.jpg)
Today's meeting was a "double header", with both a new member presentation by Charlie Oltman and a presentation by District Foundation Chair Gary Campbell, in recognition of November being Rotary Foundation month. Charlie's "Classification Talk" was timely in that Charlie was recently named 2018 Citizen of the Year! During his presentation we learned of some of the volunteer activities that Charlie has been involved with over the years, which led to this honor. He has donated countless hours to his church, with the Boy Scouts and with youth soccer. Ironically, he had never thought he'd leave the state of California where he grew up. When he went away to college in Eugene, Oregon it was the first time he'd ever been out of California. However his first job out of college was as a corporate auditor for Firestone, Inc. When they proposed transferring him to MN soon thereafter he said OK, with the thought that he'd give it six months. However during that six months, he met his future wife Susan, so before he knew it, he was a married homeowner with children, living in Shoreview. And - as they say - "the rest is history". After Firestone, Charlie spent most of his career with Target Corporation, landing in their pharmacy division, first as a finance person but evolving to roles in quality and regulatory affairs. He became active in a national pharmacy industry group and still does some consulting work for them now that he is semi-retired. We are thrilled that Charlie has joined our Rotary group, where he has already become an active, energetic member.Next we heard from Gary Campbell about the Rotary Foundation. He included information about Rotary's history with polio eradication, the distinction between global and district grants, and some of the different ways members can choose to contribute. Our club received several honors at the District's Foundation celebration earlier this month. We were honored for having 100% member participation in giving last fiscal year, and came in third place for total giving among mid-size clubs in the district (those with between 25 and 60 members)!