Though she’d navigated life and death challenges, when Caryn Sullivan became a widow and single mother of a blended family of four, she was ill prepared. Now keenly aware that life is temporary, the recovering attorney, award-winning author and columnist, blogger, and inspirational speaker not only offers tools to help audiences plan for the inevitable, she urges them to evaluate whether they are living the legacy they hope to leave.
Caryn Sullivan had navigated childhood trauma, a blended family, autism, breast cancer, and a bone marrow transplant when she learned her husband had died at United Hospital, surrounded by strangers. Recognizing she could be bitter - or she could be better - she not only chose better, she resolved to help others to make the same choice. A recovering attorney and inspirational speaker, she shares her resilience expertise in her award-winning memoir, Bitter or Better, and on carynmsullivan.com. The parent of an adult son with autism who lives in St. Paul, Caryn captained the Friends of Fraser St. Paul team in the recent WCCO Pulling Together Tug of War. She serves on the Fraser board of directors, a Masonic Children’s Hospital Advisory Committee, and the Spare Key advisory board.
About 40 Rotarians & guests gathered at the beautiful White Bear Yacht Club on Wednesday, August 16th to toast our Immediate Past President Chuck Whitaker. We enjoyed various beverages named after our esteemed guest of honor, for example, the "Up Chuck." Thanks to the creative talent of Michael-jon Pease, we all enjoyed a witty review of the 2016-2017 Rotary year with the theme of "Wine Selections to Serve with Chuck Roast. " Highlights included Bell Ringer Chardonnay, Cas(h)bar Sauvignon Blanc, Reaching the Summit Rosé, Little Red Corvette Cabernet Sauvignon & Painted Desert Pinot Noir.
The mic was passed around to a few so they could share thoughts that of course "would build good will and better friendships!" Songs were sung and delicious cupcakes by David Dominick were devoured just before (or after!) the heavens erupted with rainfall and Rotarians safely made their way home. Thanks all for celebrating another great Rotary year!
President Jerry Faletti called the meeting to order at 12:15 pm. Jerry Faletti, guitar; Ed Coleman, drums; Joe Kovarik, ukulete; and Bob Jones, piano led the singing of When The Gov Goes Marching In to the tune of When The Saints Go Marching In. For the inspirational minute, Nancy Brady read a poem by Maya Angelou dedicated to hope for peace, written for the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations. Cindy Shiely introduced visiting Rotarians and guests. The greeters were Dick Nicholson and Scott Van; the scribe was Lynne Beck. Jerry announced that the Chuck Whitaker Roast is Wednesday, August16 at the White Bear Yacht Club. The Lynx vs Phoenix Mercury game is Tuesday, August 22, and the “Old Timers” Banquet is Wednesday, August 23 at the St. Paul Pool & Yacht Club.
Linda Mulhern introduced Linnea Anderson, our Outbound Youth Exchange Student to Italy. She lives with her father, mother and brother in St. Paul and just graduated from Great Rivers School. She is interested in fashion design, sings with a Swedish youth choir, and loves to travel. When she returns from Italy, she will attend Parsons School of Design in New York City.
Jay Pfaender said that next week’s speaker will be Caryn Sullivan, columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. She is also an attorney, author and inspirational speaker.
Cindy Shiely collected Happy Dollars, including from Carla Hauge, whose daughter Luci’s fast pitch softball team are National Champions. There were 84 teams competing for the title.
Doug Hartford introduced the speaker, Rotary District Governor Kyle Haugen. He is an Agent/Registered Representative of Haugen Agency, Ltd, providing insurance and financial services to individuals and businesses in Prior Lake and the broader Twin Cities. A third generation Rotarian, he is a founding member and was president of the Rotary Club of Prior Lake. He is a longtime member of the club’s Rotary Foundation and International Service Committees. Kyle is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow, Paul Harris Society member, and Rotary Foundation Bequest Society Member.
As district governor, his role will be to provide resources and opportunities to clubs. He believes in IR President Ian Riseley’s theme: Rotary: Making a Difference. His commitment to service was shown through his trip to Haiti in August 2010 with club members to provide earthquake relief. Kyle told the story of a young 14 year-old Haitian boy he met who was very talented. It is unfair that he, and other children around the world, do not have the opportunities that we have in America.
Kyle is impressed with what the Rotary Club of St. Paul has done locally and in other countries. We need to ask ourselves: What more can we do? What needs are not being met? He discussed the importance of environmental sustainability. Kyle challenges every club to plant a tree for each member in the next few years. Another area the district is concerned about is human trafficking and sex slavery. Rotary Clubs are looking at ways to create awareness about these crimes, especially during the 2018 Super Bowl.
Another district priority is membership. Membership recruitment and retention is a problem. We need to engage our membership by personalizing the experiences. It is not good enough to just attend meetings. In addition, we need to have more female and members under 40. Currently only 30% of the members are female and 4% are under 40. To create new energy, we must find ways to attract more females and members under 40.
Kyle emphasized that the Rotary Foundation is one of the best charities in the world. Nobody takes better care of your money. It is in the top 5 charities for financial management. Rotarians have a say where their money goes through grants. Our projects, such as Polio Plus, make a difference. People around the world have better lives because of Rotary.
Vice President Jerry Faletti led Rotary members in the Four Way Test and the meeting was adjourned at 1:10 pm.
President Jerry Faletti called the meeting to order at 12:15. Bob Cardinal led the club in singing America the Beautiful while Bob Jones accompanied on the piano. John Andrews shared the inspirational minute. Trixie Goldberg introduced visiting Rotarians and guests, including two prospective new members! Thursday’s Fellowship breakfast speaker had not been identified as of the Tuesday meeting, but the group planned to meet as usual at the Boy Scout office. Past President Chuck’s farewell event, the “Chuck Roast” will be held on 8/16 at the White Bear Yacht Club. The Minnesota Lynx vs. Phoenix event at Xcel will be Aug 22, starting at 5:00 PM. For those of you who have never attended a Lynx game, it is a fantastic opportunity to see Minnesota’s most successful professional sports team! The Old Timers Banquet will be at the Pool and Yacht club on Aug 23 at 6:00 PM. And, finally, the Past Presidents Dinner will be on 9/13.
President Faletti also spent a brief time providing the Rotary Foundation Minute and reminding us all about the many great things the Rotary Foundation does for the community, country and the world.
Doug Hartford promoted the 8/15 meeting which will feature District Governor Kyle Haugen.
Linda Mulhern introduced two students enjoying the Rotary Short Term Exchange program. We heard from Sofie Hokanson and Elisa Finadri from Italy about their time in Italy and the US together this summer. They were both very grateful for the experience.
John Guthman introduced Steve Osman for our program. Steve is affectionately known as St. Paul Rotary’s Resident Historian, and today he shared with us his perspective on the Fort Snelling and the Civil War. We learned about how population changes in the mid-1800’s impacted Minnesota’s involvement in the Civil War. Twenty-four thousand Minnesota men served in the Civil War and most came through Fort Snelling, which had been a sheep farm. Mr. Osman’s new book, Fort Snelling and the Civil War, was just published by the Ramsey County Historical Society and is most certainly a good read for anyone interested in the topic. We look forward to Steve’s next visit to St. Paul Rotary!
LYNX VS. PHOENIX MERCURY Tuesday, August 22, 2017 @ 7:00pm
Join us to see the Minnesota Lynx take on the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday, August 22nd with Rotary of St. Paul. Prior to the game, enjoy a pregame Happy Hour at Wild Tymes for St. Paul Rotary Members and their families from 5 - 7 pm. A portion of each ticket sold will go back to support the St. Paul Rotary Club. Friends, family, colleagues welcome!
Plus, the first 50 people to purchase tickets through this offer will get the opportunity to receive autographs from two of the Lynx players following the game!
We are now moving into a new Rotary year and a big CONGRATS to our new President Jerry Faletti. Todd Nicholson is now taking over at Sergeant at Arms for club and will be lining up the volunteer roles for each meeting. Let’s help him get off to a great start and fill the schedule for the next couple months.
We currently have openings for Greeters, Introducer of guests, Scribes, Giving the inspirational minute, and Leading song. Having these roles filled each week makes for a well run meeting and keeps us all active in the club.
Sothe answer to "how do I sign up to help out at a meeting?" is "click this link and sign up."
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. SignUp.com 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 urging every member to sign up for a few spots in any of the roles available. Through SignUp.com you can view the open spots for all upcoming meetings in any of the 6 roles and sign up for what works in your schedule and what you would enjoy. It’s easy to sign up and help from everyone makes us a stronger club.
Thank you for whatever you can do to make our weekly meetings a great experience!
