Rotary Club of Edina welcomes back Chrysanne Manoles
The Rotary Club of Edina is proud to announce that Chrysanne Manoles has rejoined our club as an Honorary member earlier this year. Chrysanne's classification is Marketing Consultant, and her sponsor to the club originally was Jim Hogg. Chrysanne was the first female Rotarian in the Rotary Club of Edina. She first joined the club May 1, 1988, and rejoined as an Honorary member June 18, 2015.Periodically we feature a new member of the Rotary Club of Edina on our website. This week we meet:
Name: Chrysanne Manoles
Classification: Marketing Consultant
What was your first job? Factory line worker at Miraq, age 13 (my dad’s business)
Who was your first role model and why? Mom. She was 100 percent devoted to her five kids, helping with homework, preparing gourmet meals and volunteering as my Girl Scout leader.
Why did you want to join Rotary? Why did you want to join Rotary? Rotary placed me in Brazil for a year as a Rotary Exchange Student when I was 16 years old. That experience shaped my life in ways my conservative Midwestern upbringing could not. My one-year Brazilian lifestyle included playing loud music on a daily basis, dancing in the street for four days and nights during Carnaval, staying awake until 6 a.m. without being in trouble, and dropping by friends’ homes unannounced…I could never do any of these things under Mom’s watch.
After completing college and beginning my career in 1979, I inquired about volunteering with the exchange program. Unfortunately, the only way to do that was to become a Rotarian. But at the time, women weren’t allowed to do so. Eight years later, in 1987, I read a newspaper article about a change in the federal law that forced Rotary and other service organizations to consider membership applications from qualified women. I contacted my dear mentor and Edina Rotarian Jim Hogg for an application. As an attorney, he was excited to propose this idea, which, if approved, would make me the first female member of the club. I heard much later that there was a small yet vocal faction that didn’t want this change to happen. Luckily for me, the quieter majority won and I became a member of the Edina Rotary Club in May 1988. Ever since then, I have held numerous leadership positions within our local North Star Rotary Youth Exchange Program, including the top position of chair for seven years. I’ve been sent around the world numerous times as a representative of Minnesota and Wisconsin, growing our list of exchange partners and solidifying these international relationships. It’s been the most fulfilling volunteer work of my lifetime.
What do you like best about being part of the Rotary Club of Edina? Lifelong multi-generational friendships and volunteering with a team. Lots more gets done this way.
What one piece of advice do you offer other business leaders? Listen to your inner voice and learn to feel what your gut reaction is telling you because it’s always guiding you in the right direction.
Welcome back to the Rotary Club of Edina, Chrysanne!