will be Tuesday, December 20 at noon at the
Mounds View Community Center. Please RSVP for yourself and guests, as a head count is
needed to order catered food.

 Board meeting at 11, December 6, at The Exchange.
 Next meeting- noon, December 6, at The Exchange. The program is Peacemakers.
 Members – keep track of your Rotary volunteer hours for RI.

Today's Speaker:
Mary Schneider introduced us to The Reel Project, which provides professionally produced videos of
children in foster homes awaiting adoption. The videos are shared at health events and with faith
communities, and are used by County and adoption agency workers to facilitate matching foster
children with potential parents. There are 1,000 foster children waiting for forever families in
Minnesota. The Reel Project promotes children ages 7 and up, but preserves privacy. They have videoed
311 kids in 263 reels at $600/reel. 149 kids have been matched with adopting parents so far.

Meeting Recap - November 1, 2022

Calendar:

THROUGH NOV. 15 – D-5960 will match Paul Harris Points for contributions of at least $100 to Polio Plus 1-1 with a bonus (double match) for $365 contributions; NBMV Rotary will also match those contributions with recognition points toward PH Fellowships
THROUGH NOV. 30, NBMV Rotary will match contributions 1-1. Questions? Ask Dana.
NOV. 10 – service/social NYFS
NOV. 12 - D-5960 Clubs FOUNDATION CELEBRATION at Delta by Marriott, Hwy35 & Industrial Blvd.; 5:30 social, 6:30 dinner, 7:30 program ; (register online; Club will reimburse member’s meal.)
NOV. 29 – HAPPY HOUR (p.m.; tba)
DEC. 2 – CPY Gala – New Brighton Community Ctr., 6-10 p.m.
DEC. 6 – BOARD MEETING 11 a.m., CLUB MEETING NOON @ The Exchange
DEC. 20 – NOON MEETING, IRONDALE CHORUS, LOCATION TBD
- NOTE: this is a variance from normal 3^rd Tuesday time

Meeting highlights:

John Johnson walked us through downloading and using the Club Runner app.
Our $8,500 Senitizo global grant project to build a 5-bedroom plus kitchen and bath and security for medical personnel in the Central African Republic has been fully funded with participation by 9 Clubs and a Foundation match. We have an additional $300+ to apply to overrun or furnishings.
P Miller and VP Johnson shared Club goals for their presidencies, including:
- 4 new members each year – INCENTIVE: Sponsor a new member and get a free ticket to the Gold Plate Dinner!
- end each year with a net gain of 3 members
- have a social event each quarter
- do service projects & keep track of member hours for all service done in Rotary name. (This is reported to the District.)

Meeting Recap October 18, 2022

CALENDAR:

NOV. 1- BOARD MEETING 11 a.m. The Exchange; (no general meeting), evening social at The Ordway

NOV. 12 - FOUNDATION CELEBRATION – 5:30 social, 6:30 dinner, 7:30 program ; (register online; Club will reimburse member’s meal.)

NOV. 29 – HAPPY HOUR (p.m.; tba)

DEC. 6 – BOARD MEETING 11 a.m., CLUB MEETING NOON

DEC. 20 – NOON MEETING, IRONDALE CHORUS, LOCATION TBD NOTE: this is a variance from normal 3rd Tuesday time

Peggy Strom of the Arden Hills/Shoreview Club and our District Foundation Coach, talked about The Rotary Foundation (TRF) and Positive Peace - not just the absence of war or violence, but the fulfillment of all needs in society. TRF drives Positive Peace through funding Rotarian initiatives in the 7 Areas of Focus: Promoting Peace, Fighting Disease, Providing Clean Water, Saving Mothers and Children, Education and Basic Literacy, Economic Development, and Protecting the Environment. TRF is an excellent place to put charitable donations because it is (a) efficient and effective (highest rating from Charity Navigator), (b) you have a say in how the dollars are used, and (c) through TRF, you have a broad and significant impact.

Fun facts:

The Rotary Club of Kansas City made the first contribution -$26.50 ($540 in today’s dollars) in 1917. Since then, more than $5 billion has been contributed.
The first distribution from TRF was to the Society for Crippled Children (Easter Seals).
There are three “legs”: Polio Plus for eradicating Polio, the Annual Fund Share, and the Endowment Fund
Polio Plus contributions in October will be matched by D-5960; 1-1 for $100 or more; Paul Harris Fellowship for $365)
Polio Plus - the “Plus” was added to the Polio eradication fund because vaccines for other pandemic diseases such as Ebola and Covid are included.
Annual Fund contributions are invested for 3 years with interest used for RI expenses. All donations are then awarded as grants – ½ through Rotary Districts and ½ for Global grants, Peace Centers and major projects.
Endowment Fund contributions are held in perpetuity and only interest is used.
We are an EREY Club – Every member [contributes] every year.
We have members in 4 recognition levels – Paul Harris Fellowship ($1,000 donated over time), Paul Harris Society ($1,000 each year), Major Donors ($10,000 or more total), and Bequest Society (gift included in Last Will and Testament).
Bill Gates just made another donation to the Polio Plus Fund – this time $1.2 billion.

Meeting Recap - October 4, 2022

President Jason reminded us we are in our new schedule: 1^st Tuesday of each month at noon at The Exchange with a Board meeting at 11; and 3^rd Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. at the Mounds View Community Center. Service projects may be arranged for 2^nd and 4^th Tuesdays, and for a social event on the 5^th Tuesday of the month (which would be once per quarter).

The Speaker, New Brighton Public Safety Director Tony Paetznick, oversees both fire and police services for the City, a unique organizational model instituted in August of 2000. The combined services are proactive, focused on prevention and positive community relations. Approximately 1/3 of the officers and volunteer firefighters attended Irondale or Mounds View High School, and 1/3 live in the City.

The Appropriate Response Initiative allows 911 receivers to dispatch help depending upon whether the situation calls for law enforcement, firefighters, an ambulance, a social worker, or mental health personnel. All 40 New Brighton police and firefighters are EMS certified.

When NB residents were surveyed about what they considered critical issues for the next 2 years, the most frequent response was crime and public safety. The City’s police and firefighters were given the highest ratings. In addition, for an unprecedented third time, the City has been awarded the Leadership in Community Policing Award by The International Association of Chiefs of Police. Tony is joined by Geoff Hollimon and President Jason Miller in the photo below.

Geoff Hollimon reported that the ECHO farm in Fort Myers, Florida, sustained significant damage from Hurricane Ian. He played a video which was emailed to the membership. If you were missed the email, click here to view it.

Edeth James reported on the dedication of Rotary Four Way Test sign that he (and we) commissioned at his Alma Mater, Ibadan Polytecnic, in Nigeria (see photos below).

Next meeting: Tuesday, October 18, 7:30 a.m. at the Mounds View Community Center

Meeting Recap - September 27, 2022

Past President Charlie led the meeting attended by 7 Rotarians.

The anticipated arrival of Hurricane Ian prevented the speaker from Zooming in from ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization) in North Fort Myers, Florida. ECHO was closed Tuesday and Wednesday to batten down the hatches and send personnel to safety. Geoff spoke briefly about the 4 or 5 major projects we have done for ECHO, including the most recent District Grant that provides software allowing them to monitor every tree on the farm. The speaker will be rescheduled.

Results of the survey on number, time and place of future meetings were shared. Most respondents favored the option of one noon meeting and one morning meeting each month plus service projects on some non-meeting Tuesdays. The first meeting in October will be at The Exchange, preceded by a Board meeting. The other meeting that month will be on the third Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. at the Mounds View Community Center. The second Tuesday of October may have a service opportunity, ex., packing take-home food at CPY. Stay tuned on that. The possibility of a 4^th Tuesday evening fellowship cocktail hour with spouses, friends and potential future members was discussed.

Next meeting: Tuesday, October 5, noon at The Exchange. Board meeting at 11.

Meeting Recap - September 20, 2022

Several club members were present last week to honor John Risdall and Paul Fournier as they were made Honorary NBMV Rotarians. See photos below.

Today’s meeting was at Bikes4Kids in Ham Lake. The nonprofit charitable organization is located on a beautiful farm and uses volunteers to accept used bikes, sort them into groups to be (a) cleaned and repaired, (b) sent to Africa, (c) set aside for parts, or (d) recycled. Blaine/Ham Lake Rotarian, Julie Gotham is the only paid employee.

Bikes4Kids receives approximately 6,000 bikes per year, dropped off at the site by individuals or by partners such as Walters Recycling, which had delivered 93 bikes today. Bike shops, including Trailhead, also bring in trailers full of good quality trade-ins they receive. A couple of trailers are left with businesses and people deposit bikes there, too. With as many as 20 volunteers on site some days and others working from home, Bikes4Kids repairs approximately 100 bikes per month for individuals, sends 1,500 – 2,000 each year to Africa, and keeps the rest for parts or to be recycled.

Each bike is made to look and work like new for a specific individual after an on-line request from a vetting organization such as social service agencies, counties, schools or food shelves. The bikes are intended for children and for adults who cannot afford to buy them but need them for transportation. Each bike comes with a helmet, bike locker and safety information. They have a few three-wheeled adult cycles.

Bikes are sorted by gender and size and recorded in a comprehensive inventory which even includes color so they can be easily located in response to very specific requests. They are triaged through a number of structures from receipt till completion. There were hundreds and hundreds of bikes there. You had to be there to understand. It is amazing!

Julie’s parting words of wisdom: “Don’t buy disposable bikes. They are … disposable.” Julie and President Jason Miller are shown below.

Next meeting: Tuesday, September 27, noon at The Exchange.

Meeting Recap - September 12, 2022

OFFSITE MEETING NEXT WEEK – The August 20 meeting is a Rotary Field Trip to Bikes4Kids at 16501 Buchanan St. NE, Ham Lake, MN, at noon. Bring a bag lunch to eat after the tour. The BOARD MEETING is at the Mounds View Community Center 10:30 a.m.

President Jason opened the meeting. Mike Neeley introduced 5960 District Governor, Dayle Quigley. Former military and with 3 independent adult children, Dayle is a member of the St. Paul Rotary Club and an ER physician practicing in Little Falls. She became a Rotarian after visiting her daughter‘s Rotary Exchange host family in Latvia. She said she wanted to be part of an organization where there were people who loved her daughter as much as she does. Her other daughter later was an exchange student to Denmark. She also has a son.

Dayle participated in a Rotary International Friendship Exchange to India. She highlighted her experience on a National Immunization Day. India vaccinates 145 million people in 3 days twice a year. While there, she was struck by the huge projects that Rotary undertook. For example, to improve health, Rotary built a hospital. To address conditions in a slum, Rotarians established a preschool for the children and programs to train women for sewing and henna, and men as taxi drivers. Seeing the success of such big efforts, she challenged us to imagine what our perfect community and world would look like, and then imagine how we can get there working together. She said to not become paralyzed because we can’t reach it in our lifetimes. Dream and dream big. Become dreamers who are doers.

The Edina Rotary Club determined that 24,538 lives were impacted by the Club this year. DG Dayle reminded us that we don’t just join the NBMV Club, we join all the Clubs, impacting millions.

Former ADG Sandy Campbell, Anoka Rotarian, was also present to share information about “Merchant Minutes” and Clubs’ experiences in implementing it. Every week, one member brings a community business person to give a three-minute presentation – one minute about him/herself and two minutes about the business. She also invited us to take advantage of an Anoka Club special event on Effective Leadership, Wednesday, September 28, 2022, from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Greenhaven Golf and Event Center. Nationally recognized teacher/motivator, Michael Angelo Caruso, is the presenter. If 5 people sign up together using the paper sign-up form provided, they pay for only 4. Tickets are $75 each.

Jeff Lindquist, Dennis Connolly and DG Dayle Quigley filled out the meeting with mini-classification talks. Jeff reminds us that firefighters do more than fight fires. He enjoys getting out in the community, riding his motorcycle,(recently completing a 5-day trip to the North Shore and International Falls), skiing, bowling, camping, and spending time at his parents’ cabin by Breezy Point. His wife of 25 years, formerly a nurse, is a Ramsey County 911 Dispatch Operator. They have 3 sons.

Dennis was at Medtronic for 30 years, the last 13 as a consultant. His role was to obtain FDA approval for major products. He served 15 years as a volunteer firefighter in the Lake Johanna Fire Department. He’s been married 46 years and has 3 daughters. His longest motorcycle trip was to Fairbanks, Alaska. His best trip was with Debbie and John and Ruth Marg-Patton to Greece. John recruited him to Rotary and he quickly became president.

Meeting Recap - August 30, 2022

John Johnson, President Elect, opened the noon meeting at The Exchange and Cindy provided the invocation.

The agenda was a candid discussion of the time(s) and location(s) of future Club meetings. Takeaways include:

unanimity that the goal is to attract and retain members
some members cannot attend morning and some not every week at noon
all said they want “whatever is best for the Club” and will attend if they are able
will younger people attend morning meetings, or are noon meetings just an excuse for not joining; is there a way to survey potential members to find out
If morning, most prefer the Mounds View Community Center over the Sunset Grill, citing cost, location and menu
If noon, John O is in conversation with The Exchange about reducing the costs, perhaps with a limited menu – 4 or 5 choices. Concern expressed about whether they are enthusiastic about having us
consider reducing the number of meetings each month; if so, morning, noon, or both; example, one morning meeting and one at noon with the Board Meeting
suggestion all meetings should be in the same place:
- if at MVCC, noon meetings with box lunches
- better to use Zoom at one location
- avoids confusion about where to go
John J and Ed will develop and send out Survey Monkey to get input from all members

Meeting Recap - August 23, 2022

Jason opened the 7:30 a.m. meeting at the Mounds View Community Center and Nils led the invocation. John Johnson arranged for coffee, juice and pastries.

Devin Massopust, New Brighton City Manager, brought us up to date on what’s happening in New Brighton, including:

Beginning September 1, 2022, the speed limit on all city streets will be reduced from 30 MPH to 25 MPH. This is a first step towards safer streets for all modes of transportation and is consistent with actions in neighboring cities except for Mounds View.
Phase 1 of a parks comprehensive plan for 6 parks includes reconstruction at Sunny Square Park with the addition of exercise equipment, a splash pad at Lion’s Park, and connections to the Rice Creek Regional Trail.
Vision Silver Lake Road 2040 is a comprehensive plan for three areas intersecting with Silver Lake Road: Highway 694, 14^th Street, and Rice Creek Road. The City is conversing with residents about concepts for mixed use in the event redevelopment is proposed for any of those properties. Palmer Apartments is under construction on the former US Bank location. Some road changes are being made to control traffic flow in the area.
New Brighton is developing licensing requirements and regulations for single family home rentals to enable code enforcement and accountability for landlords and renters. The regulations will promote public safety, quality and affordability. There are 550-600 rental homes in the City.
Public safety incidents are requiring 17% more officer time in 2022 as in 2021. Motor vehicle theft is up 75% and assaults 33%. New Brighton is short 4 officers.
The City is financially sound.

Devin is shown with President Jason Miller, below.

Let John O. know if you have a preference for seating at the Ordway production of “Six”. Balcony seats will be $55 and mezzanine seats will be $120.

Next week’s meeting will be at The Exchange at noon. The topic of discussion is times and locations of future meetings. If you are unable to attend, please communicate your thoughts by email to the Board or to me (Dana) to be passed on to the Board and the Club. District Governor, Dayle Quigley, will join us. The Board meeting will begin at 11 a.m. immediately before the regular meeting.

Meeting Recap - August 16, 2022

The 3rd trial morning meeting was a fellowship event led by Jason at the Mounds View Community Center at 7:30 a.m. Nyle arranged for a generous spread of pastries, fruits, coffee and juices and the time was spent one-on-one or three-on-three getting to know more about each other.

The business of the day included kudos to John Johnson for the well organized, very successful Stockyard Days Parade feed. 750 hot dogs were served and excess food went to the Ralph Reeder Food Shelf. Geoff Hollimon was given credit for suggesting better traffic control implemented by the City.

800 golf balls were dropped towards the hole at the CPY fundraiser with only one winner this year.

John O. brought more information about the Club outing to The Ordway to see the musical “Six” on the first Tuesday of November. They are reserving a lounge area for us. Tickets cost $55 (balcony), $75, $118 (mezzanine) or $148 (best). Let John know ASAP if you will be there as this is a popular Broadway musical and expected to sell out.

Partners with Youth is celebrating 25 years of serving children and youth. They plan an outdoor celebration in the parking lot of Christ the King Lutheran Church (where they are headquartered) on September 24^th. Contact Mary Stewart to volunteer to help at the event. And plan to participate to support CPY!

Next week’s meeting will also be at the Mounds View Community Center at 7:30 a.m. Devin Massopust, New Brighton City Manager, will be the speaker. The final meeting of August (30^th) will be back at The Exchange at noon preceded by a Board meeting at 11. The topic of discussion will be scheduling future meetings –morning? noon? midnight? combination? location?

Last week's speaker, Joyce Kloncz, forwarded this NBMV Rotary group photo from a meeting held many years ago at the New Brighton History Center.

Meeting Recap - August 9, 2022

Jason started the meeting at Sunset Grill at 7:30 a.m., the second of our experimental morning meetings. Nils led the invocation. NOTE: The next experiment in morning meetings will be August 16 at the Mounds View Community Center at 7:30 a.m. when Nyle opens the doors.

Joyce Klonz and Mary Burg were guests and spoke on the New Brighton Area Historical Society, its history, accomplishments and activities. Joyce is curator of the New Brighton History Center and, together with Julie Beisswenger, Gene Skiba and Leone Erickson, founded NBAHS in 1979. Joyce taught 5^th grade at the old New Brighton Elementary School, and was named Minnesota Teacher of the Year. Mary is an NBAHS Board member and former New Brighton City Council member. They were animated and excited about preserving and sharing local history!

The History Center is housed in the former railroad depot that served Bulwar Junction. Built in 1887 for $1,545, it is the oldest building in New Brighton and houses over a thousand items of railroad memorabilia, including china, silver, tools, pictures, books and uniforms worn by the red caps among other things. The Depot was moved from its original site to City property in 1982 and to its present location at the entrance to Long Lake Park in 1990. The museum is open from 1-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays June through September. Special tours are always available by reservation. There is no charge.

NBAHS started Stock Yard Days and continued to manage it until 1993 when they turned it over to service organizations, including Rotary, and the City. They have published three volumes of New Brighton area History. All are available for sale at the Depot. They are trying to obtain designation as a federal historic site. We gave them a donation in support of their work. President Jason Miller is shown below with Joyce and Mary.

John J. passed a sign-up sheet for volunteering at the SYD parade feed Saturday.

We had a brief discussion regarding the possible choice of The Sunset Grill as a Club morning meeting place.

Another reminder: Next week’s meeting will be at 7:30 a.m. at the Mounds View Community Center.

Meeting Recap - August 2, 2022

President Jason Miller opened the meeting at Sunset Grill at 7:30 a.m., the first of our experimental morning meetings. Jason led the invocation.

Our guest speakers were Kathryn Smith, President of Mounds View Festival in the Park and Parade Chair, and Jen Tinerella, New Brighton Stock Yard Days Parade Chair and New Brighton Ambassador Coordinator.

Jen reported that the Lions’ Club took over Stock Yard Days in March after the SYD Board disbanded. The event will be August 12 - 14, with the parade beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday the 13^th. The parade has 69 units as of today and will follow the same route as last year, starting in Long Lake Park and ending in Hansen Park. We will serve hot dogs, chips and beverages to parade participants in the same location as last year. Other SYD activities will include kids’ games, food trucks, street dances and the antique car run. The Club gave Jen $1,500 to help defray SYD expenses. Cindy Carlson presented the check to Jen, below.

Kathryn said the Mounds View Festival in the Park will occur the following weekend with, among other things, a parade, a car show and the addition of a petting zoo this year. Food trucks may be available at more locations in Mounds View throughout the summer. The Club gave Kathryn $500 toward Festival expenses. Cindy Carlson presented the check to Kathryn, below.

Announcements:

We will be inventorying and organizing items we have in storage for the hot dog feed and the egg hunt.
John Ordway is taking names of members who will go to see the musical “Six” at the Ordway, Tuesday, November 1. This will replace our regular meeting that day.
Arrangements are being made to present John Risdall and Paul Fournier with Honorary Memberships in the Club, recognizing their significant contributions during the many years they were active members.
John Johnson cooked and served 225 hot dogs at the CSC Fundraiser walk Sunday. The 63 extra dogs were given to Ralph Reeder Food Shelf. Thrivent paid for the food. He will have a sign-up sheet for specific tasks at our SYD parade feed at our next meeting. District Governor Dayle Quigley will be with us.
Geoff is faithfully hunting down everyone who wants to support CPY by buying chances on the fabulous golf ball drop.
Cindy shared a note of appreciation from Kara Vander Kamp, Remember Niger, for the Rotarian of the Year gift that Cindy designated to them. It was used to fund a teacher training exercise which was well received and greatly needed. Niger ranks last in the world on level of teacher training.
Next week’s meeting will be at 7:30 a.m. at The Sunset Grill in Spring Lake Park.

Meeting Recap - July 26, 2022

President Jason Miller opened the meeting and Nils Friberg led the invocation.

Our guest today was /assistant District Governor Julie Gotham. She introduced the District Governors Rotary Passport Program to encourage making up meeting at other Rotary Clubs.

NEXT WEEK MEETING TIME AND PLACE CHANGE – To potentially better accommodate members, we will be trying some morning meetings in August to help decide if we should make a permanent change: 7:30 a.m. August 2 & 9 at Sunset Grill, 8466 Hwy 65 NE, Spring Lake Park (just north of Old Highway 10) and 7:30 a.m. August 16 & 23 at the Mounds View Community Center.

The August 30 meeting will be at noon at The Exchange, Board meeting at 11.

Board actions today included approval of $600 for the St. Paul/Maplewood/Oakdale District Grant for “Sylvia’s Children,” secondary school scholarships for orphaned children in Uganda, Africa. Half of this amount is from Club treasury and the remainder is a pass-through donation from Paul Jacobsen. An additional grant of $500 was approved for the White Bear Lake Club’s District Grant project, “Touching Tiny Lives,” which will provide a vehicle to provide follow-up medical/nutrition support for babies & children in Losetho, Africa.

John Ordway is facilitating a Club social outing to see the Broadway musical “Six” on the evening of Tuesday, November 1, which will take the place of our regular meeting that day. He has reserved 30 tickets for Rotarians, spouses, former Rotarians and other friends. Tickets begin at $55.

John Johnson reminded us that the Community Support Center Walk For Your Neighbor fundraiser is this Sunday, Aug. 31, at Silver View Park, East of Silver Lake Road on County Road I from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. He represents Rotary on the Board, and is heading up a hot dog feed.

The Stockyard Days parade and Rotary hot dog feed will be Saturday, August 13, at the same location as last year. We should be there by 10 or 10:30 for setup.

The Rotary Foundation (TRF) earns a perfect score of 100 from Charity Navigator,(CN) which scores thousands of charities for financial health and accountability and transparency. The criteria are to execute missions in a fiscally responsible way while adhering to good governance and other practices that minimize the chance of unethical activities. Less than 1% of the thousands of charities rated by CN achieve perfect scores.

Jake Pletscher of Pletschers’ Greenhouse was today’s speaker. The business was started in 1920 by John E. Pletscher, Jake’s great-grandfather, to raise and sell garden and vegetable plants. When John’s three sons returned from WW II, they expanded the greenhouse and added a retail florist shop. The greenhouse covers more than an acre. Everything is grown onsite. One example of the benefit of this is that poinsettias are not “Guaranteed Sale,” where the retailer only pays the provider for plants sold, and has less invested in caring for the plants than a “locally sourced” provider/retailer like Pletschers.

Jake’s is the fourth generation to own and run the shop. He studied business administration and economics. Some of the business changes he mentioned are the use of more automation; for example, filling pots with potting soil and automatic irrigation for consistency and saving time. Challenges are getting customers in and keeping them around, supply disruption, and the significantly increased cost of supplies. Plastic products have gone up 25–30%. He gifted us with some of the 65 varieties of succulents that they raise. Jake was enthusiastically thanked for the long-stemmed roses that Pletschers hands out at the Stockyard Days parade every year! Jake and President Jason Miller are shown below.

Meeting Recap - July 19, 2022

President-Elect John Johnson opened the meeting and our own Club Chaplain, Nils, led invocation.

John Ordway is willing to arrange for a group outing to see “Six” at the Ordway in October. Let him know that you are interested!

Geoff has tickets available for the CPY golf ball drop fundraiser in August – an easy way to support a great organization and you could be a big winner!

The speaker was Kevin Miller of Edina Realty, the largest real estate company in Minnesota/Wisconsin based on sales, transactions, and number of Agents (2,300+, 60 offices, in the region). It is independently owned and operated, started in 1955 by an Edina mother who wanted to buy her daughter a piano. It was sold to Mid-America Electric in 1999, and then to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Edina Realty services include residential, commercial, investment, vacation, rental, new construction, and land transactions, and property management.

Edina Realty is a community-oriented business. The Edina Realty Foundation is funded by Agent donations and fundraisers, and gives an average of $20,000/year to community housing-related charities, such as Alexandra House, Veterans’ homes and Habitat for Humanity.

Edina Realty has a three-option guaranteed price plan: Immediate, which gives you the agreed-upon purchase price less 10% and closing costs; Quick Buy Back which allows you to buy a house before yours sells; and Lease Back.

Regarding the housing market outlook, Kevin reported more than 1,800 price reductions in the last one-week period and suggested we may have a push-down, but not a crash. There were 74,000 sales in the metro area last year. Appreciation was 8 to 10 per cent last year and he believes it will be is close to 5% this year. Kevin and John Johnson are shown below.

Meeting Recap - July 12, 2022

NBMV ROTARY CLUB Meeting July 12, 2022

This was a celebratory meeting, changing of the guard and honoring the Rotarian of the Year. Jason Miller presented outgoing president, Charlie Longbella, with a Past President’s pin, thanking him on behalf of the Club for his excellent leadership. Charlie gave Jason the incoming President’s pin and gavel, and warmly welcomed him as he took the helm.

Jason and Dana Rebelein introduced Cindy Carlson as the recipient of the 2022 NBMV Rotary Club Rotarian of the Year Award, chronicling many of the contributions Cindy makes and has made to the strength of the Club and the Club’s contributions locally and globally. Cindy said, “Service is my love language.” Her focus is on youth and international service, observing that, collectively, we can have a huge impact. Her proudest achievement as a Rotarian was championing the $32,000 matching grant for latrines, electricity and computers for a school in Niger. Spouse, Kevin, and daughter, Natalie, were present to make the event even more special.

Funded by a gift from Mike Neeley, the Award included $500 for the charity of Cindy’s choice. No surprise there – she chose Remember Niger Coalition (RNC) with whom the original and subsequent initiatives have been accomplished in Niger. Cindy presented the check to Karen, Sponsorship Coordinator for RNC. The funds will be used for scholarships to enable 2 teachers to participate in the Teacher Training Program.

Kara VanderKamp, RNC Director, Zoomed in from Niger with an update on the growth of the program. Remember Niger now works in 7 of the 8 regions of Niger, up from 2 when we started supporting them. They work in 18 schools serving 4,000 students, providing latrines, hand-washing stations, security walls, additional classrooms, computer labs, clean water, solar power, and teacher training.

We support 2 students, Cindy and Kevin support one and Cindy’s mother supports another. The opportunity to do so is open to all. Get information from Cindy.

The meeting was especially festive with dinner served buffet style followed by gourmet cupcakes. Attendance was very good.

Meeting Recap - June 28, 2022

After eight years of writing the weekly NBMV Rotary Bulletin (400 issues) I'm turning over the writing of the bulletin to Dana Rebelein. I'll still be editing and publishing the bulletin, but I'm looking forward to being able to experience our meetings without the pressure of notetaking. I'm extremely grateful to Dana for taking on this responsibility and I know that she will do a great job.

Today’s meeting was held in the beautiful backyard of Nyle and Terri Zikmund. Our guests today were former Rotary exchange student Maria Klakegg, Rotary scholarship recipient Nicholas Ludford and Honorary Rotarian MaryAnn Bawden. Maria leaves for home tomorrow and we will miss her greatly. Nicholas will be attending the University of Minnesota to study Science and Engineering and my conversation with him tells me that he will be very successful. We were all pleased to have Finara Fang back with us after an extended leave. Welcome back, Finara!

The board has approved a $300 contribution to the Community Support Center (CSC) for the upcoming Walk For Your Neighbors fundraiser. This is in addition to our budgeted $1,000 CSC contribution. This contribution is timely because the removal of the moratorium on evictions has caused a dramatic upsurge in need for services from the Community Support Center. John Johnson (our CSC representative) encouraged us to support the Community Support Center by participating in the walk at Silver View Park, Silver Lake Rd at County Road I, on July 31st from 9-1PM. Come and join us to walk a little or a lot and make a donation which will be matched by the CSC Board of Directors. This year, we again have a way to give online thru Thrivent. All donations received in the month of June and July will be counted towards our Walk and there are no fees. https://thrivent.cotribute.co/events/653326/detail

President Elect Jason Miller presented our check for $300 to CSC. The check was accepted by our CSC representative, John Johnson (below).

CPY’s Junior Chef Program needs four more volunteers to help put together meal packages for the holiday weekend. Contact Mary Stewart (651-633-6464) if you can help on Thursday, June 30^th from 10:30-Noon.

Club Treasurer John Ordway would be most appreciative if everyone could pay their outstanding dues by the end of June. This will be helpful for John to wrap up the end of year financial report.

Many, many thanks go to Nyle and Terri Zikmund for making their beautiful home available for this meeting.

There will be no meeting on July 5^th.

Our next meeting will be on July 12^th at the Exchange. This meeting will feature the passing of the gavel from Charlie Longbella to Jason Miller and the presentation of the Rotarian of the Year award to Cindy Carlson. In anticipation of a larger than usual crowd, a buffet lunch will be served.

Meeting Recap - June 21, 2022

Today’s speaker was Julie Gotham, Executive Director of Bikes 4 Kids, a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization with a mission to collect and refurbish used serviceable bikes and give them to kids and people in need. It all started 11 years ago with a group of avid bikers from the Coon Rapids Kiwanis Club led by Al Sannerud. Using the Sannerud horse barn as a shop, Al and several volunteers, with support from Trailhead Bike Shop, began collecting, repairing and inspecting used bikes. That year they were able to distribute 116 refurbished bikes in the Anoka County area and the number of bikes donated has risen each year with over 6,000 bikes donated last year! Bikes 4 Kids has 43 volunteers, each working as their schedule allows. Together they sort, clean and skillfully repair the donated bikes, making them look and ride like they were new. Once repaired, the bikes are distributed to those in need with two thirds of the bikes going to social service agencies in Anoka County. Julie said that each bike comes with a helmet and a lock. Bikes that can’t be repaired to like new condition are shipped to Africa where bike repair training programs have been established. Bikes 4 Kids is always looking for volunteers of all skill levels to help restore bikes. Their big fundraiser of the year is the Legacy Ride, Saturday, September 17 from 9-1PM at Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park, 9750 Egret Boulevard Northwest,

Coon Rapids, MN 55433. View map Julie, Nyle Zikmund and Bikes 4 Kids volunteer Lowell Kutches are pictured below.

Geoff Hollimon and Jeff Benson encouraged us to consider a couple of different CPY volunteer activities. Watch your email or these bulletins for specifics on how you can help.

President Elect Jason Miller thanked John Ordway for crafting a proposed budget for the coming year. The Board will finalize and approve the budget at its next meeting.

Check your Tuesday emails for the most recent dues statement. Treasurer John Ordway asks that we all get our dues current before the end of June to simplify the end of year bookkeeping.

The board has approved a $300 contribution to the Community Support Center for the upcoming Walk For Your Neighbors fundraiser. This is in addition to our budgeted $1,000 CSC contribution. John Johnson encouraged us to support the Community Support Center by participating in the walk at Silver View Park, Silver Lake Rd at County Road I, on July 31st from 9-1PM. Come and join us to walk a little or a lot and make a donation which will be matched by the CSC Board of Directors. This year, we again have a way to give online thru Thrivent. All donations received in the month of June and July will be counted towards our Walk and there are no fees. The link is below.
https://thrivent.cotribute.co/events/653326/detail

Upcoming Meetings:

June 28th - Club Picnic (Spouses Welcome) at the Zikmund Home - 2650 Fox Ridge NE, Blaine

July 5th - No Meeting due to Independence Day Holiday

Meeting Recap - June 14, 2022

Today's presenter was our former inbound Rotary exchange student from Norway, Maria Klakegg. After her time with us she returned to Norway for her senior year in high school. The tradition in Norway is for graduating students to participate in a month-long celebration known as "russefeiring". Maria was the president of a russefeiring group from her school but COVID forced some alterations the to the partying and Maria often found herself in the middle between the students and the understandably cautious authorities. Maria had planned to take a gap year before college, but instead started college in Trondheim, studying psychology and becoming interested in theater. Maria noted that most colleges in Norway are free and housing expenses are provided as well. She believes that very high taxes make that level of support possible. After the first year she decided to take a year off to travel and follow her passion for theater. One of her travel objectives was to come to the U.S. to visit the many people she met as an exchange student, and we're lucky to have her here for a month. Prior to coming here she visited her father in Vietnam, where he is studying antibiotic resistance in marine life.

Maria had several questions for us, including:

- Why do we have just two political parties?

- Why are Supreme Court Justices appointed for life?

- Why is gun violence so prevalent here?

- How much does college cost here?

It was interesting to think critically, and offer some opinions about aspects of life and politics that we tend to take for granted.

Maria is pictured below.

John Johnson encouraged us to support the Community Support Center by participating in the "Walk 1,000 Miles for Our Neighbors" fundraiser at Silver View Park, Silver Lake Rd at County Road I, on July 31st from 9-1PM. Come and join us to walk a little or a lot and make a donation which will be matched by the CSC Board of Directors. This year, we again have a way to give online thru Thrivent. All donations received in the month of June and July will be counted towards our Walk and there are no fees. The link is below.
https://thrivent.cotribute.co/events/653326/detail

Dana Rebelein shared a wonderfully written thank you card from our St. Anthony H.S. scholarship recipient, Nicholas Ludford.

Cindy Carlson, Dana Rebelein, Geoff Hollimon and Jeff Benson helped assemble meal packages at CPY this morning from 10-11:30. It was easy work at a convenient time just before our noon meeting. Please sign up for a session in the coming weeks.

Upcoming Speakers:

June 21st - Julie Gotham-Nelson "Bikes For Kids"

June 28th - Club Picnic (Spouses Welcome) at the Zikmund Home - 2650 Fox Ridge NE, Blaine

July 5th - No Meeting due to Independence Day Holiday

Meeting Recap - June 7, 2022

Our special guest today was Maria Klakegg. Most of you will remember that Maria was our Rotary Exchange student from Norway three years ago. Maria is on a gap year from college but will return next year to study psychology and hopes to become a youth therapist. What a delight to have her among us once again. She will be here for a month and will be staying with John and Dana Johnson, so we are likely to be blessed with her company again before she returns home.

Our presenter for today was Shoreview Arden Hills Rotarian Dave Newman. His topic was The Fast For Hope water project in El Corozo, Nicaragua. Rotary is embracing a new model for philanthropic projects and our District's El Corozo water project is one of the first to employ the new model. In the traditional philanthropic model, an organization would identify a need and move immediately to satisfy the need without full consideration of the cause of the need or the community's ability to satisfy the need for themselves. The traditional model also often failed to determine if the project would be sustainable long-term. A new model was needed to address the CAUSE of the need, and that requires a more in depth approach that engages the entire community in the identification of the causes as well as the solutions for the need. The process requires community organization and broad-based support for a solution. By tapping the abilities and enthusiasm of the people who have the most at stake, communities come together under their own power to develop the skills and resources to deal with problems in their communities. This is called "community capacity", and it is the secret sauce of effective philanthropy. This community capacity provides the inertia to overcome governmental, environmental, legal, financial and many other obstacles inherent in this long-term philanthropic approach. In El Corozo, the 2.2 mile walk to the nearest dry season water source was the motivation that overcame these obstacles and led to the completion of a new well this past April. A Community Water Governance Committee will oversee maintenance and ensure long-term sustainability of the project.

Dana Rebelein read a thank you from our Irondale scholarship recipient, Isaac Paetznik.

Nils Friberg presented Dave Hoel with his Paul Harris Fellowship +5, indicating contributions to the Rotary Foundation of over $6,000. Nice work, Dave!

Cindy Carlson is celebrating her daughter Natalie's 34th birthday and the birth (yesterday) of her granddaughter, Tatum.

John Johnson's daughter graduated form Irondale and is heading to Boston University.

Geoff Hollimon is back from his month in North Carolina.

Meeting Recap - May 24, 2022

Last Tuesday's meeting featured our representatives at this year's Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA). Irondale Students Kelly and Tariq (pictured below) spoke about their experiences at Camp RYLA.

Today's meeting guests were Past District Governor Gary Campbell and his wife, Assistant District Governor Sandy Campbell.

Our Gold Plate Dinner Fund-A-Cause effort was so successful that we were able to make a $5,000 contribution to CPY to help fund their summer food program. Ninety percent of CPY students qualify for free and reduced lunch programs during the school year but help is needed during the summer months. CPY is going the extra mile by providing families with meal packs this summer. You can help by volunteering to help pack weekend meal kits before the Rotary meeting on Tuesday, June 14th from 10-11:30AM. Call Mary Stewart at 651-633-6464 to sign up. Mary is shown receiving our CPY donation check below.

Jed Hamoud was back from Lebanon with good news about the political climate there. Jed noted that two female Rotarians, Dr. Ghada Ayoub and Dr. Najat Saliba, have been elected to parliament!

John Johnson shared his thoughts about ways to recruit new members and increase attendance of current members. As a relatively new member, John has found it difficult to recruit new members for a number of reasons. Potential members strongly resist the idea of attending a noon meeting every week, preferring instead to meet before or after work. John also feels that he doesn't have a complete picture of our club's various roles in the community, making it hard for him to explain why someone should join the club. Cindy Carlson moderated a discussion about meeting times and the vast majority of Rotarians present preferred a morning meeting with a continental style breakfast and one meeting a month at happy hour. We also discussed the value of having a speaker at our meetings as well as the magnitude of the task of securing a speaker for every meeting. The consensus of those present seemed to be that speakers were important and desired for most meetings. Club leadership will investigate the particular details of changing our meeting times and survey the membership about their preferences. The club owes a debt of gratitude to John for initiating the discussion of these issues which are essential to the future of NBMV Rotary.

There will be no meeting next Tuesday due to the Memorial Day Holiday.

Our Speaker on June 7th will be Dave Newman speaking about the Fast For Hope Water Project