It was Jan. 18. The sun was shining, snow was melting, coats were being left at home, and the Vikings were one step closer to the Super Bowl. A lot can change in a week. And just as program speaker Jack Uldrich taught us, more change is coming, whether we’re ready or not.
New member Stefan Smith was officially inducted into the Club at the meeting. And Jennifer Shinners gave her Classification Talk.
Several Rotarians were honored for their donations to The Rotary Foundation.
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This weekly meeting was larger than normal as Prospective Member Day filled our halls with fresh faces and long lines wrapping around the big buffet table.
President San Asato took the reins as he introduced our guests and visiting Rotarians. Director Joe Arends followed with an update of giving from the Community Service–Local Projects.
We then watched as Thom Winninger pinned his son-in-law, Stefan Smith, with the badge of Rotary and welcomed him as our club’s newest member.
Next, our newest Paul Harris Fellows were honored along with veteran donors, just another reminder of the vast generosity that makes up our group.
Jennifer Shinners followed with her classification talk, the story of a diehard Packer fan living in Milwaukee that moved to Minneapolis in 1995. A soon-to-be empty nester, Jennifer raised her two children, Christian and Claire, alongside with her husband, Mike. Jennifer shared her passion for fashion, one that has taken her to a career in men’s clothing with J. Hilburn, a made-to-measure lifestyle brand. Jennifer has been very active since joining Rotary, going to all the Fireside0 Chats she can. The result? Instant acceptance to the club (thanks Scott MacDonald).We then heard from Nate Wenner as he introduced our speaker, Jack Uldrich, an author and self-proclaimed global futurist. Jack’s talk was focused on the big AHA—Awareness, Humility and Action, and preparing Minnesota for tomorrow’s trends, today. Jack touched on a wide range of topics from gene sequencing to self-driving cars to the need for more financial planners to manage longer life expectancies—this shouldn’t be a problem for Edina Rotary.
Jack interacted with the club through different exercises, showing us that sometimes the right answer is not as simple as you may think. I ask you this, what is the color of a yield sign? If you said yellow and black, pull out your smart phone and google the answer. Jack’s fast-paced talk flew by as he also recommended setting aside time each day to think about the future and our transforming world. Jack’s advice for older members of the club—find a young mentor. And remember, the only way to predict the future is to create it yourself.
At 1:25 p.m., Les Jones thanked the speaker and San Asato reminded everyone that if you said a prayer during the last 10 seconds of the Vikings/Saints game, God held up his bargain and it’s time to hold up yours. From the result of last Sunday’s game, it appears a lot of people decided to sleep in on Sunday.
Onward and upward.
