Jessica Bierbrauer, Dakota County Historical Society LeDuc Site Manager, spoke to the club about a current project called "Our Voices – Hastings State Hospital".

A Club Assembly was held last week, with the following information shared:

Our guest speaker was Martha Sullivan, a local attorney specializing in estate planning and family law.

Marissa Novak is our March Student of the Month. She was nominated by Kari Jaeger, language arts teacher at the high school.

Our guest speaker was Amy Sutton, Resource Development Director for Hastings Family Service. Amy handed out a summary of the services HFS offers, and number of clients helped by these services. In total, almost 3,400 people were helped by HFS in 2011, or about 10% of the population in the Hastings school district.

Our guest speaker was John Hinzman, Hastings’ Community Development Director. John talked about the Hudson property downtown and possible re-use of some of the building.

We did not have a guest speaker last week, but did hold a club meeting on our annual Wine Tasting event.

Our club welcomed Tara Donohue Weiss, Executive Director of the United Way of Hastings. Tara shared some historical background of the organization, first founded in 1964. It provided the initial grant to launch Hastings Family Service, and gradually moved from being a fundraising entity to a community impact organization.

Our guest speaker was club member Teresa Moes. Teresa grew up in Hastings, and went to college at UW-Stoudt. Two of her children graduated recently, and her youngest is in 9th grade. Teresa works for the YMCA and noted that, as of January 1, the two separate Y organizations – Minneapolis and Saint Paul, have merged to form the YMCA of the greater Twin Cities, and consists of 22 organizations and 7 camps.

We are pleased to announce that Taylor Evensen was selected as the Rotary student of the month for January 2012. 

“Taylor Evansen is easily a student who lives the motto of “Service Above Self”  As an officer for NHS she plays a leadership role in our school and in our community.  On a daily basis her zest for life and helping others is obvious the moment she walks into the classroom. 

Our guest speaker was Lisa Kuchinski from Be It Coaching. Lisa talked about the power of positive thinking. Lisa started by explaining the different levels and capabilities of the mind. The conscious mind is our immediate focus and can actively take in 7 pieces of information per second. Too many activities in the conscious mind can result in anxiety and depression.

Our guest speaker was State Representative Denny McNamara. Denny talked about a number of topics, including redistricting, the budget surplus project, the change in property taxes, the Vikings stadium, and the loss of State funding for the Let’s Go Fishing program.

Our guest speakers were Ali Caturia and Joe Hannah, who talked about the upcoming Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) Mobile Pack, which will be held in the Hastings High School common room from February 3-5. Joe noted that 18,000 children die every day due to hunger issues. FMSC estimates it costs $88/yr or $0.24/day to feed a child.

Holiday Party

Our guest speaker was Patty Schulz, Development Officer for the Angel Foundation. The Angel Foundation provides both financial assistance and support for adult cancer victims and their families. The foundation was established is 2001 and this year is celebrating "a decade of hope".

Hastings High School senior Sean Kelly has been selected as the Hastings Rotary Student of the Month for November, 2011!  Sean will be recognized at the November 10, 2011 Hastings Rotary Club 7:25 a.m. breakfast meeting at the Green Mill, will receive recognition there and will be featured in a story by Sandy Burdine in the Hastings Star Gazette.  Thanks to Katie Richardson for nominating Sean.  The Rotary also invites the nominating staff member to attend the recognition breakfast. 

Hastings High School senior Josie Stepan has been selected as the Hastings Rotary Student of the Month for October, 2011!  Josie will be recognized at the October 13, 2011 Hastings Rotary Club 7:25 a.m. breakfast meeting at the Green Mill, will receive recognition there and will be featured in a story by Sandy Burdine in the Hastings Star Gazette.  Thanks to Miki Atkins for nominating Josie.  The Rotary also invites the nominating staff member to attend the recognition breakfast. 

Our guest speaker was Diane Davies from the Hastings Breast Cancer Support Group.

Our guest speaker was John Mitchem, with the Bless Hastings organization. Bless Hastings grew from meetings of three local pastors in 1995 to the nine congregations working together today. The participating churches are: Harbor Church, New Life Evangelical Free Church, River of Life Church, Christ’s Family Church, Hastings United Methodist Church, St. Philips Lutheran Church, Calvary Christian Church, Community of Hope Hastings, and Young Life.

A note from Mike Johnson, Principal of Hastings High School announcing Treya Connell as the Club's last Student of the Month for spring 2011:

Congratulations to Travis Cysiewski for being named the Hastings Area Rotary Club Student of the Month for March!

Travis was nominated by his Football Coach, Dana Strain, and teachers Jeff Corkish and Marsha Biermann. Travis has been an undersized nose tackle for the High School football team and has also helped Coach Strain with administrative functions, service and fundraiser projects. Travis has also served as Mr. Corkish’s teacher’s aide for the past three semesters and has been a leader in the SPARQs athletic training program.