Events

Jean Kane, CEO, Colliers International, was voted as one of 2017’s most admired CEOs. Jean has been with the company for 30 years and has been CEO and majority owner of Welsh and Colliers International MSP since 2012. She sold WelshCo to global giant Colliers International Group Inc. of Toronto in April and has remained on as CEO. Jean's strong leadership and ability to take on tough challenges led the company to become one of the largest commercial real estate firms in the Twin Cities. Besides growing the business, creating a welcoming culture that embraces diversity and a variety of viewpoints is incredibly important to Jean. As a result, Welsh and Colliers International MSP has a stack of Best Places to Work awards from the Business Journal.  Jean will discuss the changes in the real estate industry and how her business has evolved to adapt to the changes.

As Minnesotans, we cherish our lakes, rivers, forests, animals, the clean water we drink and canoe on. We cannot bear to think of losing these sacred places. Or worse, the thought of our great grandchildren not being able to know and love them, too. Let’s learn how we can act together to save what we love. Grounded in the Rotary Four-Way Test, this community forum will identify places we love and hold sacred; present climate science’s latest findings, impacts and urgency; and identify hopeful solutions to protect further loss of what is sacred to us.  

Featuring Paul Huttner, Chief Meteorologist, MPR

Alan Anderson, Northfield Rotary Climate Action Team

Kathryn Hoffman, MN Center for Environment Advocacy

Nicole Rom, ED Climate Gneration: A Wil Steger Legacy

Russ Stark, Chief Resilience Officer, City of St. Paul

As a member of Ryan’s Development team since 2005, Tony has led or contributed to over 3,000,000 square feet of development. He leads project teams through all aspects of the development process including site selection and acquisition, constraint analysis and due diligence, municipal approvals, design and construction coordination, and lease or sale negotiation. As an urban specialist, Tony understands current market trends and uses that knowledge to implement win-win solutions for clients and project stakeholders on even the most challenging development sites.

At our May 15 meeting, we will celebrate club members who have demonstrated the ideals of vocational service -- “where our Rotary lives and professional lives intersect,” in the words of
2018-19 RI President Barry Rassin.

Our world’s most challenging problems and promising opportunities cannot be solved by government and nonprofits alone. Certified B Corporations are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. Two of Minnesota’s 17 B-Corps – businesses that meet strict standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability – will be with us to discuss their journeys. Hear from Sunrise Banks and Russell Herder about what B-Corps are, why they made the conversion and what’s involved for others to do the same.

Jullie Bluhm, Executive Director of Guild Incorporated, will speak about the work of Guild.  Guild Incorporated helps people with mental illness lead quality lives believing that people with mental illness are larger than the definition of their diagnosis.  Guild partners with the individuals it serves, sticking with them through progress and set-backs, symptoms, medications, and side effects, good days and not-so-good days.

Emerald Ash Borer is making its way across Minnesota and the highly-visible loss of ash trees is impacting our communities beyond our city streets. Major changes to the Mississippi River's landscape are on the horizon. The 72-mile Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, the national park in the heart of the Twin Cities, will lose more than 20% of its canopy within the next ten years, forever changing the landscape, river quality, natural areas and wildlife we love.  Plant for the Future, a program of Mississippi Park Connection, is a proactive plan to improve this outlook through a $1M campaign including educational programming, plantings, special events, volunteer and fundraising opportunities, and more.  Former RI President Ian S. Riseley challenged Rotary clubs across the globe to plant trees in their communities for every member of their club. #9 and Minneapolis City of Lakes Rotary have committed to providing 300 trees that will be planted as part of the Plant for the Future campaign.  To facilitate more robust trees and also support trees well beyond the initial commitment, Rotary will first be installing a community tree nursery (otherwise referred to as a gravel bed) that will support the growth of healthy trees for years into the future. The tree nursery will be installed at Coldwater Spring (park area near Minnehaha Falls owned and managed by the Park Service).

Rene Sanchez leads Minnesota’s largest news organization, overseeing all aspects of the Star Tribune’s print and digital editions. He joined the Star Tribune in 2004 as a regional reporter and was later named its Sunday editor. He has subsequently overseen the Metro, Business and Sports departments as well as special reporting projects and investigative work. He helped lead the Star Tribune’s investigation of child deaths at daycare facilities in Minnesota that earned the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting. Sanchez’s journalism career began in New Orleans at The Times-Picayune, where he reported on sports and local news. He then spent 17 years as a local and national reporter forThe Washington Post. In his last six years at the Post, he was based in Los Angeles, covering California and the American West. A New Orleans native, Sanchez earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Loyola University.

Join us as we take a walk down memory lane of Brock's 2018-19 year as COLRC President and gently tease and thank him for his service.

Join us for a celebratory start to the new Rotary year as we install our very own incoming District Governor Russ Michaletz, District 5950 leadership, Assistant Governors and President-Elects. This Thursday evening event will take the place of our regularly schedule meeting. As the host club of the incoming District Governor, we want a great showing from City of Lakes Members! 

The event is free for City of Lakes members and guests are welcome to join for $40.00 per person. Registration will be required and available starting May 13 through the District 5950 website. The evening includes a plated dinner, short program and admittance to ASI prior to the event to experience “The Vikings Begin” – the extraordinary premier collection featuring dozens of early Viking artifacts never before seen outside of Scandinavia.

Thursday, June 27
5:30-7:30 p.m.
American Swedish Institute, 2600 Park Avenue, Minneapolis