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Flags! Piano! Banners! A full house at the Holiday Inn was once again surrounded by our normal accoutrements as President Elaine Hansen warmly welcomed Rotarians and guests and called the meeting to order. “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” rang out loud and clear as Past President John Baumgarten accompanied beautifully on the piano. Dan Bergeland shared a meaningful invocation about change, quoting author Tom Friedman, asking how we can keep our balance in such a fast moving world. Indeed, as Bob Dylan sang, “the times, they are a changin’.”
Dan Bergeland
Dave Nolle had the honor of welcoming former Rotarian, Don Ness, back into our club. Former Mayor Ness, who is the newly named Executive Director at the Ordean Foundation, shared his gratitude and enthusiasm for again participating in Rotary Club 25.
Don Ness
Fellowship reporter Jon Ohman welcomed visiting Rotarians and guests, the latter of whom included Steve Yorde’s wife, Adele, and speaker Paul Helstrom’s boss, his mother and his wife. Other announcements included mention of the Club 25 Fact Book, prepared by Bri Braaten. It is available at no charge at weekly meetings and in the office. Also, the ABC’s of Rotary has been prepared by Rotary International and is available for $5.00. Jeff Iisakka, Karla Powers, Bill Gronseth, Tom Wheeler, Steve Burgess, Elizabeth Simonson, Steve Yorde and Dennis Cummings were all encouraged to kick the Golden Can for recent media kudos and mentions. Those named above who were absent are enthusiastically invited to fill the can next week! Jon Ohman closed his report with the famous quote, “If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you.” An invaluable reminder for us all!
President Elaine Hansen led a round of applause for the Commissary and House Committee’s dedication and commitment to determining our new, official meeting location as well as a backup location. The Holiday Inn has been selected as the primary meeting site, and the Kitchi Gammi Club as a backup when the hotel is unavailable. By April 1, the Rotary Club 25 office will move to the Skyway level of the Holiday Inn complex. Our space will include an extra room available for committee and board meetings. Rotarians will be invited to help sort through boxes of memorabilia and documents at the office very soon.
On a somber note, our members were informed that fellow Rotarian, Al Markham, has passed away. We will hold the family in our thoughts, hearts and prayers.
Proud (with good reason) father, Jon Helstrom, introduced son, fellow Rotarian and today’s speaker, Paul Helstrom, with an awe-inspiring recap of Paul’s service above self locally and around the world. Sharing expertise about “Energy Transformations”, our speaker reminded the crowd how ever-present energy is in our world and that all life seeks energy… all the time. Further, as energy cannot be created or destroyed, he shared revelations regarding harnessing energy in new ways to sustain and support our world. Paul focused his talk on Solar Energy, Storage and Electric Vehicles. Amazingly, he shared that in 2 years there will be over 2 million solar panels being utilized. In Duluth, the Community Solar Garden at the corner of Arrowhead and Rice Lake Roads is currently fueling energy for five homes! Specializing in solar energy at Minnesota Power, Paul invited interested members to schedule a solar analysis for energy efficiency at their own homes. The payback timeframe for home solar installation is approximately ten years. Regarding solar storage, Paul spoke about lithium batteries and hydrostorage as examples of recent advancements in this area. Lastly, electric vehicles, which now have a range of approximately 200 miles per charge, are growing in popularity. And as such, more charging stations are appearing nationwide and even locally to accommodate the growing demand. Interestingly, in a video comparing the pickup speed of Ferrari (gasoline) vs. Tesla (electric), the Tesla far out sped the Ferrari from the starting line, and at only a wind-whisper noise. This is surely a technology to watch. To conclude, Paul closed his remarks with a thought-provoking and humbling quote by Carl Sagan, “The Pale Blue Dot”. As is our tradition, our speaker was honored with a book donated to the Lowell School Library.
After the $60 raffle prize was claimed, our meeting was adjourned with the reminder that next week’s meeting will be at our temporary space, the Kitchi Gammi Club. To quote Paul Helstrom, “Have an energetic day!”
Paul Helstrom
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