A dynamic meeting with an engaging program from Peter Pearson's little brother Tim and Cameron Potts from Deluxe.
Michael-jon Pease led the club in America the Beautiful, with Doug Hartford at the ivories.
John Andrews, Boy Scouts of America, offered an inspirational minute.
Al Zdrazil, MN Attorney General Office, Retired, introduced guests of Rotarians.
John Chandler and Dion Powers for greeting us all so warmly, and to Michael-jon Pease for serving as scribe.
Sign up for the District Conference May 12-13 at Mystic Lake Casino – we need club representatives to vote for us since President Carla can’t attend.
John Andrews presented Elmer L. Andersen Awards to Shelly Rucks and Sarah Kolar.
Al Zdrazil collected happy dollars fromDoug Hartford (Pat’s cataract surgery went well), Linda Mulhern (her daughter scored her first goal in Finland and even the Zamboni driver congratulated her!), Al Uniacke (for the opening of the Sue Hammersmith and Al Uniacke Science Tutoring Room at the new Metro State Science Center), Chuck Standfuss (in honor of our new member from Protocol 46), Captain Jim Kosmo (in honor of the wonderful St Paul Rotary Foundation annual report and our scholarship winner Margaret, who got a great job in Des Moines after graduating thanks to our investment.
Program:Peter Pearson introduced his little brother Tim (with Flow Nonfiction) and Cameron Potts (with Deluxe) who spoke about the brand revolution at a 100 year old company.
How do you turn around a 100-year-old brand, one rooted in a legacy payment solution but now forging its growth with a suite of marketing services for small businesses? Deluxe® believed investing in rich, authentic content would earn the company more brand awareness to share their transformation than they could buy through traditional advertising. Through an original documentary and photo essay series, Deluxe® ignited a "Small Business Revolution" utilizing social and purpose driven content to share the importance of small businesses in America. This modern marketing approach set them on their trajectory to not only raise brand awareness, but create a movement.
This engaging topic will be presented by Cameron Potts, Vice President of Public Relations and Community Management at Deluxe Corporation and Tim Pearson,VP Brand Strategy & Business Development with Flow Nonfiction.
President Carla Hauge called the meeting to order at 12:15 pm. Michael-jon Pease led the singing of Good Bless America with Bob Jones assisting on piano. Jon Cieslak gave the inspirational minute. There were no visiting Rotarians and guests. The greeters were Heidi Fisher and Blaine Niven. The president thanked the Rotation Day hosts – Annette Kuyper, Matt Halley, and David Dominic.
There will not be a Thursday Fellowship meeting his week.
Mindee Kastelic introduced new member Mary Pucel from the American Red Cross.
Brianna Vujovich announced that there will be the final RYLA committee meeting this Thursday at 6:30 at Cossetta’s. They need a photographer to take photos a couple of hours a day during RYLA for a video. They are also looking for people to drive students to the camp on Friday, April 22 and from the Prom Center on Tues., April 26 to their schools. Rotary members are welcome to come to the barbeque on Sunday, April 24.
Doug Bruce reported that this will be our 6th year for Feed My Starving Children. He thanked Doug Hartford and Clyde Nelson for starting the project. We have packed 900,936 meals so far and hope to reach 1 million this year. Mindee Kastelic and Scott Van are team leaders; we still need more volunteers, especially for the Saturday (2:30) and Sunday (noon) shifts.
Dan McKeown presented Elmer Andersen Awards to John Guthmann, Roger Nielsen and Vicki Gee-Treft.
Jacob LaCroix collected Happy Dollars from a number of members.
Carla Hauge introduced the speaker, Randy Thoreson, Outdoor Recreation Planner with the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) program of the National Park Service (NPS). He spoke on the topic “Getting Seniors Outdoors” about multi-generational connections, active lifestyles and health principles for seniors. He stressed that we need to emphasize the same outdoor activities with seniors as we do with kids.
Randy has presented this program at national meetings such the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO). Health agencies and organizations around the country have shown an interest in it. Healthy outdoor experiences like hiking, fishing, kayaking, biking, etc. helps heal, cure, and are restorative. Seniors who are physically active keep their body and mind strong, and maintain and build networks. Randy talked about the power of parks to engage seniors and showed pictures of older adults, even those with physical limitations, participating in a variety of outdoor activities. He emphasized that you are never too old to enjoy outdoor experiences.
President Hauge thanked the speaker for his presentation. Rotary members recited the Four Way Test and the meeting was adjourned at 1:15 pm.
We are in desperate need of photography help for the RYLA, April 22-26. We are looking for people to come out and take pictures during weekend. Shifts can be as short as a couple of hours. We would like to document as much of the weekend as possible.
We also need help creating the slide show. Any help would be appreciated! To sign-up or for more information, please emailmnryla@gmail.com
Saint Paul Rotary will hold its 7th annual food packing event to support Feed My Starving Children. This year’s packing will take place April 22-24 at Summit Brewing Company in Saint Paul.
Packing shifts are two hours in length. Both individuals and groups may sign up to pack food.
To register for a shift (or shifts), just click on the link to Feed My Starving Children below and follow the registration instructions.
All Rotarians, their family and guests are welcome to come out to RYLA, at lovely Camp St. Croix in Hudson, on Sunday April 24 for an ethical discussion with the students. It is a great way to see the program in action and will help restore your faith in the future after you meet such a great group of kids. Please come out at 4:00 PM, or anytime after lunch. We are asking for a $15 dollar donation to RYLA to cover the cost of dinner, which will follow.
Please join us as we “Celebrate Our Gifts to the World” at the Districts 5950 and 5960 Conference on May 12 and 13 at Mystic Lake Conference Center. For the best rates, sign up by April 15 at: http://www.rotary5960.org/dc2016/REGISTRATION.cfm
On Thursday golfers from both districts can play golf (Click Here for Golf Registration/Information)to End Polio and everyone can attend the Welcome Reception to enjoy time with old and new friends. Friday keynoters are Ross Bernstein and Chris Heeter (with her dog TuuWeh). With special guest speaker for North Star Youth Exchange, Barbara Nieviadonski. Entertainment will include Twin Cities Jazz Cats and Stevie Ray.
There are over 30 breakout sessions that fit within 8 categories: Rotary, Health and Wellness, Technology, Fun to Learn, Business, Personal Interest, Life and Variety, and Service. Sample topics include: Developing Rotary FUNdraisers, Social Media, Organizing with Confidence, Not Being Another Fish in the Dark ‘Net, Guatemalan Cooking, How Good Leader Work Less, Computer Tips, Tips for a Powerful First Impression, and lots more which will be listed on the conference website.
If you’d like discounted rates to stay at Mystic Lake Hotel, book by April 12 by calling 800-548-8536 (reference 5950-5960 District conference) or booking online http://usmlc.webhotel.microsdc.us/ and using the conference block code: 1604rotary If you stay for the weekend, you can enjoy some great hotel entertainment on Sat. night, a Friday Night Dance Party, Bingo and casino games every day, plus the pool, fitness center and more.
How would you like to play golf to end polio? Well, that would take a lot of golf! But you can do your part by signing up and playing in the Rotary 5950/5960 Joint District Conference Golf Tournament to End Polio!
This fun event will be held Thursday, May 12, 2016 at The Meadows Golf Course, at Mystic Lake (this is where the District Conference is being held). We have arranged for this shotgun event to start at 11:00 am. We will wrap up the awards and fellowship afterwards in time to join everyone at the District Conference Welcome Reception. Your golf registration fee includes a ticket to the Welcome Reception. (No, you don't get a discount or money back if you don't go to the Welcome Reception.) You may ask - do I need to be a good golfer to participate and still have fun? Good news: you do not have to be a great golfer! For the "Fun Golfer," you can compete in the Scramble Format - that means you take the best shot, and everyone picks up and shoots from there, this process is repeated after each shot.
The "Serious Golfer" may prefer to have the challenge of playing The Meadows with his/her own ball (Own Ball Format). Each foursome plays one or the other: Scramble Fun Golfer or Own Ball Serious Golfer. We will have awards for each category winner. Of course, the big winner is Polio Plus - proceeds from this tournament will go to Polio Plus! We need 100 golfers, the golf registration fee is $150. Do you have a business you would like to promote? Please sign up for one of the sponsorship packages and email me your company logo. We will promote your business on the website and inside the District Conference Program. Click the link below and sign up today! Thanks!
Thanks to a recommendation from Jodi, I have used Volunteer Spot to set up all of the volunteer opportunities for our upcoming meetings. So the answer to "how do I get to help out at the meeting?" is "follow this link and sign up."
Or call me at 651.767.8497 (for those of you who prefer the phone).
You do not need to create yet another login and there are no passwords to remember! Just follow the link, confirm your email and start signing up for meeting teams. Volunteer Spot will send you reminders, and will let me know where the needs are for upcoming meetings. Attention new members: serving as a greeter and taking the microphone, either to offer the inspirational moment or to introduce guests and visiting Rotarians, is an excellent way to network and get your face in front of the club!
We are in particular need of scribes (note takers). There are three simple steps to taking the notes:
1) use the word document agenda you'll receive as your template - half of the information is already there!
2) Fill in a paragraph or two on the speaker and
3) email your notes to Jodi by end of day Wednesday.
(And you thought I was making it look like hard work!)
Thank you for whatever you can do to to make our weekly meetings a great experience!
transformation than they could buy through traditional advertising. Through an original documentary and photo essay series, Deluxe® ignited a "Small Business Revolution" utilizing social and purpose driven content to share the importance of small businesses in America. This modern marketing approach set them on their trajectory to not only raise brand awareness, but create a movement.
All Rotarians, their family and guests are welcome to come out to RYLA, at lovely Camp St. Croix in Hudson, on Sunday April 24 for an ethical discussion with the students. It is a great way to see the program in action and will help restore your faith in the future after you meet such a great group of kids. Please come out at 4:00 PM, or anytime after lunch. We are asking for a $15 dollar donation to RYLA to cover the cost of dinner, which will follow.