Cindy Carlson opened the meeting with a summary of this morning's Board meeting:
- It’s confirmed that State Farm will make a $5,000 contribution to our No-Plate Dinner Fundraiser (Amy Wakem made us aware of the grant availability).
- The Community Support Center is seeking to add a Board member from our club to replace Paul Fournier, who retired due to health reasons. A list of Board member responsibilities can be found by clicking here. Contact Executive Director Karen Meyer (651-387-8050) for more information.
- PeaceMaker Minnesota has organized a New Brighton Peace Riders fundraiser to raise funds to help schools reduce bullying and teach conflict resolution to kids. Click here for more information on the bike ride.
- Our club has agreed to donate $1,500 to help the Beirut Cedars Lebanon Rotary Club address food insecurity in the wake of the explosion which devastated half of Beirut. We also plan to work with the Beirut Cedars club on a Rotary grant.
- Our 2020-2021 budget projects a $3,500 surplus, assuming $10,000 in net proceeds from what will likely be a another No-Plate fundraiser.
- We will continue meeting by Zoom for the foreseeable future with 1 face to face meeting per month.
Geoff Hollimon reported that the Suburban Ramsey Emergency Coalition has modified its grant criteria to better align with the current impacts of Covid 19. Mental health and youth issues have been added to the criteria. The ’73 Mustang Convertible Raffle is experiencing strong ticket sales. See Geoff Hollimon for your tickets before the 1000 ticket allotment is sold out. Tickets are just $25 so mail your check (made out to Climb Theatre) to:
Mustang Raffle
c/o Geoff Hollimon
2749 13th Terrace NW
New Brighton, MN 55112
Also be aware that the Coalition invites you to take part in a biking/walking/driving tour of twenty examples of rose art in the Roseville in Bloom art exhibit. Bike routes of 9.7 and 7.6 miles are suggested, or you can visit them in your car. Register here for a chance to win a prize and, hopefully, make a donation to the coalition to support its work to provide food and housing and mental health support for adults and youth with greatest need resulting from Covid 19.
Geoff also reported that Community Partners with Youth (CPY) has come up with a creative plan to continue their excellent work with students. Executive Director Mary Stewart developed a plan to mentor students on days when the hybrid schedule would have students learning at home. The mentoring plan would require $200,000-300,000 in grants but it appears that funding will be available.
Nyle Zikmund introduced Jill Brown, Executive Director of the North Metro Mayors Association (NMMA). The NMMA was created in 1987 to promote private and public investment in the northern Twin Cities suburbs. The 15 cities represented by the NMMA are mostly adjacent to Interstate Highway 610, the first big development project it supported. Since that success, the NMMA has become a unified legislative voice on issues including transportation, economic development, housing, pollution, recreation, public safety and tax reform to mention just a few. This kind of inter-city cooperative lobbying is unique in Minnesota and it gives the North Metro area considerable influence in county, state and federal government. The NMMA also partners with local Chambers of Commerce, utility companies and non-profits to enhance its economic development lobbying efforts. Non-profits, like Rotary, can also benefit by joining the North American Joint Purchasing Program (NAJPP), a central purchasing program that gives NMMA members and partners access to competitive pricing usually only available to big companies.