JAN 17, 2012 ROTARY IN REVIEW:
Gordon Lindquist

President Doug Bruce called the meeting to order.

Greeters – Nancy Anderson and Joe Beckmann

Scribe – Michael-jon Pease

Song – Jerry Faletti led the group in God Bless America with Bob Jones at the piano.

Invocation – Carol Bufton

Introduction of Guests – Maria McLemore

Vision of Peace Statue – Al Zdrazil invited members to follow Roger Nielsen over to the artist’s studio above Master Framers after the meeting to see the 8’ model and ask questions.

One to Winnipeg! Alan Ruvelson encouraged members to participate in the annual goodwill weekend Feb. 17-18 – one of our longest Rotary traditions since our club helped form the Winnipeg club – the first one formed outside of the U.S.! Special additions to the weekend this year will be cultural activities part of Winnipeg’s Festival du Voyageur and Jet Hockey tickets. Join your fellow Rotarians in the “cultural capital of Canada!”

New Member Introduction – Carolyn Brusseau introduced fellow Gustavus Adolphus alum Mark Henneman as a new member. Mark is Vice President of Mairs and Power, Inc. and Co-Manager and Vice President of Mairs and Power Growth Fund. Mark follows a long tradition of firm leaders who’ve been members of our club. Mr. Henneman began his investment career as an analyst with The St. Paul Companies (now Travelers Companies) in 1987. He plays tennis and volleyball in addition to serving on the boards of the YMCA and the Union Gospel Mission.

Chuck Whitaker was awarded a multiple Paul Harris Fellowship by Jerry Faletti. Chuck is also an Elmer L. Anderson fellow.

Happy Dollars – Jim Kosmo

Ken Peterson introduced speaker Gordon Lindquist who spoke about his 21 years volunteering with CHF International, “Making the World a Better Place.”

CHF International is an international development organization founded in 1952 that currently works in 28 developing countries operating with a $250 million budget (50% government contracts, 50% private donations).They employ 130 workers at their HQ in Silver Spring, MD (many former Peace Corps volunteers) and 2,500 worldwide, mostly in-country nationals.

They believe that the people best suited to decide what a community needs are the people of the community itself. They offer programs in Economic Development, Micro and Middle Market Finance, Global Health, Housing and Infrastructure, Urban Development,  Governance and Civil Society, Emergency Response and Recovery. CHF is a politically neutral, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

Gordon focused on stories from four countries:

·      Afghanistan: The need this small rural community had was for a better road through a mountain pass to get goods to market. After the project became stalled, they fired the contractor who wasn’t holding up his end of the bargain, brought in a new local contractor and completed the next month’s work in just five days – all using local workers.

·      Iraq: When Saddam Hussein’s sons fled, leaving behind $8 million USD in $100 bills (stored in sea bags!), they used the funds to start a micro-loan program. The first loan was just $300 to a woman needing a sewing machine. She now has 11 more machines and 11 employees! The loan fund has grown to $47 million USD with only 3/10 of 1% nonperforming loans!

·      Columbia: Here the project is to help resettle families (often single mothers whose husbands have been killed by drug lords or guerillas) and offer loan programs for housing and enterprise. From simple shelters, these women are starting businesses and raising families.

·      Rwanda: The largest need in Rwanda is for Farmer and worker training programs. With young farmers, they focus training on how to maximize small plots of land and how to grow for best nutrition. The farmer graduates then teach their parents and other community members the new farming and nutrition practices they’ve learned. They’ve also built a trade school focused on trades in construction, hospitality and (oddly enough) hairdressing. It just proves women everywhere want to be beautifully coifed!  And, CHF has helped 16 women start a Savings & Loan to help women in rural Rwanda buy livestock and make other small enterprise accomplishments. They keep their money locked in a box and hold weekly meetings that make a difference.

Finally, Gordon shared just a few tantalizing exploits from his post-retirement career as a world volunteer, from surviving in a Guatemalan hospital to building a maternity unit in Uganda (where the first male baby born was named after him.)  Please contact Gordon or CHF for a copy of their annual report.

Respectfully submitted,

Michael-jon Pease