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Our Nov. 16 meeting was called to order by President Ann Platt. It was announced that the annual Edina Rotary Foundation Fundraiser & Gala held Oct. 1 raised nearly $105,000, which brought a round of applause and whoops and hollers. Well done! Ann thanked Gala Co-Chairs Sam Thompson and Leann Stessman.
Greeters for the meeting were John MacLennan, Kris Maser and André Brewer. Bob Stehlik and Erick Ries helped at the front desk. Valerie Burke gave a lovely invocation with a theme of “gratitude.” She also lead the Pledge of Allegiance and the Rotary Four-Way Test.
David Aase introduced the guests that were present:
- Preston Schmidt was a guest of John Mazzara.
- Viras Narula was a guest of Royce Pavelka.
- Dr. Gary Johnson was a guest of Michael Stanzek.
- Theresa Bea was a guest of Sutton McGraw.
- Zavier Bicott was a guest of David Clynes.
- Kim Stoner was a guest of Jody Kern, and was approved by the board as a member earlier in the day.
- Ted Manderfield and David Eichholt were guests of Scott MacDonald. Ted and David, the performers known as Deuces Wild, entertained us at this year's Fundraiser & Gala.
- Jackie Harvey was a guest of Bob Harvey.
It was an entertaining lunch, complete with “ingredients” for a perfect Thanksgiving meal. Member Bob Solheim encouraged all to sign up for assembling and delivering Thanksgiving meals to local families in need. Bob announced that over 1,000 families have received Thanksgiving baskets over the years. Join together for lunch on Wednesday, Nov. 23, at 11:45 a.m., then assemble the baskets and deliver them.
Two Edina High School students were guests for this meeting. Member Steve Buettner introduced the students, Christina Orth and Ty Dowda, who each shared a short bio with us. Both students are very involved both in and out of school and have hearts for service. Both will graduate next June and will attend college in the fall of 2017. Clearly, Christina and Ty have bright futures ahead of them. Congratulations to both Edina High School students. 
A new member was inducted officially into the club by one of our past presidents, Brad Hepp. André Brewer is sponsored into the Edina Rotary by Sam Cote. André is involved with Camp Lincoln and Camp Lake Hubert and his classification will be Youth Development/Camps. Welcome André.
Our club’s The Rotary Foundation (TRF) Chair, Sue Spalding, introduced the speakers for this meeting. Sue is a former TV news affiliate in the Ames and Des Moines, Iowa, area and is the current CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association of Minnesota and North Dakota. Sue shared that The Rotary Foundation is celebrating 100 years this year and is a “vast source for doing good in the world.” The goal for TRF is “every Rotarian, every year” so that with sustained funding, many more projects around the world can be completed and lives can be changed and dramatically improved. The goal for the TRF campaign this year is 100 percent participation to raise $100,000 for the 100th year. Letters are in the mail to members to promote the campaign.
 Sue introduced Past Rotary District Governors Tim Murphy and Jim Nelson. These men shared the importance of supporting TRF each Rotary year. A short clip of a video by Joel Jennings was played. Joel explained that “people who give are happier people.” In the spirit of the motto of the TRF, “Doing Good in the World,” Tim and Jim encouraged all to give generously to the fund. Some examples of the types of projects that are funded by the TRF and matching funds by the District Designated Funds are: water purification and sanitation; disease prevention and treatment; peace and conflict prevention and resolution; maternal and child health; basic education and literacy; economic and community development. This is all in addition to the Polio Plus effort. A suggested minimum donation by each Rotarian is $365 per year or “a dollar a day.” The Rotary Club of Edina has traditionally given the biggest portion of the District’s annual funds to TRF. Way to go Edina Rotary! Tim and Jim thanked all who already give to the TRF and encouraged those who have not given in the past to do so. The mission of The Rotary Foundation is to “enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education and the alleviation of poverty.”
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Will Steinke thanked Tim and Jim for their informative presentation. President Ann Platt closed the meeting.
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The Rotary Club of Edina once again will be collecting holiday gifts for families in need in our community. Rotarian Jean Morrison is spearheading the Holiday Giving Program, and asks that members bring UNWRAPPED gifts for children of any age (infant all the way through teens) as well as gifts for moms, dads, and families, to the Edina Country Club in December. The gifts can be dropped off at the regular Rotary meetings on Dec. 1 and 8, or at the Holiday Party on Thursday, Dec. 15. Gift cards, cash or check donations are also welcome at the Dec. 1 and 8 meetings. Jean will take the funds donated and buy gift cards or other gifts to be donated as well. This year, the organizations benefiting from the Edina Rotary Holiday Giving Program will be:
It is time to celebrate the holidays with your fellow Rotarians! Bring your significant other to the Rotary Holiday Party, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, at the Edina Country Club in the living room. There will be a variety of hearty appetizers and a cash bar with lots of room to sit and relax and catch up with old and new friends in Rotary.
Around 25 Rotary Club of Edina members and guests enjoyed a musical evening out in St. Paul last Saturday, Nov. 19. Organized by Wade Thommen, as part of the Membership Retention Committee, the group enjoyed a social hour followed by dinner at Bonfire Wood Fire Cooking, and then walked to St. Paul's United Church of Christ on Summit Avenue for the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra's "Dvorak's Serenade for Winds" concert. 
Periodically we feature a newer member of the Rotary Club of Edina in The Barker. The Rotary Club of Edina welcomed Tom Cook as a member in April 2016. Tom's sponsor to the club was David Clynes. Read on to get to know more about Tom....jpg)
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The annual Thanksgiving Baskets Assembly is this Wednesday, Nov. 23, at Edina Country Club. A soup, salad and sandwich buffet will be served. There is no meeting this Thursday, Nov. 24.