Rotarian Jerry Potter honored with Edina's Connecting With Kids Award

Longtime Rotary Club of Edina member Jerry Potter was honored last week at the Connecting with Kids Leadership Breakfast for his incredible work starting the Leadership Ethics Seminar for Edina High School students, known as "Do the Right Thing." Jerry was one of four people given the Connecting with Kids Award from the Edina Community Foundation. He is shown at right at the 2014 Leadership Ethics Seminar, along with Rotary Club of Edina President Jeff Ohe.

We are proud to share that longtime Edina Rotarian Jerry Potter was recognized last week at the Edina Connecting With Kids Leadership Breakfast one of their their annual leadership awards.

Jerry's contributions to the Club and Edina community are so numerous that we can't even begin to list them. Instead, we are sharing the presenting script for Jerry given at the Leadership Breakfast March 6. See below:

"In 2012, Jerry Potter created a leadership ethics program for Edina High School youth and named it “Do the Right Thing.” This past November, Jerry led a team of volunteers that worked with 64 students in a day-long seminar to discuss the process of making ethical decisions in life and in business. Over the past three years, close to 200 students have participated in the program.

Held in conjunction with EHS 212 Leadership, the seminars study ethics and provide a forum in which youth and adults can discuss how exhibiting ethical and moral conduct can lead to a fulfilling life.

Jerry’s visionary leadership gives youth the opportunity to explore the difficult choices they will face as they move into the world beyond. Because of his dedication to making a difference for youth, it is our honor to present this leadership award to Jerry Potter for his creation and strong guidance of a program that supports and enhances the important qualities of integrity, honesty, and responsibility, while personally inspiring moral conduct and choices."

Connecting With Kids is part of the Edina Community Foundation. Every year it honors individuals, groups, or organizations who share the Connecting With Kids vision that healthy kids lead to a healthy community. The nominees for the Leadership Awards must have had an impact on kids within the city of Edina. Winners of the awards were selected by the Connecting With Kids Advisory Council.

The Rotary Club of Edina hosted the latest Leadership Ethics Seminar, also known as "Do the Right Thing," for Edina High school students on Nov. 17, 2014. Shown above are Rotary Club of Edina President Jeff Ohe and Jerry Potter at the event. Sixty-four EHS students and 29 Rotarians and volunteers participated in an all-day seminar on leadership ethics. The event, co-chaired in 2014 by Jerry Potter and Joe Hayes, was held for the third time, moving from the spring to the fall for the 2014-2015 school year. The purpose of the seminar is to discuss and assist the EHS students on the study of ethics of why we believe the acts of right or wrong and exhibiting ethical and moral conduct at all times can lead to fulfilling life.

Congratulations, Jerry!