Rotary Club of Edina welcomes EHS students for Vocational Ethics Seminar April 22
The Rotary Club of Edina hosted more than 40 students from Edina High School on April 22 for Vocational Ethics Day at the Church of St. Patrick in Edina. Students, EHS staff, Rotarians, and other guests met from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. to hear speakers and have in-depth discussions on vocational ethics and leadership. The program is spearheaded by Rotarian Jerry Potter, and co-sponosred by the Rotary Club of Edina and the 212 Leadership Group at EHS.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014, was one of those days that we often mark as a stake date, a date to remember. Forty-six students from Edina High School met at the Church of St. Patrick in Edina from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., in deep discussion with 18 Edina Rotarians, exploring the subject of ethics and leadership. The seminar was co-sponsored by Rotary Club of Edina and the 212 Leadership Group of Edina High School. EHS Principal Bruce Locklear, Heidi Howard, and Joseph Deckenbach represented EHS staff at the event.
Rotarian Thom Winninger gave the keynote address, presenting how ethics, branding, and development of an organization's culture are all interwoven. Fellow Rotarian Gary Pederson followed with some examples of relaxed ethics and how reduced ethics can result in a culture leading to disaster.
A panel of four students, Alex Davis, Sara Aulik, Laura Baker, and Jack Hulstand, responded wonderfully to the challenge of discussing ethical situations that required more than just cursory decision making.
Rotarian Mitch Robinson closed the day with his unique position as a criminal defense attorney and taught us how undesirable consequences can occur from poor decisions and how recovery can occur even though poor decisions can be made by good people.
It was a great day and hopefully will be repeated during the next school year.
Thanks to Jerry Potter and his team for their service.