Northfield Rotary Club

The Northfield Rotary Club continues to deliver on its pledge to donate $40,000 to the Northfield Union of Youth, also known as “The Key.” A check for $5,080 was presented to the group as another installment to continue to support The Key. President Robert Bierman and President Elect Jane Fenton presented he check.

Today: Building Low-Income Housing in Minneapolis with Herb Frey (Gleason)

Birthdays: Ross Thompson (2/7)

Next Week: Mathilde Mortensen from Denmark (Barry Carlson)

Last Week:

Our very own Northfield born and raised John Fossum treated fellow club members to a brief course on the history of international criminal law, a subject he knows well from recent training and personal work experience. John’s legal expertise expanded after his wife Tracy accepted a job in Switzerland in 2006, and they with their daughter, Liv, relocated from Northfield to live there. While in Europe John pursued further training in international criminal law and, ultimately, commuted for a time to and from Afghanistan, where he trained police and criminal prosecutors.

Formal rules as to how to conduct war actually date from the 1400s.  Geneva Conventions (formal treaties and international agreements) began in 1864 and provided the first modern standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment of victims of war. Additional Geneva Conventions were added in 1906, 1929 and 1949. The Conventions deal with the condition of wounded and sick combatants in the field and at sea, the treatment of prisoners of war, and the protection of civilians on time of war. The Geneva Conventions have been ratified by 194 nations.

After World War II the Nuremburg and Tokyo Trials received much publicity and provided some measure of justice for war crimes, but as is so often the case after warfare, the victorious nations effectively controlled the process. The subsequent International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia initiated in 1993 is still underway. Other tribunals have attempted to deal with wartime crimes in Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Cambodia and Lebanon.

February 25, 2012

The Northfield Rotary Club hosts “To India and Back” February 25, 2012 at the Northfield Middle School. Journey to India for an evening! Explore its people, arts, culture, and food, while supporting Youth Exchange in Northfield.

Stroll through a street fair from 5-7, enjoying Indian cuisine, Rangoli (sand art), sanskrit and other visual art and even have your photo taken in front of the Taj Mahal!

Experience traditional music on the drums and veena and Bollywood and traditional dance from 7-9.  In addition there will be some other fun surprises!

Featured artists are:

World Renowned Veena player, Nirmala Rajasekar

Nirmala is a world renowned Carnatic veena virtuoso and educator of South Indian Music. She has performed in venues throughout the world and is a recipient of many awards including a Bush artistic fellowship, a McKnight fellowship, Rotary Vocational Excellence award and Best Senior Veena Artiste.  She is known for her talents in exploring South Indian Classical (Carnatic) to create collaborative projects with other music traditions including western classical and jazz.

Renu Kumar

Renu Kumar is Artistic Director, Choreographer, Founder and an accomplished dancer. Renu has an extensive training in Classical North Indian Kathak and Modern dance. She has been teaching and performing in the Twin Cities since 1986. She has choreographed more than 30 new works, conducted academy’s eight annual musical dance shows and performed locally, nationally and internationally. She is known for original, energetic, artistic, elegant and vibrant choreography. The Modern Indian Dance Academy R.G.K. is the first professional dance Academy in the Twin Cities to offer classes in the exhilarating and beautiful Bollywood dance styles of India. Bollywood dancing is the new craze of dancing that has taken the world by storm.

and

Shakun Maheshwari is a visual artist, folk artist, and photographer. Art is her life and passion. She has run her own art business called Shakuntala Design, Inc. since 1974. She teaches, does demonstrations, workshops, and residencies. She is a roster artist for Young Audiences Art and Compass.  During the Street Fair time (5-6.45) Shakun will demonstrate the art of Rangoli.

Tickets are $20. All proceeds benefit the Northfield Rotary Youth Exchange.

Visit “To India and Back” on Facebook at:

https://www.facebook.com/events/251814461544612/

Click here to purchase tickets:

Tickets can be picked up at Rotary (Thursdays 12-1) or at the event. Tickets will not be mailed.  Email Clarice Grabau with questions.

Tickets can also be purchased at Heartwork Yoga Studio in downtown Northfield.

 Thursday, February 2, 2012

Today:  “A Very Brief History of International Criminal Law” (Fossum)

Birthdays: Jean Wakely (2/3)

Next Week: Building Low-Income Housing in Minneapolis with Herb Frey (Gleason)

Last Week:

    Society has come a long way in its acceptance of those with disabilities, but Tom Tanghe, whose brother has Down’s Syndrome, offered first-hand insight into how the disabled and their loved ones straddle the two worlds — theirs and ours.

He describes his brother Andy, one of six brothers, as a “sweet, honest and loving” individual, who deals in positives, unburdened by the things that consume our lives: careers, status, material benchmarks. On the other hand, Andy constantly confronts his limitations when he watches older brothers play sports, drive cars and attend college.

“The difference is painfully clear to him,” Tom said.

Down’s Syndrome is caused by creation of extra genetic material in the early stages of fetal development. Down’s babies arrive with an extra chromosome that expresses itself in both physical and cognitive limitations. But the range is wide. Some function at a very high level.

Attitudes in both education and medicine have created a much more hospitable world for people with Andy’s disability. But Tom said the loving environment his parents created for Andy made all the difference in the world.

Andy is now 35 years old. He lives in his own apartment and works at Target and the National Guard Armory in Eden Prairie. And he is engaged to a woman who also has Down’s Syndrome.

Tom said he feels privileged to have the relationship he has with his brother.

Guests: Jon Snodgrass (Rich), Daniel Ajpap (Reggie) and our exchange students: Aish, Mathilde, Felecia, Camillo and Nichopat.

Scholarship Enhancement: Mark Gleason lands another grant-in-aid.

Announcements:

— “To India and Back,” our “rock the house” winter social will be Saturday, Feb. 25. Tickets, posters and T-shirts are available. Anyone who is anyone is going to be there. Don’t miss it.

— We will be hosting a Global Study Exchange group from Brasil on Saturday, March 24.

— Jane Fenton announced that the Turkey Trot video is now ready for release.

— Kurt Larson encouraged members to check their information on the weekly bulletin to make sure it is correct. If any changes are necessary, e-mail them to Kurt at: kelarson@larsonprinting.com.

—Lee Dilley reported that Jessie Diggens, a world-class cross country skier, who has broken bread with us, is doing well on the U.S. Ski Team. She won four events in national competition and won a silver medal recently in the World Cups. You can follow her at jessiediggens.com.

Coming Up:
Feb. 16 – Mathilde Mortensen, Denmark (Barry Carlson)
Feb. 23  -  (Esse)
Feb. 25 – To India and Back

Northfield Rotary Club President Robert Bierman shared some great news from Rotary International regarding the orgnaization’s continued efforts to eradicate polio.

Read President Bierman’s Northfield News article.

 Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012

Today: Tom Tanghe about Down’s Syndrome (Fritz)

Birthdays: Missi Ahrens (1/24))

Next Week: – “A Very Brief History of International Criminal Law” (Fossum)

Last Week:

President Bierman, club officers and committee chairs gave us a mid-year overview of our club, what it does and how it does it.

President-elect Fenton reported that at present we have 131 members. Eight new members have signed on thus far this year. She is planning an orientation for these folks and invites anyone who is interested to come, too.

Charlie Cogan reported that our International Service project in Thailand is going well. Several of our members will be traveling to Thailand in May for the International Rotary Conference. They plan to visit ChaingMai and get a tour of the school we are helping build.

Vicki Dilley said the Youth Exchange Program is looking for host families and counselors for next year’s inbound students. She will be leading a Global Study Exchange group to Brasil in April. We will be hosting a five-person GSE team from Brasil in March. For that, we need host families and vocational connections for a psychiatrist, nutritionist, architect and interior designer.

Our relationship with The Key remains strong, according to Nancy Amerman. The kids raised $5,000 for the car raffle and helped with the bike tour and the Turkey Trot. We won’t be selling Valentine flowers. She is looking for a way to help The Key get t-shirts for the kids, so they can be identified when they are working for the cause.

Club members are encouraged to contribute each year — Every Rotarian, Every Year — to the Paul Harris Foundation. Jim Prichard reminded us of the half-price sale available to members, a $1,000 Paul Harris Scholarship for just $500.

Carl Caskey said our clubs contributes $5,000 a year to local projects and campaigns. Our strength, he said, is our flexibility and ability to make things happen quickly. His committee will be meeting with the United Way and WINGS to get a sense of community needs.

Chris Weber said the club will be reviving its literacy work. We will be partnering with the Northfield Public Library to put books in the hands of kids through the Early Childhood Family Education program.

We will be appealing to more hard-core, “crazy” bike riders under the direction of our new Defeat of Jesse James Bike Tour chair, Roberty Zayas. He said a timed bike rid is in the plans.

Buckle up everyone.

Officers for 2012-13 elected

  Our fearless leaders for the coming year were elected at last week’s meeting. They are: President — Jane Fenton; President Elect/Membership — Jim Prichard; Secretary —Matt Rich; Treasurer —    Dave Wolf;  International Service —-Russ Halverson; Club Service —Neil Lutsky; Community Service —Judy Brown-Wescott; Vocational Service —Missy Arens; Communication/ PR —Co Chairs  – Steve Wilmot/Kurt Larson; Past President —Robert Bierman. They will assume their roles in July.

Guests: No nonmember guests, but member Judy Brown-Wescott was introduced to the club after a long absence due to surgery.

Scholarship Enhancement: Missi Ahrens

Announcements:

— “To India and Back,” our “rock the house” winter social will be Saturday, Feb. 25. Tickets, posters and T-shirts are available. Anyone who is anyone is going to be there. Don’t miss it.

Coming Up:
Feb. 9 – Building Low-Income Housing in Minneapolis with Herb Frey Gleason)
Feb. 16 – Mathilde Mortensen, Denmark (Barry Carlson)
Feb. 23  — Esse
Feb. 25 – To India and Back

Andrea Willgohs is an outbound exchange student from the Northfield Rotary Club living in Yogyakarta, Indonesia this year. She shared this photo with club members and we thought it needed to be published.

The photo was taken at a Rotary District 3400 event in Bandung, at a hotel/resort called Sari Ater. There were many events during that weekend designed to quickly introduce the inbounds to many parts of Indonesian culture, such as batik (intricate fabric dying), clay pottery and this event.

The video below includes dances from four different regions of Indonesia and ends with a depiction of the tsunami that hit several years ago and the eruption of the Mt Merapi volcano last year.  The theme is that Indonesians are still united and strong despite the adversity.

Andrea is studying at an arts vocational school that was established 50 years ago to promote and sustain Indonesian culture through teaching gamelan (Indonesian music), puppetry, theater, and various types of Indonesian dance.  Andrea’s classes include three different kinds of Indonesian dance, Javanese singing and karawitan, a type of gamelan.

You can read more about Andrea’s International experience through her blog. You can read about the experiences of other Northfield exchange students through links to their blogs as well, located on the Northfield Rotary Club’s Youth Exchange web site.

Welcome Teresa Tilson!

Teresa Tilson was inducted for a second time. Teresa was previously a member of the club before moving to the Pacific Northwest for a couple of years. Welcome back Teresa.

Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012

Today: Open Club Meeting (President Bierman)

Birthdays: Mark Abbott (1/17)

Next Week: Tom Tanghe about Down’s Syndrome (Fritz)

Last Week:

Aishwarya Gokhale must feel like a fish out of water. She leaves her home town of Pune, India, which she shares with three million other people, to live in Dundas, Minn., population 1,367. She trades interesting vistas with rolling hills for flat prairie land and trades a tropical Indian climate for a crisp Minnesota winter. Even a mild winter can challenge the uninitiated.

But she enjoys trying new things and meeting new people, and that’s what she’s been able to do with her exchange year. She’s ridden horses, walked on a frozen lake, and eaten mini-donuts at the Minnesota State Fair.

Back home, she lived on a seventh floor, three-bedroom apartment with her mother, an aerobics instructor, her father, a trader of graphic art materials, and her younger sister. Students attend high school through grade 10, so Aish was already enrolled in a junior college last year.

She said she’s been surprised by the flat topography here, by the number of people who speak Spanish, by the number of cars that hit deer and steering wheels on the left side of the car. She is missing her native cuisine, but on the up side, she is looking forward to her parents visiting in the spring.

Her life lesson takeaways from this experience:

— Everything happens for a reason;

— Nothing is weird, just different;

— It’s never cold, just chilly.

Second Reading — Officers for 2012-13

President — Jane Fenton; President Elect/Membership — Jim Prichard; Secretary —Matt Rich; Treasurer —      Dave Wolf;  International Service —-Russ Halverson; Club Service —Neil Lutsky; Community Service —Judy Brown-Wescott; Vocational Service —Missy Arens; Communication/ PR —Co Chairs  – Steve Wilmot/Kurt Larson; Past President        —Robert Bierman.

New Member: Teresa Tilson (V. Dilley) was inducted for a second time. Teresa was previously a member of the club before moving to the Pacific Northwest for a couple of years. Welcome back Teresa.

Guests: Annika Hanson, Rebecca Spriewald, Maria Olson, Anne Archibald, Nicole Smestad, Tilly Bartelt, Kyle Snesrud, Craig and Brenda Squires, Mark and Mary Mitchell, Beth Abdella (Aishwarya); Dixie Baird, Virginia Epps and Marge Kennedy (Prowe).

Scholarship Enhancement: Dave Brown

Announcements:

— “To India and Back,” our “rock the house” winter social will be Saturday, Feb. 25. Tickets, postes and T-shirts are available. Anyone who is anyone is going to be there. Don’t miss it.

— Fred Rogers reported that the Salvation Army bell ringing was a success. $14,600 was raised in Northfield, alone, during 85 shifts. Forty-two thousand was raised countywide.

— Richard Maus shared a report that India has not diagnosed a case of polio in the last year. That leaves only Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan as the three countries yet to eliminate the disease. The campaign continues.

Coming Up:
February 2 –John Fossum host
February 9 –Mark Gleason host
February 16 – Mathilde Mortensen, Denmark (Barry Carlson)