February 18, 2025 (Feb. 18, 2025)

Feb 20 Speaker: Kaleena Burkes, MMBWG Director

Kaleena Burkes, Director for Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls, "Breaking Barriers: The Historic Journey of the Office for Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls"

Director Burkes has a strong background in advocacy, public policy, and research. She has dedicated her career to advocating for vulnerable and marginalized communities. Before becoming Director of the MMBWG Office, Director Burkes spent almost a decade at the State Guardian ad Litem Board where she honed her advocacy and public policy skills ensuring that families impacted by the child welfare system had equitable experiences.

Mayor, Edina Public Schools Superintendent to Present State of the Community March 4

Edina Mayor James B. Hovland and Edina Public Schools Superintendent Stacie Stanley will present the 2025 State of the Community Tuesday, March 4.

The presentation will be emceed by City Manager Scott Neal and is co-sponsored by the Rotary Club of Edina, Rotary Club of Edina Morningside and Edina Chamber of Commerce. It will be presented at Braemar Golf Course, 6364 John Harris Drive, and recorded for broadcast on Edina TV. Scan QR code or click to "Read More' for important event details and a registration link.

Feb 22 Rotary Bowling - Registration TODAY!

REGISTER TODAY TO BOWL on Saturday, February 22 with your Rotary friends. Teams are forming and it looks to be a very competitive year. Who will walk away with the "big" trophy? REGISTER HERE

Date: Saturday, February 22, 2023

Time: 7:00 to 9:00 pm

Where: Park Tavern, St. Louis Park

Cost: $25/per bowler covers lane and shoe rental. Pre-registration and payment by Feb. 20 is required. Note in "Comments" if you are part of a specific team.

Park Tavern menu and drinks will be available for purchase.

Contact: Joe Hayes at jrhayes331@gmail.com or 952-334-9909 with any questions.

Valentine's Day Message from District

If I could put in a stadium the number of people impacted by our Rotarians it would be bursting at the seams. So today, Valentine's Day, is a perfect opportunity to say thank you and tell you how much you are appreciated. We sent cupids to our clubs to deliver roses (some clubs still to come and some not photographed) and sent red envelopes to your homes. The smiles in the photos from the visits have been truly delightful. Sending love and thanks to our Rotarians. You are so important to your communities. -- District Governor Sharon Bloodworth!

2024 Holiday Gift Giving Program Update And Thank You!

Thank you to Rotary Club of Edina members for your generous donations of money, gift cards, toys and clothing for our 30^th year of the Holiday Gift Giving Program.

Because of your kind hearts and generosity, our club was able to donate 100 gift cards to youth exiting homelessness at 66 West, 60 gift cards to Good in the Hood for their annual Holiday Shop experience for families in need, and boxes and bags of gifts, blankets, and clothing to Simpson Housing Services for homeless families in transition. What joy this club brought to so many during the often trying times of the holidays! A special Thank You to: Paul Mooty for donating items from Faribault Woolen Mill for a live auction at a December club meeting that resulted in the collection of $2,845; Susan Stiles for donation of many boxes of winter jackets, boots, gloves and hats; David Clynes for a significant donation from his family foundation. We are proud to be members of this club and to help with this important annual giving program.

“There’s not satisfaction a person can gain that’s equal to the satisfaction that you get from knowing that you have made another’s life, your community, a little better for your effort.”---Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Jean Morrison and Les Jones

Upcoming Events

Feb 27 -- Lisa Pool, Perkins+Wills Firmwide Director of Workplace Strategy

Mar 4 -- City of Edina, State of the Community @ Braemar Golf Course

Mar 6 -- India Day, Speakers: Srividya Vaidyanathan, Shajive Jeganathan, Ram Gada

Mar 7 -- Connecting with Kids Breakfast

Did you know. . . We Have an App?

The ClubRunner Mobile App is your key to connect to your club and district on the go!

Completely, free to download and use, this app will let you access the key info you need while you're on the go. Password protected just like your website, the ClubRunner Mobile app allows you to to view your member directory, contact your members and executives, read the latest articles posted to your website, learn more about your upcoming events and speakers, view your meeting details, track your attendance statistics and receive push notifications with important announcements from club admins, right from your smartphone or tablet!

How it works:
To download the app from the Apple App Store or from Google Play, simply type in 'ClubRunner' in the search bar.

Our mobile app is compatible with all versions of the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch sets that have iOS 8.0 or later and with versions of Anrdoids that are 4.0.3 or better.

Feb 20 Meeting Recap

Feb 20, 2025 Meeting Recap with Photos by Chris Laskowski

Speaker: Kaleena Burkes, MN Dept of Public Safety

"Office for Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls"

Minnesota Public Safety, Director for the Office of

Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls"

Kaleena Burkes gave a powerful presentation

focused on the number of missing black women,

the task force established, the tools used to

process the data and report, and the report

recommendations to aid in bringing

justice to those missing and murdered women.