The month of August brought us our annual Taste of Hops & Vines fundraising event and boy did it not disappoint! Each and every one of you should be incredibly proud of your efforts. Even with a lighter slate of vendors and lower than expected ticket sales, your efforts saw us to our most successful monetary event to date. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
We heard from the Sheriff's department and the owner of Dependable Solutions on the topic of fraud and scams this past month. There was lots of great information and ways to best protect ourselves from bad actors trying to access our information and take what they can. Reflecting on the information presented, I can't help but think how great it is organizations like Rotary exist. It's so, so easy to get caught up in all the 'bad' we hear on a daily basis, but it sure is nice to belong to a group of people doing good.
If you know of someone who you think would bring good information to the club, be a dynamic and thought-provoking speaker or have an interesting topic to share, there is room on the speaker list. Please just let me know if you do fill a speaking slot.
We enjoyed an interesting presentation today from Ward and Jacky Budweg, who Zoomed-In from their home in Iowa. Glenn Bowers arranged this after meeting Ward at a recent training session for incoming Rotary District Governors. Before getting married, Ward and Jacky signed an unusual "pre-nup" agreement on a bar napkin, agreeing that at some point they would take an extended bike trip around the world! This trip came to fruition when they embarked on a 3-year journey beginning in 2009. The plan was years in the making as it required selling their business, their home and nearly all of their possessions! They created a Mission Statement for their trip which read: “From our bicycles we want to explore the many cultural differences and hospitalities of the world as we respond with open arms of friendship and service.” Amazingly they suffered no serious illnesses or injuries and have many tales to tell - the kind you don't get on a tour bus. They describe locations discovered by ditching the GPS, playing charades to bridge 32 different language barriers, and depending on locals who invited them into their homes and friendships. This unbelievable journey spanned 1106 days and 6 continents. For more information, their book is now available through Amazon, entitled: The World at 10 MPH: A Masterful Prenup Leads to a 3-Year 33,523-Mile Bicycle Adventure.
Today we had the pleasure of hearing from another intrepid biker. Amanda Harvey shared the story of her 300+ mile bike trip in Alaska along a portion of the famous Iditarod dog sled trail last February. Amanda grew up in Arden Hills, graduated from the University of MN, and moved for a time to Tennessee with her husband to escape MN winters. They eventually returned to MN but made a pact that they would learn to enjoy winter by participating in winter activities. She obviously took this idea to an extreme! In order to qualify for the grueling Iditarod Trail Adventure, one must complete in a qualifying race. Carrying herself and all her equipment on a fat tire bike, Amanda faced temperatures as low as 35 below zero and trails knee deep in snow. The latter situation caused knee pain which had her to the point of almost giving up near the end, as almost half of the original 100 starters had already done. But new friends she made along the way helped bolster her confidence and she not only finished but is planning to do it again next year!
Our speaker today was John Kirkwood who currently serves as head of security for Land O Lakes, headquartered in Arden Hills. John has had a long career in law enforcement. He grew up in Nebraska and his first job out of college was as a police officer in Lincoln Nebraska. Although he enjoyed that role a lot, an interest in "seeing the world" led him to seek out other opportunities which resulted in him joining the Secret Service. He served in multiple roles and locations during his years with the Secret Service and we learned some interesting facts about the origins of this organization,. It was initially formed in 1865 as part of the U.S. Treasury Department with a charter to go after counterfeiting operations. It wasn't until 1901, during Teddy Roosevelt's presidency that it took on the charter to provide protection for the sitting U.S. president and family. After retiring from the SS in 2011, John joined the Ramsey County Sherriff's Department. In 2015, he switched gears from the public sector to the world of corporate security by joining Land O Lakes. John was an interesting and enthusiastic presenter and we thank Kevin Keenan for arranging it. As a side note, we learned that John's father was a long time Rotarian in Nebraska so we hope he will carry on the tradition and join our ranks!
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