Gail Rosenblum is editor of the Inspired section. She's also an author, journalism instructor, and public speaker who has worked for newspapers and magazines for nearly 40 years.
Gail has a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in journalism and has received awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, the American Association of Feature and Sunday Editors, the Associated Press and Parenting Publications of America. She is the mother of three young adult children and the bonus mom of three others.
Irene Kelly and Roger Jorgensen spoke to the Rotary about the Eden Prairie AM Rotary Foundation, The Rotary Foundation (TRF), and where money goes. The money received from individual contributions from Happy Fives go to Polio Plus. This money goes to The Rotary Foundation. Additionally, the Rotary Club has many expenses. These include expenses for the club location, meals and dues, happy fives, guest charges, and special charges. From the EPAM Foundation, there is fund raising revenue, sponsorships, and corporate donations. There are also club projects via grant requests, youth exchange, scholarships, and other programs tied to the EPAM Foundation. Matching grants are used for world community service projects. These include peace and conflict resolution, disease prevention and treatment, water sanitation, basic education, maternal and child health as well as economic and community development.
Announcements
John Estall announced that the Rotary had a nice increase in sponsorships in 2019, and he wants to keep that momentum going for 2020. Currently, there have been many ideas for how to gain awareness about sponsorships. John urged Rotarians to sponsor if they can, ask individuals if they can sponsor, or provide ideas on gaining sponsors.
Jane McGinty announced the upcoming virtual Holiday Party, which will be held on December 22nd. The Holiday Party will be open to families, friends, and past Rotarians.
Frank Sherwood announced the fundraiser Rotary Rocks the Prairie. The fundraiser will be held on January 28th at Eden Prairie High School.
Spotlight on John Estall
John Estall grew up in Richfield, Minnesota, and he went to college at Bemidji State University. There, he received a degree in Accounting. After, he decided to attend law school to fulfill his dream. Until 1982, he worked at Cargill where he did international taxes. At Cargill, he met his wife, and they have been married for 35 years. He has two kids who are 27 and 29 years old. For thirty years, he did various things in accounting and tax. Later, he decided to teach at Mankato State. He decided to retire after teaching at Mankato State for a few years, but later realized that he didn’t want to stop teaching. Right now, he is teaching at Mankato State part time.
Happy Fives:
On Saturday, Roger Jorgensen participated in bell ringing, and he was happy to catch up with other Rotarians. He was also reminded of the great memories that he made with the other Rotarians over the years.
Prafulla Vegunta is thankful for all the Rotarians that participated in the bell ringing.
Irene Kelly was happy to see the other Rotarians at the Bell Ringing on Saturday. November 14.
Jane McGinty and her family enjoyed the bell ringing. She also shared that she loves going to a llama farm with her family.
John Creduleis grateful for everyone that is helping him out and sending their well wishes for his fast recovery from COVID-19.
Sebastien Tavenas, Co-founder & COO of Mobility 4 All
An Organization Offering Transportation to Seniors
On November 10th, 2020, Sebastien Tavenas, Co-founder & COO, spoke about Mobility 4 All. Sebastien and his Co-founder John Doan started Mobility 4 All after seeing concerns their older family members or family members with disabilities had with transportation. Mobility 4 All is a subscription service launched in 2019 and is partnered with 20 large senior homes. It is also partnered with Lyft to supply them wheelchair accessible service. Mobility 4 All is a, “kinder, gentler, and more personalized ride service for seniors and disabilities." It is a door through door accessible service, so clients do not have to wait. The drivers at Mobility 4 All are fully vetted and trained to be able to communicate with clients, including visually or hearing impaired people. Drivers ensure that clients arrive at the right place and are safe. Caregivers are also involved. Mobility 4 All emphasized that they don’t want clients to become socially isolated because of worrying about transportation, so they hope clients will utilize this service. Additionally, there is a fund for low-income seniors to subsidize rides, allowing them to use the service as well. Currently, Mobility 4 All has raised around $1 million in capital, mainly from grants.
Announcements
Frank Sherwood announced the musical fundraiser will be held at Eden Prairie High School on Thursday, January 28. There will be a watch party and social activities online. There are plans for a limited amount of in person tickets for those who feel comfortable going.
Spotlight on Jan Eian
Jan Eian grew up on a farm in Northwestern Minnesota as the fourth of nine children. There she loved horseback riding. Jan’s career started as a teacher for kids with learning disabilities. After 7 years of teaching, Jan worked as a personal banker at Northwestern National Bank, then she became a commercial lender, and finally a private banker. After 7 years, Jan and her husband bought a Sylvan Learning Franchise and went back into education. Jan recounted her time there as, “the most stimulating and exciting career.” After selling Sylvan Learning to Sylvan Corporation, Jan and her husband started Endurant Business Solutions, a consulting firm. Jan is currently a board member for the Eden Prairie Community Foundation. Jan loves her family and has 3 daughters and 7 grandkids. Jan also loves hobbies and enjoys: gardening, biking, skiing, rollerblading, yoga, reading, and quilting.
Happy Fives
Josh Swanson was happy to announce the graduation rates for Eden Prairie High School have significantly increased from 87% to 95% in the past 4 years.
PG Narayanan thanked everyone who supported his election to city council and is excited to work for the city of Eden Prairie.
Patrick Donahue thanked John Crudele for supporting him after the passing of a close family member.
Impact of Maternal Health - A Rotary Partnership to Target At-Risk Children and Mothers
We welcomed Jim Tincher to talk to the Rotary Club. Jim Tincher joined the Rotary two years ago in the North Minneapolis Rotary Club. Since then, he has worked on projects. A recent project includes the impact of maternal health. Jim was asked to speak about the impact of maternal health and he wanted to find a way to help.
Jim Tincher was excited when he found a way to help. Jim, with the help of others, created a maternal care support group. It is where a group of 8-12 maternal women of similar age come together once a week. They have speakers present on relevant topics and the participants also have activities such as crafts. Jim and the North Minneapolis Rotary Club found that through the maternal care group there was an increased use of healthcare, reduction in preterm birth rates, reduction in rapid repeat pregnancy, and more.
In efforts to increase assistance, Jim Tincher discussed how the Rotary partnered with Hennepin Health and March of Dimes. Through this partnership, they received $30,000 to permit training seminars. Jim later discussed his gratitude that the collective team of North Minneapolis Rotary, Hennepin Health and March of Dimes, were able to conduct a virtual seminar in March due to the pandemic.
Additionally, Jim discussed how the North Minneapolis Rotary Club is applying for a second grant focused on matching pregnant African American women and with a doula.
Lastly, Jim expressed his gratitude to the Eden Prairie AM Rotary Club for their donations and efforts for this cause.
Announcements:
John Melander, who heads the EP AM Rotary’s Community Grants committee, would like members to know that Community Grant requests are being requested
The Veterans Day Luncheon is on Thursday, November 12, at Edina Country Club. If you would like to attend, please register as a guest at Edina Club’s website.
Mary Jo Sherwood presented the fundraising event Virtual Music Event for the EP AM Rotary. She is looking for volunteers to help organize this event.
Elaine Larabee informed the Rotary that the STRIVE program is starting in second semester with Elizabeth Mcnamara at Eden Prairie High School
Vocational
For his vocational, Patrick Donohue focused on his journey with the Rotary and the impact the Rotary has had on his life. Patrick Donohue started his journey at the Rotary by joining the Minneapolis Rotary Club in the early 2000s. Lynn, Swan, Stephen Miller, and Vick Turnquist are among some of the most important and influential individuals in his life that he has met through the Minneapolis Rotary Club. Patrick has spoken at over 100 Rotary meetings and organizations, and Jacob Stonsifer as well as John Credule are the reason that he is a part of the EP AM Rotary Club today. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife, son, and two daughters. Additionally, Patrick enjoys teaching skiing at Buckhill.
Happy Fives
PG was happy for his daughter as she started her career as a lawyer.
Carol is excited to say that her granddaughter just turned one.
Jennifer was happy to talk about the PROP Shop and ways to help contribute.
Roger was happy because he has lost weight and plans to continue to lose more.
Jim Tincher
Impact of Maternal Health - A Rotary Partnership to Target At-Risk Children and Mothers
We welcomed Jim Tincher to talk to the Rotary Club. Jim Tincher joined the Rotary two years ago in the North Minneapolis Rotary Club. Since then, he has worked on projects. A recent project includes the impact of maternal health. Jim was asked to speak about the impact of maternal health and he wanted to find a way to help.
Jim Tincher was excited when he found a way to help. Jim, with the help of others, created a maternal care support group. It is where a group of 8-12 maternal women of similar age come together once a week. They have speakers present on relevant topics and the participants also have activities such as crafts. Jim and the North Minneapolis Rotary Club found that through the maternal care group there was an increased use of healthcare, reduction in preterm birth rates, reduction in rapid repeat pregnancy, and more.
In efforts to increase assistance, Jim Tincher discussed how the Rotary partnered with Hennepin Health and March of Dimes. Through this partnership, they received $30,000 to permit training seminars. Jim later discussed his gratitude that the collective team of North Minneapolis Rotary, Hennepin Health and March of Dimes, were able to conduct a virtual seminar in March due to the pandemic.
Additionally, Jim discussed how the North Minneapolis Rotary Club is applying for a second grant focused on matching pregnant African American women and with a doula.
Lastly, Jim expressed his gratitude to the Eden Prairie AM Rotary Club for their donations and efforts for this cause.
Their generous support helps sponsor all that our club does in our community and around the world! This includes the Above and Beyond Awards Dinner, the Golden Eagle Awards, the Ethics Lunch and STRIVE scholarships and much more. Interested in becoming a Rotary Sponsor? Click here
