Today was our fifth virtual club meeting, and we were honored to have District Governor Paul Perez as our virtual guest.
 
Dave Hoel visited his workplace on Lake Street and reported on the incredible destruction in that area.  Jason Slama was part of the cleanup effort on Lake Street and he provided this written summary:
“I haven't been able to be active in Rotary lately due to work and family conflicts. But I wanted to pay a "happy fine" to the club. I was out cleaning Lake Street on Saturday morning and was absolutely humbled at the amount of people out helping each other. We were cleaning the sidewalks and streets as buildings were still burning. There were piles and piles of donated goods being gathered to help those who lost their local stores. Meals were being offered to those in need. Medical professionals were offering free services and transportation to those who needed it. By Sunday morning Lake Street, Nicollet Ave, and Midway neighborhoods were clean enough there was not a need to go back and clean. As tragic as the events over the past week have been, I just wanted to share how proud I felt to see so many people coming together to share their kindness and compassion.”
 
District Governor Paul Perez thanked us for continuing to be active Rotarians.  He said that our District is looking into ways that we can work cooperatively with neighboring District 5950 to address racial disparity issues highlighted by this past week’s events.  DG Paul also encouraged us to take advantage of the many online learning opportunities being made available by the District.   A complete list is available in President Dennis Connolly’s weekly email, but here is a list of this week’s learning opportunities:
June 3, 2020 (Wednesday, 4:30PM) - District 5960 E-club Cultural Exchange Enthusiasts talk to Tom Thorfinnson, Chief Strategy Officer at Rotary International
Topic: The Future of Rotary and COVID-19.  CLICK HERE for Link
June 4, 2020 (Thursday 7:30 AM) - Ethics Team presentation presented by St. Paul Sunrise Rotary Club featuring Burt Riskedahl, “Ethical decision making in clinical practice and supervision”  CLICK HERE for Link
Friday, June 5, 2020 (Friday 9am) - Friday Feature. This week our speaker will be Mike Gregory, The Collaboration Effect, his topic: Conflict Resolution/Civil Discourse.
Register in advance for this meeting:
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
 
Our “No-Plate” Dinner fundraiser is taking shape.  Starting on June 9th, we will be holding online live auctions of items which were donated to the cancelled Gold Plate Dinner.  Bidders need to attend the regularly scheduled Tuesday Noon ZOOM club meetings.  The first auction item will be 18 holes of golf for four with four carts at beautiful Indian Hills Golf Club.  A $312 value, opening bid will be $80. Bids will be taken at the June 9th and June 16th meetings to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to bid.  The bidding will be open to Rotarians as well as non-Rotarians.  Future weeks will feature other donated items like lake lodge stays, glider rides, wine tasting events, horse racing packages, more golf and trap shooting.  Our August 4th noon meeting will include a $250 raffle drawing for those who have purchased a raffle ticket.  Watch your email for more details. 
 
Geoff Hollimon updated us on the North Suburban Emergency Response Coalition.  Three final grant proposals have been received and as many as a dozen groups are potential grantees.  Geoff indicated that the Response fund already has donations of $40,000 with a goal of $150,000. Your contributions are needed reach that goal.  Personal and organizational donations of any amount may be made by check payable to the Suburban Ramsey Covid-19 Response Fund and mailed to:
       Suburban Ramsey Covid-19
       Response Fund
       C/o Carol Brown-Mills
       5845 St. Albans Court
       Shoreview, MN 55126
Carol is a board member of Shoreview Community Foundation and she’ll forward them to The St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation each day. You will still get your tax receipt from the St. Paul and Minnesota Foundation with tax ID # 41-6031510.
Online contributions of any amount can be made at GiveMN.org at this URL: https://www.givemn.org/story/Suburbanramseycovid19responsefund
The Coalition’s Facebook page can be accessed by clicking here.
 
Dana Rebelein added that the Coalition has already begun responding to the Covid-19 pandemic by organizing 14 people (including Dana) to sew reusable cloth gowns for the Ramsey County Care Center.  The Care Center only had disposable gowns and the 5,600 gowns used per month were a huge drain on the care center’s finances.
 
We are seeking speakers for upcoming ZOOM meetings.  If you are aware of good speakers, please relay that information to Nyle Zikmund.  Watch your email for program assignments for the new Rotary year which begins on July 1.