Rotarians and their guests were warmly welcomed at the weekly meeting by President-Elect Dean Casperson and invited to join him in reciting the Rotary 4-Way Test followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. It was with heartfelt appreciation that Darlene Anderson thanked members for their prayers, thoughts and cards in the past few weeks following the passing of two of her family members. She also expressed her family's appreciation for the wonderful medical care that we are able to receive in our community and asked that we pause for a moment of appreciation and gratitude for that service.

 

Our newest Rotary Club 25 member, Christopher McMahon was introduced and shared that he is affiliated with the Voyageurs Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He previously was the parish administrator for St. Michael's. His first experience with Rotary was as a youth when a group to which he belonged approached their local Rotary Club seeking funds for a trip. They requested $200, but after hearing about the trip that was planned, the club generously donated $4000 so that all the boys could participate. That sold him on the “Service Above Self” motto of Rotary. Welcome, Christopher!

 

Club #25 newest member Christopher McMahon

 

Fellowship Reporter Jon Ohman started by kicking the Golden Can as he and Steve Burgess had been discussing why Steve had been in the paper and neither could remember why. That brought a chuckling Steve to the podium to add $4 while reciting the “4-Way Test”. Barb Perrella was interviewed on TV discussing the upcoming Superior Street work. And in memory of his beloved wife Dorothy, Allen Anway contributed on this the first anniversary of her passing.

 

Thank You cards have been received and Eric Dott read from three of them. Two were from widows of former Club 25 members who thanked us for the Valentine Day's boxes of candy that were delivered along with good conversations: Past President Bob Bennett to Phyllis James (Bob James) and Jena Evans to Bobbi Voss (Dave Voss). The third card was from the Northeast Minnesota Regional Science Fair. Two dozen of the fair participants have advanced to the finals which will be held in Anaheim, California. Rotarians from our club served as judges at the regional fair.

 

A highlight of our club last summer was the First Annual Duck Pluck. The funds raised at that event went to the Boys and Girls Club for the new Mental Health Access Program. Today Tammy Sundbom, Resource Development Director, and Leslie Chaplin brought a progress report. Two graduate students from the College of St Scholastica who are pursuing their Masters in Social Work were hired as interns working 20 hours per week. They have immersed themselves in the Lincoln Park Club learning the culture, building relationships with the kids and working with families as needed. The program is going well and is ahead of schedule. Next fall they plan to have six graduate students working at the Lincoln and Goldberg locations. Also, they are now formalizing the contract for a licensed therapist that would come to the sites. This is being done in conjunction with The Hills. Already they are seeing positive results and are thankful to our club for providing the funding for this much needed service to our community youth and families.

 

Leslie Chaplin and Tammy Sundbom of the Boys and Girls Club

 

Chair of the Day Jena Evans introduced past Club 25 member Tania McVean. Tania is the Director of St Luke's Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center which has won several awards and most recently was named the wound care center of the year (out of 600 centers) for outstanding outcomes and patient care. The hyperbaric chamber is an enclosure with 100% oxygen into which the patient is placed. When the body receives pure oxygen, it stimulates the blood cells and speeds healing. The patients who benefit the most from this procedure are diabetics with lower extremity wounds, cancer patients suffering from radiation injury, burn patients and patients who have undergone flap or graph procedures. The treatment duration is for two hours at a time, five days a week, and usually lasts from four to six weeks. It has proven to be an effective treatment rebuilding tissue and healing wounds. St Luke's has two of these chambers and they can treat eight patients each day. After three years it is proving to be a successful program in our medical community. 

 

 

St Luke's Tania McVean and President Elect Dean Casperson