Monday Morning Messenger - December 5th

Good Morning Prior Lake Rotarians!

Last week was a great week, and not because it snowed either.  We ended Rotary Foundation Month and rang in the Holiday season in great fashion!  On Wednesday night, we had our annual Foundation Banquet, and we had over 80 attendees for a great night!  See below for details, but if you were there…you know you came away inspired and entertained!  And remember…just because Foundation Month has come and gone, you still have 7 months to contribute to The Rotary Foundation!  Every dollar makes a difference, and we need every member to do their part in the Every Rotarian, Every Year initiative!

In other happenings, it was a big week in the planning for our Lakefront Music Fest 2012…lots of great stuff is happening, and this will be a great event next July.  If you want to get involved, there’s plenty of room for you…talk to Paul Perez or Rod Ammerman soon…you don’t want to wait and miss out on the fun and excitement!

And with that…here’s this week’s Monday Morning Messenger!

THE WEEK THAT WAS…

·         Monday, November 28- Music Fest Corporate Fundraising Committee Meeting

o   The Fundraising committee met at The Cove on Monday afternoon to start to put together a plan for discussing sponsorships with businesses throughout the Twin Cities.  Do you want to help with the Committee or do you know of a business that might be interested?  Contact Dan Stanley!

·         Monday, November 28- Music Fest Talent Committee Meeting

o   The Talent committee met at Fongs to further discuss the headliners for the big event.  It’s still a little early to reveal the names, but it can be known that negotiations are ongoing with two great headliners!

·         Wednesday, November 30- CLUB MEETING

o   42 Rotarians were present for our meeting, and got to see a program about cyber crime and how to stop it from Craig Sorum, Special Agent at the FBI Minneapolis Office.

o   Bill O’Rourke had poinsettias at the meeting to be delivered to everyone that ordered them.  This is a fundraiser for the Southern Valley Alliance for Battered Women, and they thank all of us for purchasing 85 total plants!

o   Rod Ammerman gave an update on Music Fest planning.  The synopsis…lots of stuff is brewing right now, and it’s all good stuff!  In fact, it’s a great time to get involved if you’d like!  Contact Rod or Paul Perez if you’re interested.

·         Wednesday, November 30- Music Fest Steering Committee Meeting

o   After our club meeting, the Steering Committee got together to discuss a few things, specifically related to PR and Marketing for the event, as well as an update on the committee meetings from earlier in the week.

·         Wednesday, November 30- STRIVE Meeting

o   The STRIVE volunteers got together with their mentees for the second meeting they’ve had.  All of the kids were very responsive, in fact some of the administrators at Bridges expressed how pleased they were at how quickly the students opened up to their mentors.

·         Wednesday, November 30- Rotary Foundation Banquet/Holiday Kickoff

o   As mentioned, it was a great night of wine, music,  fellowship, education, and inspiration for our Club’s Foundation banquet.  The night featured:

§  During dinner, Manny Perez, Bob Barsness and Paul Hofslien shared their thoughts about why The Rotary Foundation is important to them.

§  Marlene Gargulak from the Rice Lake Rotary Club, who spoke to us about Polio Plus and her participation in a National Immunization Day in India last February.

§  Updates from our club’s grants in Haiti, The Gambia, and STRIVE.

§  District Rotary Foundation Chair Newell Krogmann, who talked to us about why giving to The Rotary Foundation is important and what the money is used for.

§  District Governor Elect Joe Kovarik closed the banquet with a few words on philanthropy, and how there are different types…all important!

THE WEEK AHEAD…

·         Monday, December 5- Valentine’s Gala Committee Meeting

o   The Gala planning committee will meet at The Wilds at 7PM to continue to start to make plans for this year’s big event, and to make sure everything is right in line for Wednesday’s kickoff program.

·         Wednesday, December 7- CLUB MEETING

o   Our program will be Tom Kedrowski and the rest of the Valentine’s Gala Planning Committee kicking off the plans for this year’s Gala.  You don’t want to miss out on this information!

·         Wednesday, December 7- Membership Committee Meeting

o   The membership committee will meet after Rotary to discuss the Corporate Membership policy and submit it to the Board for approval.

·         Wednesday, December 7- STRIVE

o   The mentors and mentees will meet again for the 3^rd time!

·         Friday, December 9- Music Fest Steering Committee/PR/Marketing Meeting

o   The Steering Committee and representatives from our PR/Marketing Committee will meet with representatives from all 3 of our non-profit partners to share ideas and put together a plan for how to best promote the Music Fest!

THE TIME AHEAD OF THAT…

·         Wednesday, December 14- CLUB MEETING

o   Our program will be a mid year review on what all we’ve accomplished so far this year.  It’s been a great year, and we’ve done a lot already!

·         Tuesday, December 20- Board Meeting