Edina Morningside Rotary Club will host our club for the annual fall joint meeting this Tuesday, Nov. 28. EMRC meets from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. at the Edina Country Club. A breakfast buffet will be served.

The program at the joint meeting will be a panel discussion on the Opioid Epidemic. Participating will be Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek; Lexi Reed Holtum, executive director of the Steve Rummler Hope Network; and Rob Reynolds, Director of Advocacy for Verde Technologies, which helps organizations implement Deterra into their operations. Reynolds was also Eden Prairie Police Chief for nine years.

Moderating the discussion will be EMRC member John D. Pastor III, director of Fairview Pharmacy Services.

All Edina Rotarians are encouraged to attend. There is NO Rotary Club of Edina meeting Thursday, Nov. 30.

 

The roundtable discussion at the joint meeting Tuesday, Nov. 28, will feature the following participants:
 
• Rob Reynolds: Reynolds joined Verde Technologies in July of 2016 as the Director of Advocacy, helping coalitions, public safety, and environmental organizations implement Deterra into their operations. Prior to coming to Verde, Reynolds spent 31 years with Eden Prairie Police Department serving in various positions including Chief for nine years. He has lived in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area his entire life and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota earning a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. He has also completed coursework in leadership through the Police Executive Research Forum at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
 
• Lexi Reed Holtum: Executive Director and lobbyist of the Steve Rummler Hope Network, Reed Holtum has been with the Network since its inception. She was instrumental in the passage of Steve’s Law and the 2015 appropriation enabling first responders to have the resources they need to implement the law. She is also responsible for the creation of the Network’s Overdose Prevention Program and for fostering partnerships between hospitals, treatment and sober living facilities, and communities to reduce opioid overdose deaths. In addition to the contributions Reed Holtum makes in the state of Minnesota she is also a sought-out speaker and advocates federally. Her testimonies in Washington, D.C., offer necessary perspective to agencies like the CDC, FBI, DEA and FDA in order to push for necessary changes to our country’s current prescribing practices, treatment of addiction, and available resource. Reed Holtum is a person in long-term recovery from the disease of addiction, she is the proud mother of one child, and she was Steve Rummler’s fiancé.
 
• Rich Stanek: The 27th Sheriff of Hennepin County, Stanek was first sworn in on January 1, 2007, and is currently serving his third term. As a 32-year veteran of law enforcement, Stanek began in the Minneapolis Police Department, rising through the ranks from Patrol Officer to Commander of Criminal Investigations. While serving as a police officer, Stanek was elected five times to the Minnesota State Legislature, where he served as Chair of the Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee. In 2003, the governor appointed him Commissioner of Public Safety & Director of Homeland Security for Minnesota. Stanek has brought new awareness to several emerging public safety threats. He coordinated town hall meetings and legislative advocacy to target the heroin epidemic, prescription drug abuse, and human trafficking. In Minnesota, he has led the effort to improve treatment for inmates with mental illness by expediting medically-appropriate care. On the national level, Stanek participated in President Obama’s law enforcement working group that addressed the intersection of mental illness and gun violence, and at his direction, the Sheriff’s Office was named as one of 15 demonstration sites for the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. He founded the Hennepin County Sheriff Foundation, which provides programs for disadvantaged youth and supports Sheriff’s Office volunteers. He also serves in leadership roles for local non- profit groups that help youth including Treehouse and the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities. Stanek earned a Criminal Justice Degree from the University of Minnesota, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Hamline University. He and his family live in Maple Grove.