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Rotary Opens Opportunities

We meet In Person

Thursdays at 7:00 AM

Original Pancake House

14351 Nicollet Ct
Burnsville, MN 55306
United States of America

We meet on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month! If you'd like to visit our club and try us out, please RSVP to Dan McElroy-Club President at DanMcElroy@comcast.net We'll even provide you with FREE breakfast on your first visit!

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WE ARE ROTARY

Rotary brings together people like you- from all walks of life- who want to use their expertise for good. People whose sense of responsibility inspires them to give back. At Rotary, we connect for the benefit of our community - and form life long friendships in the process.

Together, we empower youth, improve health, promote peace, and advance our communities in all corners of the globe. With 1.2 million members in 34,000 clubs worldwide, our global community's impact has never been greater - and it continues to grow.

Burnsville Breakfast X-mas Party!

A fun time was had by all at our annual Christmas party that was held at Porter Creek Restaurant in Burnsville on Tuesday, Dec. 13th. We had a great turnout of 21 members/spouses and it was fun to get everyone together and meet each other's spouses perhaps for the first time. Happy Holidays and the best in the New Year in 2023!

Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club welcomes Dr. Jody Janati to speak at their club meeting!

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club had Dr. Jody Janati as their guest speaker at this week's Rotary meeting. Dr. Janati has a Doctoral degree in organizational leadership and a Master's degree in speech communication. As a national speaker, author, and conference facilitator, she has taught in higher education for over 20 years and offers a variety of public and professional workshops on conflict reduction tactics and effective communications. She has taught at both the Univ. of Minnesota-Duluth and within the MN State Prison system and is an author of six books and the owner of Communication Innovation, LLC. Her talk was very enlightening and provided lots of good laughs as we discussed people's various communication styles and what they're really saying, and how you can properly respond. Thank you Dr. Janati for your entertaining presentation! 🙌🙌 If you'd like to learn more about Dr. Janati and her company, please click here or paste the address into your browser.

https://findyourconversationpeace.com/

Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club rings the bell to support the Salvation Army!

Volunteers from the Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club rang the bell for the Salvation Army of Minnesota & North Dakota on Saturday, Nov. 26th. outside Lunds/Byerly's in Burnsville. We had so many generous donors that helped to make a financial impact to assist those in need during these trying times.

The Northern Division of the Salvation Army includes 700 employees and 28,500 volunteers who serve thousands of people in every county of Minnesota & N. Dakota.

Statistics of what the Salvation Army provides each year:

- Hot meals served: 447,000

- People receiving groceries: 42,000

- Nights of lodging: 129,000

- Items of clothing: 137,000

- Christmas toys provided for children: 127,000

- Rent & energy assistance: 5,000

- People provided disaster assistance: 24,000

When you give to the MN./North Dakota Salvation Army, 82 cents of every dollar goes directly to help people in need. If you'd like to donate, please click the below link or paste it into your browser and visit the giving page, as they really need your help! This has been a very tough year with rising inflation hitting people in the lower economic rungs particularly hard!

https://centralusa.salvationarmy.org/northern/

Induction of new member Steve Smela & guest Speaker Amie Burrell-Executive Director from Experience Burnsville!

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club had a very busy day at their bi-monthly meeting today with the induction of a new member and an interesting presentation from Experience Burnsville. First of all, we inducted our newest member Steve Smela who's the owner of the local Senior Helpers Franchise in Burnsville. Steve has had many interesting educational and job experiences throughout his life that has prepared him to open and operate his own business. His company offers customized in-home care plans to meet the unique needs of the elderly and allow them to stay in their own homes. If you'd like to learn more about Senior Helpers, please click here: https://www.seniorhelpers.com/mn/burnsville/

We also had Amie Burrell who's the Executive Director of Experience Burnsville as our guest speaker. Amie walked us through the history of Experience Burnsville and what her organization does which is to help make Burnsville a destination for visitors within a 125-mile circumference of the area. The goal of the organization is to help the community by increasing the volume & spending of visitors through promotion, marketing, and advertising with Burnsville's unique gateway to Minneapolis & St. Paul with easy access to 35E & 35W. The organization is funded by a 3% lodging tax that is collected by the nine lodging properties that reside in Burnsville. If you'd like to find out more about Experience Burnsville, please click the link: https://burnsvillemn.com/

Burnsville Uncorked makes its 19th appearance!

The Rotary Clubs of Burnsville (Breakfast & Noon Clubs) held their 19th. annual "Burnsville Uncorked" event on Thursday, Nov. 3rd. at the Ames Center in Burnsville. This is an annual fundraising event that benefits both clubs and provides a great opportunity for members and their friends/public to sample various wines & spirits and craft beers all in one convenient location! There were over 200 attendees this year and they had a great time! Special thanks to Red Lion Liquors, Cornerstone Copy Center, and the Ames Center for assisting us in putting on a marquee event!

Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club volunteers for DARTS!

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club volunteered this past weekend for DARTS which is an organization that assists elderly homeowners with household and outdoor chores to allow them to live independently. Our task was to assist with fall clean-up by raking leaves and trimming bushes for this Burnsville senior resident. We had an awesome turnout of members and their families to help with the project. The homeowner pictured in the top-middle of the group photo was very thankful for the help! If you'd like to learn more about DARTS and how they may be able to help you, please click this link: https://dartsconnects.org/home-services/ (Or copy and paste it into your browser)

Rotary Club holds two fun events!

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club held two events last week to have some fun and raise money that will be turned back into our community to do good things! The first was our annual Robert Lewis House pumpkin carving event with children of mothers who are experiencing domestic abuse to provide them with some semblance of normalcy in their lives. Four of our members attended the event and supported five moms with seven children in total. The club also provided pizza and soda for all families residing there.🍕🥤

The second event was Sporting Clays which was a fundraiser for the club and was held at the MN. Horse & Hunt Club. We had a total of 16 people participate trying their luck/skill at shooting clays out of the sky with a shotgun, and the event was followed by a wonderful dinner. The event raised $500 for the club which will be turned back into the community to support local non-profits.

Guest Speaker Jake Reint-V.P. of Public Affairs from Flint Hills Resources

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club welcomed Jake Reint-V.P. of Public Affairs for Flint Hill Resources to their Oct. 27th. breakfast meeting. Jake spoke to us about current energy issues and looking into the future and how they're adapting to reduce their carbon footprint. Flint Resources is a wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industries and one of the largest privately held companies in America with 120K employees worldwide. Flint Hill Resources is based in Wichita, KS, and is a leading refining company with operations primarily in the Midwest and Texas and employs 3K employees with revenue of $31B annually! You most likely have seen the Pine Bend Refinery which is the largest oil refinery in Minnesota, located in the Twin Cities suburbs of Rosemount and Inver Grove Heights next to the southern split of U.S. Highway 52 and Minnesota State Highway 55. The refinery is notable for being the largest in the United States to be located in a state without any oil wells. Flint Hill Resources Pine Bend facility processes 350,000 barrels of oil and produces 12 million gallons of fuel per day. An 8,000-gallon tanker truck leaves the facility every 60 seconds/160 trucks per day to provide gasoline/diesel and aviation fuel to the state of MN. and surrounding areas and is the #1 producer of asphalt as a by-product of the refining process. Flint Hill Resources is also the largest purchaser of ethanol in the Upper Midwest and is investing in a 30 Megawatt solar project on their Rosemount campus to help power their refining energy needs. To learn more about Flint Hills Resources, click here: https://www.fhr.com/

Visit by Dist. Gov. Lloyd Campbell and his wife Rwanda!

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club welcomed our new District Governor Lloyd Campbell and his wife Rwanda to their Oct. 13th. club meeting. Lloyd led a discussion about what Rotary is all about, why people join, how we keep members engaged, and what we can do to build our membership. He also discussed some of the new digital tools that are being launched such as his daily 2-minute update, a weekly podcast, and the new Dist. #5950 Flip digital booklet that updates all Rotarians on upcoming events, and also a weekly radio show that will debut soon! Thank you, Lloyd Campbell and your wife for visiting our club and sharing your vision for Rotary in Dist. #5950!

Glow Ball Golf Fundraiser!

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club held its annual Glow Ball Golf fundraiser on Saturday evening, Oct. 1st. The weather turned out beautiful and everyone had a great time! The object of the game is to play in the dark with a lighted golf ball and lighted tees as your frame of reference on where to hit the ball. Dan McElroy-Club President made the comment that "it wouldn't make any difference in his game if it's light or dark out, I'd play just about the same!" 😂 This is just another one of the many events we do to help raise funds for charity and have some fun!

Burnsville Breakfast Rotary conducts Vista View Park Clean-up!

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club held their bi-annual Vista View Park cleanup on Monday evening, Sept. 26th. with several members and spouses attending. The club adopted this park many years ago and has provided park clean-up, park benches next to the basketball court, and also provided labor to help build the pavilion located on the park property. The club then met at Clive's Roadhouse for a social and food & drink. A great time was had by all!

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club will be holding a "fun" fundraiser to shoot sporting clays at the MN. Horse & Hunt Club on Wednesday, Oct. 26th. in Prior Lake. Any experience level is welcome, and guns are available to rent or share. The $125 fee per person includes shells, sporting clays, social, and dinner! There is a dinner-only option also available for $30 PP. There are also sponsorships available by contacting Andrew Stevens @ acstevens03@gmail.com. To purchase tickets, just go to the right-hand side of our club page and click on the sporting clays button!

Burnsville Breakfast Rotary welcomes Danny Rubio-Exec. Director of MN Valley YMCA

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club welcomed Danny Rubio who is the Exec. Director of the Minnesota Valley YMCA in Burnsville, River Valley YMCA, and the Southdale YMCA. The YMCA is a Rotary Foundation partner with our club which we donate to on a regular basis for the good work that they do for the community. For those that do not know what the YMCA is all about, they are a non-profit organization that helps raise funds to assist people of all ages and backgrounds to benefit from membership, programs, services, and activities. Danny wanted to stress that they are more than “just a gym”, but come alongside families in their area of need providing food, childcare, physical & emotional support, and hope! If you’d like to find out more about the YMCA and the services that they provide, please visit its website at: https://www.ymcanorth.org/locations/burnsville_ymca

Rotary social at Canterberry!

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club held a social outing at Canterbury Race Track in Shakopee this past Thursday 9/15, and our members carefully weighed the various factors in determining how to bet on the races. They won some and lost some, but in the 8^th race (and using a tip from a jockey that spoke at our club), we bet it all on the winner and made a haul! Not quite enough to buy the Ferrari… Maybe next time! A great time was had by all!

Upcoming Rotary Events!

Two Fantastic Upcoming Events!

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club has two fantastic events coming up to have some fun and help raise funds to support local non-profits in Burnsville and the surrounding communities!

#1 Glowball Golf Outing-Saturday, Oct. 1st, 2022 @ Birnamwood Golf Course. Registration/Light Dinner 6:30 p.m. Golf: 7:00 pm.

Please RSVP to Randy Sparling at rsparling57@gmail.com

#2 19th., Annual Burnsville Uncorked Wine/Spirit tasting with light hors d'oeuvres! Don't miss this event, as tickets sell out fast! Ames Center on Thursday, Nov. 3rd, 2022 from 7:00 to 9:30 pm. WE ONLY HAVE (40) TICKETS REMAINING TO OFFER! DON'T WAIT!! SPEAK WITH A BURNSVILLE BREAKFAST ROTARIAN OR E-MAIL US AT: BURNSVILLE.AM.ROTARYCLUB@GMAIL.COM, AND WE'LL MAIL OR DELIVER YOUR TICKETS TO YOU IN THE SOUTH METRO! $45 IN ADVANCE, OR $50 AT THE DOOR ONLY IF TICKETS REMAIN!

Burnsville Festival/Fire Muster Update

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club welcomed Dan Kealey to their Sept. 8th. club meeting to discuss the 42nd. Annual Burnsville Festival/Fire Muster and some of the changes that have been made to the community celebration recently to be more inclusive of the changing demographics of the community. The Burnsville Festival (AKA Fire Muster) started in 1980 to highlight the unique qualities of Burnsville to visitors and residents and to promote the city as an excellent place for families and businesses. As the years have gone by, attendance has been slipping and the new committee was looking for ways to better promote it and make it an event that welcomed everyone from Burnsville! With nearly 40% of Burnsville's population now being of a diverse background, the committee felt it was necessary to make some changes to attract a wider audience. The festival now includes regional music which includes a mariachi band, Latin band, Somali dance group, ethnic food trucks, and merchandise vendors selling cultural wares. They also added an International Drink Station which will sell non-alcoholic drinks that are cultural favorites. If you'd like to learn more about the Burnsville Festival/Fire Muster, please click the link below or paste it into your browser: https://www.burnsvillefiremuster.org/ Also, you can see some pictures of our hard-working volunteers who worked in the beer/bingo tent on Friday, Sept. 10th. The weather didn't cooperate, but everyone still had fun!

Burnsville "Uncorked" is Coming!

It's that time of year again! The 19th. annual "Burnsville Uncorked" wine, small spirits, and craft beer tasting event at the Ames Center in Burnsville! If you've never attended this event, you're missing out! Pre-sale of tickets is $45 from either a Burnsville Breakfast or Burnsville Noon Rotary Club member, or at Red Lion Liquors located at 12400 Nicollet Ave, Burnsville, MN. Also, you can contact us at burnsville.am.rotaryclub@gmail.com and we'll arrange for someone to drop them off and collect your money in the South Metro. Don't pass this one up! Tickets are limited!

Review of the Galapagos Islands & Amazon Jungle by Heidi Hammond!

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club welcomed Heidi Hammond who’s the traveling partner of our very own Doug Johnson to provide an overview of their exciting trip to the Galapagos Islands & Amazon Jungle this past January. The islands are located 600 miles west of the country of Ecuador in South America and are part of the country of Ecuador. Approximately 30,000 inhabitants live on the three main islands of Isla Isabela, Seymour, and Puerto Ayora. The Galapagos Islands are a UNESCO World Heritage site and renowned National Park. The islands are teaming with interesting wild & marine life and provide an exciting eco-tourism opportunity! The mode of transport from Ecuador and accommodations were provided aboard the Galapagos Legend which is a small cruise ship that holds 100 passengers and provides an intimate and engaging environment to meet other people and share your journey together.

The trip also included some time in Quito, Ecuador to explore the city and spend some time in the Yasuni National Park at an eco-tourism lodge. All in all, they had an amazing trip and would love to go back again! Thank you, Heidi, for sharing your experience with us!

Burnsville Breakfast Rotary volunteers for Sleep in Heavenly Peace bed build

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club volunteered on Saturday, Aug. 13th. for Sleep in Heavenly Peace which is a non-profit whose mission is to ensure that all children have and safe and comfortable place to sleep. Duties included sanding, quality control, frame set-up, staining/dipping, and screwing. The event was held at Northern Tool & Equipment in Burnsville who's been an avid supporter of this non-profit to help improve the quality of life for young children and teens! The weekend build produced 124 beds that will be delivered and set up by volunteers in the coming weeks.

If you'd like to learn more about Sleep in Heavenly Peace and how you can be a volunteer or financial supporter, please copy and paste the link in your browser: https://shpbeds.org/

DARTS -Creating connections that enrich aging!

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club welcomed Lindy Engelken-Volunteer Manager for DARTS in Dakota County. DARTS is a community-based nonprofit that started in 1974 that connects people to services and partnerships that improve their quality of life, help them age well, and enable them to engage in their community. DARTS focuses on five key values and adjusts to fill the gaps for older adults and their caregivers, and also provides school mentoring opportunities for young people in need of extra help. Their key values are collaboration, excellence, inclusion, responsibility, and service. If you'd like to find out more about DARTS and the opportunities they have available for you to volunteer, please click the link: https://dartsconnects.org/

Burnsville Breakfast Rotary welcomes Jason Sellers, Community Education 191 Director as our guest speaker!

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club welcomed their very own Jason Sellers as our guest speaker on July 14th! Jason is the Community Education Director for District 191 in Burnsville and is responsible for coordinating the many summer, Pre-K, ECFE, youth, and adult education programs for the community. Jason said the face of the community is changing in Burnsville, and that his staff reflects the changing demographics so that they can better serve their constituents. The Community Education budget is $5.8M and covers a wide range of programs. Their summer programs impact over 4,000 students and they have over 1,200 employees on the payroll during this time. Jason’s presentation was a real eye opener about all the great things and opportunities that Community Education provides the citizens of Burnsville! Thank you Jason for your informative presentation!

Burnsville Breakfast Rotary volunteers for Lakefront Music Fest!

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club volunteered for the Prior Lake Lakefront Music Fest on Saturday, July 9th. which is hosted by the Rotary Club of Prior Lake. Some of the positions entailed ticketing, beverage service, and helping to keep the grounds clean in the VIP area of the event. We had an awesome day for weather and a turnout of over 18,000 people! This event nets nearly $330,000 in profits which is then turned back into the community and internationally to support various causes to help people in need and make their lives better!

One of the main focuses of Rotary International is the eradication of polio worldwide which is unfortunately still a problem in some countries in the world. The Prior Lake Rotary Club's goal was to reach $33,334 in tips from all the various food & beverage stations so that they can get a two-to-one match of funds from the Bill Gates Foundation which would then provide $100,000 for polio eradication. I have no doubt that they'll meet that goal!

Belonging to Rotary provides members with an opportunity to give back to their community and connect with like-minded leaders and friends. People join Rotary for many reasons, including community involvement, personal development, professional networking, and camaraderie. If you'd like to learn more about us, please check out our website and see what we do! https://www.burnsvillebreakfastrotary.org

Burnsville Breakfast Rotary provides $5,000 in Scholarships!

Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club Grants $5,000 in Scholarships to Burnsville Area High School Students!

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club provided five $1,000 scholarships to students of the Burnsville High School and Alternative High Schools that were awarded during recent graduation ceremonies. The students were selected based on essays that they completed outlining the impact of attending District 191 schools on their education, extra-curricular activities, and their volunteerism. Pat Christiansen, Foundation 191 Community Scholarship Chair said that “We appreciate the Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Clubs' generous donations to the Burnsville High School Community Scholarship Program. The generosity of our donors enables BHS graduates to continue their education journey following high school graduation.”

The recipients of the 2022 Burnsville Breakfast Rotary scholarships were Elijah McKeen, Kathryn Pearson, Julieonna Johns, Joselyne Hernandez, and Jazmyne Seymoure. In Kathryn’s scholarship application she said that “ISD 191 has given me the space and resources to discover my values and morals which have made me realize my passions and what I would like to do in a career.” She plans to attend Minnesota State University in Mankato and major in international relations.

Pictured below is club President Dan McElroy of Burnsville Breakfast Rotary presenting one of the five scholarships to Elijah McKeen.

Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club welcomes Mayor Kautz!

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club welcomed our very own Mayor of Burnsville Elizabeth Kautz as our guest speaker at our club meeting today. She was joined by our new city manager Gregg Lindberg. The title of Elizabeth's presentation was "Burnsville Now & In the Future!" Elizabeth said that Burnsville is a city that is vibrant and welcoming to all and that it takes all of us (city residents) to ensure that we make it a great place to live! She said that Burnsville is in a strong financial position and that we maintain a AAA bond rating, and that we also did through the recession that we experienced a decade ago. Some of the success factors she touched on were the following:

- Burnsville is a safe community

- We have a state-of-the-art police & fire department/rescue squad that is dedicated to the City of Burnsville. The department handles 1000's of calls a year with an escalating number related to health calls due to Burnsville's aging population

- Burnsville was one of the first communities to add Behavioral Health personnel to their police staff who aren't responsible for enforcing the law but to help people through crises that are impacting their lives. They recently won an award from the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce for their work in this area.

- Burnsville has been progressive in the use of body-worn cameras in their policing for about ten years which has helped capture situations that have helped in court cases and bring total transparency & accountability to the police force

- Burnsville is currently looking to purchase drones to assist police & fire to help give them information that they don't have on the ground during major public safety events

- Training is a huge and ongoing part of both the police & firefighters. It's important for all to have "muscle memory" so they can react quickly and appropriately in crisis situations

- The city is offering Opps 101 & Citizens Academy for residents so that they can experience hands-on training in simulating real-life situations that both police & firefighters go through on a daily basis

- The City of Burnsville works hard at community engagement to help residents understand any projects that would personally impact them and to get their input before projects begin. This has been well received by residents so they feel involved in the process

City Hall

- Elizabeth said it's very important that they pay attention to the culture inside City Hall, that it's the "Peoples House" and that it's all about service!

- The only product that they provide is water, and that pays for itself! Everything else in the tax budget is about service!

- The people who work at City Hall are public servants and are passionate about what they do! They have access to continual training through the Burnsville University which has had over 600 participants via 53 training classes so far. This provides an opportunity for them to grow and be better in their jobs!

Elizabeth's closing comment was that all of us (residents) need to participate in making Burnsville a vibrant & welcoming community!

Dr. Theresa Battle- Superintendent Dist. 191 Guest Speaker

The Burnsville Breakfast Rotary Club welcomed Dr. Theresa Battle who's the Superintendent of District 191 Burnsville/Eagan/Savage as their guest speaker on May 26th. Dr. Battle shared with us the positive community survey results that showed 92% of respondents rated the district's handling of the pandemic as good to excellent, and 90% of the parents said they're proud of District 191! She also shared the mission of District 191 being Each Student, Future Ready, and Community Strong! Dr. Battle also reviewed the Core Values of District 191 and touched on the academic "Pathways Program" which provides all students with experiences in Arts, Music, & Theater, Advanced Learning, College & Career Readiness, Social Emotional Learning, and Entrepreneurship. The goal is to provide an exploration of careers and further education in the student's field of interest/study.

On enrollment in District 191, this continues to be a struggle with a projected loss of 200+ students this coming year, but the hope is that it'll be more around 120. The district has launched a successful Virtual Academy that has drawn students from outside the district which is very positive! They've also seen growth in enrollments in the critical Kindergarten age group which is currently putting the district on pace to exceed the enrollments of the past two years to a typical class size of 660.