banner
Advertisement for Russell Hampton
Advertisement for ClubRunner
Advertisement for ClubRunner Mobile
Stories
October 11, 2022 Meeting Preview
Josh Sprague is a Full Service Luxury Real Estate Agent with Lakes Sotheby’s International Realty in Edina, Minnesota,  Josh started his real estate career in 2000, and has represented hundreds of clients in the Edina, Minneapolis, and Southwest markets.  Shortly after moving to Edina in 2006, Josh joined the Rotary Club of Edina. Josh has served in a variety of positions, including Gala Chair, Membership Chair, Club and Foundation Board Officer and Director, and Club President in 2019-20.  Josh also founded the Edina Car Show, a local fundraiser and public relations event for his club, the Rotary Global Scholars Program at Edina High School, the Interact Club of Edina, and the Coban, Guatemala Water Project and Service Trip, which he will talk about today.  

Josh grew up in the Lakes Area of Minneapolis, and graduated from Minnehaha Academy.  He earned his B.A. from Bowdoin College in Maine, and his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in New York. He also studied and lived abroad in Europe, and speaks both French and Italian.  Josh and his wife Kelly live in Edina with their 4 teenagers, all of whom have grown up in Rotary.  In addition to his Rotary work, Josh has also served on the Edina City Council, and volunteered for the Edina Chamber of Commerce, Edina Education Fund, Edina Public Schools, and Edina Hockey Association.
 
 
Notes from September 27, 2022
INTERN VOCATIONALS FROM NEHA KAPPAGANTULA, SASH ANAND, NIYATHI BHUPATIRAJU, AND BELLE WARREN
 
On September 27, we heard from our four club interns. 
 
We first heard from Niyathi Bhupatiraju. Niyathi is a senior at Eden Prairie High School. She has a sister that is currently studying at the University of Minnesota. Niyathi enjoys hiking, watching sunsets and traveling.  Her favorite restaurant is Buffalo Wild Wings. She has travelled to Greece and Italy with her family. She has played tennis since the first grade and plans to play in college. Niyathi spends a lot of her time playing tennis tournaments on the weekends. She wants to study economics and business in college and is currently looking at Carlton and Grinnell Colleges.
 
Next we heard from Neha Kappagantula. Also a senior at Eden Prairie High School, Neha has lived in Eden Prairie her whole life. She loves to travel and her favorite destination thus far is Canada. She hopes to go to Europe in the near future. She has an older sister who just graduated from the University of Minnesota who she considers to be her best friend. Neha has been dancing for 14 years. She is lead captain at the Twin Cities Euphoria Bollywood Dancing. Her parents grew up in south Indian and she is very proud of her Indian culture. Neha wants to pursue a career in the business and financial fields, potentially investment banking. You can find her performances on YouTube and on October 9 in person as the Ted Mann concert hall.
 
Eden Prairie Senior Sash Anand learned about Rotary from Praf Vegunta and has thus far enjoyed his time as an intern. He has had a big interest in cars since he was a toddler. He hopes to one day purchase his Mercedes 'dream car.' Sash would like to pursue a field in finance and enjoys conversations that revolve around stocks and investments. Sash is applying at the University of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Austin UT an other schools. He is currently an offensive lineman for the Eden Prairie football team. While Sash is undersized, he says 'heart over height' has played a factor in his success. Sash has a sister and his favorite shows to watch are the Office and Breaking Bad.
 
Belle Warren began telling us about her time in 'two households.' She has a first grade sister Lily that lives with her and her mom, and a cat named Violet that lives with her and her dad. Belle is in the Color Guard at Eden Prairie. They perform at football games and also during the winter months. Belle is big into family. She was born in Fort Collins Colorado and a lot of her family still lives there.  Belle moved to Minnesota as a toddler and to Eden Prairie 6 years ago. She currently works at Davannis and wants to study finance, analytics or actuarial studies in Minnesota or Wisconsin. 
 
Thanks to all our interns for their great presentation and work for our club!
 
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS
 
 
- Last Quarter Recap
                        -July: Feed My Starving Children
                        -August: PROP pop up, Ecuadorian Independence Day, Buckthorn Blast
                        -September: Taco Tour, Buckthorn Blast
 
- Upcoming Holiday Season:
                        -Salvation Army Bell Ringing: Need an organizer
                        -Onward Eden Prairie:
                               -Thanksgiving and Christmas meals for 4 people - Looking for cooks
                               -Looking for a liaison to coordinate future service projects
 
HAPPY FIVES
 
- Tim Connors told us about the water project in Ukraine and a big buy for water filters that was taking place for families in Ukraine. He noted Anna's efforts in helping kids in Ukraine
 
- Elaine Larabee  told us about her friend Gail who passed aware from pancreatic cancer. She said Gail was part of a group of friends that welcomed her when she first came to Eden Prairie and that group has had a big influence on the direction of her life here in EP
 
- John Crudele told us about his 9-minute hybrid video that has been viewed over 31,000 times. He also talked about emails he exchanged with a club from Washington State thanking him for his help with their technology
 
- Patrick Donohue has a variety of good news to report. He has a book launch for his book Break Out Valuation that went very well. He just found out that he secured Alex Rodriguez for his may 11 Entrepreneur event in addition to the other speakers for the event. Finally, he discussed the impact of the Eden Prairie Local News in the community and for the interview they did for his book.
 
- Carol Kampman raised awareness for Blood Cancer Awareness month and told us that she found out last winter that she has blood cancer. She is happy to report that the cancer is in remission. She also found out during this time that she had to tumors but testing determined that they were benign. Carol is appreciative of the support she has received from the club and thankful to those that have filled her role in the check in table. She looks forward to returning to meetings when her health allows.
 
 
 
Duty Roster 7/18/2023
 
Greeter: Nathan Nyren
Inspiration: Patrick Donohue
Check In: Bob Starr
Door Prize: Blake Cadwallader
     
Please support these 2023--2024 Rotary Sponsors