Posted by Jeff Benson on Oct 09, 2018

Pat President Gerry Tietz filled in for Co-President John Marg Patton.

 

Our guests today were:

     Dana’s sister in law, Sister Ruth Ellen Rebelein

     Edla Koehntop

     Marv Sorvala, Roseville Rotarian

 

Happy Bucks Summary:

- Mike Neeley joined 35 other Ford Model A owners on a 500 mile road trip.

- Dana Rebelein was happy to have Sister Ruth Ellen Rebelein as her guest.

- George Winiecki was happy to be back, happy to announce his 3rd grandchild, Aidan Thomas Nichols, happy to turn 70 and happy to be married for 27 years.  That’s a lot of happiness for one week!

- Mark Beisswenger was happy to have found someone to cover for him at work so he can come to Rotary on Tuesdays.

- Dana Rebelein noted that Nicholas Tietz (Gerry’s son) was featured in the paper for his Vitals Aware program for vulnerable adults.  Papa Gerry’s buttons were justifiably busting.

 

Ed James announced that our delegates to Camp Enterprise have been selected.  Irondale Students Breana Garcia and Ellie Goligowski will represent our club.

 

Ed also noted that we have met with the Eagles about Harvest Pack and they will let us know.

 

Gerry Tietz reported that the Membership Team’s strategy for his year will be to encourage members to personally invite potential Rotarians to come to a meeting or event.

 

Ed James introduced our exchange student and speaker Maria Klakegg from Norway.  Maria lives in Averøy, on the western coast of Norway.  She lives with her mother, father, two older sisters and a younger brother.  Maria and her family are outdoor lovers, enjoying like skiing, hiking and anything else that involves mountains.  The Klakegg’s are also avid travelers who avoid going to the same location twice.  Maria is interested in theater and had a role in Fame despite her admitted inability to sing.  The photo immediately below shows Maria and her younger brother and two older sisters.  The photo below that is of the entire family at her younger brother's confirmation.

Maria’s interest in being an exchange student started when the sister was an exchange student in Canada while the Klakegg’s hosted her Canadian counterpart.  She claims that everything in the U.S. is so much fun.  She loves to eat and, after her visit to the State Fair, has become a fried food fan and her favorite is State Fair Cheese Curds.  She plans to take a fryer back to Norway.  She finds Americans to be very warm and welcoming, which is quite different from her more reserved homeland.  She loves Irondale, having already made several friends and hoping to make many, many more.  She plans to try several sports and has already been to a basketball practice.  When asked about her 10 year plan, she said that she would like to follow in her parent’s footsteps and become a veterinarian, but possibly in a country other than Norway.  Some preconceived ideas about America that turned out to be untrue were that jocks and cheerleaders were mean and that Americans ate at McDonalds all the time.  Some bucket list goals for her stay are:

- Go to a drive-in

- Ride in a pickup truck

- Go to Valley Fair

- Make many new friends

- Act in a play (no singing)

 

If you are reading this because you missed today’s meeting; you should know that Maria is an incredibly charming and energetic young woman who really wants to experience everything that Minnesota has to offer.  Her English is excellent and she would fit in nicely on any adventure, large or small, that you or your family is planning.  Don’t pass up the opportunity to learn a little more about Norway and to give Maria a healthy dose of Minnesota Nice and Rotary hospitality.  You can reach Maria at mariaklakegg@gmail.com   Future host mom, Denise Jacobsen, Maria and Ed James are pictured below.