Alexandria Rotary Club

A School for Ranquitte, Haiti

Burnsville Rotarian and future District Governor Bob Stowell was a special guest at the Alexandria Rotary Club’s September 29 meeting. He reviewed the district’s continuing work in the impoverished island nation of Haiti, and discussed the newest effort: a new school to be constructed in Ranquitte, Pignon, Haiti. He and Alexandria Rotarian Larry Zilliox are spearheading a $300,000 fundraising effort to support the project.

Vocational Visit to Alexandria Police Department

A few times each year the Alexandria Rotary Club will take a week off from the Broadway Ballroom and will instead hold its Thursday meeting at a local business or organization as one of the important aspects of Rotary is to learn more about various vocations in our community and to better understand their daily functions. These vocational visits are a combination of education and social engagement of the members. Today, our meeting was at the new Alexandria Police Department and our members were provided a tour by Officer Jim Gripne and he answered many questions and provided information that helped our members better understand our police force.

Vocational Visit to Alexandria Police Department

A few times each year the Alexandria Rotary Club will take a week off from the Broadway Ballroom and will instead hold its Thursday meeting at a local business or organization as one of the important aspects of Rotary is to learn more about various vocations in our community and to better understand their daily functions. These vocational visits are a combination of education and social engagement of the members. Today, our meeting was at the new Alexandria Police Department and our members were provided a tour by Officer Jim Gripne and he answered many questions and provided information that helped our members better understand our police force.

Paul Harris Fellowships

It was a time for celebration at the September 8, 2011 meeting of the Alexandria Rotary Club. New and previous Paul Harris Fellows were recognized. Rotarian Fred Bursch provided some background information on Paul Harris and the evolution of the Paul Harris Fellowship program of the Rotary Foundation. To cap off the program, a short video illustrated the impact of a large-scale Rotary Foundation grant project in India.

Rotary Friendship Exchange

At the September 1, 2011 meeting of the Alexandria Rotary Club, Corrine and Mark Lewis, members of the Eden Prairie Rotary Club, promoted their upcoming Rotary Friendship Exchange trip to Australia. Mark overviewed the four types of international experiences Rotary offers: Rotary Fellowships, Friendship Exchanges, International Convention and international service projects. The Friendship Exchange program the Lewis’s are planning will take place in March 2012.