Mark Irving: Canterbury Park's Racing Ambassador
An “adrenaline junkie” as a kid, Mark Irving is now the racing ambassador for nearby Canterbury Park after a long career as a jockey in the United Kingdom and U.S.It’s a career that unfortunately was shortened by a string of eight concussions, but the beneficiary of Mark’s love of horse racing are now the folks that patronize and tour Canterbury Park.
Mark also works to find homes for retired thoroughbreds. Mark had a storied career as a jockey, including his experience riding temperamental horses owned by the UK’s Queen Elizabeth when he was just an apprentice. His career took him to California and eventually the Midwest.
He also has a link to Rotary – his parents are Rotarians – and also its work to eradicate polio worldwide. He’s passionate about the cause because his mother had polio, and so he’s involved in fundraising events at Canterbury that target Rotary’s polio fight.
Announcements
- If you haven’t yet signed up yourself and family members for the club’s Holiday Breakfast on Dec. 17, please do so online. It starts at 7:15 a.m. and includes a choir performance.
- Club intern Kevin Gao invited us to participate in a food drive for PROP by stopping by Jerry’s Foods between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Dec. 21 or between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Dec. 22 to purchase a pre-packaged sack of groceries that will go to the PROP food shelf.
- Kathy Haubrich, founder of Marilyn’s TWOcan Bike Service for seniors, will present the Jan. 7 program.
Spotlight on Bob Solohub
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Bob Solohub was born, went to school, worked, retired, and joined Rotary. That’s the short version of Bob’s life, suited to those who have heard his vocational before. But there’s more to Bob, including the fact that he’s from Winnipeg, has been married to Iona for 56 years, has lived around the globe including Malaysia, and before retirement had a long career in the medical-devices field, including with Johnson & Johnson. Thanks, Bob, for being a member of our club since 2007.Happy Fives
We’re happy and we’ll happily pay to share our stories. Jay Simpson is happy about his son’s engagement. Roger Jorgensen is happy about an upcoming trip to see his new grandson. Dan O’Brien is happy about his own “grandpa” story that started nine years ago with his granddaughter’s birth. Grandkids all around, it seems, because Dick Ward is happy that his first grandchild is on the way. We are passing happy thoughts along to Cathy Haukedahl, who shared that she is facing breast cancer.
Visitors
Mark Lewis
Aaron Orwick - Prospective Member
Kevin Swan - Prospective Member
Kevin Gao and Mrinalni Iyer - Student Interns