New Brighton
Mounds View
Rotary Club
Stories
Meeting Recap - September 12, 2017

Jason Miller opened the meeting with the Pledge and MaryAnn Bawden provided the Invocation.

 

Our guest today was Anoka Rotarian and Assistant District Governor, Sandy Campbell.  Sandy was here to tell us about her home club’s “Vacation of a Lifetime” raffle fundraiser.  She was offering $10/ticket chances at winning a $5,000 vacation voucher (or $3,500 cash). 

 

President Gerry Tietz said that he feels like an “expectant father” as we give birth to our Breakfast Club this Thursday at 7AM.  All club members, their guests and walk-ins are invited to attend.  I wonder if Gerry will be passing out cigars after the meeting.

 

We received a letter from Saint Anthony Village High School thanking us for our support of their scholarship program.  The recipient of this year’s scholarship was Bonnie Zeller, pictured below with Amy Wakem, who presented the scholarship on behalf of the club..

 

A new club brochure has been created by Beverly Aplikowski, and fine tuned by Jeff Benson.  The new brochure updates the 2010 version and promotes the new breakfast club.  You are welcome to take brochures for prospective members and you can find them in the Rotary cabinet.

 

Geoff Hollimon reported that the E.C.H.O. farm survived Irma’s fury with no injuries and relatively little ($100,000) damage to the property.  See Geoff if you’d like to contribute to a fund for repairs at the farm.

 

Cindy Carlson announced a fundraiser to provide housing for the homeless students of Life Prep Academy on Tuesday October 3rd, from 6-8PM at the Mermaid.  The event is free, with opportunities to donate if you choose.  Retired CEO of Vascular Solutions, Howard Root, will be the featured speaker.  For more information, or to RSVP, Call 763-203-2015 or email to:  pam@lifeprepacademymn.com.

 

Many, many thanks go to John, Marla and “Captain Dan” Ordway for their hospitality in hosting the Rotary party last weekend.  Though breezy, the weather was appreciably better than the originally planned date.

 

Ed James wasted no time in contacting the Lions Club regarding the possibility of a joint “Harvest Pack” project.  Stay tuned for more details.

 

Several Happy Bucks were offered by the Packer Backers for Green Bays’ victory over the Seahawks but, despite an almost perfect performance over the Saints, Vikings fans seemed reluctant to cough up their dollars.  Perhaps we just don’t want to create optimism only to have it dashed after mid-season.  President Gerry personally challenged the Vikings faithful to part with their happy bucks.  We’ll see what happens next week.

 

Dana related the saga of the service tech who “Red Tagged” her furnace, which magically became “Un-Red Tagged” after a reputable service tech made some minor adjustments.  Ask Dana if you want to know who not to call for furnace repairs.

 

Dave Hoel announced that Kevin Carlson (yes, Cindy’s 3-handicap golfer and husband Kevin) will replace the out of town Jeff Benson in Dave’s foursome at the Gary’s Gift Pancreatic Cancer Tournament this weekend.  Kevin is a HUGE golfing talent upgrade from Jeff, so I don’t think Jeff will be needed at future tournaments.

 

Paul reported that he has sold his hanger and will be closing the deal soon.

 

Mayor Val Johnson reported that the Lions Club is installing handicap-accessible playground equipment at Lions Park.  She also commented on the City’s purchase of the Korean Methodist Church property near downtown New Brighton.  The city will be seeking citizen input on use(s) of the property before seeking a private contractor to develop it.

 

Mary S. was relieved that her parents have sold their farm and that she was able to get them moved to their new home.

 

Bev’s eye surgeries have been completed and she’s looking forward to good vision once she gets her new glasses.

 

Cindy Carlson introduced our speaker, Jed Hamoud.  Jed has been a frequent presenter at our club, and some of you may be familiar with Jed’s history.  Jed’s involvement with KAI began very early in his life; he grew up in a Kids Alive boy’s orphanage in Lebanon.  Since then, Jed has become a tireless advocate for KAI around the world, but especially in Lebanon.  Jed was here today to update us on the results of the District Matching Grant which our club provided for the expansion of Kids Alive International’s Oasis Refugee Center.  The KAI website provides this overview of the Center: 

“Over the past two years, more than a million refugees from Syria have fled from their homes and across the Lebanese border to escape the civil war. It is now estimated that one in four children in Lebanon is a Syrian refugee, and many of them have suffered emotional and physical trauma. Often these displaced people have ended up in makeshift camps, with very limited access to shelter, food, water, shoes, and clothing.  In November of 2014, we had the privilege of opening a new center, The Oasis, specifically for Syrian refugee children. The new students need intensive academic help, since many have been out of school due to the war and most cannot speak English.  Kids Alive is helping Syrian refugees in two ways. At The Oasis, we are providing an education, food, and daily care to 80 children in our school and care center programs. We have also been working with our other partners in Lebanon to provide support to refugee families that urgently need help.” 

Jed thanked us for our generous Matching Grant donation of $9,747 and reviewed the expansion of the Center which was enabled by our contribution.  KAI was able to nearly double its classroom space, helping them to make a bigger impact on the educational vacuum among Syrian refugee children.  For more information about KAI, check out the KAI websiteJed and Jason are shown below.

Speakers
Sep 12, 2017
Update on the Classroom for Syrian Refugee Children in Lebanon project
Sep 19, 2017
Surgeon with the Midwest Fetal Care Center
Sep 26, 2017
Trainer for Marnita’s Table on IZI
View entire list
Upcoming Events
Launch Thursday Morning Breakfast Meetings
The Exchange Food and Drink
Sep 14, 2017
7:00 AM – 8:00 AM
 
Board Meeting with DG Kyle Haugen
Oct 31, 2017
10:30 AM – 2:10 PM
 
Foundation Celebration
Nov 04, 2017
 
Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
Sage
ClubRunner
Please add mailservice@clubrunner.com to your safe sender list or address book.
To unsubscribe from future e-mails, click here.
To forward this email to your friends, click here.
To view our privacy policy, click here.
 
ClubRunner
905.829.5299
102-2060 Winston Park Drive, Oakville, ON, L6H 5R7
 
ClubRunner is a registered trademark of Doxess Technologies Inc.
© 2016 ClubRunner. All Rights Reserved.