Club Assembly with President John Crudele, Holly Link, John Estall, Aaron Casper and Irene Kelly
Holly Link kicked off our club assembly with a discussion around member engagement. Holly encouraged members to find their passion by selecting the committees and activities within our Rotary Club that speak to each individual. Approximately half of our club members have filled out and returned their engagement sheets indicating involvement preferences for this year. As Mother Theresa once said, “Some give by going, some go by giving.” By paying dues and coming to our meetings, each Rotarian is part of the whole, connecting the world.
Aaron Casper then asked the club to consider pledging and donating to our club’s foundation as part of this year’s “Be the Bridge” campaign. This campaign is being held to raise funds to continue supporting the important charities and organizations that help our community while we transition from the Vino Classico to other types of fundraising activities. The goal for “Be the Bridge” is to raise $25,000. To date, we have $9,300 pledged and $1,200 collected. Members are pledging in both one time and monthly giving increments. Aaron hopes to wrap up the campaign by the end of September. The Casper family is significantly upping their commitment to give to the EP A.M. Rotary Foundation to share their blessings with others and hopes others will join them.
John Estall described the efforts he and Roger Jorgensen have undertaken to obtain business or corporate sponsorships of our Rotary Club philanthropic giving. They have developed a sponsorship form, a script and said it is much easier to make the ask then they anticipated! On each table was a list of 300 businesses belonging to the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce. Members were asked to review the list and ask a few of the business people you may know to support Rotary with a sponsorship.
Our closing presenter was Irene Kelly, who led the club in discussing five fundraising ideas that had been vetted through a committee of fellow Rotary club members for presentation to the full club. Members were asked to “vote” on their favorites using the 3 stickers at their table place setting. The top vote getters will be pursued as we seek chairs and co-chairs to lead our new fundraising event efforts. The five ideas presented were 1) Wellness Event—including a bike or run as part of a winter fitness festival; 2) Winter Picnic with a game show component; 3) Wine Tasting and Garden Party; 4) Speaker Series; and 5) Taste of EP at SWStation—holding the event on the outdoor patios and ask the restaurants to participate by donating funds to Rotary for each food item sold. Winners to be revealed and discussed at a future meeting.
Spotlight on Patrick Donahue
New member, Patrick Donahue Patrick was raised in Forest Lake, MN where his grandfather owned The Hub drive in restaurant. His father was entrepreneurial and sparked Patrick’s interest in small businesses and investing in their success. Unfortunately, Patrick’s father passed away when he was 13 years old. Patrick attended St. Thomas Academy and then went to Creighton University for college. His company invests between $500,000 and $1,000,000 in small businesses. City manager, Rick Getschow has featured Patrick and his work on Rick’s new podcast—check it out! Patrick has three children—two daughters and one son. The Boys Scouts have been a top charity for the Donahue family and Patrick is very involved as a local troop leader. Jacob introduced Patrick to John Crudele and they became “kindred spirits” having many similar life experiences, leading Patrick to join Rotary. Welcome, Patrick!Happy Fines
- PG Narayanan was happy for the great attendance at last Saturday’s Brewfest—700 people showed up this year! He was also happy to note that this month he is celebrating being in the U.S. for 47 years.
- Elaine Larabee contributed $20 to share lots of happy news. She has missed a couple of Rotary meetings with back to school activities in the EP District, but is happy to report both children have received offers of employment upon the completion of their respective masters program and college degree. Andrea has been offered a permanent job with Land O’Lakes and Joey with Lyman Lumber. Elaine also just learned she has been awarded a Mayo Innovation Scholars Team project as part of her MBA program at Augsburg.
- Bev Aho wished fellow Rotarian and husband, Brad Aho, a happy birthday (the big 60!)
- Frank and Mary Jo Sherwood are happily celebrating 40 years of wedded bliss by attending the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre.
- Aaron Casper is happy (and a little nervous) that daughter Camille has just obtained her driver’s license.
- Dan O’Brien shared a new “Beau” story, his grandson who has discovered a new species of animal—the “snake gorilla!” Love his imagination!
- John Crudele did the hard work of decluttering and readying his house for sale in Savage. He put it on the market on Tuesday and the house sold on Friday! John is hoping to relocate to a townhouse in Eden Prairie and be closer to the many Rotary activities he is leading.
- Prafulla contributed $5 in appreciation for Mark Weber and the great Brewfest this year sponsored by the EP Community Foundation
Visitors
Kevin Gao and Kayla Keddie: Student Interns