In 1986 he made the first confirmed unsupported journey to the North Pole. Two years later he guided the longest unsupported dogsled expedition in history, a 1,600-mile south-north traverse of Greenland. In 1995, he led a 1,200-mile expedition between Russia and Ellesmere Island, Canada, via dogsleds and canoe sleds with a team of five educators and scientists.
In 2006 he established the Will Steger Foundation to educate and empower people to engage in solutions to climate change. In 2014, he launched the Steger Wilderness Center, his final phase of his larger mission to keep the planet sustainable for future generations. He built this “wilderness Camp David” over the course of 30 years. Today, it is a $800,000 per year nonprofit with a staff of 12. Steger spoke about the importance of the Minnesota clean energy economy - he said that currently 18% of our power comes from renewals and that this has created 15,000 jobs.
Steger stayed after to answer questions and sign copies of his book, “Crossing Antarctica.” Discover more about Steger, his adventures, and climate change visit
http://willsteger.com.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Large Print Book Program reminder - If you are assigned to bring the raffle prize, remember to bring an extra $10 contribution to support the large print book program.
- Request from Art, our Rotary exchange student: he wants to learn more English. If you are interested in teaching him, let Jeanne know. He would also like to learn to ski.
- Swallowship Happy Hour is 1/14 from 5:00-6:30pm at Biaggi's; feel free to invite guests!
- District Mid-term assembly is 1/16
- The January Board Meeting is 1/19 - See more at: http://epamrotary.org/Stories/january-5-meeting-and-reminders#sthash.ns9JuGo1.dpuf
SPOTLIGHT ON MARK WEBER
Mark Weber grew up in Detroit Lakes, near Bemidji. Mark lives in Eden Prairie and has been married to Roma for 37 years. Together they have two adult sons.
Mark had a long and successful career in journalism, working as a reporter, editor and manager at a suburban newspaper. In recent years, he switched careers, taking on the role of executive director of the Eden Prairie Community Foundation. Mark says both careers have instilled in him a “lots of trivial knowledge,” In other words, Mark has a deep understanding of the rich history of Eden Prairie.
He has been a Rotarian for the past 15 years and says he has appreciated the support and encouragement he has received from the club.
PAUL HARRIS AWARDS
Dan O'Brien gave pins to the following Paul Harris fellows: Jon Melander, Carol Sundet-Meeker, Dennis Kim, and Jan Eian
HAPPY FINES
- Jay Simpson was happy to have both kids home for the holidays and that his daughter is close to getting her master’s degree in medical illustration.
- Bob Davis was happy to have his daughter starting an internship in Senator Al Franken’s office.
- Kelly Salwei was happy that his daughter was accepted to the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy
- Pat Jensen was happy for her 10th rotary anniversary and for another birthday.
- Jeanne Zetah was thankful for everyone who signed up for My Rotary profiles on rotary.org
VISITORS
Visiting Rotarian (club): Jack Kuehn (Burnsville)
Guests/Prospective Members: Rick Mudge brought Mark Sass, guest. Bryant Davis (Bob’s son) and Taylor Simpson (Jay's daughter)
Students: Natalie Page, Jake Leibold and Alex Modeas (interns)
