Bring friends on June 18 to hear Sandhya Gupta's update on Nari Gunyan School

Our Rotarians who traveled to India on the Friendship Exchange in February got to visit Sandhya Gupta and see the amazing work going on at the Nari Gunyan School. Sandhya will give us a further update on progress and plans for the school. Last year our club contributed to a bus to transport girls to the school.

REMINDERS:

*Help is needed at our Legacy Project this Sat., June 15, starting at 8 am and continuing until the work is done at the Eden Prairie Community Center. Come in work clothes and shoes and bring work gloves if you can help for even an hour or two as we complete landscaping around the base.

*Board meeting will follow the regular meeting on June 18.

LEGACY PROJECT SOARED ON SATURDAY

At our first installation date on Thurs., June 6, with 16 EP AM and Noon Rotarians working from 1-3, we installed sand and a retaining wall at the EP Community Center.  The following week the city put the top bricks on the wall, filled in the area with rocks, and used a machine to dig holes for the plants around the base.

On Saturday, June 15, with 17 Rotarians from both clubs plus 8 sons, daughters, interns and young friends, we planted 50+ junipers around the base and added mulch for a beautiful finish. With such a great turnout of people, we started at 8:00 am and were done by 10 am, including taking pictures. Check out our photo album to see the work in progress.

WATER WORKS THAT SAVE LIVES

The life-saving abilities of one of the classical elements – water – were celebrated June 11 by guest speaker Steve Solbrack of the St. Louis Park Rotary Club.

Steve has been heavily involved in Rotary’s SafeWater Plus effort to bring clean drinking water and hygiene to needy persons across the globe, and is inviting district clubs to help with a current project in western Honduras.

That project, which involves the community of Queruco, will take place through 2016. A collaboration with World Vision, it has a value of about $800,000, of which about $105,000 would be funds from district clubs. The remainder would come from World Vision and the Rotary Foundation.

Steve would like to get about 20 clubs from District 5950 involved in the project, including a potential trip to western Honduras in about a year. That area is one of the poorest in the world, one with acute diarrhea and malnutrition in children younger than age 5. Projects of the type proposed by SafeWater Plus usually tap a spring-water source in the mountains, and pipe the clean water to needy villages.

The success of these projects has been seen by Steve firsthand. He’s been to northern Uganda twice to see a large, 2009-2012 project that is a model for the Honduras effort. That, too, was a project done in collaboration with World Vision. It was a $930,000 project that started out with about $100,000 in club funds.

SafeWater Plus projects supported by clubs in our district have also taken place in central and southern Malawi, as well as in the central plateau area of Haiti. Most impressively, the district’s history of work in this area dates to at least 1997 in the Dominican Republic. Rotarian Ric Jacobsen later revisited that work and came upon a woman who said, “Since we built the water system, the children have stopped dying.”

That’s a phrase that inspires us still.

ANNOUNCEMENTS 

*Craig informed us that our new interns will be Haley Vinup, Jack Claeys, Matthew Cheesman, and Davis Oberle. He introduced Haley and Matt who are pictured on either side of this year's interns, Emily Xie and Layla Safinia.

*Our former club president, Jane McGinty, and her husband Chris welcomed a 9-pound baby boy into the world on June 9, and named him Ian Christopher McGinty.

*A final crew of workers is needed at the Eden Prairie Community Center from 8 a.m. to noon (or until finished) on Saturday, June 15, to finish installing the legacy art project. The final phase involves the installation of shrubbery and decorative rock. Come for a few hours if you can and bring family members, neighbors, etc.... Wear work clothes and shoes and bring work gloves.

 *Help is needed to serve breakfast at 5:30 a.m. Saturday, July 13, to participants in the annual Eden Prairie Relay for Life at the high school. See the sign-up sheet or contact Bill Yeager.

*Don’t forget to sell your raffle tickets for the club’s Golf Ball Drop at Eden Prairie’s Fourth of July Celebration. We also need folks to set up a booth from 1-2 p.m. July 4, and crews to sell water from 3-11 p.m. at Round Lake Park. You can turn in money and ticket stubs or get more tickets through Jeanne Zetah at the check-in table on Tuesday.

*See club member Kevin Kraemer’s ball-spinning tricks and his other feats of skill during the Eden Prairie Players’ presentation of “Carnival!” on June 14-16 and June 20-25 at the Staring Lake Amphitheatre. “I guarantee you’ll get your money’s worth … it’s a free show,” said Kevin. “They take donations, of course.”

*Dane Boeckermann provided our weekly invocation, which read in part: If we must face pain, help us learn strength … if we achieve success, help us to learn gratitude … help us to learn the value of service above self. George Esbensen won the weekly raffle, a $25 cash prize donated by Roger Jorgensen.

HAPPY FINES

Donations were made to the Rotary Foundation proportional to our happiness, including by:

*Cynthia Minnihan, acknowledging Jane McGinty’s newborn son.

*Mark Lewis, whose ATV tour of Glenn Olson’s northern Minnesota farm was not unlike your scariest Valleyfair ride.

*Angela Wandera, who is back in Eden Prairie after a trip to Kenya.

*David Anderson, noting the Star Tribune’s recognition of Minnesota Mr. and Ms. Lacrosse, Jake Woodring and Emma Fontenot, both from Eden Prairie High School and finalists for our Golden Eagle Awards.

*Jan Eian, who is leaving soon for Israel and Jordan with husband Nick.

*Matt Carpenter, who used the short break in rainy weather to mow his lawn.

*And Craig Blixrud, who acknowledged that timeless June tradition of graduations and moving on to the next level, college or career or otherwise.

VISITORS ON JUNE 11, 2013

Visiting Rotarian(club): Steve Solbrack (St. Louis Park) with his wife

Prospective Member (sponsor): Prafulla Vegunta (Roger Jorgensen)

Students: Emily Xie, Layla Safinia, Haley Vinup and Matt Cheesman (interns)

Northern Voices presented by Erin Loavenbruck

Matt Crane introduced Erin Loavenbuck, who gave a lively description of the unique school and services of Northern Voices where she is executive director.  This school serves children from birth to age 5 or 6 that have hearing loss, and teaches speaking to the students who have the cochlear implant.  The school is “helping kids with hearing loss find their voices.” It is the only such school in Minnesota and one of the few in the five-state area.

A child with hearing loss has several options that include: American Sign Language; Cued Speech; and Listen and Spoken Language that Northern Voices teaches.   Their focus is on listening and speaking. Northern Voices was founded in 1999 and currently has 35 children in the program. 

Three in 1,000 babies are born with hearing loss.  The key to success is to start early in teaching the child to speak.  The school has a primary focus of teaching the children one-on-one and their second focus is strong teaching of parents to help their children. By teaching students with hearing loss to speak and be independent in school and work, Northern Voices saves society a large part of the usual cost of specialized teaching that is estimated to be $400,000 over a lifetime.

Announcements

* June 18^th - Banquet for new District Governor, Diann Kirby, at MN Valley Country Club. Sign up by June 11

* July 4^th –  Golf Ball Drop & water sales at Round Lake Park. Sell your raffle tickets by June 25. Sign up to help at the event with Jared Chester next week.

* July 13^th - E.P. Relay for Life.  Sign up with Bill Yeager starting next week.  We will be providing breakfast in the early hours at the Eden Prairie H.S. Track.

*June 9 - Kim Ross invited us all to the Eden Prairie Noon Rotary's Ribfest along with the city's Jazz on the Prairie at Staring Lake. You can get meal and raffle tickets from her.

Spotlight on Corrine Lewis

Corrine gave a great vocational about how she grew up on a farm (without indoor plumbing) and attended a 2-room schoolhouse outside Ponsford, Minnesota, before going on to graduate from Park Rapids High School.  While Corrine was in high school, she had a transforming experience when her family hosted a foreign exchange student.  Corrine received her college degree in social work, and has had a career that included work with mentally handicapped people, running a preschool in Norway, being a land developer, and working in the travel agency business. She loves traveling and has so far enjoyed cultures in over 45 nations.

Corrine has been married to her husband, Mark (another member of our club and former President) for almost 40 years.  They have two grown children; their daughter lives in Chicago and their son in Maryland.  Corrine has been a very active member of our club since 2006. She went on this year's Rotary Friendship trip to India as well as the one to Australia in 2012. She's helped with the Above and Beyond Recognition Dinner for years and is a strong member of the Youth Exchange Committee.  Thank you, Corrine!

Happy Fines .. These happy people gave $84 to the Rotary Foundation:

Roger Jorgensen was happy about attending a number of committee meetings over the last week or so and enjoying a swallowship gathering.  

Dave Sundet was happy for his sister Carol’s 51^st birthday. Carol Sundet-Meeker also contributed because of her birthday.

David Hellmuth was happy about his daughter graduating from Edina High School.

Mark Lewis was very happy about the farewell gathering of the Group Study Team from India, and his invite to return to India.

Jane McGinty was happy after seeing her youngest daughter graduate from kindergarten and thanked Craig for becoming president a month early.

Ron Ringling contributed one dollar for each month that Craig will be president (a baker's dozen!)

Dick Ward was happy that the community came out to support the Mandy Matula fundraiser on Monday night.

Cathy Haukedahl was happy about her new house.

Cynthia Minnehan was happy to be back with our club after attending in California.

Matt Crane was also happy for a reason the editor missed.

Visitors on June 5, 2013

Visiting Rotarians (club): Steve Riedel (San Carlos, Mex.) and Kim Ross (Eden Prairie Noon)

Students: Anne-Rachel Gayibor (exchange student)

A YEAR IN REVIEW and A LOOK AHEAD

Although it flies in the face of our motto, "Service Above Self", once a year it’s nice to reflect on all the things we have accomplished as a Rotary Club. President Jane thanked the club and the Board of Directors and opened her presentation with a reflection on the impact of Rotary on her. Jane shared how much further her own Rotary branches have grown from her Rotary roots. 

Her childhood experiences included being raised in a Rotary family with a 35-year perfect attendance dad and club administrator mom, meeting amazing RYE students in her small home town of La Crescent, MN throughout grade school, and becoming a Rotary Youth Exchange student to Germany.  She didn’t realize at the time what positive influences she truly had through Rotary and living the 4-way test in her daily life. 

She also shared about her most recent 6 years’ experience as a “real” Rotarian through many EP club opportunities, from delivering Meals on Wheels and building our club’s RYE program, to taking advantage of family activities like Salvation Army bell ringing, our club holiday party and Twins game outing. She and her husband have been appreciative of taking advantage of Rotary international experiences, like our District’s Safewater Plus trip to Kenya and Tanzania in 2010, attending the RI Convention in Bangkok, Thailand in 2012, and personally revisiting her RYE Germany experience with her family in 2011. 

In Jane's own words: "But these past 12 months, serving as our Eden Prairie AM Club President, has enriched my understanding of Rotary even further to truly see the very near and very far reaches all of our branches extend throughout our global community. And it all starts and ends with all of you in this room.  From our Board members to our weekly meeting volunteers, to our high school interns and RYE student to our community partners we have collaborated with, this is what makes our own Rotary club vibrant, unique, and strong."

Here are some of the highlights:

District Recognition

Our club received 5 awards at the District Conference including the Presidential Citation, Community Service, Public Relations, Club Administration, New Generation and Cathy Haukedahl received a “Service Above Self” honor.

The Rotary Foundation

Dick Ward recognized 4 new Paul Harris Fellows: Cheryl Eastbourne, Jeff Olson, Carol Sundet-Meeker and Jeanne Zetah.

Other honorees:

·         Paul Harris +1 – Gene Storms

·         Paul Harris +2 – Bill Yeager and Chuck Martz

·         Paul Harris +3 – Jane McGinty and Bob Starr

·         Paul Harris +6 – Matt Carpenter

·         Paul Harris +7 – Bob Solohub and Dave Sundet

In addition we presented honorary Paul Harris Fellowships to 5 individuals:  our interns, Layla Safinia, Emily Xie, Erin St. Clair, Shannon St. Clair, exchange student and fill-in intern, Anne-Rachel Gayibor and STRIVE co-coordinator and high school teacher, Karen Brettingen.

Public Relations

Special thanks to PR board director, Jan Eian, who took over the fine work started by Mary Jane Crocker.

Community Service

·         The Legacy Project, public art at the Eden Prairie Center “Soaring Bird, Peace Through Service” has been undertaken and will need our help to be completed by June 30

·         We made significant contributions to PROP and the PROP Shop.

·         We contributed to and participated by packing food for Feed My Starving Children.

·         We held our annual “Above and Beyond” banquet.

·         We held our annual “Golden Eagle Awards” breakfast and granted two scholarships.

·         We supported local Boy Scout troops.

·         We drove Meals on Wheels every fifth week.

·         We helped clean up Pioneer Park.

·         We rang the bells and collected donations for the Salvation Army

·         We served breakfast at the Relay for Life.

·         We supported the local Beyond the Yellow Ribbon project.

Vocational Service

·         We sponsored STRIVE, mentored students and, with the noon club, granted 10 scholarships.

·         We participated in Camp Enterprise as mentors and judges.

·         We supported the Interact Club at the High School.

·         We, along with the other area clubs, sponsored the annual Ethics Day for high school students.

·         We supported 4 interns this year, or should we say they supported us!

International Service

·         Once again we made significant contributions to The Rotary Foundation and this year we had 100% participation (Every Rotarian Every Year) by virtue of our happy bucks contributions.

·         We participated in a Friendship Exchange to India.

·         We helped host a visiting Group Study Exchange team from India.

·         We hosted an inbound Rotary Youth Exchange student, Anne-Rachel Gayibor. Jane presented Anne-Rachel with a gift from our club, a pendant with a state charm so Anne Rachel “would always have Minnesota close to her heart.”

·         We sponsored two outbound Rotary Youth Exchange students.

Membership and Social Events

·         We added 11 new members while losing 7, raising our ranks from 69 to 73.

·         We conducted two new member orientation meetings.

·         We started a mentorship program.

·         We supported our members through Rotary Cares.

 ·        We had fun, including the Progressive Dinner, golf outing and several “swallowship” gatherings.

·         We had a couple of networking luncheons.

·         We took in a Twins Game as a club.

·         We had a Holiday Party with family members, with songs by HS carolers, readings by Pastor Rod and a special visitor from the North (Minnetonka).

Administration (Club Service to us old-timers)

·         We had an amazing array of speakers at our weekly meetings.

·         We had a super successful Vino Classico that raised over $25,000 as well as a Golf Ball Drop that netted about $1700.

·         Rotarians shared in club duties with invocation, greeting, sergeant at arms, raffle prizes, bulletin writing, photography, etc.

Announcements

·         Come celebrate Anne-Rachel’s graduation at the Lincoln Park Suites Community Room on Mon., June 10 from 5-7:00 PM. Sign up at next week's meeting or on ClubRunner.

·         Worker bees are needed for the Legacy Project. Sign up for one, two or three days: Thursday, June 6 from 1-5 PM, Saturday, June 8 from 8 AM to noon and Monday, June 10 from 1-5 PM.  Sign up with Cathy Haukedahl for a shift at the EP Community Center.

·         Caryl Hansen reported that Meals on Wheels needs background info on drivers, she'd like a new co-coordinator to work with her on it this coming year, and especially to help cover the first week of July when she will be gone for our club's shift.    

·         Be the first family on your block to host Harsh, our inbound Rotary Youth Exchange student from Pune, India. Contact Jeff Olson or Dan O’Brien if you are interested.

·         Celebrate Independence Day with style and panache at the Annual Golf Ball Drop and bottled water sale. Members are needed for the planning committee. Contact Jared Chester if you want to help. Look for raffle tickets to sell next week.

·         From the noon club: Enjoy fine ribs and jazz at the annual Rib Fest/Jazz on the Prairie, Sunday, June 9.

·         Be a mentor for STRIVE, our program to encourage high potential students facing difficult obstacles at school. Karen Brettingen from Eden Prairie High School was on hand and encouraged more of us to participate. Contact Jay Simpson or Greg Albrecht if you’d like to join the team.

·         Just thirty days left to honor your pledge or make a contribution to The Rotary Foundation if you haven’t done so this Rotary year.

Joy Abounds ... and Happy Bucks will go to the Rotary Foundation:

·         The dog days of August were fertile times for the parents of Rotarians. 10 Eden Prairie AM Rotarians celebrate their birthdays in May.

·         Elizabeth Petry-Lee has a new job with Carlson Wagonlit Travel.

·         Carol Sundet-Meeker has two graduations to celebrate, her son this June and her daughter in December (although she has already “walked.”)

·         Mark Lewis thanked Yvonne Selcer and Jenifer Loon for showing the GSE team the ropes in St. Paul and Glenn Olson for all his help during the Group Study Exchange visit.

·         Jeff Olson predicts baby boy McGinty will be born on June 15, weigh 10 pounds, 2 ounces, be 23 inches long and named Guntar. Jane just shuddered.

·         Jeanne Zetah’s husband, Pete Bellus, has an uncle who is turning 100 so they're visiting him and his wife in Florida this weekend.

·         John Crudele has a family of foxes (a mother and 5 babies) living in his yard, entertaining him and lifting his spirits. “The Lord works in mysterious ways,” he said. “I prayed for a foxy mama and this is what I got.” He’s currently building a jungle gym from twigs and sticks for the little ones.

Visitors on May 28, 2013

Visiting Rotarians (club): Jack Haase (LaCrosse, WI  and Jane's dad) and Chris McGinty (Edina and Jane's husband)

Students: Madeline and Kristen McGinty (Jane and Chris's daughters), Layla Safinia, Emily Xie, Erin and Shannon St. Clair (Interns); Anne-Rachel Gayibor and Josephine Dufour(exchange students); Haley Vinup (HS student)

Maria Friedman spoke at the April Ethics Luncheon about the Rotary Youth Exchange program and what it means to her to be going to South Africa in July, 2013 for a year-long exchange.

BIRTHDAYS IN JUNE

McGinty, Jane                Jun 01
Sundet-Meeker, Carol    Jun 06
Nelson, Judy                  Jun 09
Hursh, Pamela               Jun 17
Terwilliger, Roy             Jun 20
Haukedahl, Catherine     Jun 24
Chanen, Gary                Jun 30

CLUB ANNIVERSARIES IN JUNE:

Simpson, Jay        13 years    Jun 01, 2000
Terwilliger, Roy    37 years    Jun 01, 1976
Crudele, John         5 years    Jun 10, 2008
Stueve, Justin         6 years    Jun 19, 2007
Sundet, David       13 years    Jun 27, 2000

The Best Is Yet To Come  Presented by Mike Max
Mike Max is a television and radio sports reporter who grew up about an hour west of Eden Prairie in Gaylord excelling in football, basketball and baseball.  After high school, Mike attended Hamline University.  Mike resides in Eden Prairie with his wife, 9-year-old daughter and six-year-old son.

Throughout his career, Mike has had the opportunity to speak with several people who have shared their stories with him.

Tony Dungy – In a short period of time, Coach Dungy was fired, lost his parents and suffered the unspeakable loss of a son to suicide.  When asked how he dealt with all of this, he responded that it was his obligation to make the best of every situation.  Anybody can be average and take the easy way out, but the uncommon person will put in the extra effort.  We need to focus on what we can control and set aside what we cannot control.

Michael Jordan – Michael Jordan stresses taking care of your attitude and your effort and everything else will sort itself out.  He had a “relentless desire to be unstoppable”.

Mike encouraged the audience including the Golden Eagle Award finalists to never forget what they have done to get where they area and the opportunities that they have been presented with and make the most of them.  Focus on what YOU can control.

Mike said that everybody is afraid of failure.  The important thing is how you deal with the fear is what counts.  Just because you fail in one event or situation doesn’t make you a failure.  The lack of effort or drive to succeed makes you a failure.  We are held back by our fear.  We need to embrace each opportunity and appreciate all the blessings we have received and our accomplishments and face those fears in the face of these blessings.

“Embrace the opportunity to be a leader as you go forward in life to be supportive of your teammates, classmates as you move on to the next phase of your life.”

“Are you taking advantage of your opportunities?”

“Hard work is its own reward.”

“Give everything you’ve got.”

“Greatness lies ahead for those who work hard when nobody is watching.”

Mike shared the story of his role model (his brother) who nearly died after being run over by a tractor.  Through setbacks and therapy he persevered and went on to become academic all-state in three sports in high school and later, excelled in college in both academics and athletics.

“The best is yet to come!”

Golden Eagle Presentations

· Overall GPA is 3.86 (2 were 4.0)                              · Finalists earned 116 letters

· Finalists included 27 team captains                           · 57 all-conference athletes

·72 all-state athletes                                                  ·45 academic All-Americans

Finalists included-

·    Jenna Arvidson (Track & Field, Nordic Skiing & Cross Country) will attend Pacific Lutheran

·    Thomas Bye (Track & Field, Nordic Skiing & Cross Country) will attend Utah

·    Emma Fontenot (Basketball, Soccer, Lacrosse) will attend Notre Dame

·    Yevgeniy Foster (Swimming) will attend UW – Milwaukee

·    Keely Murphy (Dance) will attend UW – Madison

·    Aaron Greenberg (Swimming) will attend Yale University

·    Kristen O’Brien (Soccer) will attend Houston Baptist

·    Jonathan Lieberman (Swimming) will attend Northwestern University

·    Chase Monger (Wrestling) will attend St John's

·    Ellen Suek (Swimming) will attend U of Missouri

·    Annie Thul (Basketball, Lacrosse) will attend UW – Madison

·    Jack Post (Alpine Ski) will attend St Olaf

·    Emily Weber (Alpine Ski) will attend University of MN - Duluth

·    Michael Solfelt (Swimming) will attend University of St Thomas

·    Sara Wilhite (Volleyball) will attend the U of Minnesota

·    Ryan Stewart (Cross Country, Nordic Skiing and Track & Field) will attend UMD

·    Cameron Zuck (Gymnastics) will attend U of Minnesota

·    Jacob Woodring (Lacrosse and Football) will attend U of Denver

The winners were-

·  McKenzie Johnson (Hockey) will attend Clarkson University

·  Henry Zurn (Track & Field, Nordic Skiing & Cross Country) will attend U of Minnesota

Visitors on May 21, 2013

Visiting Rotarians: Jack Haase (LaCross WI - Jane McGinty's dad) and Kay Swenson (Oxnard Sunrise, CA)

Guests: Golden Eagle Finalists and their families; Bob Hallett, EP News sports reporter Dan Huss

Eden Prairie School District: School Board members Ranee Jacobus, John Estall, Dave Espy, Suzan Kutina and Chuck Mueller, Supt. Curt Tryggestad, HS Principal Conn McCartan, HS Activities Director Mike Grant, HS Activities Coordinators Nancy Schmitt and Ricardo Jones, HS coaches Jeff Lindlief and Jamie Grossman

Students: Emily Xie and Layla Safinia (interns), Anne Rachel Gayibor (exchange student) and Elise Vinup (past intern)

WEBSITE SPONSORSHIPS OFFERED FREE TO MEMBERS

Members will receive six months of free website advertising by completing the "Website Sponsorship Form" (under "Downloaded Files" in the left column) and returning it to: info@epamrotary.org along with a jpg image of their company's logo. They'll also need to furnish a website or webpage address (URL) where they'd like people to go when they click on the logo.  Members can choose to have their logo appear on the EPAM Rotary homepage, in the bulletin, and/or on site pages. For more information, contact Jeanne Zetah at 952-937-0411 or email her at jeanne.zetah@hotmail.com

2012 Vino Classico sponsors included: Walmart, Lifetouch, Lifspark*, M&A Executive Search* and Flagship Banks*. (* indicates current Rotary membership).