Dr Josh Swanson--Superintendent of Eden Prairie Schools
Dr. Josh Swanson, Superintendent of Eden Prairie Schools, will be with us to share about 100 Years of Inspiring Each. It is the 100th birthday this year for Eden Prairie Schools and we are celebrating with many community partners throughout the year. He will also be speaking about the evolved 2023-2028 strategic plan that is being rolled out, some new programming being implemented, and about parent and community feedback. Finally, he will share a few upcoming events that you may want to attend. It will be a fun morning of learning about what is going on in Eden Prairie Schools!
Jewelie Grape: 2023-2024 District Governor for Rotary District 5950
Jewelie Grape, our 2023-2024 District Governor for Rotary District 5950, is doing her best to visit each club in the district–we are her 26th! She keeps busy being an assistant to help each club thrive however she can to fulfill this year’s theme: “Create hope in the world!”
Jewelie shared that Gordon McInally, 2023 Rotary International President, chose to focus on empowering women and girls, polio eradication, promoting peace, and mental health this year, issues which are close to his heart and he hopes each club will continue to promote. Our district’s current initiatives include new member orientation, the Year of Service initiative, and professional LinkedIn profile training to better network through an online directory. Jewelie herself grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm in between 2 sets of brothers. She got her degree in HR and worked for various companies including American Express, until she decided to transition to legal and moved to Michell Hamline as an Employee Benefits Attorney. Half of her current work is with nonprofits, CFOs, and small to midsize companies, while the other half involves police procedures and handbooks. She loves her job, and also is passionate about traveling, especially her trips to Cuba, Kilimanjaro, and Antarctica, and her Rotary trips to Haiti and Pasadena.
Jewelie has been a part of Rotary for 15 years, but says she went from being just a ‘club member’ to being a true ‘Rotarian’ because Rotary’s core values clicked with her core values from her childhood. She feels Rotary has truly been a blessing in her life and wants everyone to have the opportunity she did to travel, volunteer, and meet with Rotarians all over the world. Grape frequently travels and spends time with friends from Rotary, and encourages all members to invite non-Rotarian friends to service events to get more people engaged so they see what we can do!
Jewelie underlines the importance of giving whatever you can to Rotary: 50% of what you give stays with the foundation, and 50% comes back to the district in three years. Our district gave almost $700,000 last year, so we are now able to give half of that money in district grants. Although Rotary is an incredible organization, sometimes that story isn’t fully told or done justice in the media–Rotary is “the best kept secret in the world!” Because of this, the district is here to help Rotarians learn how to tell the story by aiding with membership, branding, marketing, articles, and whatever else is necessary to ensure Rotary clubs thrive and the organization continues for the foreseeable future. Don’t forget that Tuesday, October 24th is World Polio Day! Happy hour will be 5:30-8:00 at Surly Brewing in Minneapolis, as they generously gave us their space for free as part of a ‘Nonprofit-Tuesdays’ program.
Vocational and New Member Induction: Andy Gregory
Andy Gregory, our newest member, has lived in Eden Prairie since 2016. He moved here with his wife from Virginia, where he went to school. He is originally from Detroit. After a career in social security with the federal government, Andy decided in 2019 to go back to law school, and persevered through the COVID-19 pandemic to graduate in 2022. Andy then opened his own firm which deals with wills, trust, and probates. Andy was drawn to Rotary because he was seeking community involvement, of the kind he enjoyed in his smaller Virginia town, such as service projects around the community. Once he found Rotary’s website, he was hooked, and decided to participate and get involved. Andy is looking forward to getting to know all the Rotary members, and loves meeting new people each week!
Happy Fives
Irene Kelly said that the Eden Prairie High School Senior Intern Program is looking for volunteers to help accept phone etiquette practice phone calls this Friday, October 6. Irene will send out an email with more information.
Tim Conners reported that his wife had ear surgery, his sister had brain surgery and Tim had Covid lately. Tim is happy that all are now doing better!
Kelly Salwei is the volunteer CFO for Eden Prairie News. Kelly was happy to announce that there are two EP News events in October—the annual meeting at City Hall in the middle of the month and a Town Hall meeting with a panel later in the month.
Bill Goodwin, Founder and CEO of Priority Living MN, and Doug Anderson
Bill Goodwin, founder and CEO of Priority Living MN with Doug Anderson, has 30 years of experience training leaders through dynamic speaking and his Live to Lead opportunity, as well as helping build a community of value based leaders. A fellow Rotarian with our neighbors in Lakeville, Bill was inspired to join Rotary by his uncle Tom Powell since he was a boy growing up in Arizona. Using the backyard-tree analogy, Bill introduced the club to the five main principles of growth: have a defined GOAL, use the right TOOLS, take ACTION, stay FOCUSED, and be CONSISTENT.
The difference between a goal-oriented mindset and a growth oriented-mindset, explained Bill, is the end result of each. While setting goals leads us to focus on a destination and motivates us by asking ourselves how long something will take, a growth mindset truly changes us and focuses on our lifelong journeys, asking instead how far we can go. Bill introduced the leadership Law of Intentionality: Growth doesn’t just happen! You grow older naturally, but in order to improve it is essential to be intentional, because “leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less.”
Bill introduced the club to 8 traps that slow our personal growth, ranging from “It’s not the right time for me” to “I have to find the perfect way before I can start,” or even “I thought growth would be easier than this!” Unfortunately, personal growth is not a natural process in most peoples’ lives–you must be intentional! Bill is fond of saying, “Everything worthwhile is uphill all the way, and most people have uphill hopes but downhill habits!” He instructed the club to lead their lives, not just accept them, especially after many people have felt stuck in jobs or marriages due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the only guarantee that tomorrow will be better than today is if we grow ourselves today–so, how do we start?
Well, according to Bill, we need to plant the seed! Just as a seed needs good soil and sunlight, we need a caring environment that holds us accountable, which is where our Rotary family comes in. He says we need to make big commitments to intentionally grow, face our fear factors, and make our commitments public–and share our progress with others! Ask yourself, Bill says, what are you doing TODAY to develop yourself? What are you doing TODAY to develop others? Bill's most important message was to get started today. The only way to grow is by stepping out of your comfort zone, so he challenges Rotarians to share their personal growth goals with someone else, to be intentional in just one area of their lives, and to use every opportunity to grow! Rotarians interested in learning more can join Bill Goodwin’s leadership E-newsletter, which he co-writes with his mentor and inspiration, John C. Maxwell.
Future Meetings
October 31: Superintendent Josh Swanson --“100 years of Eden Prairie Schools”. November 7: Craig & Pauline Neal—Center for Purposeful Living November 11: Veterans’ Day Luncheon at Bear Path Country Club, 11:30 AM November 21: Nasser Mohammadi—“An Afghan Refugee’s Story”
Announcements
President Dan reviewed recent service projects that EPAM Rotary has undertaken—School Supply Drive, Patchwork Community Garden (which donated 650 pounds of produce to PROP!) and Habitat for Humanity.
Buckthorn Removal will be at Eden Brook Park on Saturday, October 21, from 10:00am—Noon. Dresser Assembly at the Prop Shop will be next Tuesday, October 24, from 7:30am—8:30am. Pint Night at Fat Pants Brewing will be on Sunday, October 29, from Noon—5:00pm with a portion of the proceeds going to the Sojourner Project to mark Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Bingo is scheduled for December 6 at Fat Pants. This will be a new fundraiser for our club. Volunteers are needed for the event. Volunteers are also needed to secure gift cards from local business to use as Bingo prizes. Contact Lori Thrune or Blake Cadwallader with questions or to volunteer.
Dan discussed reestablishing “Rotary Cares” for our club. Rotary Cares is an outreach to members of our club—via cards, flowers, etc.--when members are experiencing illness/loss or to acknowledge happy events in members’ lives. Pastor Rod Anderson volunteered to oversee Rotary Cares. Thank you, Pastor Rod!
Dan said that he will be distributing a list of EPAM Rotary service opportunities to members in the upcoming weeks.
There were flyers on the tables with information about Hope House—a shelter for teens.
New member Mark Rigby will be inducted at the next weekly meeting on October 31.
TRF Chair Sharon Borine presented Bob Starr with a three ruby Paul Harris pin denoting Bob’s significant financial contribution to The Rotary Foundation.
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Jewelie Grape, our 2023-2024 District Governor for Rotary District 5950, is doing her best to visit each club in the district–we are her 26th! She keeps busy being an assistant to help each club thrive however she can to fulfill this year’s theme: “Create hope in the world!”
Andy Gregory, our newest member, has lived in Eden Prairie since 2016. He moved here with his wife from Virginia, where he went to school. He is originally from Detroit. After a career in social security with the federal government, Andy decided in 2019 to go back to law school, and persevered through the COVID-19 pandemic to graduate in 2022. Andy then opened his own firm which deals with wills, trust, and probates. Andy was drawn to Rotary because he was seeking community involvement, of the kind he enjoyed in his smaller Virginia town, such as service projects around the community. Once he found Rotary’s website, he was hooked, and decided to participate and get involved. Andy is looking forward to getting to know all the Rotary members, and loves meeting new people each week!
Bill Goodwin, founder and CEO of Priority Living MN with Doug Anderson, has 30 years of experience training leaders through dynamic speaking and his Live to Lead opportunity, as well as helping build a community of value based leaders. A fellow Rotarian with our neighbors in Lakeville, Bill was inspired to join Rotary by his uncle Tom Powell since he was a boy growing up in Arizona. Using the backyard-tree analogy, Bill introduced the club to the five main principles of growth: have a defined GOAL, use the right TOOLS, take ACTION, stay FOCUSED, and be CONSISTENT.