Today I am writing The Barker for Bob Hildreth, only because he bribed me with dinner at a downtown establishment!
Also, I am going to resurrect
The Barker writing style of our former Rotarian and Mayor of Edina, the Honorable Jim Van Valkenburg, and write it the day before the meeting.
The cast of characters helping President Ann Platt today are: Sandy Schley, Scott Neal, Jeff Ohe, Kim Stoner, Bill McReavy, Steve Slyce, Dale Walker and yours truly. You can be assured they all did their jobs satisfactorily. You know the drill, if Ann is happy we all are happy.
Don’t forget to sign up for the bowling event at the Park Tavern Saturday, Jan. 28th. I am sure someone got up and made an announcement about it. I would be there but I will be in Puerto Rico. If you want to come join me, call Marty Kupper at Martin Kupper Travel Services, and he will set you up.
Also, I know that some of you are thinking of me around 2:45 Puerto Rico time on Feb. 2 when my phone will start ringing (Jon Barnett, Alarms R Us, and Jeff Ohe, Show Me the Money) during the meeting.
Also, if you haven’t made your pledge to The Rotary Foundation, get on with it. After all, “It’s for the Kids."
Steve Buettner introduced two students from Edina High School, Caroline Harmening and Ben Lohrding, who shared their many accomplishments while at EHS and their plans for the future.
Our speaker today was Will Steger. If you don’t know who Will is and what he has accomplished so far, you have lived a sheltered life! Everyone knows who Will Steger is, right?
A formidable voice calling for understanding and the preservation of the Arctic, and the Earth, Will Steger is best known for his legendary polar explorations. He has traveled tens of thousands of miles by kayak and dogsled over 50 years, leading teams on some of the most significant polar expeditions in history.
Steger led the first confirmed dogsled journey to the North Pole without re-supply in 1986, the 1,600-mile south-north traverse of Greenland (the longest unsupported dogsled expedition in history) in 1988, and led the first dogsled traverse of Antarctica (the historic seven-month, 3,741-mile International Trans-Antarctica Expedition) in 1989–1990. His achievements and awards would take all day to write and read, but if you were to sum everything up, you know that he is a leader in raising awareness of the urgency of climate change and the opportunity for solutions.
Will spoke on his experiences as an explorer and his work with the Steger Wilderness Center (in Ely, Minnesota) and Climate Generation.
For additional information, please go to www.willsteger.com.
Meeting adjourned.
The Rotary Club of Edina will welcome Dr. Penny Wheeler as program speaker at the meeting Thursday, Jan. 26. Wheeler has been the president and CEO of Allina Health since 2015. This week is also Prospective Member Day at Edina Rotary! All members are encouraged to bring a friend or colleague that is interested in learning more about Rotary and our club. Rotary Club of Edina will provide lunch for all prospective members Jan. 26!.jpg)
The Edina High School Interact Club is planning a "Skate to End Polio" from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, at Braemar Arena's Backyard Rink. Enjoy open skating with friends and family! All ages are welcome! Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for kids, and can be bought at upcoming Rotary meetings, the day of the event, or by contacting 
Periodically we feature a newer member of the Rotary Club of Edina in The Barker. The Rotary Club of Edina welcomed Hannelore Brucker as a member in July 2016. Hannelore's sponsor to the club was Josh Sprague. Read on to get to know more about Hannelore...
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The Edina Country Club will serve cracker crumb walleye or citrus chicken salad at the Jan. 26 Rotary Club of Edina meeting.