Our guests today were President Ed James’ brother Odalele and sister Morenekeji.
President Ed offered this Quote of the Day: “Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in.” Author Unknown
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President Ed asked that I convey his deep appreciation for those Rotarians whose October contributions to Polio Plus totaled $3,010! The Club had budgeted $500 and it was hoped that individual club members would contribute $1,500 to meet our total goal of $2,000. The individual contributions alone exceeded our total goal by 50%, which will allow us to use the $500 budgeted by the club for another worthy cause. Well done!
One Rotary Summit 2020 - Not your grandfather's One Rotary Summit Event. This year we’re shaking it up. Forget a 3 hour long event with a lot of flip charts. Instead we will be meeting virtually for 3 one-hour sections. Each section will focus on a different pillar – membership, foundation, and public image. Come and hear what’s not yet known by the general membership, be on the cutting edge, hear from clubs in the district, and learn a new skill that you can put into action immediately. Thirty minutes of presentation and 30 minutes of rapid-fire questions and answers. You won’t be disappointed, you’ll be exhilarated. The interactive program will be facilitated by Dayle Quigley, District Governor Nominee.
Thursday, November 5 (4pm - 5pm ) - Membership - Registration LINK
Monday, November 9 (4pm - 5pm) - The Rotary Foundation - Registration LINK
Monday, November 16 (4pm - 5pm ) - Public Image - Registration LINK
Nils Friberg said that a great program on human trafficking, sponsored by the District, is available on YouTube. You can access it by clicking here.
District 5960 Foundation Chair, PDG Kyle Haugen, will be with us next week to share a brief Foundation update with the club.
Geoff Hollimon reported that the Suburban Ramsey Emergency Coalition has received contributions totaling $130,442 so far and with the Mustang Raffle on November 19th, they will have reached their $150,000 contribution goal for 2020. As you likely know, the Coalition will continue its mission into 2021 to help with ongoing impact from Covid-19. Recent grants include $5,000 each to Every Meal and Aeon and $10,000 to NYFS.
President Ed would like to have a club visioning event before the end of his term. Rotary recommends that club visioning should be undertaken every 3 years.
Nyle Zikmund introduced Judy Randall, Deputy Legislative Auditor for the State of Minnesota. Judy was here to enlighten us about the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA). The OLA is a non-partisan audit and evaluation office within the legislative branch of Minnesota state government. The office is under the direction of the Legislative Auditor, who is appointed by the bi-partisan Legislative Audit Commission. The Deputy Legislative Auditor (our speaker) is also appointed by the Commission. The OLA was established in 1973 to provide a truly independent examination of the executive branch, comparable to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) at the national level. The OLA’s mission is to:
- Promote Accountability
- Strengthen Legislative Oversight
- Support Good Management
- Enhance Program Effectiveness
The OLA has two divisions, the Financial Audit Division and the Program Evaluation Division. The Financial Audit Division conducts 40-50 audits each year focusing on government entities in the executive and judicial branches of state government. The Program Evaluation Division conducts evaluations of activities and programs for goal accomplishment and efficient use of public resources. Topics for evaluation are selected by the Legislative Audit Commission from suggestions which can be submitted by any concerned individual or group. Program Evaluation Division reports are very comprehensive, averaging 100 pages in length and very extensively footnoted.