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May 21, 2019 Meeting Preview

Scot Adams & Rod Fisher

"Citizens Climate Lobby" (CCL)

Scot Adams, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and his associate Rod Fisher with "Citizens Climate Lobby" would like to share their thoughts about climate issues and climate solutions and their lobbying efforts behind the recently introduced "Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act."
Duty Roster 5/21/19-6/4/19
 May. 21May. 28June. 4
GREETERSElaine LarabeeNo MeetingHolly Link
 Rod AndersonBearpath closedGary Bergren
INSPIRATIONDave AndersonOffsite Social Event Rod Andersen
CHECK-INCarol Bombeninstead on Craig Blixrud
 Roy Terwilliger May 31 atPraf Vegunta
BULLETINKelly SalweiJ Carver DistilleryMark Weber
DOOR PRIZECathy HaukedahlNo MeetingRobb Hiller
VOCATIONALJohn CrudeleBearpath closedCraig Blixrud
If you cannot be there, please find a sub and notify Prafulla Vegunta
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Notes from May 14, 2019

Jacob Stonesifer, Development Director for the Boy Scouts: Honoring a New Eagle Scout; Learning the Latest from a Local Boy Scout Mentor/Leader.

Jacob, a fellow A.M. Rotary Club member, set the stage for two additional speakers, Steve and Max, by reminding the club that we chartered Boy Scout Troop 479 in Eden Prairie. Craig LaCount is the club representative for the troop, signing their paperwork, etc. Steve is a scout leader for Troop 479, and Max is a scout who recently earned the rank of Eagle Scout—the highest honor in scouting.
 
Steve described the goals that have been established for Troop 479. The activities and outings are Scout led, providing opportunities to develop leadership. An emphasis is placed on character—living out the Scout oath and law. The Scouts obtain new skills and grow in their rank advancement. They also have fun and experience adventure, leading to self-confidence—“ I can do it!” Scouts learn many skills and develop qualities that help them excel throughout their lives. Research shows that Scouts earn better grades, attain higher levels of education and earn higher incomes than their non-scouting peers.
 
In 2018, Troop 479 had 3 Eagle Courts of Honor and completed 6 projects. They attended the Apostle Island High Adventure camp for the first time, as well as attending the Sea Base High Adventure camp. The Scout members plan and execute all of the events. Soon they will go on a two-week hike in Philmont, New Mexico—a highlight for the year. The Troop meets at Grace Church and has participated in Veteran’s Day ceremonies there as well as helped with service projects.
 
 
The club then heard from Max, a new Eagle Scout in Troop 479. Max is a freshman at Eden Prairie High School, where he is on the “A” Honor Roll, participates in soccer, Alpine skiing, track, and Key Club, studies piano, as well as many other pursuits. Max joined Troop 479 when he was a 5 th grader, and he was very excited for all of the opportunities to go camping. As a Scout, Max said he has learned first aid, outdoorsman skills, how to plan, and how to be a good citizen. For his Eagle project, Max built a large bike rack at Pax Christi Church. He selected this project to encourage healthy exercise habits. The project was extensive—involving over 300 hours of planning and execution, 29 volunteers to complete, and a lot of dirt had to be excavated. Max is rather young to have earned the rank of Eagle Scout as a high school freshman, but he wanted to attain this rank so he could have time for other activities and the academic rigor of high school. He has 27 merit badges and found the citizenship badge to be one of the most challenging to obtain. Max is a patrol leader in his troop, helping the younger scouts.
 
In response to questions from club members after the presentations from Steve and Max, Jacob informed the club that the diversity among Scouts in Minnesota pretty closely mirrors the diversity percentage of the population in Minnesota. There are 43 girl-linked troops with 1500 girls participating, although there is not yet a linked Troop for girls associated with Troop 479 in Eden Prairie.
 

Accouncements

  • It’s Chicken Challenge Time! Support PROP’s Summer Food for Kids drive by bringing canned chicken or a cash contribution to next week’s meeting on May 21 st
  • May 28 th —no Rotary meeting, Bearpath is closed.
  • Friday, May 31 st —social event at J. Carver Distillery.
  • June 11 th —our Rotary Club meeting will be offsite at PROP, working on a service project.
  • Sign up for the Lake Minnetonka boat cruise social event, to be held June 15 th . Guests are welcomed and encouraged!
  • June 18 th – no Rotary club meeting.
  • We will have two inbound RYE students for the coming year—a girl, Clementine, from Belgium and a boy, Henrique, from Brazil. We are working with the noon Rotary club to sponsor and support these students. There is a need for 4 more host families. Please consider helping and contact Jane McGinty for more information.
  • Dan O’Brien encouraged members to give to the Rotary Foundation. Our club year ends June 30 th , and to date we have collected $19,000 in donations from approximately half of our members. Our club’s goal is to have every member contribute and to raise a total of $30,000. It is easy to donate on-line; please see recent email from Dan for more information.
 

Spotlight on Elaine Larabee

Elaine hails from Neenah, Wisconsin (as does fellow Rotarian Rick Getschow) and grew up on a farm. Neenah is known for having the headquarters of the Kimberly Clark Corporation (Elaine’s mother worked as a statistician there for a time) and also hosting the company that makes most of the nation’s manhole covers.
 
Although they didn’t date in high school, Elaine married fellow Neenah native, Kevin Larabee. Elaine and Kevin moved around the country a bit for work, but eventually settled in Minnesota when Kevin attended graduate school at the University of MN. They have two children, Andrea (24 years) and Joey (21 years). Andrea is in graduate school at the U of MN, following in her father’s footsteps pursuing a career in human resources. Joey is a junior at Colorado College where he participates in club baseball and club hockey.
 
Elaine has worked as a tax accountant for 22 years. She is chair of the Eden Prairie School Board, and has served on the board for the last 5 years. In addition, she is currently pursuing an MBA at Augsburg. If all goes according to plan, Andrea, Joey and Elaine Larabee will all obtain a degree in 2020!
 
(Editor’s note: Elaine does A LOT more stuff than that, but she does not like to talk about herself. She has been on the Board of this club and served as Treasurer, and is a board member for Onward Eden Prairie. She has been the coordinator for the STRIVE program for the A.M. Rotary club for this year and has been a STRIVE mentor, to name a few other of her activities and contributions to the community.
 

Happy Fives

  • Aaron Casper is happy his wife is recovering from foot surgery. He claims to appreciate her more now -- especially her landscaping skills!
  • Dan O’Brien is back with us after two months in Florida. He appreciates the bulletin writers as they helped him stay connected to club news while he was away. Dan is happy to share that he and Mary have a new grandson, Ace. Congratulations!
  •  John Crudele has returned from a Rotary trip to Guatemala where they saw the impact of a Rotary funded water project. The hospital they visited had water for only 20 minutes every 2 hours. Without water to clean and sterilize, infection was rampant. The newborn mortality rate was 80%. With access to clean water it is down to 15%.
  • Superintendent Josh Swanson is very glad today is election day for the School Bond Referendum and that he can wrap up the many, many presentations he has given on the topic. He is also enjoying having his 8 year old take golf lessons.
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Speakers
Jul 09, 2019
Insights on the MN Economy
Jul 16, 2019
Athentic Leadership & Communication Strategies
Jul 23, 2019
Club Assembly
View entire list
Upcoming Events
EPAM Rotary Women's Meeting
Jan Eian's House
Jul 25, 2019 5:30 PM
 
View entire list
Bulletin Editor
Adam Sienkowski
Russell Hampton
ClubRunner
ClubRunner Mobile

Eden Prairie AM Rotary Club meets on Tues. mornings from 7:30-8:30 a.m.
at Bearpath Golf and Country Club, 18100 Bearpath Trail, Eden Prairie MN 55347

Website: www.epamrotary.org     Email: info@epamrotary.org     Mail: P.O. Box 44603, Eden Prairie, MN 55344