In review...

Posted by Kaylin Eidsness on Jul 07, 2016
 
Ann Platt kicked off her first meeting as president by wishing Gordy Lewis a happy 89th birthday! She then thanked Josh Sprague, Greg Yoch and David Hatzung for their help and participation in the Edina Fourth of July parade, where they walked with the superhero crew again this year. They reminded everyone that Rotarians are “everyday super heroes!” 
 
Tom Cook and Andrea Thompson Miller greeted Rotarians and their guests. John Flynn worked the front desk. Royce Pavelka stepped in to lead the invocation, Pledge of Allegiance and Rotary Four-Way Test. Sonja Tengdin introduced guests, including:
  • Adrian Valle, guest of Brad Hepp, and employee at Ecolab
  • Kyle Wheaton, guest of Dave Hatzung, and his son-in-law
  • Stephen Hazulia, guest of Bill Clynes and Jim Roberts
  • Rolf Henze, guest and father of Sonja Tengdin
  • Jim Platt, guest of Tim Murphy and husband of President Ann Platt
  • T.J. Moore, guest and son of Terry Moore
  • Joe Stearly, guest of Brad Beard, and working under Brad at Fairview Southdale Hospital
  • John Fujitake, also a guest of Brad Beard, an intern with Brad at Fairview Southdale Hospital
Don Hutchison invited everyone to attend the St. Paul Saints game Sunday, Aug. 14, at their new CHS Field in Lowertown St. Paul! The cost is $30 and includes a picnic before the game. Go to www.EdinaRotary.org and register now!
 
Representatives from the Alzheimer’s Association accepted a $2,000 check from the Edina Rotary Foundation. Community Service–Local Grants Committee member Jim Ryman presented the check. The grant will be used to purchase Medic Alert Safe Return bracelets or pendants. If an individual with Alzheimer's or a related dementia wanders and becomes lost, caregivers can call the 24-hour emergency response line to report it. A community support network will be activated, including local Alzheimer Association chapters and law enforcement agencies, to help reunite the person who wandered with the caregiver or a family member. With this service, critical medical information will be provided to emergency responders when needed. In the photo at right with the Alzheimer's Association grant recipients and Jim Ryman are Rotarians Rick Carlson and Sue Spalding (both on left). 
 
New member Bjorn Freudenthal, originally from Finland and now a resident of Northfield, Minnesota, gave a fascinating classification talk on his family, work and values. He is shown at left with (left to right) Rotarians Sutton McGraw, Andrea Thompson Miller and Josh Sprague.
 
Ann introduced the speaker, Doug Baker, CEO of Ecolab, who gave an interesting presentation on what Ecolab is doing to preserve water and make sure the world’s growing population gets fed. He brought to light how much water is used to create certain things. For example, it takes 169 gallons to make your average six-pack of beer; 450 gallons to make a cheeseburger; and a whopping 39,000 gallons to make a new car. 
 
Jim Roberts thanked the speaker. Jim shared that this Rotary year, a donation would be made in the program speaker's name to Edina Challenge, a collaborative effort of 14 community organizations led by the Edina Community Foundation to support disadvantaged youth so they are able to access Edina's great resources and develop as healthy productive adults.
 
Ann closed the meeting with a quote from John F. Kennedy: “Anyone who can solve the problems of water will be worthy of two Nobel prizes—one for peace and one for science.”