The program speaker at the Aug. 9 Rotary Club of Edina meeting was Diane Cross, President and CEO of Fraser. Past President Steve Slyce was back at the podium running the meeting.
Val Burke, co-director of the Public Image Committee, presented a recap of what the committee is up to this Rotary year.
Val Burke, co-director of the Public Image Committee, presented a recap of what the committee is up to this Rotary year.
New member Dr. Sita Dash was officially inducted into the club by Past President Brad Hepp. Sita is sponsored by Don Hutchison.
Youth Exchange Committee Co-Chair Heather Hansen introduced a presentation on the school in Nepal where our recent Youth Exchange student, Susmita Gautam, attends.
Click on the link below for more on the meeting...
Past President Steve Slyce (2013–2014) opened our Rotary Club of Edina meeting promptly at 12:30 p.m., filling in for John Flynn who was "on assignment."The program speaker at the Thursday, Aug. 9, meeting was Diane Cross, CEO of Fraser.
Diane Cross has been President and CEO of Fraser since 1989. Fraser is a Minnesota nonprofit that provides healthcare, housing and education to thousands of children and adults with special needs and their families.
Cross has built Fraser from a $1 million operation serving 200 clients annually, to become a nationally recognized multi-service organization with an annual budget of nearly $70 million and 1,500 employees who serve 10,000+ clients each year. Fraser is the largest provider of autism services in the Midwest. She has a great story to share about Fraser making a difference in our community.
We were warmly greeted by Past President Ann Platt, Royce Pavelka, John MacLennan and Doug Drake on the warm and sunny beautiful Minnesota summer day. Jennifer Garske and Dave Hatzung did a wonderful job at the front desk making our members and guests feel welcome and directing the usual flurry of traffic that precedes our famous Rotary Club of Edina meetings. Andrea Thompson Miller wrote this weeks Barker.
Our invocation was graciously lead by Mark Stagerberg and photos were candidly taken by Mark Jessen, however Marty was happy to offer plenty of team support.
Val Burke was delighted to introduce our guests and visiting Rotarians and new member Katy Campbell took the reigns introducing our wonderful speaker. Bob Perkins had the honor of thanking our speaker with a very warm and sincere speech.
Guests at the meeting were:
- Lori Lauber, hosted by Jennifer Shinners
- Sylvester Thomas, Jr., hosted by Royce Pavelka
- Bruce Strauben, hosted by Royce Pavelka
- Brenna Galvin, hosted by Kris Maser
- Jim G, hosted by Kelly Anderson
- Nick Cardarelle, hosted by his grandfather, Frank Cardarelle
- Kaipana Dash, hosted by new member Sita Dash
Past President Brad Hepp (2003–2004) had the honor of inducting Sita Dash officially into the club. Sita is sponsored by Don Hutchison.
Val Burke, who serves on our club board as Co-Director of Public Image, gave us an update on the happenings with that committee.
Heather Hansen, a past Youth Service Director for our club, who still plays an active role on the Youth Exchange Committee, introduced Haushala Thapa. Haushala presented us with an update on former Youth Exchange student Susmita Gautam's school in Nepal. The presentation moved us all. Also attending in connection to the presentation was one of Susmita's host family members, Paula Schwarz of the Edina Morningside Rotary Club.
We were also updated by Fred Sylvester on the success of Tuesday’s Night to Unite event. You may remember hearing about and seeing Deterra packets at the Opioid Awareness Workshop our club hosted May 3. The Deterra packets render drugs inactive, giving people an easy way to dispose of drugs they do not need. A representative of Verde Technoglogies, who produces the packets, spoke at the workshop. After the workshop, our club gave the Edina Crime Prevention Fund a grant to purchase Deterra packets. The Rotary volunteers helped Edina Police officers distribute Deterra packets at Night to Unite block parties.
A fun and inspiring short video was presented by Jennifer Hendrickson to remind us that the Edina Rotary Foundation Fundraiser & Gala "Rotary's Got Talent" is Sept. 29. Jennifer and Tom Bach are heading up the Silent Auction Committee, and looking for donations.
Our meeting was adjourned with this quote “If we train our youth properly, we need not have any fear as to the future of the world."
