We recently held orientation for three new members: Ranjit Kulanearoth, Sushma Kamran and Jack Livingston. We welcome them to our club and encourage members to connect with them whenever possible. Since we still don't meet in person, it's difficult for new members to feel connected. Elinor Jackson is a relatively new member, but she has volunteered for many activities and club service projects. One of Elinor's passions is anything International. We have not found the right fit for her yet in this area, but she is already hosting a refugee from Ghana. Hosting might be something our club could look into as more refugees need help.
Our club was very busy with community service last month with three different activities.
October 9’th we had our last cleanup day of the year at McCullough. Helping out was Ken Hola, Mie Spellman and Mark Stange.
On Friday October 29’th. In attendance were 1-3PM Friday Shift: Anoop Mathur, Elinor Jackson and friend Arabla Welbeck, Mike Spellman, Frank Mabley, Dennis Erno, Kathy ERNO, Jack Livingston, Kent Peterson. 4-6PM Friday Shift: Charlie and Susan Oltman, Ken Hola, Ranjit Kulangarath, Shelly Myrland, Glenn and Pam Bowers, Peggy Strom, Stephanie Cosgrove
3. These Rotary groups packed 26 boxes of food equaling 13.000 meals for hungry children and raised $800 to pay for the meals!
On Saturday October 30’th Charlie Oltman and Kent Peterson (hard at work below) with members of the Roseville Rotary group to prepare the YMCS garden for winter and spring planting.
Rotary Service Event Calendar
Date
Event
Location
Volunteers Needed
November 13’th
Package books for distribution to children
Legacy Family Center
4/5
November 15’th-December 15’th
Toy drive for Solid Ground. Support two families and provide stockings for children
Solid Ground
Whole club
December 8/9/10
Salvation Army Bell Ringing at Cub (3 per shift to cover the 2 doors per day) 1-7pm
Today's meeting was an in-person meeting -- and a field trip at that! We met at Shoreview City Hall and heard from City Manager Terry Schwerm and Director of Parks and Recreation Steve Benoit. They provided an update on the multiple phases of improvements being made to the Commons area of the City Hall campus. Terry explained that the Commons project has been in discussion since the 1990's. But other projects took precedence until, finally, in 2016, a firm was hired to draw up a Master Plan. Then, in 2019, when the recent indoor expansion was completed, the exterior work began. A pond and landscaping were created and the previous wooden skate park was replaced with a new and improved "plaza style" concrete park. The pond has been a hit with skaters in the winter and the skateboard park has gotten an incredible level of use, including from young families. Most recently, a "Friendship Garden" was created with a sculpture of children playing, benches, a pergola, and a pathway made of bricks with sponsor names engraved. The Shoreview Community Foundation has helped fund this garden area. Next up is a $1.7 million destination playground that is currently under construction. Work on the playground is expected to be completed before winter. The City of Shoreview continues to impress with the level of vision, leadership, and sound financial management consistently on display.
Today's meeting was a "Club Assembly" in which we discussed various subjects important to the operation of our club. We had no outside speaker. While more topics had been planned, there was lively discussion on two subjects: 1) Our strategic objective to enhance new member orientation and engagement, and 2) Securing a new meeting location. Progress is being made on both fronts.
Today's speaker was Jean Abbott. Jean, who was born and raised in the Twin Cities and still resides here, was misdiagnosed as a young child with Spastic Diplegia, a form of Cerebral Palsy. After 33 years of countless doctor’s visits, medical procedures, unnecessary medications and surgeries, she was finally correctly diagnosed with Dopa Responsive Dystonia (DRD) and given a new life. She is the author of "Misdiagnosed: My Thirty-Year Struggle with a Debilitating Disorder I Never Had" and has appeared on the Today show, Good Housekeeping and the U.K.'s Daily Mail. Through her book, blog and speaking, Jean inspires and motivates others to appreciate the littlethings in life. She continues to be motivated by the overwhelming number of people from around the world who have contacted her to say how inspired they have been by her journey. Jean is a mother of three children. While acknowledging that her life would have been far different and much easier if she had been correctly diagnosed originally, she refuses to be angry about the past and says she wouldn't change the journey that brought her to where she is today. Her positive attitude is highly contagious as she encourages others to appreciate the good things in their lives.
.jpg?_=637720172631533673)
