Alexandria Rotary Club

By the Numbers

Rotary

• 1,227,369 Members
• 33,446 Clubs

Rotaract

• 174,271 Members
• 7,577 Clubs

Interact

• 274,160 Members
• 11,920 Clubs

Rotary Community Corps

• 152,214 Members
• 6,618 Corps

Minnesota Lakes Maritime Museum

Surrounded by sleek and stylish watercraft of a bygone era, the Alexandria Rotary Club met in the new addition to the Minnesota Lakes Maritime Museum in downtown Alexandria. Rotarian Jim Eidsvold provided a brief history of the museum, noting its increasing reputation on a national level. Rotarian Fred Bursch recounted the background and development of the new gallery, constructed to allow the museum to store the historic boats on the premises year-round. Mark Proudfoot, who designed the Chris-Craft exhibit currently displayed in the space, offered information about the famous boat manufacturer and how the museum’s exhibit came into being.

Next Meeting, Noon, Thursday, September 3rd: Alexandria Rotarians will be back at the Broadway Ballroom. The guest speaker is the District 5950 Chairperson for the PolioPlus campaign, Quinn Tierney.

Scenes from the 44th Annual Corn and Pork Chop Jubilee

Around 2,800 (a record) were served corn on the cob and pork chops at the Alexandria Fire Hall by Alexandria Rotarians and Alexandria Firemen. Check out this video recap of the August 19th, 2009.

Photos from the Corn and Pork Chop Jubilee

44th Annual Corn and Pork Chop Jubilee, Wednesday, August 19th

Join us today at the Alexandria Fire Hall for the 44th Annual Corn and Pork Chop Jubilee. This morning, Rotarians and Firemen husked around 4,000 ears of corn.

From 11 am to 7 pm, enjoy a pork chop (seasoned and grilled by the Pork Producers Association), all the corn on the cob you can eat, bread, cole slaw and a can of soda pop for $8. Tough to beat!

Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars

Carla Barnhill is a past Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship recipient. She was sponsored by the Alexandria Rotary Club and at this week's Alexandria Rotary Club meeting, she delighted those in attendance with her thoughts about the program and stories from her experience as a graduate student in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Since Ambassadorial Scholarships were founded in 1947, nearly 38,000 men and women from about 100 nations have studied abroad under its auspices. Today, it is the world's largest privately funded international scholarships program. Through grants totaling approximately $500 million, recipients from about 70 countries studied in more than 70 nations.

Ron Branch, Alexandria Farmers' Market

Ron Branch owns Berry Ridge Farm in Alexandria and is a vendor at the Alexandria Farmers' Market. He also serves as the Treasurer for the Minnesota Farmers' Market Association. This week is National Farmers' Market week and today Ron visited the Alexandria Rotary Club to talk about the many benefits of buying locally produced products.

• fantastic taste
• higher quantities of vitamins and anti-oxidants
• availability of heritage livestock
• more choices such as heirloom vegetables and unique products
• the money spent at a Farmers' Market likely stays in the community
• Farmers' Markets are fun and an excellent social event

The Alexandria Farmers Market is located at Big Ole Park and is open on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon, Thursdays from 3 to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon.

At next week's meeting: Carla (Grover) Barnhill. Carla is a past recipient of a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship and was sponsored by the Alexandria Rotary Club. She will talk about her experiences and duties as an Ambassadorial Scholar while at school in Edinburgh, Scotland.