On Thursday February 5, 2015, we will meet at RedEye, a Stratasys company, instead of our normal weekly meeting at Bearpath. Do not go to Bearpath this week! RedEye is a local company who is a world leader in 3D printing. This facility is a digital manufacturing service that makes items for customers using 3D printers. You will be amazed by what they can do using 3D printers. Check them out at http://www.redeyeondemand.com.
They've agreed to give us a 45 minute tour of their facility. To participate in the tour, they require all persons to be screened before entering their facility. If you have not already submitted your information for screening to Todd Bollig, it is probably too late for you to join the tour. Check with Todd if you have questions.
We will meet at their site at 8081 Wallace Road in Eden Prairie at 11:55am. After the 45 minute tour, we will have lunch at Umbria Pizza located just down the street at 7922 Mitchell Road. Umbria will have a lunch buffet and will be ready for us at that time.
Note: You cannot access Wallace Road directly off Hwy 5. Please check Google Maps or other mapping service for directions.
We'll see you there! It should be a lot of fun and very interesting.
Pong Fest 2015, held on January 24, 2015, at the Eden Prairie Community Center was a big hit with the community and with our dedicated troop of beer pong players. Competition among the 120 players was intense and entertaining. Like the recent Super Bowl, there were some incredible shots and some lost opportunities. The winners, Tony Rillo and Greg Mauser, finished off the Championship game with two balls in the front cup with only three cups remaining. Game, set, match! You can see the winning shot in our video.
Our follow-up survey went out to all participants last week. Almost 50% opened the email and 20% completed the survey. Here are some key stats from the players:
On a scale of 1 to t0, with 10 being the best, 72% said that they had an incredible amount of fun (9 or 10 score.) The remaining 28% had a very good time (6, 7, or 8 score.)
When asked how easy it was to register, get answers or manage other logistics, over 75% said it was "Very Easy."
When asked about the quality of the food, the location, and the Silent Auction, over 75% said it was "Excellent" or "Very Good"
When asked if they will come back next year, 76% said "For Sure" and 24% said "Likely."
Survey participants also had great feedback on our food choices, promoting next year's event and how we can improve overall.
The biggest complaint was the loudness of the music. Many respondents said that the event would have been much better if the music was turned down a notch or two.
Thanks to everyone that responded to the survey. We take the results very seriously and will use your feedback to make Pong Fest 2016 even better.
Thanks so much to all of the participants and the Rotarians that made this a great event. We raised thousands of dollars, which will be used to fund our community service projects here in Eden Prairie, across the region and throughout the world. Although these events are great fun, the real reward is helping so many people in need throughout the year.
Pong Fest 2016 is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, January 30, 2016. Pencil it into your calendar today. See you next year!
Our talented marketing interns, Krista Kronlokken and Yasaman Rajaeian, are knocking it out of the park in the classroom and in sports.
In the Spirit of America Dance Competition, Krista won First Place in the Senior Solo. Her team won first place in the Hip Hop category and third place in the Pom category. In the UDA Nationals, the team won second place in the Pom category and fifth place in the Jazz category. Krista is also a member of the Eden Prairie Pom Squad where she has been captain for the last two years.
Krista recently competed in the DECA competition and came in second in the Entrepreneur - Growing Your Business category. She will be going to the State competition as a result of her accomplishment. She will also be competing in the Food Marketing segment at State.
Yasaman won first place in the District DECA competition in the Advertising category. She will be going to State as well. Yasaman has participated in the District competition for three years and in the State competition for the last two years. She is also the Vice-President of the local DECA chapter.
Congratulations to both young ladies for their fantastic accomplishments. We are so proud of both of you.
On Tuesday, March 3, we're changing our "For No Good Purpose Meeting" to actually have a purpose. Based on interest at Pong Fest 2015 and general interest from our members, we're inviting prospective Rotarians to join us for some drinks and appetizers to learn more about Rotary and the Eden Prairie Noon Rotary Club.
We will hold the meeting from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm in the annex room on the east end of the Tavern 4&5 restaurant, here in Eden Prairie. We encourage you to invite your friends and associates to learn more about Rotary and what it is to be a Rotarian. We will have informal tabletop presentations covering key programs of our club and of Rotary International. At 6:00 pm, we will have a 5 minute presentation to the whole group on the Eden Prairie Noon Rotary.
Guests will get tickets for two free tap beers (Rotarians have to buy their own beer.) We will provide delicious Tavern 4&5 appetizers for everyone that comes, both guests and Rotarians.
We will provide email templates and a formal printed invitation that you can hand to or mail to prospects. Our goal is to expose 15 to 20 people to our "Service Above Self" mantra. Bob Danielson and Rick Johnson are coordinating the event. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let Bob or Rick know as soon as possible. In the meantime, start building your list of people to join us for this event. We especially want to encourage young adults and women to join us for this fun, informal get together.
It is not everyday you come across a woman who is bold enough to share her private and personal experiences with a professional football team in a book for everyone to read. In fact, many women don’t often get the chance to become “one of the guys” and build relationships that will last a lifetime.
In her book, Green BayLove Stories and Other Affairs, Sandy Sullivan talks about her time with the Green Bay Packers. This book is filled with love, laughter, and tears, which is exactly what we all felt listening to Sullivan speak last Thursday. Both women and men find themselves captivated by the real and endearing stories of individuals who are household names to Green Bay fans, and enjoy tidbits of pro-football history, as well as interesting unknown facts, throughout the presentation.
If you haven’t had a chance to read this book, I highly recommend it!
