President's Weekly Message for 7/30/13 Meeting

Hello and  happy almost last day of July. Hard to believe we are two thirds through the summer months. The weather has been so fall-like I am thinking of roasting marshmallows instead of roasting on a warm summer day!

Last week we had a great presentation brought to us by our own Ron Solseth. Al Newman, former Twins player and manager gave us a very informative and inspirational talk about his own experiences as player and coach and how he is working with his current non-profit the Al Newman Foundation to help  young people get scholarships to further their education and raise their chances for success in life. Thanks to Ron,  I think the talk was well received by all who attended.

On a totally different note,  it is with sadness we learned last week that our own Rotary couple, Rick and Connie Vaillancourt will  be leaving the club as they move to their new home in New Bedford, Massachusetts.  With their son and his family making yet another job move, this time to Chicago, they have decided it would be better to return to family and friends in the East and they will be departing sometime shortly after the Labor Day holiday.  We will miss both of them and certainly all the wonderful contributions they have made to the club over the past 5 years or so.  I know they will do well in their new location and they will continue their Rotary life in their new community.

This week Chuck Huss will introduce to the club our outbound exchange student Adam Keesling.  Adam spent this past school year as our exchange student in South Korea. We are looking forward to hearing all about his adventures and his experiences.  I am sure this is a presentation you won't want to miss!  Our Finemaster this week is none other than the master of the pickle industry, our own Jim Cook. Along with Jim we have Songmaster,  Mark McNeill to indulge us with his new guitar.  "Helpful Hardware Man"  Mark also has fixed the Rotary Badge box so it won't be falling apart anytime soon and has constructed a nice tight latch with lock for the podium to avoid future losses of such things as laptops. Thank you Mark for completing these tasks while alone this weekend when your wife was in Chicago.  The Greeters desk again this week is to be manned by the likes of Tate, Thompson  and Schlief.  

In Rotary Service,

Sheila McNeill
President 2013-14