November is Rotary Foundation month. Our club will be recognized at the upcoming District Rotary Foundation Celebration on November 10th for our efforts with Polio Plus, Annual Fund and Total Foundation Giving last year. Remember to support the Foundation this year, together we can make difference in the world. Gary Campbell, District Rotary Foundation Chair will be at our meeting on November 20.
If you have ever wondered what the Federal Reserve Bank does, join us at our meeting on November 13 to get the answers. Michael Grover Assistant Vice President of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve will talk about Economic and Community Development.
Special thanks to Ken Hola and all the volunteers helping out at the Shoreview YMCA’s Turkey Trot on Saturday November 17. This is a 5K/10K run / walk supporting the work of the YMCA in our community.
Our November 6 election day program will feature Mounds View High School and University of Northwestern student Mason Matlock. Through Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) he is attending Northwestern and finishing his senior year at Mounds View at the same time. He will be talking about his experiences as a Rotary exchange student to Spain sponsored by our club. On November 13 Federal Reserve Bank Assistant Vice-President and Community Affairs Officer Michael Grover will make a presentation on the Federal Reserve Bank and the Fed's efforts to promote economic resilience and community development. Mr. Grover holds a Ph.D. in urban studies from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.
The November 20 program will feature two speakers. One of our newest members, Charlie Oltman, will make his so-called classification talk to acquaint members with his background and life. District 5960 Foundation Chair Gary Campbell will make a presentation on The Rotary Foundation because November is Rotary Foundation Month. November programs will finish on the 27th with a presentation on the Medtronic Foundation by Bill Phillips. Bob Freed and I arranged the programs for November.
Many thanks to Miriam Zachary for the October programs. Through the efforts of Jerry Peterson, Mark Stange and Paul Bartyzal the club laptop is now properly configured so that the speaker's Power Point program is displayed on the Shore 96 flat screen television. Our apologies to Amanda Freed for not being able to display her program on the TV screen.
Please hold Wednesday night, December 19, 6:00 to 9:00 PM for our Annual Rotary Holiday Party hosted by Kent and Diane Peterson, 1070 Bucher Avenue, Shoreview. We’ll send an e-vite and reminders at club meetings. There will be no regular club meeting on Tuesday, December 18. Also, watch for instructions from Dennis Erno on how to help with our annual donations for Holiday presents for families at Solid Ground.
The Article 6.1 of the Standard Rotary Club Constitution states ‘Club Service, the first Avenue of Service, involves action a member should take within this club to help it function successfully.’ There are two key ways you can contribute to this Avenue of Service. The first is through attendance. If you do not attend club meetings, service projects or participate in fundraisers, you cannot contribute to the goals of Rotary nor gain from your participation. Another is through inviting non-Rotarians to join our club. A strong membership base helps us to better serve the community and meet the goals of Rotary. Please invite people you know who you think would be good members of our club and of Rotary. Give them the opportunity to find opportunities for Service Above Self.
Today we held our once-a-quarter "Club Assembly" in which we forgo an outside speaker in order to spend the entire meeting discussing topics important to club activities and governance. Topics covered included the upcoming "Turkey Trot" sponsored by the Shoreview YMCA with significant support from our club. A number of folks volunteered to help staff this event on November 17th. Ken Hola also asked for and got volunteers to become involved in the Mounds View School District mentoring of middle schoolers through the STRIPES program. And, finally, we spent time getting club member input into how we might improve upon our August "Taste of the Hops" fundraiser.
The Club welcomed Jean Cameron, who was a guest of Frank Mabley. After a rousing round of Happy Dollars led by Mark Stange, Miriam introduced the guest speaker Mary Weeks.
Mary serves as the Executive Director of the Walk In Counseling Center that is based in Minneapolis. The Walk In Counseling Center provides free, anonymous, no-appointment, counseling service every weekday for English and Spanish speaking people. In 2017, they served more than 2600 people and provided more than 6800 free counseling sessions. More than one-third of the clients came to the free center because they couldn't afford the co-pays or deductibles from their insurance provider. They have been at their Minneapolis location on Chicago Avenue for 50 years. In 2010 they opened a location in St. Paul near Snelling and Marshall. Previously, they were funded about 85% by Hennepin County, but in more recent years they have had to move to funding entirely through grants and other donations.
Past District Governor Clare Lillis from the Forest Lake Rotary Club spoke to us today regarding Rotary's new initiative to tackle the local and national problem of under-age sex trafficking. More people are trapped in this nightmare than ever before. In the U.S., we saw an increase of between 20 to 35% between 2016 and 2017, where there are between 2 and 4 million victims. And Minnesota ranks within the top 15 states for this activity. Why? Reasons cited were the fact that we are a border state, have lots of good freeway access, a number of major sports teams, and significant malls and transport hubs where victims are more easily picked up. The average age at which most victims begin this life is between 12 and 14. Because of the risks involved, the average life span for new "recruits" is a mere 7 years. Buyers, on the other hand, are typically men between 18 and 89, married and with children. They will typically travel 30-60 miles from home when setting up meetings with victims, hoping not to be recognized. Minnesota has been proactive in working to combat the trend. Our state passed a Safe Harbor law in 2007 which ensures that victims under the age of 18 will be treated as such, rather than as criminals. The Minneapolis and St. Paul area Rotary districts have partnered to begin working on a strategy to involve Rotary in tackling this problem in Minnesota. Each club is asked to appoint one or more representatives to be included in this work, which will include raising awareness as well as funds. On a global scale, Rotary is well positioned to make a difference. We have worked to largely end polio in the world - we can end the scourge of human trafficking as well.
Secretary Paul kicked off today's meeting by making note of the fact that, for perhaps the first time in our club's history, we had nearly equal numbers of women and men in attendance, reflecting the positive trend we've seen with new and prospective female members. Appropriately, our speaker was the second in a series of presentations focused on the growing problem of sex trafficking nation-wide. Terri Hopman, Executive Director of Amborella House was our guest speaker. As noted in last week's presentation, Minnesota is among the top 13 states that serve as a hub for sex trafficking. Young women are being lured into this life and, once entered, there is no easy exit. 60% - 90% of those wanting to get out have no safe place to go. Amborella House hopes to help address this need. Planning and fundraising is underway with the plan to purchase and equip a home in the north metro and have it ready to receive clients in the fall of 2019. Amborella House has partnered with Wellspring Living Mentorship Program to assure that all the infrastructure is in place, including organization structure, policies and procedures.
The Club welcomed frequent visiting Rotarian Ron Hughes from the Excelsior Club and prospective club member Stephanie Cosgrove. Miriam introduced her daughter and guest speaker was Amanda Freed. Amanda works as a massage therapist specializing in pain relief. She works as an Advanced Neuromuscular Massage Therapist. She received her certification from the National Holistic Institute. She specializes in car accidents, carpal tunnel, thoracic outlet syndrome, plantar fasciitis, and numbness or tingling in the upper and lower extremities. Her primary goal of massage therapy is to get people out of pain as quickly as possible. She reviewed in detail her massage therapy approach including the use of trigger points that can be causing pain in different areas of the body. The name of her practice is Range of Motion and she works out of an office in Shoreview.