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On August 10th, widespread, destructive, straight-line winds blew across central Iowa. The most extreme winds, estimated to be at 110-140 miles-per-hour, destroyed or damaged numerous outbuildings, barns, grain bins, homes, mobile homes, apartment buildings, trees and power poles in parts of Benton, Linn, Jones, Cedar and Clinton Counties. The Cedar Rapids area was particularly hard hit. As #PeopleOfAction, we would like to do what we can to help our neighbors to the south.
The Golden Valley Rotary Club gathered virtually with members of the community to celebrate all things Rotary for the 2019-2020 year during the Twenty-First Annual Awards Ceremony on YouTube. We presented the Citizens of the Year award to Dawn Dresser and Sue Klaseus of Kid Pack. We presented the Rotarian of the Year award to Brian Liedtke. Our five high school scholarship recipients were honored. Paul Harris Fellows were given for extraordinary service. And Bryan Palmer, Club President for 19-20, passed the presidential gavel to Michelle Ness, Club President for 20-21. It was a great celebratory event in the forty-seven year history of the Golden Valley Rotary Club!
The Golden Valley Rotary Board of Directors met for a conference call on March 19, 2020 to make important decisions for the near future of the Golden Valley Rotary Club. We share a deep concern for you, your loved ones, the Golden Valley community, and the community at large.
Due to the spread of COVID-19, the federal government and the state of Minnesota strongly discourage meetings of more than 10 people. Rotary International has encouraged all Clubs to follow recommended guidelines. Therefore, the GV Rotary Board of Directors has decided that the Club will not meet in person through at least the end of April. Brookview Community Center has also suspended meetings and meal service until April 3, and we don’t know what their policy will be after that. As this is a fluid and rapidly evolving situation, we may decide to extend the timeline for resuming in-person meetings. We will keep you posted on future developments.
Jewish Family & Children’s Service received the Business of the Year Award from Golden Valley Rotary Club. October is "Economic and Community Development Month" for the Rotary International calendar. The Golden Valley Rotary Club celebrates each year by naming a local Business of the Year to honor. The 2019 selection is Jewish Family and Children's Service (JFCS) in Golden Valley.JFCS representatives accepting the award were Judy Halper, Executive Director; Lee Friedman, Chief Operating Officer; Lori Leavitt, Marketing and Communications Director; Dana Rubin, Development Director; Jeff Barin, Board Chair; and Jaye Snyder, Board Member. They are pictured with Bryan Palmer, Golden Valley Rotary Club President.
“We are honored to receive this recognition from the Rotary Club and proud to be a part of the Golden Valley community along with so many businesses and organizations working to make a positive impact,” JFCS Chief Executive Officer Judy Halper said. “JFCS provides essential services to people of all ages and backgrounds to sustain healthy relationships, ease suffering and offer support in times of need. We are also co-located with PRISM, and we are grateful for the opportunity to amplify one another’s work and improve service delivery to people in need. Just as the Rotary Club is dedicated to community service, at JFCS we are dedicated to serving our community, one person at a time, with boundless compassion.”
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Our recent “Lunchtime Service Project” benefited The Bridge for Youth. With support from Culver's and Rotary District 5950, our Club assembled and delivered 48 "Got You Covered" packs (and an additional 79 pairs of wool socks) for youth in need. Each kit contained underwear, pajamas, and socks. #PeopleOfAction
Welcome to our newest member, Mary Timmons! Mary grew up as a farm girl in North Dakota and is very proud of her North Dakota roots. Before moving to Minneapolis, Mary was very active in the Fargo Moorhead community with Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, and other non-profits. Since living here, she's spent time in the hospitality industry, as an office manager, and most recently going out on her own to work with people as they prepare to move, assisting with purging, cleaning, and moving. Mary has two brothers and one sister. Her husband, David, was a member of our club; he passed away in July, 2018. We are so pleased you have joined the Golden Valley Rotary Club, Mary!
Our recent “Lunchtime Service Project” benefited The Bridge for Youth. We packed 34 school backpacks with supplies that youth will need in the coming months. The impact of our project was increased when our grant was matched by the Rotary District 5950. Rotarians are #PeopleOfAction
The 5th Annual Taste and Tour was Thursday, August 1st from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The Taste and Tour is a business “open house” where participants can “tour” local businesses while tasting samples of food and drinks. The event is FREE to attendees.
Rest in Peace, Chan Handberg
Chan was a charter member of the Golden Valley Rotary Club. Channing Paul Handberg was born November 3, 1927. Channing was taken to heaven to be with our Lord July 19, 2019. He met the love of his life, Rachel and April 29, 1956 married. They celebrated over 60 years of Christian faith together. He was blessed to be President of Handberg Insurance Agency and a singing member of the Apollo Club of Minneapolis for over 60 years. He was preceded in death by wife, Rachel. Funeral service will be held on Monday, July 29, 2019, at King of Grace Lutheran Church. Read his full obituary here.
Chan was a charter member of the Golden Valley Rotary Club. Channing Paul Handberg was born November 3, 1927. Channing was taken to heaven to be with our Lord July 19, 2019. He met the love of his life, Rachel and April 29, 1956 married. They celebrated over 60 years of Christian faith together. He was blessed to be President of Handberg Insurance Agency and a singing member of the Apollo Club of Minneapolis for over 60 years. He was preceded in death by wife, Rachel. Funeral service will be held on Monday, July 29, 2019, at King of Grace Lutheran Church. Read his full obituary here.
The Golden Valley Rotary Club presented a check for $1,000 to Jaime Belden & Future Roots Project / Raices del Futuro to support their sustainable educational initiatives in Central America. We are proud to be a multi-year donor along with several other Rotary Clubs in Minnesota.
The Future Roots Project is a collective founded in Minnesota that focuses on sustainable educational, artistic, and health initiatives in Central America.
From teachers trainings to designing sustainable classroom materials, Future Roots brings educational and artistic opportunities to impoverished communities that improve literacy rates, creativity, self worth, health, & empowerment in children.
From teachers trainings to designing sustainable classroom materials, Future Roots brings educational and artistic opportunities to impoverished communities that improve literacy rates, creativity, self worth, health, & empowerment in children.
Congratulations to Brian Liedtke on his recent Paul Harris Fellowship! Brian was recognized for his biggest contribution to the Club: grant writing. Brian successfully wrote a number of grants all aimed at bettering the lives of children and people in need. These grants had hands-on elements that allowed club members to work together on projects, leading to increased fellowship as members got to know one another in a different setting. Grants are how the monies we have contributed to The Rotary Foundation get returned to our community. We are grateful to Brian for helping us make a larger impact in the community AND for strengthening the bonds of service among our club members.
This month, the Golden Valley Business Council welcomed David Arbit, Director of Research and Economics from the Minneapolis Area Realtors. Arbit spoke on the topic of "Golden Valley Housing Market: Affordability and Trends." David is pictured here, center, with Rotarian Gary Aiken on the left and Shannon Full, President/CEO TwinWest Chamber, on the right.
The Golden Valley Rotary Club gathered with members of the community to celebrate all things Rotary during the 2018-2019 year. We presented the Citizen of the Year award to Amy Forbes and the Rotarian of the Year award to Colleen Haubner. Our high school scholarship recipients were honored. Paul Harris Fellows were given for extraordinary service, including a special posthumous award for Jim Nielsen. Members of Jim's family were on hand to receive his award. Julie Peterson passed the presidential gavel to Bryan Palmer, our new Club President. It was a great event, hosted at the Golden Valley Country Club, celebrating the forty-six year history of the Golden Valley Rotary Club! View all of the event's photos here.
"We have the wild poliovirus cornered in the smallest geographic area in history, and now there are just two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan, that continue to report cases of the wild virus," said Michael K. McGovern, chair of Rotary's International PolioPlus Committee. "As we work with our partners to apply innovative new strategies to reach more children, and embrace lessons learned thus far, Rotary is doubling down on our commitment to end polio for good."
On June 6, Rotarian Betsy Anderson presented a scholarship to a graduating senior at Perpich Arts High School. The recipient for 2019 is Linda Xiong. The counseling staff and music faculty at Perpich Arts High School helped select the recipient for the Golden Valley Rotary Club Scholarship. The scholarship is a one year, $1,000 scholarship. The student exemplifies “Service Above Self” and lives in Golden Valley or attended a school in Golden Valley. The scholarship honors high achievement in music but need not be awarded to a student currently focusing on music at Perpich. The student should plan on either studying or continuing with their music in their post-secondary career. This scholarship rounds out our 2019 giving of $5,000 total. Two scholarships were given to Robbinsdale Armstrong seniors, two to Hopkins seniors, and one to a senior at Perpich Arts High School.
