28-year Eden Prairie Rotary member Orv Sietsema passed away peacefully on March 13 while surrounded by his family. Orv will be sadly missed; the genuine caring for each individual he interacted with was obvious to all and his upbeat presence brought a lift to every meeting. Our thoughts and prayers are with Orv, his wife Elizabeth, his children Maureen, Michael, and Kyle, and his many beloved grandchildren and great-grandchild. In addition to his near three-decade contributions to our community and membership through EPAM Rotary, Orv was a Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary Foundation. Orv's full obituary can be found here.
Services will be held at 11 AM on Saturday, March 24, at Normandale Lutheran Church, 6100 Normandale Road, Edina, (952-929-1697), with visitation one hour prior to the service. Private interment will take place at Eden Prairie Cemetery. Washburn-McReavy.com Eden Prairie Chapel 952-975-0400
Ending Human Trafficking in Minnesota: A Rotary Initiative
Human Trafficking is a significant issue in Minnesota which ranks 13th in the nation for this growing black market industry. Come and learn what it is, what is being done to address this issue and the exciting Rotary Initiative to join the other organizations already doing great work to end it in our state.
BOY SCOUT TROOP 479 Troop 479 is chartered through EPAM Rotary. It is the first troop in the state to allow a girl to register. We heard from three local Eagle Scouts about their service projects they are required to perform before becoming an Eagle. Andrew, a student at Breck in Golden Valley, took a haphazard means to store musical instruments at Breck and designed a set of shelves of various size to match and house the various instruments. Troy, a student at Eden Prairie High School, built a dry creek bed to address a drainage issue that was causing damage. He designed a path, excavated the creek bed and filled with river rock. John, a student at Holy Angles in Richfield, added “fitness” points along a paved trail around the Glen, an assisted living residence in Hopkins. He designed six stations, placed posts in holes that were then set in concrete. He added additional landscape touches and park benches.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
More drivers are needed to deliver Meals on Wheels: contact John Goergen if you can help.
Host families are needed one week each – for Ms. Yura Koh a Korean college student visiting us at the end of June. Also she is looking for opportunities to learn about business.
District Assembly—May 21 at the Guthrie Theatre.
Ethics Luncheon is April 19th at the Edina Country Club.
Onward Eden Prairie, the local nonprofit serving youth 18-22 with housing needs—has a service opportunity: House renovation project in Eden Prairie needs people to paint on Saturday April 7th . Walls will be prepped and taped. Paint and supplies provided. Need 10 volunteers to paint this 5 bedroom home. Clipboard is being passed around. If you missed the clipboard—reach out to Jay Simpson to sign up or learn more.
Above and Beyond: April 30th at Eden Prairie High School. Please register in advance to hear amazing stories of young people overcoming obstacles in order to finish high school. Please nominate candidates for this award. Application can be found online.
PROP thank you letter to the Rotary for donation.
SPOTLIGHT ON DANE BOECKERMANN Dane grew up in Eden Prairie where he was involved in sports and is a graduate of Eden Prairie High School. His father was involved in the Rotary and that influenced Dane’s decision to join. Thinking that he’d like to live somewhere other than Minnesota, Dane went to Trinity University in San Antonio Texas. He majored in accounting and later went on to obtain a Master’s in Accounting from George Washington University. He comes from a family of accountants that includes not only his father, but cousins and uncles as well. He spent time in Washington, Boston and Australia. Today Dane is a CPA and for the past 10 years he has been the Principal in Charge of Financial Accounting Outsourcing for Boeckermann Grafstrom & Mayer, the firm his father founded. He has been a part of their growth as operations have expanded to Florida, South Dakota, and Colorado. He and his wife Jenelle have two daughters that keep him busy, especially with youth sports.
HAPPY BUCKS
John Crudele: Travel to Philippines as well CEO of Feed My Starving Children to get operation going there. In an area of 280 thousand people the efforts to reduce starvation and hunger has been incredibly effective and done so in manner than will be sustainable.
Roger Jorgensen : Wife’s 60th birthday in Naples Florida—great day.
Becky Deelstra: Hosting the grandkids—enjoying this very much—also $1000.00 donation from her employers to Rotary.
Jay Simpson: Now Onward Eden Prairie program purchase a home: housing 18-22 year old youth in need of support to learn skills to live on their own.
Joe Stoebner: Married 54 years—women are always right.
28-year Eden Prairie Rotary member Orv Sietsema passed away peacefully on March 13 while surrounded by his family. Orv will be sadly missed; the genuine caring for each individual he interacted with was obvious to all and his upbeat presence brought a lift to every meeting. Our thoughts and prayers are with Orv, his wife Elizabeth, his children Maureen, Michael, and Kyle, and his many beloved grandchildren and great-grandchild. In addition to his near three-decade contributions to our community and membership through EPAM Rotary, Orv was a Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary Foundation. Orv's full obituary can be found 
Troop 479 is chartered through EPAM Rotary. It is the first troop in the state to allow a girl to register. We heard from three local Eagle Scouts about their service projects they are required to perform before becoming an Eagle. Andrew, a student at Breck in Golden Valley, took a haphazard means to store musical instruments at Breck and designed a set of shelves of various size to match and house the various instruments. Troy, a student at Eden Prairie High School, built a dry creek bed to address a drainage issue that was causing damage. He designed a path, excavated the creek bed and filled with river rock. John, a student at Holy Angles in Richfield, added “fitness” points along a paved trail around the Glen, an assisted living residence in Hopkins. He designed six stations, placed posts in holes that were then set in concrete. He added additional landscape touches and park benches..jpg)
Dane grew up in Eden Prairie where he was involved in sports and is a graduate of Eden Prairie High School. His father was involved in the Rotary and that influenced Dane’s decision to join. Thinking that he’d like to live somewhere other than Minnesota, Dane went to Trinity University in San Antonio Texas. He majored in accounting and later went on to obtain a Master’s in Accounting from George Washington University. He comes from a family of accountants that includes not only his father, but cousins and uncles as well. He spent time in Washington, Boston and Australia. Today Dane is a CPA and for the past 10 years he has been the Principal in Charge of Financial Accounting Outsourcing for Boeckermann Grafstrom & Mayer, the firm his father founded. He has been a part of their growth as operations have expanded to Florida, South Dakota, and Colorado. He and his wife Jenelle have two daughters that keep him busy, especially with youth sports.
