In review

Posted by Dennis Hykes on Feb 23, 2017
 
 
Edina Rotarians arrived for our regular meeting Feb. 23 to find the dining room decorated with helium balloons, and a plate of fancy cupcakes on each table. Turns out it was Rotary International’s 112th birthday. So, Happy Birthday to RI, and to us, and thanks President Ann Platt for adding color to our meeting!
 
Click on the link for more on the meeting...
 
Greeters for the meeting were Ross Peterson, San Asato, and Jim Platt. Assisting always-cheerful Jennifer Garske at the check-in table was Jim Ryman. At the request of our President, Tim Fargo offered an invocation challenging us to be our best, followed by the Pledge and the recitation of the Four-Way Test.
 
Barbara Born asked the following Rotarians to introduce their guests:  
 
  • Membership Recruitment Director Greg Yoch introduced Theresa Bea, Nash Faulk and Scott Hawkins (all pending new members)
  • Jon Barnett introduced Varia Muradova
  • Paul Peterson introduced his daughter, Kelly Peterson
  • Keith Benson introduced Mark Stageberg
  • Sandy Schley introduced her son, Steve Schley
  • Dave Hatzung introduced his son, Dan Hatzung, and Adam Sheppard
  • Ann Platt introduced Margaret de Jonge and Catherine Gump
  • Sam Cote introduced Heather Edelson and Kelly Burnett
  • Mary Swendsen introduced her son Dan Swendsen,
  • Marie Pribyl introduced her husband, Dave Huguelot
  • Brad Hepp introduced Tierney Rogers and John Klinkenberg
  • Kim Stoner introduced Scott Koller
We also welcomed visiting Rotarian Gary Briggs (Wayzata Rotary) who introduced his guest, Peter Deanovic.
 
On behalf of the Community Service Local Funding Committee, Rick Carlson presented a $ 2,000 check from the Edina Rotary Foundation to Sarah Clausen of the Alzheimer’s Association of Minnesota-North Dakota. Sarah is a Help Line Coordinator at the Association. She thanked the Club for this gift and indicated the check would be used to support the Medic Alert Safe Returns program, a service to people with Alzheimer's who may wander away from home.
 
Mary Swendsen thanked her special guest, Steve Troska, Store Manager of Jerry’s Foods.  As has been done before, Jerry’s provided bakery products in support of a recent Edina Rotary Club's third-grade reading program, "Andy and Elmer's Apple Dumpling Adventure." 
 
New Rotarian Jack Atnip gave his Classification Talk. Jack is a business and finance attorney with Hellmuth & Johnson, PLLP.  Jack lived in Hawaii and Alabama before coming to Minnesota. He is a graduate of UC San Diego, and Loyola Law School. Jack indicated he joined Edina Rotary to be part of a group motivated to serve the community and the world. Welcome Jack!
 
Dan Hennen made a brief announcement concerning Just Golf It & Mini-Masters Golf Tournament, to be held this Friday, March 3, from 4:30 to 9:00 p.m. at the Golf Zone in Chaska.
 
Brad Hepp introduced our speaker, Maureen Bausch, CEO of the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee. Maureen has more than 25 years of experience in creating and building brand awareness, most recently as an executive at Mall of America, a perfect background for her current assignment. Maureen provided a very well-organized and detailed overview of the task before the committee, and provided some insights into what we might expect in connection with Super Bowl LII, to be held at U.S. Bank Stadium Feb. 4th, 2018. She pointed out two distinctions of our event—it’s hosted by a state, not a city, and it is being funded entirely from private sources, without governmental subsidy. Interesting.
 
Maureen began her presentation with a showing of the "Passing the Ball" video, confirming the move of the big game from Houston to Minnesota. Featured were multiple shots of the football being received and passed on from multiple familiar (and not so familiar) Minnesota landmarks. A range of promotional events are planned over the Super Bowl celebration period of ten days, including a "Bold North" festival on the Nicollet Mall. There will also be a significant charitable component, with well-funded programs in support of health and wellness for both kids and adults. Over 10,000 volunteers will be needed over the next 50 weeks to pull this off—the quest is on for Rotarians wishing to help.
Maureen responded to several predictable questions from the floor. Yes, overnight rentals of downtown condos will command a lofty fee. Bill McReavy announced he’s moving into Bob Solheim’s basement for the duration, maybe sharing a (small) portion of the proceeds with Bob; there may be other takers for this deal as time goes on. After waiting in vain to see if Maureen would predict the Vikings as likely participants in the Super Bowl, Nate Wenner thanked Maureen for her presentation, and announced a contribution in her honor to Edina Give and Go.
 
President Ann adjourned the meeting with a reminder of this year’s Rotary theme, "Rotary Serving Humanity."