Posted by Dana Rebelein on Dec 04, 2018
Your newsletter editor is in the mountains of Colorado but Dana Rebelein was kind enough to provde him with this excellent meeting summary so he could publish it remotely,  Thanks, Dana!

Co-President Cindy called the meeting to order and Mark Beisswenger offered the invocation , including gratitude for snow.
Guests were Bob Benke, Ken Johnson, Marv Sevala and Past District Governor Gary Campbell.
 Ed James reminded us of the Harvest Pack event next Tuesday with Eagles, Lions, and Irondale students at Irondale High School. We can arrive at 3 and will begin our shift at 3:30. The meals packed will be distributed locally and in Puerto Rico.
    Former District Governor and current head of the District 5960 Foundation Team, Gary Campbell, presented the Club with a District matching grant check for $2,720 for the Harvest Pack project. He reported that AG Sandy Campbell is convalescing after knee surgery, and he was glad to not be eating his own cooking this noon.
    Ed James also reported that we have been invited to serve as a host Club for a Rotary Global Scholar, Ellen Hunt, a St. Olaf College senior. Her focus will be on inequalities in health care in refugee camps. Polled by Co-President Cindy, the Club overwhelmingly accepted the privilege.
    President-Elect Dennis Connolly reported on planning for the 18th annual Gold Plate Dinner to be held Friday, April 12, 2019, at the Radisson in Roseville. Tickets will be $150 for two guests/one raffle chance.  [Ed. Comment: Time to step up and volunteer – beat the draft!]  The theme will emphasize the Club’s 40 years of service. The recipient of Fund-a-Cause hasn’t been chosen, but suggestions included Harvest Pack, CPY, Ralph Reeder Food Shelf, and Community Service Center.
Captain Mark Beisswenger announced that there will be 4 ticket selling teams with prizes for the team which sells the most. He asked for volunteers to chair the teams, one of whom will be from the awesome Flex group. 
    Community Services Center: Co-President Cindy announced that Karen Meyer will be at our meeting next week to accept our $1,000 donation toward CSC programs. CSC keeps a box of small extravagances from which patrons can pick up items that they appreciate, but can’t afford. Cindy accepted donations to pick up items, and asked the rest of us to bring things of $3 - $10 value. Suggestions included lotion, shampoo, conditioner, lip gloss, decorative candles, or gently used household items such as knickknacks, pictures, etc. CSC puts these into small gift bags and distributes them to people who come in. 
    She also said there will be a board meeting at 11 o’clock December 18 at Risdall Advertising preceding the holiday sing-along with members of the Irondale choir.
Garry Johnson announced that his office is a collection point for dropping off donations to the Ralph Reeder food shelf.
    Mark Beisswenger introduced the speaker, former classmate and graduate of Mounds View HS, author, and former teacher, Diane Dettmann. Diane has published a number of books, including a historical fiction trilogy which deals with living in the US during World War II: Miriam Daughter of Finnish Immigrants is set in the 1920’s when a Finnish family homesteads in Embarrass, Minnesota, living in a sauna while they finished building their home. Courageous Footsteps is about the experiences of a Japanese-American family separated and taken to detention camps with only what they could carry. On Liberty’s Wings reunites the family, which experiences prejudice following the war. 
    She also wrote 28 Snow Angels, a book about losing a loved one, drawn from her personal experience of her husband’s death after 28 years of marriage.
    Diane is presently contemplating writing a book about Camel Crickets. If you don’t know what they are, you have to wait for the book!